Prejudice In To Kill a Mockingbird “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy...That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 90, ch. 10). This quote, though simple, is absolutely bursting with meaning. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming-of-age story detailing the lives of two children living in 1930’s Alabama through the Great Depression. During this, they learn various life lessons crucial in enabling them to develop their own morals and values, a skill all too rare during this era. To Kill a Mockingbird is about prejudice and reveals that preconceptions made about others, albeit being morally wrong, are inevitable. The main examples of prejudice throughout the book include racism, classism, and prejudice
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Although there were several quotes that could be classified as significant in these chapters, one in particular especially stood out to me. In chapter 23, Atticus says, “The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box” (Lee 295, ch. 23). Although there was a large amount of evidence that pointed towards Tom Robinson being innocent and Mr. Ewell himself being the guilty party, Tom was convicted anyways simply because of the jury’s biased opinion that because he was African American, he was at …show more content…
In an earlier chapter, Scout tells Calpurnia, “He ain’t company, Cal, he’s just a Cunningham” (Lee 33, ch. 3). This signifies that Scout believes Walter and the rest of his family are below her in a sense because they are extremely poor. This may seem a little out of character for her, but when you think about it, she’s only saying what she’s been taught. Scout is very impressionable at such a young age, and though she’s definitely more opinionated than most, she must have picked up on everyone else’s stance concerning the Cunninghams. For example, in response to Scout asking if Walter can come to their house, Aunt Alexandra replies with, “Jean Louise, there is no doubt in my mind that they’re good folks. But they're not our kind of folks” (Lee 223, ch. 23). This supports the idea that discrimination and prejudice are taught and influenced by the environment a person grows up in, not just their own separate
Although there were several quotes that could be classified as significant in these chapters, one in particular especially stood out to me. In chapter 23, Atticus says, “The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box” (Lee 295, ch. 23). Although there was a large amount of evidence that pointed towards Tom Robinson being innocent and Mr. Ewell himself being the guilty party, Tom was convicted anyways simply because of the jury’s biased opinion that because he was African American, he was at …show more content…
In an earlier chapter, Scout tells Calpurnia, “He ain’t company, Cal, he’s just a Cunningham” (Lee 33, ch. 3). This signifies that Scout believes Walter and the rest of his family are below her in a sense because they are extremely poor. This may seem a little out of character for her, but when you think about it, she’s only saying what she’s been taught. Scout is very impressionable at such a young age, and though she’s definitely more opinionated than most, she must have picked up on everyone else’s stance concerning the Cunninghams. For example, in response to Scout asking if Walter can come to their house, Aunt Alexandra replies with, “Jean Louise, there is no doubt in my mind that they’re good folks. But they're not our kind of folks” (Lee 223, ch. 23). This supports the idea that discrimination and prejudice are taught and influenced by the environment a person grows up in, not just their own separate