Examples Of Stereotypes In Literature

In news articles and in articles in the newspapers, there are always numerous accounts of people stereotyping others and showing prejudice towards others. Today, there are numerous storylines in the news about cops racially profiling African-Americans and ordinary citizens racially profiling other based on their appearance and actions. Not only are these stereotypes and prejudices displayed in daily life in the world, but it is also displayed in works of literature. Such works of literature that include prejudices, stereotypes, and misconceptions, are To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. The main characters in the three core texts experience outward influences from their …show more content…
Basically, a stereotype is a generalization based on the past and objects in society. A major stereotype in To Kill a Mockingbird is how the white race views the black race. When Tom is on trial, Atticus proves that he is not guilty. Mayella Ewell claims that Tom Robinson beat and raped her and it is clearly shown that someone did beat her badly on her right side. The only problem is that Tom Robinson is crippled on his left side and someone beat Mayella with their left hand. Even though it is quite obvious that Tom Robinson was incapable of beating Mayella, the jury rules Tom guilty just because he is black. By doing so, it shows the type of stereotypes that people in Maycomb had back then. The people immediately think that nay black man is dangerous and guilty. By portraying Tom as a guilty and dangerous man, the people of Maycomb would want to avoid speaking to him. During the time period in which Frankenstein was written, science was the main focus. Science is the cause for the origin of the monster and since people are disclosed to the outside world, they do not know what a monster may look like, which causes them to believe that everything the monster does is to cause harm. When the monster saves a young girl from drowning in a river, the father runs up and believes that the monster is doing something atrocious to his daughter so he shoots the monster in the arm. Instead of communicating with the monster an thanking him for what he did, the man shoots the monster. The man is judging what the monster is doing based on his outside appearance and therefore does not want to communicate with the unappealing monster. When the Walls family is spending an allotted amount of time in Welch, Jeannette’s mom takes the kids to apply for school. When taking an oral exam given by the principle, the Walls have trouble understanding what the man