“Prejudice is a chain, it can hold you. If you prejudice, you can 't move, you keep prejudice for years. Never get nowhere with that” (Bob Marley). Prejudice is a prevalent notion occurring in the world on a daily basis. Some individuals in the world are discriminated against because of their race; however, race is not the only form of prejudice. In the world, several people will also judge on one’s gender and age as well. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, one is able to identify the prevailing theme of prejudice. The novel is set in the early 1930’s, in a small town of Maycomb. It is about a little girl named Jean Louise Finch, but everyone calls her Scout In the story, Jean’s father Atticus is defending …show more content…
The theme prejudice is also evident in the short story “The Scarlet Ibis”, by James Hurst. This short story is a 5 year old brother named Doodle who has a brother that is embarrassed by him because Doodle cannot walk. His brother is embarrassed by Doodle, but tries to teach him how to walk. They then go for a swimming lesson and something horrific happens to Doodle because his brother does not care about him because he is embarrassed from Doodle. Therefore, it is evident that prejudice is a common theme in both, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Scarlet Ibis, where characters in both texts act differently towards others who they do not consider normal. As such, one is able to identify the prejudice in both texts through the …show more content…
In To Kill a Mocking Bird, the plot reveals how people act differently to one who isn’t normal in their eyes. The plot reveals a character named Boo, a middle aged man who is trapped in a basement and eats rats and cats, and only goes out at night. As a result of their prejudice, people act differently towards an individual, thus making rumours about one who is different. “Boo bit off his mother’s finger one night when he couldn’t find any cats to eat” (Lee 22). Prejudice will make one act differently to cause rumours, just because one is different and unlike everyone else one will tend to show that they are above them. In the plot, Boo Radley is mistreated emotionally because they can see the kids reenacting the rumors about him and that would affect him fervently. Another example of how plot makes one act differently to others who are unusual to them is in the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis.” The plot gives the reader subtle hints that Doodle’s brother does not care about him. “Doodle and I headed to Horsehead landing for a swimming lesson, he said he was too tired” (Hurst 3). Doodle’s brother ignores the fact that he is too tired for a swimming lesson, but because of prejudice his brother doesn’t care that he is tired because he wants Doodle to be like everyone else. As the plot advances, Doodle’s brother treats him unfairly when they are running home from a