Examples of Prejudice in To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee

Prejudice is an opinion based on stereotypes and not actual experience and discrimination is unjust treatment of people based on race, sex and age. In “To Kill a Mockingbird” there are multiple cases of discrimination and prejudice. One example is the trial of Tom Robinson. Some might think that prejudice and discrimination lead to positive outcomes in the novel but in fact, it leads to the opposite. Prejudice and discrimination lead to negative outcomes because it provides a way to judge people based on stereotypes and not actually meeting the person, people who did discriminate get angry with people who don’t, and it causes people to lose their innocence.

Society has progressed throughout the 21st century with prejudice still being a major issue. Despite all measures taken to avoid it, people constantly find reasons to hate. Prejudice comes in different forms, prejudice against gender, race, skin colour or class. Prejudice impacts society greatly because of the emotion it invokes as seen in To Kill a Mockingbird. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is about a Maycomb family that grows up during racist times and must overcome difficulties together in their prejudiced world. In To Kill a Mockingbird, three types of prejudice are displayed that affect the character’s actions and emotions, sexism, racism and social inequality.

The novel “To Kill a Mocking Bird” is based in the fictional small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. When slavery and the Civil War were still present in the people’s way of living and the civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s are far from close. The novel focuses on the Finches: Scout, her brother Jem, and their father Atticus, and the trial of Tom Robinson and how it affected them and the town. Witnessing the injustice of Tom Robinson’s trial changed Scout Finch in many ways. Scout learns that there is more than one type of courage, she learns about race and its complexity, and she also changes how she views the people around her by putting herself

One way that prejudice is shown throughout To Kill a Mockingbird is gender. An example of this is that Scout is told that she has to wear a dress on multiple

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.

Harper Lee, author of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, acknowledged the prejudice in 1930’s America. This novel won the Pulitzer Prize for its strength in upholding the prejudice in a small town in the south. To Kill a Mockingbird is set in a town called Maycomb, where a family of three and their cook lives and deals with this animosity everyday. Atticus, the father, is a well-respected lawyer and Alabama state legislator. He chooses to defend African American Tom Robinson against charges of assault against Caucasian Mayella Ewell. Although Atticus knows that he would not win the case, he still wants to defend Tom to teach his children, Jem and Scout, a valuable lesson. Harper Lee made the right decision in having Atticus Finch defend Tom Robinson; however, the decision came with consequences (Lee).

Prejudice is seen throughout the world in many forms even after the Civil Rights Movement. To Kill a Mockingbird shows the extreme prejudice that African Americans were faced with at that time period. This book shows prejudice through character interactions.

Prejudice and discrimination is looked down upon, yet people still continue to be judgmental and have preconceived assumptions about others. It is a common thing that still happens in today’s society. To be particular, racial discrimination is one example of prejudice and is based solely on the color of one’s skin. In the story To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson is a caring individual who tries his hardest to treat everyone he meets with appreciation and respect. However, he is African American, which influences him and the other characters' lives in different ways. All he wants to do is help out another character, Mayella, which inevitably costs him his life in the end. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the character of Tom Robinson to illustrate the fact that innocent people are sometimes victimized to a racist society.

In the dictionary, prejudice is defined as a pre-judgment formed about something or someone. This word is far more complex than its definition but is highlighted in great depth in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. For instance, pre-judgments were formed about nearly every character in the book including Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley. Due to the fact Tom Robinson is stereotyped by Maycomb because of his skin color, he is prejudged by many of the people in Maycomb, Alabama. Scout, Mr. Gilmer, and Bob Ewell are just a few examples of people who prejudged Tom Robinson.

I have gathered you all here today, because recent events have really had the whole town in uproar… I thought I should remind y’all that Just because their are folk… white folk… that would discriminate against us coloured… that would go out of out their way to cause us trouble… Does not mean, we should prejudice these people and expect them all to commit such acts upon us all. Myself personally, rasin’ two white children, and tendin’ to their property, I ‘ave begun to truly see, that there are those who would help, and who would look out for our kind in times ‘o trouble. Mr Finch for instance, Is a man of kindness, a man who would fight for coloured folk in court even if he knew the odds were against him. I can bet that there be plenty ‘o other folks, who would treat us like human bein’s... Now… I been hearin’ crazy talk about startin’ a riot.

In the past people were filled with prejudice and racism, but there was still good people. The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee was written in 1960, but set during the 1930’s. During this time the United States was going through a hardship known as “The Great Depression”. Another terrible act during this time was the mistreatment and segregation of African Americans. These things brought about prejudice people who did not want kind people to be free. Among the hate and distrust in To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus, Mr. Raymond, and Calpurnia are the least prejudice.

Prejudice and To Kill a Mockingbird In today’s world, prejudice still exists in the form of racism, bias, and discrimination. In the United States, racism is present against people of color (non-whites), and in South Africa, this racism exists as xenophobia. Prejudice is a bias, not based upon reason or real experience. It is a preconception of an individual, or a specific group.

Setting demonstrates the reasoning behind why Maycomb is so prejudice. Scout Finch described the setting with the following words towards the beginning of the novel, “Maycomb was the county seat of Maycomb County… Atticus’ office in the courthouse contained a checkerboard and an unsullied code of Alabama” (Lee 5). The quote reveals the setting, which is located in Alabama, a southern region of the United States. Southern states tended to support slavery and were often regarded as racist. Alabama was especially notorious for hating African Americans.

“To Kill a Mockingbird” is a novel written by Harper Lee. It is set in America in the 1930s during the Great Depression, a time of economic decline after World War II. The novel follows a young girl called Scout Finch and her brother Jem as they learn about the prejudice and racism within their society of Maycomb County. The children and their widowed father, Atticus have a unique relationship that includes the teaching of valuable life lessons and unusual, maternal nurturing.

"To Kill a Mockingbird," by Harper Lee, undoubtedly is one of the greatest novels of all time. Set in Alabama during the Great Depression era, a young girl, nicknamed Scout, is faced with many prejudices that the South holds. She has to deal with this even more so when her father is picked to represent Tom Robinson when he is accused of raping a white woman. Also, Scout deals with a mysterious figure who watches over her and her brother, Jem. This figure us the mysterious Boo Radley who is locked away in his home. Toward the end of the novel, Atticus, Scout’s father, loses the case eventhough he had proven Robinson was innocent. In reponse to the impressive evidence of Robinson’s innocence, Bob Ewell, the “victim’s” father, feels threatened and goes after Scout and Jem. He attacks the two and leaves Jem with a broken arm. The two are saved by someone who takes them back home. It turns out the person whoo saved them was the infamous Boo Radley who has been watching ovder them protectively.