preview

Man's Inhumanity to Man Essay

Decent Essays
Open Document

Man's inhumanity to man is a phrase that was first written down by the poet Robert Burns in his poem titled Man was made to mourn: A Dirge in 1784. "Many and sharp the num'rous ills Inwoven with our frame! More pointed still we make ourselves Regret, remorse, and shame! And man, whose heav'n-erected face The smiles of love adorn, - Man's inhumanity to man Makes countless thousands mourn!"
This phrase has been displayed throughout history including in the times in which the book To Kill a Mockingbird was written. The two main examples of this include the tragedy of the Jews in World War II and the African American's during the slave trade, and throughout time. The phrase man's inhumanity to man is one of the …show more content…

One of the ironic situation in this book takes place when Scout is in school during their current events. The topic of the how Hitler was treating the Jews came was read from a newspaper article. In rebuttal, the teacher, Miss Gates, proudly declares that Germany is a Dictatorship, whereas the United States is a Democracy where supposedly no one is persecuted, "Equal rights for all, special privileges for none." The irony is that Tom Robinson was killed not long ago, he was declared guilty, all because he was African American. Miss Gates proudly states, "Persecution comes from people who are prejudice. Prejudice, there are no better people in the world than the Jews, and why Hitler doesn't think so is a mystery to me." Yet it's not a mystery to the people of Maycomb country why African Americans aren't the best people in the world. Inhumanity among men is an ongoing theme not only in the book To Kill a Mockingbird but also throughout history, even today. The United States has come a long way, though. In 1955 people persecuted an African American for sitting in the front of a bus and refusing to move, now we have an African American president sitting in the presidential limousine. Today people are prejudice against religion and religious

Get Access