Examination of To Kill a Mockingbird and its portrayal of Prejudice
“Prejudice, a dirty word, and faith, a clean one, have something in common: they both begin where reason ends.” - Harper Lee This quote discusses the dangers of prejudice, and suggests that it is unreasonable and dangerous. Prejudice can be used in bad ways, such as profiling someone based on race, or financial background, which leads to making ideas about someone without backing it up with actual evidence. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the characters of the story to portray prejudice in a negative way to the reader through the actions and teachings of Boo Radley, Atticus Finch and the black community. All of these three people or groups of people were …show more content…
They are viewed as less than the white man, and segregated from the rest of the community. This segregation and negative attitude towards the black community can be seen when the people of Maycomb are waiting for the Tom Robinson trial to begin: “In the far corner of the square, the Negroes sat quietly in the sun, dining on sardines, crackers and more vivid flavours of Nehi Cola.” (Lee, 182) The black community is seen as lower than the white community, so they are separated from them. They are seen as mysterious, and untrustworthy, just because of a generalization of their skin colour. Throughout the book, Scout and Jem learn about how these generalizations are completely false, through several actions the black community of Maycomb take. For example, after the Tom Robinson trial, as a sign of respect, they give food to the Finch family, even through they have much less food then them: “Calpurnia said: ‘[The food] was all ‘round the back steps when I got here this morning. [The black community] ‘preciate what you did, Mr. Finch’.” This is a sign of respect and compassion for Atticus, which would have unexpected from the black community based on the generations made about their skin colour. This taught Scout and Jem a lesson that generalization of people based on race was dangerous for someone to do, because it can mislead you when judging and …show more content…
This is shown through the outcast Boo Radley, and how he is is misunderstood, leading people to blame him for crimes in Maycomb. Atticus Finch uses the events of the story to teach his children about how prejudice can make someone seem weak, and teaches the children how to avoid it. The black community is seen as lower than the white community, yet proves themselves to the reader by being compassionate, and showing respect to Atticus. They are extremely giving and selfless when they give Atticus food, when they have much less of it than him. The idea of prejudice towards others is very important in the current society, where the idea of diversity and equality for all is booming. People who were previously generalized, such as some cultural groups, homosexuals etc.., are beginning to break free of the prejudice previously placed on them. Equality for all and the diminishing of prejudice against others is the next step for our world, and will be the driving force for peace and happiness in the
“Prejudice, a dirty word, and faith, a clean one, have something in common: they both begin where reason ends.” - Harper Lee This quote discusses the dangers of prejudice, and suggests that it is unreasonable and dangerous. Prejudice can be used in bad ways, such as profiling someone based on race, or financial background, which leads to making ideas about someone without backing it up with actual evidence. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the characters of the story to portray prejudice in a negative way to the reader through the actions and teachings of Boo Radley, Atticus Finch and the black community. All of these three people or groups of people were …show more content…
They are viewed as less than the white man, and segregated from the rest of the community. This segregation and negative attitude towards the black community can be seen when the people of Maycomb are waiting for the Tom Robinson trial to begin: “In the far corner of the square, the Negroes sat quietly in the sun, dining on sardines, crackers and more vivid flavours of Nehi Cola.” (Lee, 182) The black community is seen as lower than the white community, so they are separated from them. They are seen as mysterious, and untrustworthy, just because of a generalization of their skin colour. Throughout the book, Scout and Jem learn about how these generalizations are completely false, through several actions the black community of Maycomb take. For example, after the Tom Robinson trial, as a sign of respect, they give food to the Finch family, even through they have much less food then them: “Calpurnia said: ‘[The food] was all ‘round the back steps when I got here this morning. [The black community] ‘preciate what you did, Mr. Finch’.” This is a sign of respect and compassion for Atticus, which would have unexpected from the black community based on the generations made about their skin colour. This taught Scout and Jem a lesson that generalization of people based on race was dangerous for someone to do, because it can mislead you when judging and …show more content…
This is shown through the outcast Boo Radley, and how he is is misunderstood, leading people to blame him for crimes in Maycomb. Atticus Finch uses the events of the story to teach his children about how prejudice can make someone seem weak, and teaches the children how to avoid it. The black community is seen as lower than the white community, yet proves themselves to the reader by being compassionate, and showing respect to Atticus. They are extremely giving and selfless when they give Atticus food, when they have much less of it than him. The idea of prejudice towards others is very important in the current society, where the idea of diversity and equality for all is booming. People who were previously generalized, such as some cultural groups, homosexuals etc.., are beginning to break free of the prejudice previously placed on them. Equality for all and the diminishing of prejudice against others is the next step for our world, and will be the driving force for peace and happiness in the