Research Paper “They don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” said Mrs. Maudie (Lee 119). When innocence is face to face with harsh realities of the real world, the destruction of the innocence symbolizes the killing of the mockingbird. Innocence is lost as evil becomes reality. Throughout To Kill A Mockingbird many types of discrimination are shown in the interactions between the characters. The three forms of discrimination that are presented in To Kill A Mockingbird are racism, gender, and social class.
Racism One of the main characters, Tom Robinson, is the most obvious victim dealing with racial discrimination throughout the story. Racism is one of the main themes in To Kill A …show more content…
Calpurnia is an African American who is like a motherly figure to Scout and Jem. “Lulu stopped, but she said, ‘You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here- they got their church, we got our’n. It is our church, ain’t it, Miss Cal?’” (“To Kill A Mockingbird). This quote shows how racism goes both ways. African Americans are racist towards whites, as well as whites are racist towards African Americans. The quote from what Lulu had said was the first time Jem and Scout experienced racism face to face. Although Calpurnia does a lot of motherly things for the Finch family, she is not viewed as an equal member of the Finch family. The reason for her not being equal to the family is, because Calpurnia is African American. “It’s right hard to say suppose you and Scout talked colored-folks’ talk at home it’d be out of place, wouldn’t it? Now what if I talked white-folks’ talk at church, and with my neighbors? They’d think I was puttin’ on airs to beat Moses” (Lee 167). According to the quote from To Kill A Mockingbird, Calpurnia explains to Jem and Scout how she has to live a double life. When Calpurnia is around white people it is not appropriate to talk about African Americans. Additionally, when Calpurnia is around African Americans it also is not appropriate to talk about white people. Racism is very effective in many …show more content…
The Radley’s are one of the reasons there is social class discrimination throughout the story. People hadn’t seen Boo for years, therefore their family dealt with social discrimination. The townspeople noticed Mrs. Radley was also gone. Maycomb County made up many rumors about what happened inside the Radley’s house. Honestly, no one really new the truth about the mysterious Radley’s. “His sinister reputation stems from a later incident, when it was rumored that he stabbed his father in the leg with a pair of scissors,” (“To Kill A Mockingbird”). All the rumors that provoked in Maycomb led to the superstition of the Radley’s household. “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough,” said Scout (Lee 374). Scout now realizes in the book that Boo Radley lives a tough and innocent life. In my opinion, I agree with Atticus’s quote about not knowing someone until you walk around in their
Racism One of the main characters, Tom Robinson, is the most obvious victim dealing with racial discrimination throughout the story. Racism is one of the main themes in To Kill A …show more content…
Calpurnia is an African American who is like a motherly figure to Scout and Jem. “Lulu stopped, but she said, ‘You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here- they got their church, we got our’n. It is our church, ain’t it, Miss Cal?’” (“To Kill A Mockingbird). This quote shows how racism goes both ways. African Americans are racist towards whites, as well as whites are racist towards African Americans. The quote from what Lulu had said was the first time Jem and Scout experienced racism face to face. Although Calpurnia does a lot of motherly things for the Finch family, she is not viewed as an equal member of the Finch family. The reason for her not being equal to the family is, because Calpurnia is African American. “It’s right hard to say suppose you and Scout talked colored-folks’ talk at home it’d be out of place, wouldn’t it? Now what if I talked white-folks’ talk at church, and with my neighbors? They’d think I was puttin’ on airs to beat Moses” (Lee 167). According to the quote from To Kill A Mockingbird, Calpurnia explains to Jem and Scout how she has to live a double life. When Calpurnia is around white people it is not appropriate to talk about African Americans. Additionally, when Calpurnia is around African Americans it also is not appropriate to talk about white people. Racism is very effective in many …show more content…
The Radley’s are one of the reasons there is social class discrimination throughout the story. People hadn’t seen Boo for years, therefore their family dealt with social discrimination. The townspeople noticed Mrs. Radley was also gone. Maycomb County made up many rumors about what happened inside the Radley’s house. Honestly, no one really new the truth about the mysterious Radley’s. “His sinister reputation stems from a later incident, when it was rumored that he stabbed his father in the leg with a pair of scissors,” (“To Kill A Mockingbird”). All the rumors that provoked in Maycomb led to the superstition of the Radley’s household. “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough,” said Scout (Lee 374). Scout now realizes in the book that Boo Radley lives a tough and innocent life. In my opinion, I agree with Atticus’s quote about not knowing someone until you walk around in their