Examples Of Discrimination In To Kill A Mockingbird

Throughout the classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee, express the general idea of growing up by illustrating a story of three children living in a time of oppression, racism, and survival in the 1930’s of South. Lee tries to teach people throughout her book that all people are equal no matter their skin color, financial state, or gender. Like Atticus Finch, the father of Jem, and Scout, and the defence lawyer for Tom Robinson said "if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." (chapter 3) This statement is often used throughout the

In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee talks about the small sleepy town of Maycomb. Most people didn't leave, and most people don't come to stay for long. Macomb is ware Jem, Scout, and Dill spend their long summers days looking for adventure. Jem and Scouts father Atticus was a lawyer. In this time racism was present especially since they lived in the South in Alabama. It was a big deal not only for the Finches but for the town that Atticus was defending an African American man accused of rape. This affected the Finch family greatly, because of what people were saying to Atticus and his children about him and the case. Atticus made it a point not to let these comments bother him or his children.

The text “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee presents a large number of challenges, prompting the reader to respond to central ideas or events in the text. Segregation, the courthouse scene, and the trial outcome are all key events that provoke the reader to respond with strong negative reactions. Segregation is a common theme throughout the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" and is used by Harper Lee to highlight the social, racial, and economic divides within the society of Maycomb, Alabama. Through vivid descriptions and character interactions, Harper Lee paints a picture of a society in the 1930s, deeply divided along racial lines. The levels of racism in the 1930s versus the lower levels of racism in the present correspond with the decline

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.

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: unjust treatment of a different group of people or things. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, discrimination is visible. The one most identify with is racism, with a great deal of the story revolving Tom Robinson’s, a black man, jury case. Left in the shadows, though, is the prejudice of other characters, whom the community of Maycomb may find to be a bit on the outs. Whether it is their way of life or how they act, someone always pick up on it and calls them out. Atticus Finch is old compared to the rest of the parents of students at Scouts school, keeping him from activities like the Methodists vs Baptists football game. Boo Radley, making poor decisions as a teenager, is confined to his house twentyfour-seven and

“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

Discrimination and stereotypes are still involved in today's ever-growing society. People are judged by their race, gender, and, wealth; people are expected to act a certain way because of these things. In To Kill A Mockingbird it tells the readers about a small town, Maycomb, that faces many challenges because of how individuals are judged and treated. If someone were African American he/she would thought to be less of a person and were treated as if they were trash. If someone were to be a woman they were thought to be weak, emotional, and dramatic. If someone were poor he/she were thought to be dirty, rude and were treated like trash. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses stereotypes related to racism, gender, and wealth to teach her audience about how individuals were treated during the Great Depression.

As they were walking past Mrs. Dubose’s house, she accused them of making trouble and disapproved of Scout’s wardrobe by bellowing and saying“...‘And you—’ she pointed an arthritic finger at [her]—’what are you doing in those overalls? You should be in a dress and camisole, young lady!’ ” (Lee, 135). As far as the reader is aware of, Scout’s usual wardrobe consists of overalls and she is not a big fan of dresses, another indicator that she despises acting ladylike. Like Mrs. Dubose, Aunt Alexandra disapproves of Scout’s attire and is constantly telling her to change the way she dresses and acts, so she can act more like a girl and less like a boy. This is another situation from the book where a character is treated unequally from the others, simply because of their gender and because of the way they carry themselves. In attempts to convince Scout to dress more like a girl, Aunt Alexandra feeds her lies by telling her that dressing up in dresses would allow her “to be a ray of sunshine in [her] father’s lonely life” (Lee, page

Discrimination can be exhibited in many forms. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, we see numerous examples of prejudice that have a large impact on society. We come to realize that no form stands alone. In the novel, there are three main forms of discrimination, racism, sexism, and classism.

Discrimination is a very mean and hurtful type of bullying that is usually strongly associated with race or sex. It is one of the most hateful and offensive types of bullying that can one day hopefully be eliminated for good. In both To Kill a Mockingbird and The Help, discrimination is a very strong issue that both of the main characters react to differently. To Kill a Mockingbird is about the Finch family and their affairs in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. The Help is set in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960’s.

In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird racism was a problem in Maycomb. Atticus quoted, “There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads—they couldn’t be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins. They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life.” “Lee #224)

One is when Atticus brings Aunt Alexandra to teach Scout how to be a “lady.” It states, “‘We decided that it would be best for you to have some feminine influence. It won’t be many years, Jean Louise, before you become interested in clothes and boys.”(Lee 170). This shows that they are trying to make Scout a “lady” because they want her to be like a lady even though she is already a female. Secondly, Scout was yelled at by Jem because Jem wanted a Scout to be a “lady.” It states, “After one altercation when Jem hollered, ‘It’s time you started bein’ a girl and acting right’(Lee 153). This shows that Jem wants Scout to be a lady even though Jem wanted her to act like a boy earlier in the novel, which leads to the last quote. The last and final quote is when Jem says Scout’s acting too much like a girl. It states, “I was not so sure, but Jem told me I was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, that's why other people hated them so, and if I started behaving like one I could just go off and find some to play with”(Lee 54). This shows that Jem thinks that Scout is acting like a girl. This is a really important type of discrimination in To Kill a Mockingbird, but there is one more that is the most

In the book ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee, racism and social inequality are two central themes. Many different forms of social inequality coexist in the society depicted in the book, as the people of Maycomb are very rigid in their ways. This is because the book takes place in a time at which there was much racism and social inequality. In Maycomb, firstly there is discrimination between rich and poor white people, who do not often interact with each other. There is also racism against blacks by all white people in society, both rich and poor. Black people are denied basic rights and discriminated against in this town. Lastly, there is racism between the lowest classes of the community: poor white people and

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the people of Maycomb display the deep-rooted thinking that the worth of a person is determined by the color of their skin. Racial discrimination pervades the thinking of the people so that instead of judging the character of an individual, they judge by skin color. Instead of seeing right or wrong, they see black or white, creating an environment where injustice, suspicion, and hatred rules the actions of the citizens as a whole. Throughout the story, the theme of racism appears in the degrading way the white citizens talk about the black people, in the segregation of the town by color, and especially in the treatment of Tom Robinson in the courtroom.