Stereotyping And Racism In 'To Kill A Mockingbird'

The novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee talks about the childhood of the protagonist Jean Louis Finch (Scout) as she grows up in the fictional county of Maycomb in Alabama. Soon after, Scout’s father, Atticus, gets a case of a black man falsely accused of rape, as Scout and her brother, Jem, bear witness to the case as they finally come to realize the prejudice and stereotyping in their own county. Stereotypes are destructive and prevent or discourage individual growth because it can cause violence and harm, it can create barriers within a society and it can change one’s views about something.

Racial stereotypes are things where a person talks about how the other person’s race is. It describes all the “nasty” things in another person’s race. It’s basically gossiping about someone else’s race and ethnicity. Back then, in that time period, there were high amounts of racism and stereotypes, so in that case, a lot of African American people were most likely convicted for doing something they didn’t do. Even though the court is supposed to equally convict or release people who have commited a crime whether it’s Black or White people.

Stereotyping, a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing, plays a big role in “To kill a Mockingbird”, and it’s also a big role in the thirties when everyone was different. In the story there are three different groups of people, the wealthy, the poor, and the black. Each of these group with some exceptions like the Finch family, looks at each other with offset opinions. The stereotyping in this story makes it come true and really plays a big part in character development.

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird the author, Harper Lee, develops the topic of stereotyping and prejudgement as something negative through the characters’ speech and actions. The characters are standardized a great deal throughout the book. They are categorized as different things, but most of them prove the falseness of labelling to emphasise the theme of the novel, as well to teach the reader a moral lesson; to be less judgemental and be willing to accept others. In the novel, stereotyping others is based by the way they look or talk established on what society considers normal.The technique of stereotypes helps create the theme of the coexistence of good and evil. In chapter 20, for example, Scout and Dill find out that Mr.Raymond’s paper bag turns out to be Coke instead of whisky, and his constant drunkenness is fake. He explains, "When I come to town, […] if I weave a little and drink out of this sack, folks can say Dolphus Raymond's in the clutches of whiskey-that's why he won't change his ways. He can't help himself, that's why he lives the way he does" (268). The evidence portrays

there to spread the word of their god, but are being mocked while they do.

Stereotyping was used a lot in to Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee . It was shown a lot against Tom Robinson in the court case. Also, with Dolphus Raymond Supposedly being a drunk. Lastly it was used against Boo being a terrible person and creepy. Those are just some of the ways the book to kill a mockingbird shows the impact stereotyping has on people, and how it can affect their life.

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.

“He won’t cry about the simple hell people give other people - without even thinking…” In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee reveals the racial stereotypes that were prevalent during the 1930s. She shows how children question and recognize prejudice before adults do.

'Democracy,' she said. 'Does anybody have a definition?' ... 'Equal rights for all, special privileges for none' (Lee 248).

“You, miss Scout Finch, are of common folk. So you must obey common folk laws.” (Lee, 40) This interaction shows you how a social class separation is held against certain people in the town. The Ewells and the people of maycomb, but why did Atticus use such punitive choice of words? Thus, it's a reasonable solution to weed out ignorance of an unconscious stereotype because it begins with how our parents raise us to see others and our self. No matter how pure Atticus proponent proposal was or intended to be. It still shows even the good at heart people still have that pesky unconscious bias as well. And the only way to weed this out is to educate our children to understand what stereotyping is and how to be conscious that we as individuals are attributing to the judgement of those different from

To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel written by Harper Lee, tells the story of a little girl named Scout. Set in Alabama in the 1930s, Maycomb county, Scout’s home, is a sleepy place, that hides a dark streak of racism. Maycomb gets pulled into a whirlwind court case of sexual assault consisting of an African American man getting accused of beating and raping a white girl. Scout, whose father defended the African American, learns of the deep problems in society. Still in the mindset of constant racism, the jury ruled against the black man, even though the evidence clearly proved that the girl’s father beat her. Unfortunately, this racism survives today, and one only has to take a peek at the news, or a glance outside to notice it. Racism still exists today, as seen through brutality against

To Kill a Mocking Bird is a book that has been turned into a movie. The themes that are covered in this interesting book and movie ranges from racism, prejudice to social injustice which goes to show how human beings can be very cruel to fellow human beings simply because they are different from themselves. Tom Robinson’s trial further shows that in a society where the white race is seen to be superior, no other race mattered. This paper therefore is an analysis of the themes that emerge from the court proceedings of the Tom Robinson trial. It goes on to analyze how the content shapes the language used and how social identities, functions and relations are performed through language choices.

"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."

The 1930’s were a time of drastic change for America. The Great Depression had just begun and many families were struggling financially. The roles of women and men went through a drastic change as well. The 1930’s gave women a chance to start breaking the mold and acting independent. Along with the freedoms the 1930’s gave women, some stereotypes and discrimination went along as well. A lot of the stereotypes that people associate Southern women with appeared in the 1930s. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee portrays Southern women as stereotypical Plantation Legends rather than the hard working, determined, independent women that they were.

names’s Tom Robinson”. Discuss the effects of racism on Maycomb citizens such as Tom and Helen Robinson,