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Historical aspects of killing a mockingbird
The history of killing a mockingbird
The history of killing a mockingbird
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Discrimination is prevalent in the story “To Kill a Mockingbird”, the most obvious being the excessive amount of racism (Lee). Racism is the easiest to see but there are more forms of discrimination (Lee). Boo Radley is ostracized from the community when truly nobody really knows him (Lee). People discriminate Scout for being a tomboy not a lady (Lee). The last one that no one ever thinks about is how reverse racism is seen when people threaten Atticus for defending Tom Robinson in court (Lee). Discrimination in any form is a controversial topic but everyone knows that it is not right to discriminate against people.
Racism is still a very controversial topic in today’s society but still not as bad as seen in the time period of “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Tom Robinson is in trial because a white man’s word over a black man’s word (Lee). Bob Ewell has told the Sheriff of the town that Tom Robinson raped his daughter which is a lie (Lee). The real story is his daughter Mayella asked Tom to get something for her where she could not reach and when he did she came on to him (Lee). When this happened Bob Ewell looked through the window, then Tom Robinson ran which makes him look guilty (Lee). Tom Robinson is eventually convicted of rape because the jury of this time is corrupted because most everyone at this time was racist (Lee). Recently in the news the clippers owner Donald Sterling was banned from the NBA for his lifetime because the racist remarks he had made in a voice recording (Chappell). Events like this still occur and still cause problems in today’s society even though there has been a lot done to try to make things equal between races since “To Kill a Mockingbird” was written .
In the story there are many ...
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...ot as common today as it was in “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Ostracizing someone in a community because they aren’t normal is common in both in the book and today. Discriminating is not right in any way. Everyone tries not to discriminate but sometimes we just can’t help it. Its human nature to have an opinion and when something goes against that opinion it usually leads to discriminating against someone or something.
Works Cited
Chappell, Bill. "Reactions To NBA's Ban Of Clippers Owner Donald Sterling." NPR. NPR, Apr.-May 2014. Web. 01 May 2014.
Jackson, Frannie. "8 Inspiring Quotes from To Kill a Mockingbird's Atticus Finch." Paste Magazine 1 May 2014: n. pag. Print.
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1960. Print.
"Notes on the Characters of To Kill a Mockingbird." Book Rags. N.p., 28 Jan. 2010. Web. 1 May 2014.
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.
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.
Imagine a world where anyone who was born with brown hair got to give orders to anyone born with blonde hair. If you're born with brown hair, you could have better careers and the better education whereas the blondes wouldn’t even been given a fair court trial. If something like this happened overnight, there would be a huge uproar, but what if it happened over time and generations grew to accept it? Eventually, people would start to argue that brown haired people were naturally superior to blondes. If you were living in a tiny town in the Deep South, such as Maycomb, you’d have even less of a reason to question the status quo. Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird is trying to teach his kids, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view- until you climb in his skin and walk around in it.” Furthermore, the largest forms of discrimination in the novel are racism and classism.
First, Racism and prejudice are examples of narrow-mindedness. There are many cases of racism in To Kill a Mockingbird, or as Atticus calls it “Maycomb’s usual disease”. Most of the characters in the book conformed to racism, and like Atticus said, “Only the children weep” when there are racism problems. Aunt Alexandra displays her racial discrimination when she gets upset because Calpurnia let Scout and Jem go to her church. Even their cousin, Francis, calls Atticus a “nigger-lover”. Mrs. Dubose says, “Your father’s [Atticus’s] no better than the niggers and trash he works for!” (135). We’ve made some major steps from racism, such as Obama becoming president, but it still exists. If you are a poor black person being on trial for a crime you can’t afford a good lawyer, so you are even more likely to ...
The novel TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee has numerous accounts of racism and prejudice throughout the entire piece. The novel is set in the 1930's, a time when racism was very prevalent. Although bigotry and segregation were pointed in majority towards blacks, other accounts towards whites were also heard of, though not as commonly. There are acts that are so discreet that you almost don't catch them, but along with those, there are blatant acts of bigotry that would never occur in our time. Lee addresses many of these feelings in her novel.
First of all, Bob Ewell shows discrimination against Tom Robinson through the claim of his daughter’s rape committed by Tom, which was proven to not have happened, and the use of the derogatory term “nigger”. Secondly, Miss Maudie shows racism to the African American population by referring to an African-American in Nathan Radley’s collard patch as a “negro”, a derogatory term. Thirdly, Nathan Radley shows discriminatory racism toward the same African-American in his collard patch mentioned in the previous sentence by shooting at him, which was a failed attempt, and referring to him as a “nigger”, an offensive insult directed at African-American people. Finally, Aunt Alexandra shows sexism toward Scout by implying that she isn’t a “proper lady” unless she wears and does whatever Aunt Alexandra perceives as ladylike. In conclusion, there are many, many examples of discrimination towards people of all walks of life in To Kill A Mockingbird, the most prominent of them being racism and sexism. Discrimination is a horrible thing to be inflicted with and the human race should all work together to exterminate it from its source: us. We must keep an open mind to accept people of all races, religions, genders, sexualities, cultures, and personalities to make the world a more welcoming and friendly place for
Lee, Harper. "Chapter 11." To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: Harper & Row, 1960. 113. Print.
The story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee portrays many different scenarios of racial discrimination. Discrimination occurs in the book and many people are affected by the racial slurs and other occurrences. In the story, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, Atticus Finch, and Tom Robinson are all people that are discriminated against or are affected by discrimination. Racial discrimination is a major part of To Kill a Mockingbird.
... is still alive but is not as widely accepted as it once was. In the society we live in today it does not matter age, gender, or ethnicity, we should all be treated with the same rights. Although this is the way it should be, society will always contain racism although it has diminished greatly compared to the time when To Kill A Mockingbird was written.
In a desperate attempt to save his client, Tom Robinson, from death, Atticus Finch boldly declares, “To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white” (Lee 271). The gross amounts of lurid racial inequality in the early 20th century South is unfathomable to the everyday modern person. African-Americans received absolutely no equality anywhere, especially not in American court rooms. After reading accounts of the trials of nine young men accused of raping two white women, novelist Harper Lee took up her pen and wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, a blistering exposition of tragic inequalities suffered by African Americans told from the point of view of a young girl. Though there are a few trivial differences between the events of the Scottsboro trials and the trial of Tom Robinson portrayed in To Kill a Mockingbird, such as the accusers’ attitudes towards attention, the two cases share a superabundance of similarities. Among these are the preservation of idealist views regarding southern womanhood and excessive brutality utilized by police.
In conclusion racism is everywhere nowadays. The book to kill a mockingbird is actually slightly similar to what's happening to date. Both in the book and today people of different races are being accused of crimes that they may or may have not committed. No one should be judged by their race, religion, or skin
Discrimination based on religion was targeted by the Radley family. According to To Kill A Mockingbird, “Foot-washers believe anything that’s pleasure is a sin… sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whiskey bottle in the hand of—oh, of your father.” (Lee 59). Miss Maudie explains to Scout through the comparison of an alcoholic to a religious extremist that Mrs. Radley takes the bible too literally and targets others for not following the same religious views as her. Miss Maudie describes her as a foot-washer Baptist because Mrs. Radley sees people that enjoy being outdoors and women being independent like Miss Maudie. Discrimination against the Radley’s is also present in the novel. The Radley’s don’t attend church on Sundays
In 1960, a novel was written to outline injustices and racism against those who were innocent, though unfairly judged because of social expectations and prejudiced beliefs. This novel not only presented these issues, but is also considered a revolutionary piece of literature, still being read by many people today, more than 50 years later. The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, has caused some controversy about the intents of the book and the way certain people or groups are presented. Whether To Kill a Mockingbird as a narrative outshines the issue it presents is a debatable argument. However, I believe that the narrative of the novel supports the concerns exhibited for numerous reasons. In what follows, some of these are presented: the historical
Discrimination played a big role in the 1930s and throughout the development of the novel, and still is not completely diminished in the 21st century. Sexism, classicism, and racism all typified the many relationships in To Kill A Mockingbird, from Aunt Alexandra wanting Scout to become a lady, to Tom Robinson's unfair court trial. Prejudices are formed because of the level of ignorance people have when they believe everything they hear from their peers without bothering to be fertilized with education, leading to a division within communities, physically and mentally.
How would you feel if you were in Maycomb being treated with so much disrespect? Racism, class, and gender are some of the forms that will be talked about, and these are the different forms of discrimination used in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Atticus, Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, Scout, Jem, the Ewells, Mr. Dolphus Raymond, and the Black Community are all being discriminated in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” These people will be talked about in this essay. Also think about how you would feel if you were judged even if you are a kid.