Southern Prejudice in Harper Lee´s To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill A Mockingbird is an important book that has continued to teach people about race and prejudice for over 50 years. Harper Lee’s message is the harsh reality of how prejudice is built into society and is one of the most important messages of the 20th and 21st centuries. This book teaches us to stand up to prejudice and spread more love. It teaches us to look at things from another person's point of view and to be accepting of those who are different from us. Even to this day we face issues involving prejudice such as police brutality, the achievement gap, homophobia, and equal

In the country town of Maycomb, people were easily influenced so prejudice was shown by most. The citizens knew that the colour of your skin determined your place in life and that Negroes were to be treated differently. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, there was only one true character that portrayed the true essence of tolerance. Atticus Finch stood on his own two feet, and never formed an opinion unless he had prior knowledge on the particular person or situation. Throughout the entirety of this novel, it was Atticus alone who not only was tolerant, but set an exemplarily example to his children, and the town, of how knowing before judging is not only important, but vital to society. “First of all…if you can learn a simple trick Scout, you’ll get along better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person till you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (p.33). This is a perfect example of how Atticus passes on his knowledge to his children, and educates them on how respect

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.

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.

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).

The prejudice seen in the fictional novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee corresponds with the real narrow-mindedness during this time period. A fair trial would be unlikely during this time period between a white and a black man. Tom Robinson was presumed guilty because of his race.

at all! If a woman wants to be on a jury and meets all the

Scout's perception of prejudice is evolved through countless experiences in Harper Lee's, To Kill a Mockingbird. Written in the nineteen thirties, To Kill a Mockingbird promotes the understanding of self-discovery through Scout, an intelligent and outspoken child living with respectable family in Maycomb County, Alabama. Throughout various encounters in the novel, Harper Lee causes Scout's perspective to change and develop from innocence to awareness and eventually towards understanding.

“To better understand a person you have to climb up inside their skin and walk around in it.” The quote previously stated by Atticus in the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is an unveiling of the upcoming forms of prejudice. The setting for the novel is a fictitious town called Maycomb. This town is situated in Alabama. The racial prejudice shown in the novel has a lot to do with the town being situated in the southern United States. The backwardness and narrow-mindedness of the community fueled racism in Maycomb. These negative qualities account for the social and religious prejudices in the novel. Maycomb people have very inward looking views and so these views are passed on

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.

Prejudices 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.

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

We have long been a society that has judged based on skin color, ethnicity, and religious orientation. To Kill A Mockingbird speaks to just that. Scout, Jem, and Atticus live together in a small town that is full of widespread prejudice, and hate against one another for small differences like skin color. The old days in America, especially in the South, where prejudice was rampant and widely viewed as acceptable. Society was brainwashed into believing that whites are higher being than black people.

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is a beautiful story depicting a family living in the South of the 1930’s, and their struggle against the prejudice which was common to that time. The book centers on Atticus Finch, the father of the family as well as a lawyer, and his fight against prejudice. We see the story unfold through the innocent eyes of his young daughter, Scout, who is free from prejudice and not yet jaded. By viewing events as Scout sees them, the author shows us how to overcome prejudices, and gain tolerance.

what a bad father he is and why his family have been given a bad name.