Racism or Discrimination, It’s Still Prejudice To Kill a Mockingbird During the 1930’s, in the southern states, people were poor, white or black and they had to behave according to their colour, gender as well as their social standing. Prejudice- a judgment or opinion formed before hand or without thoughtful examination of the pertinent facts, issues or arguments: especially an unfavourable, irrational opinion (The Reader’s Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1063). In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, prejudice is seen in many forms, such as racial prejudice and social prejudice. However, prejudice can be overcome when people take the time to start seeing people for who they are; good or evil.
He would probably have poured it into his milk glass had I not asked what the sam hill he was doing” (24). After Walter drenched his food in syrup, Cal pulled Scout into the kitchen and scolded her for yelling at Walter. Cal explained that Scout should be polite to guests even if they use a lot of syrup because not everyone eats the same way as the Finches. Like many six-year-olds, Scout is ignorant and thinks that the way she, or her family, does something is the only way to do it. Her ignorance and fear show her immaturity, but are typical for a
Prejudice can be passed down from generation to generation. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird this becomes the main theme of the novel. Because of Scout involvement with others at school she is called a nigger. The word nigger isn't even in the dictionary but it was normal in earlier times for black people to be called nigger. As many people were prejudice around Scout surroundings made her believe that it was okay to be allowed for people to act in that matter and be call a nigger.
They [the police] didn’t have to shoot him that much.’ ” (235). After Tom was convicted and sent to jail, Tom knew there was no chance of getting himself acquitted, so Tom attempted to flee the jail. The end result was Tom getting shot and killed. When Tom tried to escape the prison, he was warned by the officers but ultimately paid with his life. After Tom was dead, the cops continued to shoot Tom for their own gratification because he was simply a black man.
An example of Evyn being unintelligent was when her so-called friends, Andrea’s group, calls her Evelyn and doesn’t talk to her unless it’s to ask about updates with Ajax, she doesn’t realize that they’re just using her. Evyn was also, very inconsiderate and selfish. She didn’t seem to notice how happy her father, Birdie was after he had proposed to Eleni. Evyn doesn’t seem to care what his father felt and made it harder for him. “Bounce” was an interesting book that showed problems that actually happen to 13 year olds.
Finally, Bob Ewell represents the greatest cowardice, as he both lies in the courtroom to protect himself and resorts to attacking children in the darkness in order to make himself feel more of a man. There are several examples of courage in To Kill a Mockingbird. One example of courage would be when Atticus waited outside Tom Robinsons jail cell. He knew that there would probably be a mob, and he even later told Jem that they might have hurt him a bit, but he knew that he couldnt leave Tom alone. His sense of justice was stronger than his fear for himself, so he sat with Tom, prepared to defend him from whoever would punish him for a crime he didnt commit.Another example of courage was when Boo Radley rescued Jem and Scout.
How does Harper Lee use minor characters in To Kill A Mockingbird to explore some of the main concerns of the novel? 1) Harper Lee used Dolphous Raymond to explain how racism was at the time. Raymond could not be himself because people would judge him because he had a negro wife and children. 2) Harper Lee used Aunt Alexandra and Mrs. Dubose to explain how people were biased. Scout could not do anything without Aunt Alexandra and Mrs. Dubose criticizing what Scout was wearing, doing, and behaving.
Brandon Montellano Mr. Nadherny Patterns in Literature, Period 5 11 November 2011 Themes of To Kill a Mockingbird “It is a sin to kill a mockingbird” Said by Atticus Finch, father of two children and a defender of an innocent man, Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman who is put in court for the act he did not do. In the story to kill a mocking bird, Scout, the daughter of Atticus, sees many different themes such as prejudice, intoerance and courage shown and demonstrated trough out many characters and especially through the Tom Robinson case. Prejudice today is nothing different than it was back than where people judge and say thing about others who they see through a foggy window. Though many types of prejudice
Judge Taylor was polling the jury: ‘Guilty… guilty… guilty…guilty…’” (282). When Tom runs off and gets shot at, the county shows racism. First, when Tom tries to run away from the prison he was found with 17 bullet holes in him. (315). This shows racism because it would not take 17 bullets to kill a man.
Justice is shown in Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ in an ironic sense when Bob Ewell who is the cause of the climax of racial tension in the novel, falls on his own knife. The context of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is very similar to that of ‘The Tracker’ in that there was racism from the beginning and the story is about a peak in this racism and one man who tries to challenge the respective status quos of their societies. Where Atticus and the tracker differ is in their contexts. Atticus is not responsible directly for the death of Bob Ewell but in a way by Atticus making people think as he stood up for Tom Robinson in the court case, people began to look down on Bob Ewell even more than they had previously, the opposite reaction to what Mr Ewell had hoped for, which ended up killing him. Strangely enough the antagonist in the Tracker is also dead at the conclusion as penance for the evil deeds he has committed however the Tracker is directly responsible for his death as he hangs him to avenge the Aboriginal victims he killed as well as his own white colleague.