affected by racism and prejudice. Although there are many examples of this present throughout the text, I will be highlighting three of them; the first one being the Tom Robinson’s case. Another example of this is the bullying Jem and Scout receive as a result of Atticus defending Tom Robinson in court. The last example I’m going to share is the town's disapproval of Mr. Dolphus Raymond’s interracial relationship. All of these examples support my thesis of racism and prejudice being…
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee tells the story of a trial of a black man named Tom Robinson in the Alabama town of Maycomb during the Great Depression. Tom Robinson, despite being innocent of the crime of which he is accused, is convicted. Lee uses this event as well as others to discuss the nature of prejudice and racism. Other forms of discrimination discussed in the novel are sexism and classism. Scout, the daughter of Tom Robinson’s lawyer, Atticus, is ridiculed for her…
from the airport. However the fact that this student was held because of xenophobia, or in this case, “Islamaphobia”, proves the fact that today in the U.S., we hold prejudices that limit the marginalized…
Secondly, class prejudice occurs in the book. It’s shown through how different people in Maycomb are treated. The Finch’s are on the more wealthy side of Maycomb, the Ewells are one of the most poor families in Maycomb, and the Cunninghams are also very poor in terms of money. “Yo’ folks might be better than the Cunningham’s but it don’t count for nothin’ the way you’re disgracin’ ‘em,” (Lee 32). Scout Finch thinks that her little town of Maycomb is a perfect, fairytale town. She soon learns…
The Silent Weapon of Prejudice Every person has the power to wield the deadliest weapon to ever exist in mankind: prejudice. Prejudice is the weapon that destroys even the purest of hearts and is seen not only in To Kill a Mockingbird , but in our day to day lives. From Tom Robinson being found “guilty” because of the color of his skin, to certain ethnicities being looked down upon today, prejudice lies all around us, hiding even in the darkest of corners. In the book, not only was this a time…
The characters in the book To Kill a Mockingbird try to change their ways, so people’s prejudice doesn’t affect them, but most of them can’t overcome the prejudice because the town they grew up in is full of prejudice and for them to stop being prejudice would be hard for them, since it’s engraved into their society,therefore is shows that people's prejudice is hard to defeat. To begin with, on the first day of school Scout’s teacher, Miss. Caroline discovered that Scout was literate and she was…
In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, prejudice had a major impact in Maycomb County. Harper Lee brought the Finch family and other memorable characters to explore prejudice in the segregated Southern United States of the 1930s. Told through the eyes of Scout Finch, the reader learns about her father Atticus Finch, an attorney who hopelessly strives to prove the innocence of a black man unjustly accused of rape; the reader also learns about Boo Radley, a mysterious neighbor who saves Scout and…
To Kill A Mockingbird is a novel that presents extreme prejudice against blacks. The prejudice is shown on several occasions, especially in the Tom Robinson trial. Tom’s trial is similar to the Plessy vs. Ferguson case that took place in 1896. In both cases the defendant is ruled guilty because of their skin color. In the Plessy vs. Ferguson case Homer Plessy, who is only one-eighth black, is jailed for sitting in the “white” car when he was supposed to be sitting in the “colored” car. He is…
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, an African American man by the name of Tom Robinson is forced to go on trial for the rape of a young woman in Maycomb, Alabama, a crime he didn’t commit. Most people knew Tom Robinson as a decent man; however, because he was African Americans, he faced unbelievable prejudices in court and was therefore convicted. Following his trial, Tom’s principled lawyer, Atticus Finch, states it plainly, "They’ve done it before and they did it tonight and they’ll do it…
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee takes place in the 1930s in a fictional southern town in Alabama. Told through the eyes of 6 year old Scout Finch, you learn about her father, Atticus Finch, an attorney who tries to prove the innocence of a black man falsely accused of rape of a white girl; and about Boo Radley, a mysterious neighbor who saves Scout and her brother Jem from being killed. To Kill A Mockingbird includes themes such as racism, prejudice, and ____. Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson and…