Prejudice as Poison in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird Prejudice is like a poison, it infects everything it touches. It can drive a white man and a black man to hate each other because their skins are different colours. In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, the town of Maycomb is plagued with prejudice against Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. The evidence in the text shows and implies how this prejudice dominates the thoughts of Maycomb’s citizens. Tom Robinson was convicted of rape because the citizens of Maycomb would never believe a black man over two white people. This is implied in the text when Atticus explains to Jem that Tom was convicted because if “it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins” (Lee
295) and that this is one of the “facts of life” (295). If a citizen of Maycomb can consider such a racist act a fact, then it is implied that almost every one in Maycomb would have convicted Tom even if hundreds of black people swore he never raped Mayella. This extreme racism shows one way that prejudice was present in the town of Maycomb. Boo Radley is another example of how prejudice manifested in Maycomb because many citizens believed he was a psychopath and refused to believe otherwise. An example of this in the text is when an unknown culprit mutilated people’s pets. Everyone initially suspected Boo but the culprit turned out to be Crazy Attie. However, people “still looked at the Radley Place, unwilling to discard their initial suspicions” (10-11). If the citizens of Maycomb were willing to treat Boo like he was guilty for a crime they know he probably didn’t commit, they are highly affected by prejudice. This example shows that prejudice was not only present in Maycomb; it shows that people let it cloud their judgment. In conclusion, the treatment of Tom Robinson and Boo Radley received from the citizens of Maycomb; show how prejudice can spread like a plague. If the citizens had put aside their prejudice, Tom and Boo would not have been miss-judged. Maycomb County may be a fictional place, but it could also be a statement from the author about humanity. If Maycomb County represents humanity and prejudice represents poison, humanity will cease to exist with prejudice.
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is considered a “rare American novel that can be discovered with excitement in adolescence and reread into adulthood without fear of disappointment” (National Endowment of the Arts). The ideas of racism, hatred, and bigotry run throughout the entire work, and though these are common themes throughout the work, the concepts of isolation and stereotyping are two that can often become overshadowed by Tom Robinson’s guilty verdict. Two characters of the work- Boo Radley and Walter Cunningham- are the characters that the ideas of isolation and stereotyping impacts the most.
In the novel, ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee some characters suffer in the hands of justice and fairness more than others. Many characters in the novel are discriminated against such as Calpurnia, Dolphus Raymond, Helen Robinson, Burris Ewell and more. However I will be focusing on the discrimination against Tom Robinson for his race, Walter Cunningham for his low socioeconomic status and Boo Radley for the rumors and supposed mental instability he holds. I chose those three because they are the most prominent and I will discuss how the discrimination against the characters therefore leads to their injustice or unfairness.
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, published in 1960, is a novel which explores the theme of challenging racial prejudice. Within this novel, Lee has portrayed unintentional racial prejudice through the characters Atticus Finch, Link Deas and Scout Finch. With these characters, and their roles in exploring the theme of racial prejudice, Harper Lee has set unintentional boundaries for readers, as result, racial prejudicial thinking from contemporary perspective, in comparison to historical views, is challenged to a small extent.
Sometimes, people discriminate one thing, but strongly oppose the discrimination of another thing. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, this issue is very much expressed throughout the story. This thought-provoking story takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during a time when there’s a rape trial against a falsely accused African American named Tom Robinson. There is also a discrimination, of sorts, towards a man named Boo Radley, by three young children named Jeremy “Jem” Finch, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, and Charles “Dill” Baker Harris. Both Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are similar in their own ways through their inherent goodness.
Harper Lee sheds light upon the controversy of racism and justice in his classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. The notion of equality in accordance to the law and the pursuit of justice are hindered by racial discrimination. The essential essence of human nature is pondered. Are we inclined to be good or in the wrath of evil? The novel reflects on the contrasting nature of appearance versus reality.
Scout's perception of prejudice is evolved through countless experiences in Harper Lee's, To Kill a Mockingbird. Written in the nineteen thirties, To Kill a Mockingbird promotes the understanding of self-discovery through Scout, an intelligent and outspoken child living with respectable family in Maycomb County, Alabama. Throughout various encounters in the novel, Harper Lee causes Scout's perspective to change and develop from innocence to awareness and eventually towards understanding.
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.
A highly respected man named, Atticus, once said, " 'You never really understand a person until
A small city nestled in the state of Alabama, Maycomb has got its faults, just like any other place in the world, but one of its main faults or (pg.88) “Maycomb's usual disease,” as Atticus calls it in the book is prejudice. Jem and Scout learn a lot about prejudice when a black man named Tom Robinson is accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell and their father, Atticus, is called on to be his lawyer. They realize the hate that people have buried deep within their heart when they see a black man accused of doing something only because of his color. On pg.241, Scout starts understanding this and thinks, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.” As the case continues, up until the death of Tom Robinson, Jem and Scout learn more and more about prejudice and how the hate that people have towards others causes them to take wrong actions. They also see how unfair it is that a white man can get treated better and think of himself better than a black man only because he was born white. This prejudice and the trial cause Jem and Scout to get in argum...
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.
Racial prejudice is widespread in the county of Maycomb, and a prime example is the Tom Robinson case. Tom, a black man, was accused of raping Mayella, a white woman. Atticus puts forward all evidence from his witnesses that clearly proves Tom was innocent, Jem even says, ?and we?re gonna win Scout. I don?t see how we can?t? (pg 206), but Tom still received a ?Guilty? verdict. Atticus tried removing the prejudiced thoughts of the jurors by saying, ??the assumption - the evil assumption - that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings??. (pg 208). Atticus? saying insinuated the point that all of God?s children were created equal. To the jury, the only important thing was that Tom was black and the accuser was white, he never stood a chance under those conditions. These racial tensions between blacks and whites had made their way into the courtroom, a place where everyone should receive a fair trial no matter what race or colour, but an unjust verdict was reached. The prejudice that was felt towards Tom made him lose all hope of freedom, and as a result, he died upon an escape attempt. Tom was victim of racial prejudice and loss of hope.
"Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilized by education; they grow there, firm as weeds among stones"- Charlotte Brontë. Nearly every problem and unfortunate mishap in Harper Lee's, To Kill A Mockingbird, has been somehow revolved around prejudice or discrimination. Many different forms of prejudice are found throughout the novel, with racism, sexism, and classicism the most common. The residents of Maycomb have discrimination running through their veins and were raised to be racist and sexist, without realizing. They see nothing wrong with judging other people and treating people that they find inferior harshly. Prejudice is a destructive force because it separates the people of Maycomb, both physically and mentally.
Throughout her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows how unjust and racist American society was during the 1930s, and how dangerous racism can be. Through the characters of Mrs. Merriweather and Aunt Alexandra, Harper Lee shows how the people of Maycomb definitely didn’t favor blacks; they tried to avoid them. Mrs. Merriweather and Aunt Alexandra are representative of how the citizens of Maycomb are prejudiced and don’t like blacks. Mrs. Merriweather reports on how she’s supporting the Mrunas, a black tribe far away from Maycomb, but describes the blacks in her own town using insulting terms such as “a sulky darky.”
Scout develops throughout To Kill a Mockingbird a similar belief in human rights and respect like her father, Atticus. In her own way, she begins to comprehend the cruelty and inequality thrust upon black people. Scout has many epiphanies throughout the book that give her a better understanding of the racism in Maycomb. Scout's views on racial prejudice are largely formed as a result of the trial of Tom Robinson. Scout's life is relatively sheltered until the trial. She knows that blacks are segregated but their lives do not touch Scout except for Calpurnia. Scout really isn't exposed to the harsh realities of bigotry until the trial. She endures remarks about her father being a "n lover" and then finally the travesty of injustice that happens to Tom Robinson. For the most, Scout is confused by the racism. She just does not understand where the hate and bigotry comes from. Scout loses much of her innocence because of racial intolerance, but she matures at the end of the book and is not a racist.
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, we are introduced to the small town of Maycomb where the society at the time was extremely unaccepting and difference was frowned upon. Throughout the novel, Lee explores the ideas of fear, ignorance and hate through several events and characters. The fear of Boo Radley is caused by misunderstandings and ignorance. The segregation between the two races also further develops the idea that fear is the root of almost all hate. However, once the ignorance is removed, the fear and hate will also disappear along with it. Although the novel illustrates that fear of the unknown is what causes hate, there is still hope of a positive outcome.