Atticus Discrimination Quotes

Prejudice will always be apart of human nature. Prejudice is when one has a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. Many citizens in the world do not realize they demonstrate prejudice in their life. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates prejudice through racism, social class, and sexism through certain characters, to emphasize not to judge a person before being placed in their shoes.

Throughout the story, we see Harper Lee critique our society and the things that prevent it from moving forward and one of those examples is race inequality. The book took place in between 1933-1935 in a town called Maycomb, Alabama where in a time racism was heavy. People were discriminated and even killed just based on the color of their skin. Knowing this, Harper Lee grew up experiencing these events. In the story Lee states, “…the evil assumption—that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber, and “That institution, gentlemen, is a court. It can be the Supreme Court of the United States or the humblest J.P. court in the land, or this honorable court which you serve. Our courts have their faults, as does any human

The first influence on Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is the Jim Crow laws. The Jim Crow laws were a set of rules that perpetuated racism and segregation. These rules were sickening and appalling. The Jim Crow laws were made to keep Blacks from interacting with Whites. For example, if a white woman were to fall a black man could not offer her, his hand to help her up because it was considered rape (Pilgrim 2). Many scientists and religious leaders justified these laws. One reason was that scientist thought that black peoples brains were inferior to those of white people. Also, many religious leaders believed that Whites were the chosen people and Blacks were just there to serve them (Pilgrim 2). If you were not following these laws, there were sever consequences. People believed these punishments were necessary to “keep Blacks in their place”. One example is mass lynching. This punishment is when a mob of people would take a black person, accused of breaking a rule, and beat them, torture them, and kill them. The police didn’t just not stop these rampages, often they would participate. The Jim Crow laws can be seen in To Kill a Mockingbird in many ways. One of the laws was that a black person could not say that a white person was lying (Pilgrim). This is shown in the book when Tom is accused of calling Mayella a liar, by Mr. Gilmer (Lee 224).

There are countless themes that are in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, but the themes that stand out most are bravery, stereotyping, and the most essential theme courage. "I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway, and you see it through no matter what."

In To Kill A Mockingbird, there are many examples of racism throughout the book. Starting from citizens in town to in the court during the case. At the beginning of the book, the kids in Maycomb were messing around trying to figure out Boo Radley. They heard many rumors about how awful he was so they just assumed he was a terrible person. One of the stories they heard was about how Boo was locked up. In To Kill A Mockingbird, it states, the ¨The sheriff hadn't the heart to put him in jail alongside Negroes, so Boo was locked in the courthouse basement (Lee 14).¨ This quote shows how the community viewed Boo but also this quote shows racism because it says that the sheriff would not put Boo next to a Negro which can be viewed as Negroes are

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.

Prejudice is one of the world’s greatest struggles. It does not only hold society back, but is harmful to the people who do good .In Harper Lee’s book To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout and Jem live through and witness prejudice and racism in the small town of Maycomb. They see someone wrongly accused of a crime because of his race. Scout and Jem also witness and take part in prejudice against a man no one knows anything about. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee uses characterization to show the negative effects of prejudice and racism.

Rosa Parks once famously said, “Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.” Through the use of this quote, Rosa Parks stresses the importance of making one’s children aware of racism. More specifically, Rosa Parks wishes for others to make their children aware of the negative impact racism could have to themselves and the people around them. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, a constantly recurring topic is racism. Racism appears throughout many scenarios in the book and is the reason Tom Robinson is on trial for the rape of Miss Mayella Ewell. Racism, although a negative societal issue, affects maturing children by providing them insight into not only the society around them but,

Discrimination, it has been part of human nature for a long time, especially relevant subject in literature such as To Kill a Mockingbird. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the main character of Scout Finch was exposed to different types of discrimination as she grows up. Discrimination affected the lives of characters in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mocking Bird because of society’s prejudicial views of race, gender, and class.

Courage is the ability to do something in the face of pain, grief or fear. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus serves as an example of true courage to the town when he shoots the sick dog Tim Johnson, defends Tom Robinson in his legal troubles and allows Mr. Ewell spit in his face.

Well, the basic message is that this quote lies in life lessons and responsibilities. Atticus wants to teach this lesson to younger audiences. The quote has the fact that people can't live with himself or herself. So, a person who doesn't live by their own beliefs will be taken over by their own mind or consciousness.

In the community of Maycomb Atticus is criticized by the way he talks to people and how responsible he could be. When Atticus had called Mayela ma'am and Ms. Mayella got offended. She became offended because she thought atticus was mocking her, she had criticized him for the way he talked to her. The way he was talking to her he was trying to show respect and was trying to be respectful to Mayella. "I got somethin' to say an' then I ain't gonna say no more. That nigger yonder took advantage of me an' if you fine fancy gentlemen don't wanta do nothin' about it then you're all yellow stinkin' cowards, stinkin' cowards, the lot of you. Your fancy airs don't come to nothin'—your ma'amin' and Miss Mayellerin' don't come to nothin', Mr. Finch-" This quote shows that Mayella is somewhat offended by Atticus calling her ma'am and that she doesn't expect much of him.

Discrimination has always affected people to a certain extent in society. Whether it be in the form of class or racial discrimination, people experience it in their everyday lives. In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee illustrates the dangers of judging others before getting to know who they are. She demonstrates discrimination through social classism, gossip, and racism and how these things can lead people to judge others before they know their story.

Family and Society affects one’s identity. One’s perspective of the world changes based on the impact of one’s family and society. Scout, a young girl who is curious about everything, starts to express her understanding to Atticus: "Well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it" (Lee 370)?

Throughout the novel, the author writes about how Scout is viewed as a girl, which is a gender issue, how the Cunningham are seen by the people of Maycomb, which is a class issue and how Tom Robinson’s case is only about racial differences itself, which is a racial issue. These examples help contribute to proving the main idea that prejudice and its consequences like hiding the truth and destroying hope are extremely deadly to mankind. Prejudice has been around human history for centuries now. Through To Kill a Mocking Bird, Harper Lee expresses the issues that involve prejudice and expresses her dream that one day, the destruction and blinding of prejudice will be gone. Just like Bram Fisher has said, the prejudice of mankind must be removed, so this way, the glaring injustice can be there for everyone to