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How are the themes of prejudice shown in to kill a mockingbird
Prejudice essays on to kill a mockingbird
To kill mockingbird prejudice
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Prejudice has been present in society since the beginning of the United States. For example, the Scottsboro Boys being accused and charged with rape. The Judicial System during that time allowed race, skin color, and religion to affect the trials. Because of their skin color, the boys did not get a fair trial and were sentenced to years in prison, with some spending their whole life in prison. Few of the boys served their full time in prison and were set free, but they had a difficult time finding job due to their background with the law. In the novel, Harper Lee wanted the readers to know that prejudice can cloud the judgement of people, bring out the hatred, and also wants readers to put themselves in other’s position, so they would be less …show more content…
likely to judge someone based on opinions. Prejudice can blind perception, once an individual starts judging someone based on one's beliefs, it can cause actions that could negatively affect many individuals.
In To Kill A Mockingbird, Miss Stephanie said, “No. Shot in the air. Scared him pale though. Says if anybody sees a white ****** around, that’s the one” (Lee 72). When Mr. Nathan Radley shot in the air because Jem was sneaking past the fence, the townsfolks quickly assumed that it was a black person sneaking into Mr. Radley’s patch. Easily, the adults could have blamed Jem,who suspiciously had no pants on. Even though there was no evidence of an african american sneaking onto Mr. Radley’s property, the townsfolks still chose to blame an african american. This contributes to the story by foreshadowing significant events later in the novel. Such as, the Tom Robinson case. The people of Maycomb prosecuted him even though they knew he was an innocent man. Atticus defended Tom very well and the townspeople knew it. The jury members were blinded by what society had branded on the black community. If society began to practice this lesson, there would be a huge drop in hatred around the world, and we would be one step closer to peace. For example, today’s judicial system does its best to function without discriminating the defendants based on their race, skin color, and …show more content…
religion. Prejudice can bring out the hatred in people, even innocent children are affected by what prejudice has done to the society.
In the novel, Lula announced, “You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here---they got their church, we got our’n. It is our church, ain’t it, Miss Cal” (Lee 158). When Lula saw Calpurnia bringing Scout and Jem to the First Purchase, which is mostly attended by African Americans, she did not want them attending their church. Due to her experience with white people treating her poorly, she took out her enmity on the children. Prejudice has made Lula hostile to Scout and Jem even though they have not been racist towards her. Scout’s characterization revealed that she learned how prejudice directly affects people being on the receiving end. As well as whites being racists to blacks, blacks can also be racists to whites. Once society starts using this lesson into their everyday lives, wars could be avoided. In
particular, Another lesson from To Kill a Mockingbird about prejudice is to put oneself into another's perspective, then that individual will understand what it is like to be them, and be less hostile to that person. Harper Lee wrote, “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in their shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough” (374). Scout did not fully understand what Atticus meant when he said that because she was too young and immature. As the book progressed, she matured, and it became clear to her as to what her father meant. Once Scout imagined herself as Boo, she could not be prejudice towards him since she had an idea of what he has been through. Scout’s characterization is revealed because she seems to be more mature than some of the adults in Maycomb. She imagines herself in another person’s shoes, while the other adults could not even do that. She understand that some people are different than they are perceived. If the adults would have imagined themselves in Tom Robinson’s shoes, he could have been found not guilty. If everyone around the world practiced this lesson, the world would be a better place to live in. People would have a better understanding of each other, and would have an idea why they did what they did. For instance, From Harper Lee, society can learn that prejudice can be avoided by following the lessons learned from the novel. Provided that Scout can avoid being prejudice, adults should be able to do the same. Society needs to learn that prejudice can cause people to be blinded, and it can bring out hatred in people especially those affected by prejudice. Lastly Harper Lee wants the readers to learn that prejudice can be avoided by putting themselves in another’s shoe to have an idea what it is like to be on the receiving end of the horrible treatment they have been given.
Although most discrimination appears as white people against African American people, there is one case where the discrimination appears as African American people against white people. On a Sunday when Jem and Scout’s father, Atticus, is not home, Calpurnia, their cook, takes the two children to her church. Once there they were confronted by a woman named Lula. She is racist against white people, and shows it by saying, “‘I wants to know why you bringin’ white chillun to n***er church’” (Lee 158).
Racial prejudice is shown greatly in this novel in Maycomb County. In the court scene in To Kill a Mockingbird there is a black section and a white section, which are segregated. The colored balcony ran along three walls of the courtroom like a second story veranda, and from it we could see everything (Lee 219). That shows an unfair segregation for the blacks because they have to sit in the balcony but the whites don’t. If a white man had committed the crime that Tom Robinson was accused of, the investigation would’ve been much more thorough. “Did you call a doctor, Sheriff?” asked Atticus. “No Sir,” said Mr. Tate (Lee 224). Just because he was a black man, they accused Tom of being guilty just because people said that he was. Although it isn’t directly related to the court scene, it is shown that there is racial prejudice when Tom runs from Mayella Ewell instead of staying so they thought him guilty for that. He would not have dared strike a white woman under any circumstances and expect to l...
Three students kicked out of a high school for threatening to bring a gun to school. Why would they? Because people were prejudice against them because other students thought they were “losers”. Moral: You shouldn’t not like a person because they aren’t like you. Prejudice was far much worse in the time period of To Kill A Mockingbird. But, Prejudice is the reason for much social injustice. Three characters named Nathan Radley, Atticus Finch, and Aunt Alexandria show us this in the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird.
An example of characters that portray racism is a woman named Lula. Lula is an African American who attends Calpurnia’s church and she shows that even the people who are subjected to racism are racist themselves. Lula scolds Calpurnia for bringing white children to their church. “Lula stopped, but she said, ‘You ain't got no business bringin' white chillun here—they got their church, we got our'n. It is our church, ain't it, Miss Cal?’”(P112). In this quote, Scout and Jem experience racism for the first time. Lula is a victim of racism but is racist back to them. Even though Scout and Jem aren’t colored, they felt how it feels to be discriminated because of how they look or where they come from. They are put into a unique situation because they are the objects of someone’s racism, and that normally doesn’t happen. However, Lulu isn’t the only character in the book that shoes racism. Majorities of the people who live in Maycomb are racist. "She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a bl...
...960, when racial tensions were running high and while some people were pushing for equality, others were pushing back just as hard. This novel allowed readers to step into the shoes of a child, whose mind was untainted by hate or fear, and understand that prejudice is an unfounded school of thought that cannot stand up to higher thinking. This unique insight into how prejudice and a lack of education coincide is how Nelle “Harper” Lee wrote a novel that is still impacting American lives.
How would you like it if someone walked up to you and berated you based on the color of your skin? A characteristic like that isn’t even something you can control, so an insult of that nature can leave one furious and oppressed. Discrimination is inevitable in any culture, throughout history, in modern times, and even in ancient times. For example, the oppression and murder of 6 million Jewish people during the Holocaust, the African Slave Trade which occurred for multiple centuries, and more recently, the “ethnic cleansing” of Rohingya people in Myanmar, brought on by the government of the Asian nation, all of which are tragedies doomed to happen when history repeats itself and people do not learn
Prejudice is arguably the most prominent theme of the novel. It is directed towards groups and individuals in the Maycomb community. Prejudice is linked with ideas of fear superstition and injustice.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, many different themes come into view. One major theme that played a big role in the character’s lives is racial prejudice. Racism is an unending problem throughout the book. The song “Message from a Black Man” by The Temptations has many similarities to the theme of racial discrimination. Therefore, both the novel and the song prove that racism was a great obstacle for some people at a point.
Prejudice as defined by the Merriam Webster’s Dictionary is, “a feeling of like or dislike for someone or something especially when it is not reasonable or logical.”prejudice is prevalent through many of the characters in the book. Scout, is the book’s narrator and is 7 at the beginning of the book. Her father, Atticus is a lawyer in the town of Maycomb, where the story takes place. Tom Robinson, a black character, is also very important throughout the plot of the book. Tom was accused of raping a white girl, Mayella and was sentenced to a trial which the book centers around. Throughout Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, she implies that prejudice, whether it be social
Prejudice is a real life problem in the world. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee describes the prejudices found in a small American town in the 1930's. Race, social class, and gender are examples of prejudice.
Jem and Scout haven’t experienced racism first hand until that point. The people in the church felt like if they aren’t welcome in the white peoples “territory” they shouldn’t be allowed to come in theirs. Throughout the novel Atticus tried his best to have his kids be aware of the reality in Maycomb. One of his goals was to teach his kids about equality. “’You aren’t really a nigger-lover, then, are you?’
Racism. racism is the prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race, based on the belief that one's own race is superior. This belief has been around for many years, ever since the beginning of humanity. Many experts say that racism started in the colonial era and is know starting to diminish. Nonetheless there are still people who believe in the supremacy of their race and think someone's ethnicity makes up their personality. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee the people of Maycomb treat African Americans like they're second class citizens. In this Novel, Lee expresses one’s appearance doesn't change people of other ethnicities character and opinions. In which Lee means your appearance can’t change
Discrimination based on race is a huge part of this story, particularly based on skin color. Tom Robinson is the main point of this type of discrimination, as he’s a black man who’s been accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman. Atticus explains to Jem how the jury is unfair by saying "There's something in our world that makes men lose their heads --they couldn't be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins.
A small African-American boy sees his friend in the park, but can't spend time with him because they are not the same skin color. Maybe his parents did not want everyone in the town knowing that they were letting their child play with white folk, or he was afraid of what his parents would say if they were getting along, regardless of what the rest of the town thinks. Little did this boy know that he would soon be accused of a crime he never committed. This was the life of those with a different skin color in the 1930s. In To Kill a Mockingbird and the Scottsboro trials, racism not only affected those involved, but also the town of where it was held. It would even affect the chances of those accused, which led them to try escape from a penitentiary during this time.
(Lee 9) Scout then feels betrayed because her family was acting harsh towards her because of her father. This shows how Francis believes that blacks and whites should be separated. A second example is when Calpurnia takes Scout and Jem to the black community church. When Jem and Scout get there, they want to leave because they don’t feel welcomed due to being the only white people there.