Just the idea of Arthur Radley turning into some ghost named Boo is dehumanizing enough. He has no friends, no loving family, no place to get away to. He’s stuck with nowhere to go and no one to turn to. His life has been shredded of all happiness and normalness. Not only have his parents taken away his rights as a person by refusing to let him go outside or have any sort of contact with the world, but the town has also blown things out of proportion. No one actually knows what’s going on. The town just gossips about his life. Things they don’t actually know are true. The children make plays about Boo Radley, not knowing how offensive and disrespectful they are. His life has turned into a series of stories and gossip. This is very relevant in our world. Whether we acknowledge it or not, there are people who are being dehumanized today. If we go back to World War II, Jews were very much dehumanized. They were refused the essentials to live and thrive. They were treated worse than animals. In certain parts of the world, women are being dehumanized. They are thought of as less than men, therefore, the men believe it is ok to not treat them with respect or kindness. Dehumanization can be seen all throughout history. Even though the word dehumanization isn’t used in Harper Lee’s quote, “There were other ways (besides physical incarceration) of making people into ghosts” (Lee 14), it can be a hidden
Just the idea of Arthur Radley turning into some ghost named Boo is dehumanizing enough. He has no friends, no loving family, no place to get away to. He’s stuck with nowhere to go and no one to turn to. His life has been shredded of all happiness and normalness. Not only have his parents taken away his rights as a person by refusing to let him go outside or have any sort of contact with the world, but the town has also blown things out of proportion. No one actually knows what’s going on. The town just gossips about his life. Things they don’t actually know are true. The children make plays about Boo Radley, not knowing how offensive and disrespectful they are. His life has turned into a series of stories and gossip. This is very relevant in our world. Whether we acknowledge it or not, there are people who are being dehumanized today. If we go back to World War II, Jews were very much dehumanized. They were refused the essentials to live and thrive. They were treated worse than animals. In certain parts of the world, women are being dehumanized. They are thought of as less than men, therefore, the men believe it is ok to not treat them with respect or kindness. Dehumanization can be seen all throughout history. Even though the word dehumanization isn’t used in Harper Lee’s quote, “There were other ways (besides physical incarceration) of making people into ghosts” (Lee 14), it can be a hidden