Another thing portrayed prejudice in the novel, is the way whites talk to blacks. "I said come here nigger, and bust up this chiffarobe for me, I gotta nickel for you”(Lee241). Referring to an African American as a "nigger" is completely disrespectful and making them seem like they are lower than the whites are, which is not the case. No person wants to be spoken to in that manner, white or black. This word is used immensely throughout the novel, especially during the trial.
According to Du Bois, the veil represents the prejudices created by generations of slavery. It serves to prevent black attainment of not just civil rights, but human rights. Du Bois was jarringly made aware of prejudice, or the presence of "the veil" in grade school. A white girl would not accept a card from him. "Then it dawned on me with a certain suddenness that I was different from the others; or like, mayhap, in heart and life and longing, but shut out from their world by a vast veil.
In Harper Lee’s compellingly poignant novel, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ we witness various forms of racism and injustice. As the protagonist, Scout exposes the bigotry present in Maycomb County and what the characters endured because of it, particularly the African Americans. We also observe the discrimination that certain characters, such as Atticus Finch and Mr. Dolphus endure because of the racial stereotypes who couldn’t comprehend their belief for justice for all. Racism in Maycomb was the norm. Most of the people of Maycomb were unjust and ignorant when it came to the most basic rights of the African Americans.
In the documentary Jane Elliot focuses on discrimination against women, homosexuals and mostly against African Americans and how society is biased to suit the oppressors. The blue eyed brown eyed exercise teaches white people what its like to be black in the United States of America. This is done by separating the blue eyed people who are all white and the brown eyed people and making the blue eyed people feel inferior by treating them the same way as blacks are treated in society. In the documentary Jane Elliot uses the exercise to make the blue eyed people feel uncomfortable, frustrated, humiliated, and discriminated against. By doing this she is simulating society’s discrimination of minority groups.
Crain 1 Black is the New White Does a new attitude change your skin color? The phrase, “acting white” is used to degrade another race because of speech, appearance, intellectual thought, and the crowd that people decide to hang with on a daily basis. People that are not on the same level of intelligence as others get insulted and that’s when “acting white” becomes a bad thing. Then, people give black people this image, that everyone seems to think all black people have to look up to black in society. Such as; non-correct usage of English, can’t speak English, do not own any dress clothes, cuss, men wear baggy jeans, women wear tight clothes, no job, don’t read books, and the list goes on past the general observations.
It was much harder for blacks to get a job, and there employment position could be described as ‘the last to be hired, the first to be fired’. African Americans faced discrimination almost in every job, and they earned less, often due to the poor educational opportunities. The voting rights were different in the North from the South. In the North, almost all African Americans could vote. In the South however, the blacks were disfranchised, since the state governments introduced literacy tests, tests on the knowledge of constitution and Poll taxes, which African Americans had trouble with, because of poor education and financial problems.
Any country that conquest another country has to impose it culture by obligating its language, religion, and traditions to fully conquest the other country. To many people from the dependent country, it is hard to learn the language imposed because of the lack of good education and experience. The dominant society may think that because of their anatomy or their race they are not able to do so. In the text “Black Children are Verbally Deprived” by Walt Wolfram, the author explains how the North American society supposes that African American has a different English speech because the segregation and the poor education they have had. Nowadays, Puerto Ricans are having the same problems as the African Americans did before with the North Americans in terms of the use of English.
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”. This quote reveals that Atticus is mainly focusing on the racial aspect of prejudice as it is the most dominant form of prejudice in TKAM. As well as showing that he understands the ethic of empathy and understanding, that he preaches to Scout and Jem. Atticus also proves how the people of Maycomb do not understand Negros as they have not experienced the abuse that comes with the colour of your skin. In the novel there is also the aspect of classism in prejudice with the hierarchy of families being instilled into the society of Maycomb.
Racial discrimination was very prevalent during the 1930's especially in the South. There are many examples of racial discrimination in this book. One example of this is when Jem is talking to Scout and Dill about Mr. Raymond's children. “They don't belong anywhere. Colored folks won't have 'em because they're half white; White folks won't have 'em cause they're colored so they're just just in-betweens, don't belong anywhere” (161).
Despite these clashes of perspective, the main conflict between mother and son derives from Julian’s inability to put his pride aside, accept the sacrifices his mother made for him, and move on from his lack of success in the real world. Julian sees himself as a martyr for African-Americans. He fantasizes about bringing home a black girlfriend just to frustrate his mother mad and sympathizing with all the hardships she has to endure because she is black (O’Connor 1023). Julian’s mother admits that she believes blacks were better off as slaves and that “they should rise, yes, but on their own side of the fence” (O’Connor 1018). She exhibits the philosophy of “separate but equal.” This attitude might place her in the racist category, but there