Sexism, Prejudice, and Racism in Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird

Today’s society is damaged with the results of people doing terrible things to each other. Peoples actions can make or break lives.The novel To Kill A Mockingbird, is about a little girl, her Brother, their Dad, and the negro they all fight to defend. The main character scout and her older brother Jem, get into all sorts of dilemmas in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. As they learn new valuable lessons about life, they also pick up that the small town they grow up in is not as clean and safe as it seems. The father, Atticus Finch is a kind hearted soul who was given the case of Tom Robinson, a negro accused of Raping a white woman. As soon as Atticus was given the case he aimed to defend Tom but a faulty jury made sure it did not happen.To

The main issue of the section we are acting out of Chapter 11 in “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is the prejudice that Ms. Dubose holds. She is both sexist and racist, both forms of prejudice that were common back in her generation, but were finally starting to change at that time. Aunt Alexandra and Ms. Dubose, most likely having been raised in the same time period, were both offended by Scout wearing pants. Ms. Dubose specifically asked ‘What are you doing in those overalls? You should be in a dress and camisole, young lady!’ (Lee, 101), which is greatly reminiscent of what Alexandra said at Christmas. Obviously, they were both raised with the same morals about having to wear dresses, causing them to be unintentionally sexist and myopic.

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

As children grow up, they open their eyes to the harsh truths in the world around them that they once did not understand or question. This is experienced by the main characters of Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The story is of a girl called Scout and her older brother, Jem, who go through the trials of growing up in the fictional small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. Racism is rampant in the mindset of the townspeople, shown when the children’s lawyer father, Atticus, takes the case of an obviously innocent African-American man and they convict him in their hearts before the trial even starts. Through this all, we can see the theme of loss of innocence in the children. Lee uses characterization to portray

Atticus said, “They’ve done it befor and they did it tonight and they’ll do it again and when they do it-seems that only children weep”(Lee 285). To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee. It is about two siblings , Jem and Scout, who live in a small town called Maycomb. Their father Atticus, is a well known lawyer, who is defending an African American that was accused of raping a white women. Throughout the novel, Jem and Scout are introduced to discrimination and learn that it’s an everlasting problem. Prejudice and discrimination are important themes in To Kill a Mockingbird because of racism, sexism, and ageism.

People are not born prejudiced. “It is something that is learned". It can be learned in the same way other attitudes and values are learned, primarily through association, reinforcement and modeling. For example, children may learn to associate a particular ethnic group with poverty, crime, violence and other negative things” (2006 Anti-Defamation League). Also, prejudice in “children may be reinforced by listening to derogatory ethnic jokes, especially when others laugh along or think they're cool”. Lastly, children may simply imitate the prejudices of their older family members and popular friends. Prejudice is to pre- judge. “Prejudice is a baseless and usually negative attitude toward members of a group. Common features of prejudice

“To Kill a Mocking Bird” is not only a great book but also a book that portrays a clear and concise message. This book is about the murder, immense persecution, and hatred towards an innocent man, Tom Robinson. This book Written by Harper lee is about a rape case against an African American man during the years of 1932 to 1935 in Maycomb, Alabama. These years were filled with racism, hatred, and segregation. A rape charge against a black man, Tom Robinson, with the victim being a white woman, Mayella Ewell, was ultimately a death sentence during these times no matter the actual truth to the incident or if it even occurred in the first place. This story portrays the truth of racism and the extreme level of tyranny directed towards African Americans. Lee lays out in detail the entirety of Tom Robinson’s case from the

During the Great Depression, racism and prejudice were the cause of suffering for many people who were greatly affected by discriminating thoughts. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Maycomb County is a town also filled with the evils of racism of prejudice, but that immorality is often hidden by certain of acts of courage and goodness enacted by the citizens of Maycomb. In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee portrays the importance of courage through characters Atticus, Mrs. Dubose, and Jean Louise (Scout) Finch, who all persevere through the path of rightness in the face of prejudiced and disapproving opinions, without worrying about the consequences of their actions. Atticus’ decision to defend Tom Robinson brings many disapprovals from others but he still continues to fight for him, although he knows that there is a high chance of Tom Robinson being doomed because of his race. Mrs. Dubose exemplifies courage because even though it costs her life and invited bad thoughts from others, she stays determined to get free of her addiction. Scout, an innocent, young girl, shows courage by defending what she thinks is right, although the consequences may not be good for her.

Racism is one of the main messages in this book also how people around us, not only parents have a strong influence on us when we are growing up, and how rumors and misjudgements can make a person look bad. Judging people without the knowledge of facts is also a common occurrence. I think this novel has this genius aspect of capturing these particular events through a child's eyes yet also being able to keep the adult perspective alive. It makes important points about prejudice and humanity without clobbering anyone over the head with the idealism of Atticus. A quote said by Atticus on page 99 of chapter 10 says, “Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it”(Lee,99). I feel that this quote is referring to the people that can be considered as mockingbirds hence characters such as Scout as well as other children are mockingbirds because Scout has the innocence of youth and it would be wrong to steal the innocence of children by issues concerning only to adults therefore this happens frequently in the society we live in by becoming pawns in divorce, through exposure to inappropriate media and other types of abuses. Tom Robinson gets falsely accused of a crime. He is a symbol for innocent people who are the victims of everyday prejudice hence his greatest crime was feeling sorry for a white woman that was a crime back in those racist days therefore even in today's world racism does take place . Mayella Ewell should also be considered as a mockingbird whose innocence has already been destroyed by her abusive father and had been forced to confront to the court that Tom had raped her even though it was not true. Her situation is similar in almost

As the United States “progresses” in economic, educational and technological advancements we still are fighting for racial equality. With more than 50 years since the brown vs. board of education case there is still incidents like Ferguson, Baton Rouge, and Phiando Castile where many questions are still unanswered. However, Harper Lee dealt with these same problems in 1960 when she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee created an emotionally confronting story. Lee writes through the eyes of “Scout” a lawyer’s daughter in a small sleepy town of Maycomb in Alabama during the great depression. Throughout the book “Scout” learns coming of age lessons from Atticus and her own experiences. But when Atticus takes on a case defending a black man (Tom Robinson) convicted for rapping a white woman (Mayella Ewell) and is found guilty. “Scout” her brother Jem begin to understand the effects of the prejudices in society. Therefore, Lee applies the literary concepts of diction and tone to revel the truth that prejudices in society negatively affect the way people treat each other in To Kill a Mocking Bird.

The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, addresses the issues of racism and discrimination in the south during the 1930s through a trial concerning rape. Tom Robinson, though convicted of this crime, was innocent. The evidence within the case shows that Tom Robinson is innocent because of Mayella Ewell, the young lady that claims she was raped, has most of her bruises on her right side, however, Tom Robinson’s left arm is completely useless. To add, Tom sounds more trustworthy than the other two witnesses, Mayella and Bob Ewell. The first witness, Heck Tate, says during his testimony, “‘It was her right eye, Mr. Finch. I remember now, she was bunged up on that side of the face…’” (Lee 225), with this information, it makes it less likely that Tom Robinson had assaulted Mayella because “his left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right” (Lee 248). However, it is more probable that Bob Ewell abused Mayella because, during Bob Ewell’s cross-examination, Atticus asks him to write his name, and Judge Taylor realizes Bob Ewell is left-handed when announcing, “‘You’re left-handed, Mr. Ewell’” (Lee 237). During Heck Tate’s testimony, he says that Mayella’s right side of the face was beaten up, however, Tom Robinson’s left arm is shorter than his right, so it is implausible he would have pummelled Mayella’s face, but it’s more likely for Bob Ewell to do so because he is left-handed, and, in general, is a horrible person. This proves Tom could not have walloped Mayella’s right

Life is like a thrill ride; one never knows what will be in store for them. Many characters in the story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee feel the same way about life, having experienced many surprising and unexpected turns of events. This story is about a sleepy southern town filled with prejudice, and a lawyer’s quest, along with his children Scout and Jem, to take steps in ridding the town of its prejudiced attitude. Despite being a white man, a lawyer named Atticus, defends an innocent black man accused of raping a white woman. However, everything does not go as was hoped, and the mindset of the society overpowered Atticus’s fair-minded argument. From this emerges a theme regarding the bigotry and bias overwhelming Maycomb: A

How can the word “equality” be defined? Is there actually a definition which everyone can agree with? “The quality of being the same in quantity, measure, value, or status”; that is the explanation any dictionary may provide. The problem is, no one has the same way of applying this definition to the real life, and people have different perceptions of what equality really means. In Harper Lee’s novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, this idea of looking at equality from different points of view is one of the main themes and situations presented. Narrated by a young South American girl in the 1930’s, this book explores the several cases in which one can view the rest of the world as something beautiful, while others can opt to say it all looks dark

"Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilized by education; they grow there, firm as weeds among stones."

Imagine an innocent person in the throes of death or facing harm that they do not deserve. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, innocent people face the consequences of other’s actions and get hurt, or almost hurt. This novel is narrated by Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, as she tells of her childhood and two specific events that occur as she grows. In first event, Scout, her brother Jem, and their friend Dill begin to have an interest in the minutiae of the life of Arthur “Boo” Radley, their mysterious neighbor. The other event includes how her hometown creates allegations against an innocent colored man, Tom Robinson, who was accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a young white woman. In this novel, a mockingbird is considered a creature that it