Misunderstood And Mistreated

Prejudice is one of the world’s greatest struggles. It does not only hold society back, but is harmful to the people who do good .In Harper Lee’s book To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout and Jem live through and witness prejudice and racism in the small town of Maycomb. They see someone wrongly accused of a crime because of his race. Scout and Jem also witness and take part in prejudice against a man no one knows anything about. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee uses characterization to show the negative effects of prejudice and racism.

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, injustice is a main theme that is reflected towards many characters. To Kill a Mockingbird, is a novel written by Harper Lee and published in the nineteen-sixties. Many characters in the story are treated unfairly in society due to racial or prejudicial attitudes. Overall these characters are innocent victims of injustice. Atticus, Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson are considered to be mockingbirds in the novel. A mockingbird was defined as a bird that did nothing wrong, but sang beautiful music for us to hear. These characters did nothing wrong and were treated unfairly in their town. In this different society, there are many factors that have had an influence on people’s perceptions towards others.

There are no better examples of racism and discrimination than what happened during the trial of Tom Robinson. The trial began with Sheriff Tate saying that Bob Ewell came to him after Tom run away and he claims that Mayella was beating up on her right side. That could never be done by Tom Robinson since his left arm does not work, “ His left arm was full twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side. It ended in a small shriveled hand, and from as far away as the balcony I could see that it was no use to him.” Also, Atticus made Bob Ewell write down his name to prove to Judge Taylor that he was left-handed and he was the one who raped Mayella. It took the judge several hours before making the final verdict, even though everything favors the innocence of Tom Robinson, he was still sentenced guilty. Nothing could save Tom Robinson, Atticus had given all the pieces of evidence and details needed to prove him not guilty and it was more than clear that Bob Ewell raped Mayella instead of Tom Robinson, just like Atticus said: “ She was white, she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our

People are being treated and Judged unfair based on their outer appearance. In the book to kill a mockingbird both Boo Radley and Tom Robinson were treated unfairly and stereotyped to be some they were not . Through conflict ,character, and symbolism Harper lee shows the theme of many seem to think to know who someone is based on who they appear to be on the outside therefore many will get the wrong perspective of who that person truly is .

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.

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.

In The Odyssey by Homer, many characters feel prejudiced toward others. Many of these characters have opinions solely based on rumor. Such characters are influenced by many factors,, but all of them lead to improper judgement. In the same context, many characters in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird also possess such prejudiced thoughts. Through her use of the characters within Maycomb, in her novel To Kill A Mockingbird; Harper Lee shows how injustice and prejudice between African American and white people was impossible to beat at this point in history, however some characters attempt to fight it anyways.

Harper Lee depicts Tom Robinson to represent people that are misunderstood due to their race, therefore displaying the fact that misjudgments will lead to a change of someone’s life. Additionally, Boo Radley was misinterpreted by Scout when she felt that she was in a safe environment where it was acceptable to make assumptions about people. In that case, demonstrating the fact the one’s position in society can be negatively affected when rumors are created. Even though judging people can sometimes lead to positive outcomes, there are still situations where one is misconceived. As a result, when one has not fully understand the truth, judgments should not be

Prejudice and social expectations are the main cause of social outcasts and unfair treatment. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, many examples of unfair treatment and social outcasts are used. Constantly, themes of prejudice and social expectations are accurately displayed by creating outcasts in society and relying on pre-judgments to judge behavior. She also accurately displays the fact that not all people in the South during that time were prejudiced.

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird was written by Harper Lee and was published in 1960. This novel is included in various curriculums to enable students to take this well-written novel to identify the themes and messages and be educated from their literature. Prejudice is defined as a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. The different forms of prejudice that will be analysed are racial, class and social, thus, leads to the citizens of Maycomb to marginalises characters and treat them as an insignificant. It is evident that many characters in this novel suffer from different types of prejudice, which creates a sense of marginalisation. Tom Robinson, Mayella Ewell and Arthur Radley are the important, main

“Prejudices are the chains forged by ignorance to keep men apart.”(Marguerite Gardiner Blessington). Over the years, countless people have fallen in to the dark abyss of prejudice because they merely following the trend of society. Prejudice is exactly what it sounds like; its root words are firmly planted. Prejudice may be defined as the act of pre judging someone because of their race, religion, sex, ethnic background, or can be based solely on how they look. Prejudice is a flaw in society many have dealt with for centuries, but one race has suffered in the United States of America where “all men are equal”, more than any other race in history. If all men are created equal, how could we treat people of a different color so unjustly? It is a travesty that cannot be forgotten and that can not, must not, and shall not be repeated. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee states the truth behind a world with closed minds. She put the world into perspective through her commentary that is still relevant today. Through her writing, we see the compassion, sympathy, and tolerance, or the lack thereof, from all perspectives: a father, a racist man, a confused woman, children, negroes, and a dear lawyer named Atticus Finch.

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.

One way people are treated unfairly because of their skin color is when Tom Robinson was accused of raping Bob Ewells daughter Mayella Ewell. Tom Robinson was a black man with a family and was accused of this terrible crime even though he was innocent. On the trial for this, all the evidence leads towards Tom being framed but for his skin color he was trailed guilty.

For hundreds of years, people have committed genocides and holocausts due to their single minded views, they did not understand other people who were from different races and social classes. Taking place in Alabama during the 1930s Scout, Jem, and their father, Atticus, go through and experience how the world really is. The 2 children spent their time imagining Boo Radley as a foul being that lives in his house and never shows himself in public. This all changes when Atticus takes up the case of Tom Robinson and Scout and Jem realize there are far worse issues in the world than Boo Radley. In the story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the author clearly shows that many people in the town are prejudice. It is repeatedly shown that the most common form of prejudice is in the form of racism. It is also shown that Miss Gates recognizes prejudice feelings in different societies yet still does not follow through by recognizing her own prejudice actions. Aunt Alexandra has prejudice ideas about how that ladies should act like ladies and stay to their social class. Throughout the novel, Harper Lee clearly showed the effects of prejudice ideas on others.

Prejudice in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird is a very common problem in the society Maycomb; prejudice does not only harm an individual but also a society. Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch and Boo Radley are all victims of prejudice, and all three characters are affected by this. The prejudice exhibited towards them traps them, kills them or makes them stronger.