Segregated Bias In To Kill A Mockingbird
To Kill A Mockingbird is a timeless classic that deals with many issues that are still relevant today. Racism, socioeconomic discrimination, and segregation are only some examples of these issues. Harper Lee discusses these issues to make a point about our society's impossible standards that are imposed onto a diverse range of people. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee explains that segregation can cause bias, which is still seen today. Racial segregation is an issue written about in To Kill A Mockingbird, but is also still seen today. When Harper Lee was growing up, racial segregation was at its prime. A set of laws called the Jim Crow Laws caused racial segregation throughout …show more content…
This can cause a cycle of bias and hate between these two cultures, which can continue to affect our society for generations. This can be seen in To Kill A Mockingbird with the character Lula, who has an immediate hate towards Jem and Scout when they visit the First Purchase Church. She immediately gets angry at Calpurnia for bringing them, and states that "they got their church, we got our'n” (Pg. 158). This communicates to the reader that she doesn’t want to interact with Jem and Scout, and would rather keep separate from white people. This single interaction can attest to the fact that racial segregation in Maycomb caused hate and bias between white people and black people. Even though this extreme segregation is now illegal, due to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it is still mindlessly integrated in our modern society. One study done by the Brookings Institution took data from a census in the U.S., and concluded that if racial integration in residential housing was rated on a scale of 0-100, 0 being perfect integration and 100 being exact separation; most major U.S. cities would fall between 50-70. This …show more content…
Judging people based on their income level is a gateway to having a sense of entitlement. A great example of this is seen in Chapter 23, in a conversation between Scout and Aunt Alexandra. When Scout mentions the Cunninghams, a very poor family that lives in Maycomb, Aunt Alexandra immediately dismisses them. When Scout pushes the topic, she states that Walter “... is trash”, (Pg. 301) simply based on his family’s socioeconomic standing. This statement directly shows the discrimination towards those in lower social classes in Maycomb. Because Aunt Alexandra’s views mirror those of most people living in Maycomb, it is easy to infer than many other citizens in Maycomb have the same views. This one conversation helps Harper Lee show the reader that many poor families were dismissed by families of a higher social class. These opinions held by the citizens of Maycomb unfortunately are still seen in more discreet ways in today's modern institutions. An example of this can be seen in America’s public schools. Public schools in low-income areas are usually underfunded. This means that kids who attend these schools do not have equal opportunities, resources, or advantages, compared to those who attend schools with more funding. This is a simple disadvantage: kids who may need more resources to guide them are put in school environments without the needed resources to
To Kill A Mockingbird is a timeless classic that deals with many issues that are still relevant today. Racism, socioeconomic discrimination, and segregation are only some examples of these issues. Harper Lee discusses these issues to make a point about our society's impossible standards that are imposed onto a diverse range of people. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee explains that segregation can cause bias, which is still seen today. Racial segregation is an issue written about in To Kill A Mockingbird, but is also still seen today. When Harper Lee was growing up, racial segregation was at its prime. A set of laws called the Jim Crow Laws caused racial segregation throughout …show more content…
This can cause a cycle of bias and hate between these two cultures, which can continue to affect our society for generations. This can be seen in To Kill A Mockingbird with the character Lula, who has an immediate hate towards Jem and Scout when they visit the First Purchase Church. She immediately gets angry at Calpurnia for bringing them, and states that "they got their church, we got our'n” (Pg. 158). This communicates to the reader that she doesn’t want to interact with Jem and Scout, and would rather keep separate from white people. This single interaction can attest to the fact that racial segregation in Maycomb caused hate and bias between white people and black people. Even though this extreme segregation is now illegal, due to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it is still mindlessly integrated in our modern society. One study done by the Brookings Institution took data from a census in the U.S., and concluded that if racial integration in residential housing was rated on a scale of 0-100, 0 being perfect integration and 100 being exact separation; most major U.S. cities would fall between 50-70. This …show more content…
Judging people based on their income level is a gateway to having a sense of entitlement. A great example of this is seen in Chapter 23, in a conversation between Scout and Aunt Alexandra. When Scout mentions the Cunninghams, a very poor family that lives in Maycomb, Aunt Alexandra immediately dismisses them. When Scout pushes the topic, she states that Walter “... is trash”, (Pg. 301) simply based on his family’s socioeconomic standing. This statement directly shows the discrimination towards those in lower social classes in Maycomb. Because Aunt Alexandra’s views mirror those of most people living in Maycomb, it is easy to infer than many other citizens in Maycomb have the same views. This one conversation helps Harper Lee show the reader that many poor families were dismissed by families of a higher social class. These opinions held by the citizens of Maycomb unfortunately are still seen in more discreet ways in today's modern institutions. An example of this can be seen in America’s public schools. Public schools in low-income areas are usually underfunded. This means that kids who attend these schools do not have equal opportunities, resources, or advantages, compared to those who attend schools with more funding. This is a simple disadvantage: kids who may need more resources to guide them are put in school environments without the needed resources to