Prejudice In the Society of Maycomb County
“Prejudice is a learned trait. You’re not born prejudiced; you’re taught it.” Charles R. Swindoll once said. This quote relates to the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, because we see how racism in society influences the kids. Jem, Scout, and even Dill realize how the people of Maycomb treat others who are different than them. The kids understand how prejudice impacts people’s everyday lives. Scout experiences some prejudice herself, and so does Tom Robinson. Prejudice is frequently portrayed throughout To Kill a Mockingbird by race, class, and gender. Racial prejudice is often used to show the injustice that takes place in the book. For example, Tom Robinson’s trial has many moments where …show more content…
In chapter 23 Jem explains the social classes of Maycomb County, “‘You know something Scout? I’ve got it all figured out, now. I’ve thought about it a lot lately and I’ve got it figured out. There’s four kinds of folks in the world. There’s the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there’s the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes.’” (Lee 302) This is saying that even the children knew how society in Maycomb was split. There were people who had a good amount of money, people who didn’t really have money and never asked for help, others who had no money at all and lived like pigs, and the Negroes who had to work many many hours for just enough money to get by. In the beginning of the book, we get introduced to Burris Ewell. He goes to school on the first day and doesn’t come back. He is disrespectful and isn’t clean. This scene represents that the Ewells knew they were poor, but didn’t try to do anything about it. The people of Maycomb didn’t really bother with them because they wouldn’t change their ways. They still invite them to things, but not very many people are friends with them. In addition we get introduced to another family, the Cunninghams. They are poor and they never ask for help from anyone. When someone does help them, the Cunninghams pay them back with food and other things, since they …show more content…
During Tom’s trial, Scout asks her father why their neighbor, Miss Maudie can’t be on the jury. Atticus goes on to say, “‘Besides, I doubt if we’d ever get a complete case tried - the ladies’d be interrupting to ask questions.’” (Lee 296) Men thought women wouldn’t be able to handle the case or they would talk to me. Both of those things are stereotypes of women. Another example is of what Scout wears. She usually wears overalls of things that are easy to play in. Her Aunt Alexandra, Mrs. Dubose, and many other women in her life judge her for what she wears and they tell her to start wearing dresses. It was expected of women to always wear dresses and look good. This explains how society thought of women and how they were supposed to look and act. A final example of gender prejudice is Mayella Ewell’s testimony, although this can go back to racial prejudice, it’s still considered gender prejudice. The jury believed her because she was a young girl. They didn’t even consider that she could have tempted Tom. They just saw a sweet innocent girl and went along with her. Not only was Tom a black man, but he was a strong man. This made Mayella look small and innocent compared to him, and therefore, he was imprisoned because people thought all men were
“Prejudice is a learned trait. You’re not born prejudiced; you’re taught it.” Charles R. Swindoll once said. This quote relates to the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, because we see how racism in society influences the kids. Jem, Scout, and even Dill realize how the people of Maycomb treat others who are different than them. The kids understand how prejudice impacts people’s everyday lives. Scout experiences some prejudice herself, and so does Tom Robinson. Prejudice is frequently portrayed throughout To Kill a Mockingbird by race, class, and gender. Racial prejudice is often used to show the injustice that takes place in the book. For example, Tom Robinson’s trial has many moments where …show more content…
In chapter 23 Jem explains the social classes of Maycomb County, “‘You know something Scout? I’ve got it all figured out, now. I’ve thought about it a lot lately and I’ve got it figured out. There’s four kinds of folks in the world. There’s the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there’s the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes.’” (Lee 302) This is saying that even the children knew how society in Maycomb was split. There were people who had a good amount of money, people who didn’t really have money and never asked for help, others who had no money at all and lived like pigs, and the Negroes who had to work many many hours for just enough money to get by. In the beginning of the book, we get introduced to Burris Ewell. He goes to school on the first day and doesn’t come back. He is disrespectful and isn’t clean. This scene represents that the Ewells knew they were poor, but didn’t try to do anything about it. The people of Maycomb didn’t really bother with them because they wouldn’t change their ways. They still invite them to things, but not very many people are friends with them. In addition we get introduced to another family, the Cunninghams. They are poor and they never ask for help from anyone. When someone does help them, the Cunninghams pay them back with food and other things, since they …show more content…
During Tom’s trial, Scout asks her father why their neighbor, Miss Maudie can’t be on the jury. Atticus goes on to say, “‘Besides, I doubt if we’d ever get a complete case tried - the ladies’d be interrupting to ask questions.’” (Lee 296) Men thought women wouldn’t be able to handle the case or they would talk to me. Both of those things are stereotypes of women. Another example is of what Scout wears. She usually wears overalls of things that are easy to play in. Her Aunt Alexandra, Mrs. Dubose, and many other women in her life judge her for what she wears and they tell her to start wearing dresses. It was expected of women to always wear dresses and look good. This explains how society thought of women and how they were supposed to look and act. A final example of gender prejudice is Mayella Ewell’s testimony, although this can go back to racial prejudice, it’s still considered gender prejudice. The jury believed her because she was a young girl. They didn’t even consider that she could have tempted Tom. They just saw a sweet innocent girl and went along with her. Not only was Tom a black man, but he was a strong man. This made Mayella look small and innocent compared to him, and therefore, he was imprisoned because people thought all men were