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To Kill A Mockingbird Injustice

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Mark Twain once said, “The very ink which history is written is merely fluid prejudice.” Prejudice is a pre-determined opinion that is not based on facts, reason, and actual experience. It is still a major issue in the world today. The novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is about a six year old girl named Jean Louise Finch, otherwise known as Scout, who lives in Maycomb County, Alabama during the Great Depression. Her father, Atticus, is a lawyer who strives to instill moral values in Scout and her brother Jem. Growing up, she sees various examples of prejudice which give her insight into the world that is dominated by injustice. Her experiences reveal that people do not see the world as it really is because they are blinded by the stereotypes …show more content…

Atticus is trying to teach Jem that unfortunately, people use skin colour to determine what a person is worth. This is a difficult concept for Jem to understand because both him and Atticus know that it is not right. In addition, people underestimate the power that children possess. Throughout most of the novel, Scout’s abilities are invisible to others because she is only six years old. This is disproven when she acts as a distraction when Mr. Cunningham has the intention of harming Tom robinson. By diverting his attention to her, she prevents him from carrying out his plan. Because ageism encourages people to judge others based on their age, children’s abilities are overlooked which prevents others from realizing their true potential. To summarize, racism, sexism, and ageism are types of prejudice that are still a part of society that negatively influence the people they ostracize. People depend on generalizations to formulate an opinion about something or someone, which gives people a misleading view about them. Firstly, the idea of what it means to be a woman is distorted because it is defined by superficial characteristics. When Aunt Alexandra first arrives at the …show more content…

People’s proximity to each other allows for the exchange of opinions. Maycomb is such a small town that people “knew each other’s voices” (Lee 353). Gossip fosters prejudice because it goes around easily in the community, and is therefore what members are forced to believe since everyone is saying it. This does not allow people to authentically form opinions that are their own. Because people have a fixed perception of what is considered acceptable, something that varies from the norm is automatically deemed incorrect. In addition, expectations established by society enforce an image that people should supposedly strive to obtain. For instance, when Walter Cunningham comes over to Scout’s home and pours syrup over his vegetables, Scout makes rude remarks about his etiquette. Afterwards, Calpurnia explains that due to the fact that he comes from a poor family, Scout should not be so judgmental. Due to Scout’s lack of compassion and understanding for Walter’s circumstances, she expects him to eat like she does. In reality, this is not possible because people come from different backgrounds and are raised differently. Lastly, there are negative consequences if one does not comply with society’s expectations. For instance, when Atticus continues to support Tom Robinson despite antagonistic views that members of the community have, he faces

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