To Kill A Mockingbird Prejudice

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Prejudice is when, “People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for” – Judge Taylor (page 92), To Kill a Mockingbird. In today’s society, it is a common occurrence, everyone experiences prejudice as no two are alike. Prejudice is a term meaning a pre-judgement of someone, affected by a combination of both truth and rumour, based on gender, race and social status. In, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee examines the impact of prejudice on Boo Radley, Mrs. Dubose and Tom Robinson through the perspective of Scout. The characters in the story have not in any way harmed anyone, nor did they go against the law. Yet, they were treated unreasonably because in Maycomb people only see the qualities that clash with their mediocre …show more content…

The children described her as the ‘meanest women ever lived’. Due to her daily ‘routine’, which refers to her harsh tone when she spoke to everyone, most of the people in Maycomb were left with a poor impression of her, and the children were despised of her. Especially when Mrs Dubose said that Atticus was, 'no better than the niggers and trash he works for' (page 55), Jem became intolerant of her offensive words and went to her house, and destroyed all her camellias with Scout’s baton. However, it was until Mrs. Dubose died, Jem realized what she had been dealing with was morphine addiction. By reading to her as a punishment, Jem and Scout were helping her to fulfil her wish which is to die ‘beholden to nothing and nobody’ (page 61). The ‘perfect camellia’ in which Mrs. Dubose left for Jem symbolizes purity and innocence. She did what she thought was right even when she knew she would lose. She was not the ‘meanest women’, in fact, she was the most courageous person in the …show more content…

Tom Robinson is a negro who was accused of raping a white girl named Mayella Ewell. Tom was subjected to be guilty of rape even before the actual trial runs. On the night Tom was moved to the Maycomb jail, a group of men surrounded the jail, aiming to take Tom out. One of the men in the group said, ‘you know what we want’. It was said to Atticus who was outside the jail and was the defense lawyer for Tom. The threatening tone in his speech implies that they were going to do something bad. It was a clear illustration of a lynch mob whereby a crowd of people intends to attack a person, whom they believed committed a serious crime without any legal proceedings. The idea of Tom being guilty before any prove of his innocence contrasts with the idea today. It portrays a fictional example of racial prejudice, and reinforcing the importance of social status in

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