Prejudice in To Kill A Mockingbird

Prejudice in To Kill A Mockingbird

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.

Back in the time period of To Kill A Mockingbird, blacks were referred to as “niggers”, and blamed for most things, even when they were innocent. An example of this is when a character named Nathan Radley hears someone in his cabbage patches. He shot his gun in the air and when people asked what happen, he automatically told them it was a “nigger”.
Even though he didn’t see the person. But, he knew the person was white by this quote someone said he said. “Shot in the air. Scared him though, says if anyone sees a white “nigger” running around here that’s him” (54). Meaning that he knows the person is white. Another thing is that some people even put animals above blacks, as told in the rest of the quote. “Got the other barrel waitin’ for the next hears in his patch, be it dog, “nigger”, or Jem Finch (a character) (54). Now he must have known it was Jem, or why would he have said his name? This shows that Mr. Radley didn’t have any respect for blacks.

Not only were blacks referred to as “niggers” but, anyone associated with them, except for slave masters, were called, “nigger” lovers. An example of this is that a character named Atticus Finch is defending a black person named Tom Robinson in court. Because he is doing this, most people in town are calling him a “nigger” lover. Not only are the adults saying it, but their children are saying it too. Since Atticus is defending this man, he has also tried to been jumped many time also. But Atticus makes a very interesting point during the court case. “The witnesses for the state have presented themselves to you gentlemen, to this court, in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted. Confident that you gentlemen, would go along with them on one assumption, the evil assumption, that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are immoral beings, that all Negroes are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption that of one mind of their caliber.