Examples Of Discrimination In To Kill A Mockingbird

In our world, we have learned to celebrate our similarities, and tolerate our differences. Not everyone is content with the way we deal with one another, but the worst of us have become docile enough to blend in to our society. The key word in that, however, is "become"; humanity is notoriously slow to change, even in the slightest, and our lingering prejudice is what remains of racism that was the normality less than one hundred years ago. In Harper Lee's well-known novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, this discrimination is shown in copious amounts; Tom Robinson is killed without warning, and his body is abused far beyond what it took to stop him, all because of the colour of his skin. Dolphus Raymond, a perfectly good man, is dismissed as a drunken

This, however, is far from the worst of it; after being imprisoned for a time after his trial, he is moved to a larger prison. The hope of his defender, Atticus Finch, is that he could plead his case before a higher court, and hopefully prove his innocence at a later date. All these hopes are destroyed abruptly, however, with a few choice actions on the part of several individuals. The one the propagators are most eager to tell Atticus about, for example, is how Tom Robinson broke down and ran. He made it to the fence, and was shot trying to cross. In the words of the white man telling the story, ",". The truth, however, is rather more alarming. Tom Robinson attempts to escape, and, without issuing a warning, a guard draws a gun and shoots Tom seventeen times in the back. This stands in stark contrast to the story originally given to Atticus, which implies that the shots were given in the best interests of all. Why would they go to such lengths to prevent such a minor problem? The most likely reason, whatever they may say, is that they were simply too deeply rooted in their prejudice to consider the fact that the colour of one's skin does not control them. Their thoughts belong in their mind, not on their flesh. Everyone involved with the Tom Robinson case was willing to blind themselves to the obvious and kill an innocent man because the

If, for example, a white man was to love and marry a black woman, what would society think of him? If the story of Dolphus Raymond is any indication, then their thoughts would be nothing good. So many of his neighbours reject him as a human being- all because of the fact that he loved someone they disapproved of- that he decides he would rather be disregarded as a foolish drunk than be forced to bear the full weight of their accusations. He is known for stumbling around the fringes of the town, clutching a drink in a brown paper bag and avoiding crowds. Or, rather more accurately- avoiding crowds of white people; Scout even notices his voluntary segregation, and asks Jem, “‘why’s he sittin’ with the coloured folks?’ ‘Always does. He likes ‘em better’n he likes us, I reckon’”(214). Everyone assumes that Dolphus is a man fuelled by drink, mindlessly drowning his demons in bottle after bottle. What very few people have stopped to consider, however, is that Dolphus really is in full control of himself. He spread the rumours, then waited for this new image of himself to take over as he sat contentedly with his wife and children, holding a bottle of cola wrapped in a brown paper bag. After all, who could condemn a man whos alcohol content is, in their minds, higher