Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird takes us back to the 1930’s during the cruel Great Depression. Throughout the story a reader will be exposed to a world full of extremists in small town of Maycomb Alabama. Alabama is a place where everybody knows everybody’s business, and where discrimination permeates the town. The discrimination varies in this book from racial issues, to gender inequality, and people being judged because they are shut-ins that know one really knows. Discrimination was a problem and still is a problem, but the novel of To Kill a Mockingbird explores upon the different issues with discrimination. “Atticus said to Jem one day, ‘I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit'em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee pg 103). In the story, Atticus Finch, the father of Scout(the main character) and Jem Finch (Scout’s brother), is a lawyer and in the beginning of the story he takes a case defending a black man, named Tom Robinson in a rape trial. A little later in the chapter Miss Maudie Atkinson, the Finch’s close friend and neighbor explains, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee pg 103). People see Tom as a bluejay because of his color and how he is an outsider from the rest of the town, while he truly may be a Mockingjay and he might just make beautiful music for us to listen to. Later in the book a group of people go to try and kill Tom Robinson before the trial even starts just because he is black makes them think he raped someone and they won’t even listen to his defence. This shows how much hatred he is given for someone who can very well be innocent.
Another target of racial prejudice is, the Finch’s cook Calpurnia is black as well. Calpurnia is more than just a cook to the Finch’s she is a mother figure to both Scout and Jem, since they lost their mother so early on in life, Calpurnia is always there for the kids. Although Calpurnia is practically family, Atticus’s sister, Aunt
The act of prejudice is one that everyone experiences. Whether it be, a person who is distributing hate, or a person who is receiving hate, everyone has contact with it. Although it is present all over the globe, it is prominent in the United States. Both in the present and the past, endless acts of discrimination have taken place and left a monumental impact on the country. The effect that it leaves can be seen in the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. In this story, sexism, racism, and isolation, are demonstrated in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930’s. As the story progresses, Lee compares these concepts to one another and uses them to make a statement about the problematic nature in America.
Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, is a realistic story that deeply discusses issues involved with the 1930’s that still resonate today. The struggles of life are evident within the believable characters of Maycomb County which is a microcosm, reflective of universal issues. Along with the authentic characters, setting and style also helps to convey Lee’s controversial notions of racial and gender prejudice, and persecution of the innocent, discussing many other ideas within.
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.
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.
Harper Lee highlighted America’s discrimination, prejudices, and social hierarchal issues and created To Kill a Mockingbird, a semi-biographical novel. Even though the novel is set in the fictitious town of Maycomb, Alabama, it addresses some very real issues that are, unfortunately, still present in modern society. America has made many positive strides since 1930 to ensure equality and freedom for all, making the Dream more attainable for citizens, but we still have more improvements to make before the Dream is available to
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a complex literary work exploring several aspects of the human condition. Lee’s story is one based in the 1930’s, shortly before the Civil Rights Movement. Her novel ventures into the societal issues, such as racism and gender stereotyping, in their fictional town, Maycomb. One recurring theme throughout the narrative is the social adjustment of the citizens of Maycomb and the human race as a whole. Lee showcases the progress in social justice matters by using symbolism and motifs.
In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, prejudice and racism are embedded in the regional psyche of Maycomb, a miniscule town in Alabama. The narrator interpolates injustice and racism in Alabama during the 1930s, largely through the eyes of Scout, who was a child during this time, however, the adult Scout occasionally interjects with some adult observations. Furthermore, the citizens of Maycomb are stereotyped pervasively throughout the book. In Harper Lee’s To Kill Mockingbird, examples of racism, sexism, and social class are used to demonstrate how prejudice can corrupt a community.
“But now he’s turned out a nigger-lover we’ll never be able to walk the streets of Maycomb again. He’s ruining’ the family, that’s what he’s doing’.” (Lee 110). The power of hatred is one so strong, that it imprisons the Finches and African Americans of Maycomb County. In Alabama of 1920 to 1930, segregation is an established action of the Southerners, it’s a lifestyle. The slurs passed from the mouths of white Southerners and ending with the shooting of a black man, the ways of Maycomb County are ones seen as either shocking or common in today’s eyes. To Kill A Mockingbird is an eminent novel by Harper Lee that illustrates the aspects of discrimination and prejudice, tolerance and courage during a time in America where racial inequality
To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel, that offers a view of life through a young girl’s eyes. The novel is focused on two main themes which are racism and discrimination.
During the Great Depression, racism was a common practice in the southern states of the US. Negros and those who opposed the intolerance were often discriminated by the rest of the bias and ignorant society, who believed in white supremacy and superiority over the other races. Maycomb, a racist town, exemplify this discrimination, imperiously judging others they view as being dissimilar from themselves. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee, the author, weaves a brilliant story of prejudice, discrimination, and racism shown through the novel’s several characters and events, producing a mirror reflection of America’s racist society in the 1930’s.
Discrimination was a terrible problem that happened in the past, even still to this very day. Discrimination hurts people in many ways that can lead to suicide. It is a very difficult moment to deal with these days. They use plenty of discrimination in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird and the movie, The Help. The character Scout experienced tons of discrimination in her early childhood days that she had to deal with.
Race is an issue that has plagued our society for hundreds of years. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, race plays a big role in how people are treated. However, the issue of racial discrimination has not gone away, and African Americans are still being treated unjustly today. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird and the article “America Has a Big Race Problem” focus on the topic of racial inequality in America. In the novel, Robert Ewell is only considered better than the African Americans in town because “if scrubbed with lye soap in very hot water, his skin was white” (Lee 229).
INTERTEXTUAL STUDY Compare the ways in which the authors of both texts explore the idea of racism Racism has been a major problem in the world for hundreds of years and it has never been resolved nor it will never be resolved. Harper Lee’s 1960 novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, and Joel Schumacher’s 1996 film, A Time To Kill, both share similarities in the way racism is explored throughout both texts. Racial violence and discrimination are two major themes that are depicted within both texts, but the most important theme overall is the acceptance between the two races which is shown in both texts.
Discrimination can be defined as a “prejudiced or prejudicial outlook, action, or treatment” ("Discrimination." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 30 Dec. 2017.). Discrimination and prejudice are often what makes justice difficult to achieve and allows inequality to ensue, as is demonstrated in the film To Kill a Mockingbird, directed by Robert Mulligan, as well as in the film A Time to Kill, directed by Joel Schumacher.
Discrimination between men and women has been around for a long time. Women are offended discriminated simply because of their gender. In to kill a mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates that women are supposed to act proper and do what they are told. Scout is often discriminated against because of her tom boy style. Aunt alexandra is often criticizing Scout for her unladylike manner and is quick to point out her appearance suggesting she wears dresses instead of overalls. Scout is also criticized by her brother Jem. As Jem matures he criticizes Scout for her tomboy look and tells her to start acting like a girl. “Jem had acquired an alien set of values and was trying to impose them on me: several times he went so far as to tell me what to do.