preview

To Kill A Mockingbird Quotes Analysis

Good Essays

In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, the atmosphere of discrimination normalizes the use of slurs, and the ostracization of certain members of the community, for the children in the novel. To Kill A Mockingbird, written in 1960, set in the fictitious town of Maycomb, Alabama. This novel, from the perspective of the character Scout, is a tale of identity, injustice, and inequality in a time of heavy discrimination. In Lee’s novel, the use of slurs is a common occurrence in the town of Maycomb. Scout, as well as the other children in the novel, are exposed to adults and their peers using these slurs, and, consequently, slurs become a desensitized part of everyday language. From the beginning of the novel, Boo Radley is an enigma to Scout, …show more content…

This quote also shows that Scout takes notice of the regular use of the N word. Another quote that shows this is from page seventy nine, when Scout uses the N word, and rationalizes the word by noting that everyone in the community, and even her peers, use it as well. Scout questions, “” “Do you defend n-----, Atticus?” I asked him that evening. “Of course I do. Don’t say n----, Scout. That’s common.” “‘s what everybody at school says.” “From now on, it’ll be everybody less one---” ‘” This quote is one of the most telling about the way the atmosphere and normalized use of slurs affects Scout, and her classmates as well. Scout views the N word as a common part of her vocabulary and the vocabulary of those around her, and its offensive and crude roots are unbeknownst to Scout. The atmosphere of racial discrimination and the use of slurs normalizes and spreads racism to the children of To Kill A Mockingbird. Racial discrimination contributes to ostracization of certain member of the community. The character Boo Radley, a neighbor of Scout Finch, is subjected to this ostracization. Boo Radley is feared in Maycomb. Stories are told about him to make children afraid of the Radley house. One of these stories is told to Scout, Jem,

Get Access