To Kill A Mockingbird Prejudice Analysis

Prejudice is embedded into society and is taught from generation to generation. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee the setting is 1930’s in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama. The people in this town look down on those different from them and have been taught prejudice for generations. Even though it was set so long ago the lessons are still applicable to many situations today. In this story a young girl named Scout is the narrator and her father is a lawyer who is representing a black man accused of raping a white girl. It is obvious what the fate of the man will be but the story highlights how and why an innocent man is sent to prison and later murdered.

During the 1930’s depression, there was a great divide between black and white America. There were many communities and groups who had been exposed to the same treatment and persecution as the Negroes in To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee has used a small town setting, such as that in To Kill a Mockingbird, to illustrate America’s views on white supremacy and the inferiority of the black race. The author has illustrated view that are expressed world-wide through her characters in Maycomb county.

Racism is evidence of prejudice in all aspects of Maycomb’s society. Racism was huge during this time. Racism is still a problem in this world today but it is much better than it used to be. People used to be much worse, for example, Tom pretty much lost the trial because he was a black person. A quote I have is, “Guilty… guilty… guilty… guilty... “ (Lee 215). This quote shows that they really had no doubt he was going to be proven guilty because he was black. If he was white he would have won the trial. Also to add on, there were no blacks on jury. Obviously there is racism there. Another example of racism in this book is, that during the trial, the blacks were not allowed to sit downstairs. They all had to sit upstairs and cram up there to watch the trial.

What really is prejudice? Prejudice is an opinion based only upon personal bias, and not any actual facts or evidence. Within the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there are a variety of situations where prejudice is taken into effect over facts and evidence. When Lee does this, he is not only just giving the characters some detail, but he is also showing what prejudice really means and how it can affect people. A few examples could be when scout is basing her opinion on no facts, Lila at the church getting her opinion from just the kids being white, Boo Radley being judged without facts by everyone, and Tom Robinson being black meaning is already guilty.

Prejudice is defined as: “An unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason.” Harper Lee explores this theme throughout To Kill A Mockingbird with various characters demonstrating or being affected by it, especially because it is set in the turbulent time of 1930s southern USA. In particular, the theme is prominent in the characters Arthur (Boo) Radley, Atticus Finch, and Tom Robinson. I will begin with Arthur (Boo) Radley.

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 mindset. Atticus, the lawyer, defends an innocent black man, Tom Robinson, accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell, despite being a white man. However, everything does not go as planned, and the prejudiced mindset of the society overpowered Atticus’s fair-minded argument. A prejudiced society results in blindness,

“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.

A recluse, many rumours, such as, he is dead, mentally insane, been locked up in a house for at least three decades, and only comes out in the cloak of night. A man, wanted dead for sexual abuse of a white woman and being colored. A group of women given no responsibilities, almost no power, and seen as fragile. These prejudices change a community, which looks congenial from the surface, but the inside demonstrates how prejudices can divide a community. This is what happens over the course of a few years in the community of Maycomb, and the events that unfold are recounted by an adult, named Scout, through her eyes when she was younger, in, Harper Lee’s, To Kill A Mockingbird.

“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy”(Harper Lee). In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is a cultural icon and worldwide phenomenon that touches the hearts to all those who read it. To Kill a Mockingbird is about the small town of Maycomb, seen through the eyes of a small child named Scout, and her perspective on all issues in the novel from poverty to racism. The theme developed throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is that prejudices play a major part in human interaction, and it is inferred by looking at all the colorful characters in Maycomb, but mainly Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and Scout; all three of these characters are a symbolism for mockingbirds themselves due to

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

“To Kill a Mocking Bird” is a novel which was written by Harper Lee. In my essay I will discuss how Harper Lee explores the theme of prejudice by looking at the writing techniques and how they affect people.

Prejudice, what does it really mean to you? In my opinion we will never be able to see the full effects of prejudice. I truly believe if effects everyone no matter who they are or what they look like. Prejudice reminds me of Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice. In her book the characters are constantly talking, gossiping and judging about others “and, in turn, are watched, judged and gossiped about” (Sutherland). Prejudice can have a huge effect to those it’s aimed at. We as people need to know and remember prejudice is something that will stick with us forever therefor it will never be removed, but it can be reduced. Charles Swindoll once said “Prejudice is a learned trait. You’re not born with prejudiced; you’re taught

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, discusses many problems in the south around the 1930s. Atticus and his children live in Maycomb Alabama, struggling to get by financially.In the town of Maycomb Alabama, Harper Lee explains and tells the stories connected to harsh racism, segregation, and injustice. The main story in this book expresses an unfair tria for a african american man accused of rape by a white women. He gets taken advantage of my many people in this book because of his race, this is one of many examples that i will discuss in more detail. Racism has been occurring for many many decades, it seems to be way worse in the south and segregation has played a huge role in the act of racism. Most of the southern towns including Maycomb have strict laws and rules to abide by for segregation and racism witch mentally and physically affects the people of different race everywhere. The topic of racism is very important to me and i believe that there needs to be actions to help and come close to fixing it. The main racism point i will cover in this writing is segregation, Tom Robinson, Dolphis Raymond, Calpurnia, Atticus and his kids.