Undeserved Prejudice In To Kill Mockingbird By Harper Lee

Undeserved Prejudice The sixteenth president of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln, explained that "[w]hatever you are, be a good one." Lincoln was implying that no matter what skin color you are, you should be the best you can be and be fair to all. Unfortunately, in Harper Lee's To Kill Mockingbird, Tom Robinson, a black man, faces prejudice, because the white men in the jury cannot be their best selves and vote fairly. Though he did not rape Mayella Ewell, a poor white woman, the people of Maycomb county can not look past the fact that Tom is black; he is found guilty and eventually is killed for it. Atticus, Tom's lawyer, does his best to defend Tom, but even with substantial evidence that Tom did not rape Mayella, he could not win the case. Along with Tom, Atticus receives prejudice for defending a black man. Instead of responding with violence, Atticus uses his situation to teach his children, Jem and Scout. Atticus and Tom Robinson experience prejudice during Tom’s trial, however, they overcome this prejudice by acting in a respectful and polite manner, which teaches Jem and Scout how to react in difficult situations. Atticus Finch experiences prejudice from the whole county of …show more content…
Though Atticus and Tom have completely different outcomes from the effect of their prejudice, Atticus was able to teach his children a valuable life lesson, where Tom is unfortunately killed. Though Tom may have been African American, and Atticus may have been defending him, it does not give the people of Maycomb the right to be prejudice towards either man. Instead, similar to what Lincoln's quote explains, we should be the best we can and be fair to all no matter what they look like; we should not judge people on their appearance, rather their