Examples Of Discrimination In To Kill A Mockingbird

In To Kill a Mockingbird racial prejudice can be seen when you look at the way blacks and whites treat each other. Different people express and experience racial prejudice in their own ways. No matter who does the hating it is still

In the story “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, the main character Scout realizes the town she lives in is full of bias and prejudice toward negros. Scout, the only daughter of lawyer Atticus Finch, is faced with the activism that follows this prejudice when her father decides to defend a negro, Tom Robinson, in the court of law. She is constantly harassed and tormented by the residence of their small town, Maycom. What Lee is trying to show through these events is that people are always going to have prejudices, and sometimes these prejudices come from the people you least expect it form. In the story, neighbors, friends, and family all show their prejudices about the defendant Tom Robinson to Scout, who finally realize the world isn’t perfect but is, in fact, full of flaws and prejudices.

Imagine being persecuted your entire life. Having to constantly respect someone even though they were rude to you. This is what many African-Americans had to go through during the 1930’s. Racism is a major aspect in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The main character, Scout, has to deal with this problem everyday. Bob Ewell, Mr. Cunningham, and other characters are very racist, and don’t approve of Atticus defending a “Negroe”. This causes Scout to be bullied in school and even attacked by Mr. Ewell. Also, characters such as Tom Robinson are negatively affected by racism in Maycomb. Tom is killed just because of his skin color. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee’s use of point-of-view, irony, and symbolism help to develop

Jem has been sheltered from the amount of racism in Maycomb, but during the trial he sees the communities true colors. Jem has always known that there were blacks in Maycomb because Calpurnia had lived with them and

Prejudice should not exist in this world. But unfortunately, it does and it always will somehow. The book, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is an inspiring book and brings out hard truths about how the world used to be, about the great depression, and in some aspects how it still is today. It follows a girl named Scout and her family through three years of her childhood. Her father, Atticus Finch, took on a very big challenge to defend a negro for raping a girl. The book sort of revolves around this event. Prejudice is in many different forms of discrimination. Throughout the book it is demonstrated by race, class, and gender.

Racism has been a big part of the human race ever since people were born. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the townspeople of Maycomb, Alabama misjudge the African-Americans of their town. They treat them like trash, and some people even think they are just filthy beings. Clearly, then, racism has had many ubiquitous effects on many of Maycomb's citizens.

Along with these stereotypes comes racism. Jem and Scout first experience racism against them when Calpurnia takes them to her church one Sunday. Another member of Calpurnia’s church berates Calpurnia for bringing Jem and Scout into an all-black church. Calpurina refuses to let berating change her mind about allowing the children to attend her church. Rather than allow the children to go home as Jem suggests, Calpurnia challenges the racism against white people and proclaims that the children are her “comp’ny” (Lee 158). Throughout the novel Calpurnia models the respect that Atticus expects his children to show. Calpurnia complies with her hospitality whenever she is given the opportunity. In his article “Race in To Kill a Mockingbird” Chris Gonzalez refers to Calpurnia’s hospitality as “a great equalizer of

The kids are exposed to racial prejudice throughout To Kill a Mockingbird. One example of racial prejudice is how Dolphus Raymond’s children don’t fit in anywhere because the African American race is prejudice towards the whites and the whites are prejudice towards the blacks, so the kids become outcasts. Jem explains this to Scout in the book: “He’s half white. They’re really sad...They don’t belong anywhere. Colored folks won’t have ‘em because they’re half white; white folks won’t have ’em cause they’re colored, so they’re just in-betweens, don’t belong anywhere” (Lee, 215) This shows how the kids didn’t do anything wrong but society doesn’t accept them. Another example of one races prejudice towards the other race in the book is the trial. The trial clearly shows racial prejudice by the whites to the African Americans. There is only circumstantial evidence in the trial and Atticus clearly proves that Tom Robinson is innocent

Racism is shown in many ways throughout the novel. In the novel, it states “ Your father's no better than the n****** and trash he works for ”(Lee,135) Mr.Dubose tells Jem this and this shows racism towards Tom Robinson and hatred towards Atticus for representing Tom in court. “ Aunt Alexandra tells Atticus that he shouldn't have let the children watch the trial, and Atticus retorts, "they might as well learn to cope with it. ... It's as much Maycomb County as missionary teas." Atticus symbolically refers to the missionary teas as being just as racist as the trial. Racism does appear in the everyday lives of most

One person is Mrs. Dubose when she stated that “Not only a Finch waiting on tables but one in a courthouse lawing for niggers”(Lee 117). This shows that some people didn’t want Atticus helping Tom at all and that he should just throw away the trial. This is what Mrs. Dubose wanted and she also thought that by doing what Atticus is doing, he was ruining the family, much like what she thought about Scout. Another character to voice his opinion was Francis when he said “I guess it ain’t your fault if Atticus is a nigger-lover”(Lee 94). This states that even some of the finch family is prejudice liking what Atticus is doing. The prejudice runs deep enough that family is starting to turn on one another. These things show that words have a strong impact on

According to the United Nations Foundation, 62 million girls around the world are refused education and mentorship programs, such as Step Up, helps to maintain girls in school to get them closer to achieve their dreams. The novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, focuses on the lives of Jem and Scout, as Scout retells three years of her childhood in the span of 372 pages. The story is about growing up in Alabama during the 1930s, after the Great Depression. During this era, there happened to be rampant discrimination, as such, there was also the same level of discrimination in the small fictional location of Maycomb County. Through the eyes of Scout, readers see how her father, Atticus, is very passionate and dedicated to his

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.

Prejudice is a very prominent motif throughout To Kill A Mockingbird. Harper Lee conveys the message that prejudice deprives us of understanding reality and the world around us. One of the most noticeable cases is the prejudice against Tom Robinson due to his skin color. In the trial, the jury had agreed Tom was guilty because of his race, even though there was no substantial evidence to prove so. Atticus knows the men on the jury are blinded by prejudice and racism, so he says to them, “The witnesses for the state...have presented themselves to you gentlemen...in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted...on the assumption that all Negroes lie” (273). Although the men of the jury understood that the Ewell’s testimonies

Another example of racism in the story is with the character Calpurnia. She is the housemaid for the Finches. She is treated with respect and is like a mother for Scout and Jem. However, Aunt Alexandra, sister of Atticus, does not want Calpurnia to be in the household. When Scout asked if she can go to Calpurnia’s church, which is a church for black people, Alexandra emphatically said no. Alexandra asked Atticus why he has not hasn’t gotten rid of Calpurnia from the household, but Atticus said in response that he will never get rid of her.

There are multiple examples of prejudice and racism throughout To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. During the course of the novel, numerous characters experience terrible and demeaning examples of prejudice. Even though the Jim Crow Laws are contemporaneous with the Great Depression, there are still many different examples of racism and prejudice present throughout the 1930’s.