Prejudice Affecting Our Societies

The act of prejudice is one that everyone experiences. Whether it be, a person who is distributing hate, or a person who is receiving hate, everyone has contact with it. Although it is present all over the globe, it is prominent in the United States. Both in the present and the past, endless acts of discrimination have taken place and left a monumental impact on the country. The effect that it leaves can be seen in the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. In this story, sexism, racism, and isolation, are demonstrated in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930’s. As the story progresses, Lee compares these concepts to one another and uses them to make a statement about the problematic nature in America.

Scout and Mayella both lost their mothers at a young age, thus leaving them with their fathers, but the difference lays with their fathers and it says a lot about why the two young ladies are the way they are. Scout’s father, Atticus Finch, is a very respected attorney in Maycomb and he teaches Scout and her older brother Jem tolerance, good manners, and respect. As time goes on, Atticus gets criticized by the people of Maycomb because he is defending an African-American man who was accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Mayella’s father, Bob Ewell, doesn’t bother to take care of the rest of his children and to the Maycomb community, he’s is considered the lowest of the low, or “white trash.” Instead of going out to find a job and support his kids, he drinks all day and collects his welfare cheques. Due to him not being very much of a fatherly figure, Mayella has to support herself and her siblings in their small home close to the landfill and she has no time to go to school, town, meet new people and make friends. Mayella is looked down upon by those around her because of her father’s poor reputation. Young girls generally look up to their

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.

Prejudice is when we have a preconceived opinion about someone or a group of people that is formed without knowledge, or even a real understanding about them.

“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.

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.

Since the very beginning, discrimination has been imminent and abundant. Whether it is telling someone to “man up,” or to “stop acting like a girl,” or making comments about race, it is there. It is the music we listen to, the books we read, the powerful people we listen to- bias, prejudice, it is all there- even in ourselves. To Kill a Mockingbird focuses on discrimination in multiple ways, as does The Help, but a few types of prejudice are imminent- mainly race and gender, even age, discrimination.

“Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible”(Maya Angelou). To Kill a Mockingbird is about a young girl called Scout and the important lessons she learns through the events of a racist trial, the mysterious neighbour, and growing up. She learns many lessons about perspective and understanding people. One of the most important lessons she learns about prejudice. Lee demonstrates the message that prejudice does not only harm an individual but damages a society in the events of “To Kill A Mockingbird”. Prejudice becomes affects society most when the views become what people expect. We can see this in the three main types of prejudice, racial, gender, and class or wealth.

In this modern world, prejudice is still a universal problem we still have yet to overcome. Although it is true that our society is much less prejudiced than it was 40-50 years ago, we are still struggling to create racial harmony in a world that is so diverse in terms of racial group, sexual orientations, ethnicity, nationality, religions, and so on. I think the core of prejudice comes from stereotyping, which is the generalization of motives, characteristics, or behavior to an entire group of people. In the world where media propaganda is ubiquitous, often times most stereotypes are not formed on valid experiences, instead they are based on images publicized by the mass media, or even created within our heads after seeing and hearing examples from many different sources, like movies, or even hearsay. Stereotyping is more powerful than we think, because it allows those false pictures to control our thinking that leads us to assign uniform characteristics to any person in a group, without consideration of the actual difference between members of that particular group.

“Defeating racism, tribalism, intolerance and all forms of discrimination will liberate us all, victim and perpetrator” – Ban Ki-moon. The historical fiction novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee demonstrates the way discrimination can shapes one’s beliefs. Discrimination can occur in many forms, some which include racism, prejudice, and social class. When discrimination is present, the whole character of an individual is often overlooked and one certain trait is focused on instead.

We are not born with prejudice; we learn prejudice from our family, community and society at large. These institutions influence how we view the world. Such prejudice is shown in the true story ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’, written by Harper Lee in 1960. To quote from this book, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin”. Referencing “To Kill A Mockingbird”, this essay explores prejudice using discourses of race and class.

In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee evokes the reader’s emotions by perfectly capturing the injustice of Maycomb through the eyes of an innocent child. Even Atticus’ wish for his children was to shelter them from the malevolent nature of humanity. This nature represents the individuals of the town and their prejudices in any controversial issue. Prejudice, therefore, brings about the injustice we see in our world today. Unfortunately, this issue exists because people cannot live in harmony with others that appear to be different than themselves.

We all have held a prejudice in some way or form, even I am guilty of holding some prejudice. My prejudice comes from my view of the Southern United States, over the years I have developed a view of Americans from the south being overly religious racists that care more about protecting their gun rights then giving their children a good education. I believe that the main reason for my prejudice forming is because of the theory of prejudice, scapegoating. The reason I believe that scapegoating is the source for my prejudice is because when I feel that an unjust bill is passed in congress that targets minority groups or poor people, I tend to blame the south for the reason that these groups continue to suffer. Instead of seeing that perhaps before

I think raisin in the sun could take place in today’s world for a few different reasons. We still have racism in todays society, as well as discrimination. We still have poverty as well as stereotypes associated with the different races. I one hundred percent believe that this story could take place in today’s society.

In this lifetime, prejudice is inevitable; it has molded history and continues to be a part of society. Prejudice is a burden to those who face it on the daily, and overtime, the only thing that has changed about it is the way it presents itself. The denial of environmental issues, like climate change, air pollution, and upon many more issues, make living on this planet unfit for wildlife, as well as humanity itself, despite being the sole cause of its destruction. The most difficult part of being a teenager in media res, is the dilution of large-scale issues.