...Discrimination, injustice and racial prejudice are simply part of the norms in the fictional town of Maycomb in Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. Different kinds of prejudice are interlinked in the novel, indicating that the unstable economic situation and isolated nature of the community means that prejudice is directed towards all sorts of characters who do not fit into the expected behavioural patterns of society. The dominant forms of prejudice in the novel are racial and social prejudice, actively displayed by Bob Ewell and Aunt Alexandra. There is also inequality for women in Maycomb. Atticus’s maxim leads to the understanding and tolerance rather than prejudice. It is suggested that although it is unlikely that prejudice can be eliminated altogether, ‘baby steps’ can be taken to change the attitude of the Maycomb community. Maycomb is divided into clearly defined social classes. Jem recognises the class structure when he talks of ‘four kinds of folks in the world’ – the normal people such as the Finches, Cunninghams out in the wood, and Ewells down the dump and the ‘negroes’. The black community in Maycomb is automatically seen as the bottom of the social strata, even below the lowest class than the Ewells, who are categorised by the community as ‘white trash’. When Tom Robinson shows that he felt sorry for Mayella, this is immediately seized upon by Mr Gilmer as it would be interpreted as the lowest class of citizen showing superiority towards a class above it. Social...
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...Al Sharpton once said “As I often say, we have come a long way from the days of slavery, but in 2014, discrimination and inequality still saturate our society in modern ways. Though racism may be less blatant now in many cases, its existence is undeniable” While Sharpton claims we have come a long way in regard to prejudice of blacks, in the 1930s many blacks and whites who opposed the segregation of blacks felt the hatred produced by white southerners. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, it is obvious that there are many issues in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. In a time where segregation was more common than ever, many southerners began to form bias opinions towards African Americans. This unjust judgment of different...
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...In July of 1960 a lady named Harper Lee decided to publish a book that would affect society in ways that she never even imagined. To Kill a Mockingbird, released at the height of the civil rights movement, changed the way people saw each other and themselves. Back then a lot of people did not completely understand life in the South, and they looked down upon it. However, her novel delivered a point of view that people had never seen from before, and opened their eyes to the discrimination and mistreatment that African Americans were being put through. The book takes place in 1930's Alabama, in the midst of the Great Depression. It is narrated by a young girl named Scout Finch who retells her experiences as a child when her father was defending...
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...Discrimination is a serious problem even in today’s society, these three stories either show a true event of discrimination, or have a general theme about how discrimination is bad and should be thought about carefully. Johnson burns the American flag, but that same flag protects from getting in trouble. Johnson receives from the state of Texas because he burned the US flag, the people of Texas think that this is goes against American rights but during a court case between Texas and Johnson, the court states: “We decline, therefore, to create for the flag an exception to the joust of principles protected by the First Amendment….” The court is saying that even though he is burning the flag, and although the court does not agree with it, the First Amendment protects him because he is expressing his freedom of speech, it does not harm any person....
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...Discrimination is the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, religion, age, or sex. Recognition and understanding of the difference between one thing and another. The treatment of a person or particular group of people differently, in a way that is worse than the way people are usually treated. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the characters that were discriminated was Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, Scout, Jem, The Ewells, Mr. Dolphus Raymond, and The Black Community in the south. Harper Lee shows discrimination of religion and age of the character named Boo Radley by when Miss Maudie said, “ You know old Mr. Radley was a foot-washing Baptist...” (Lee Page...
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..."To Kill a Mockingbird", by Harper Lee, is a novel set in Maycomb, Alabama in the years 1933-35, during the great depression. "an old tired town when I first knew it", summer heat and slow pace of life. She notes, "There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb County" (Lee, page 6) .In this rural town, a 6-year-old tomboy by the name of Jean Louise Finch, or Scout as she prefers to be called. Scout loves to fight and won't take any trash talk about herself and her or her dad. Scout will always take the violent route because she has learned the lesson that "might makes right". often resorts to physical violence because she wants to prove that she...
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...Outsiders Our society has issues regarding racism and discrimination, but is it really fair? What if you were in their shoes, how would you feel about it now? Social issues in our society with racism and discrimination have been a problem for years and it’s also a very touchy subject to some people. Some people argue that talking about supporting racial discrimination and prejudice is just words and that freedom of speech should allow such views to be aired without restriction. Other people point out that those words can lead to some very dreadful and serious consequences. In To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel by Harper Lee clarifies about racial and excommunication. When Harper Lee was younger and how outsiders were dealing with racial discrimination...
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...Racial discrimination is prejudice towards a person due to his or her race. Discrimination occurs due to the fact that one race believes that they are better than the other races. Most kinds of discrimination are violence, segregation, and biased judgment. Another kind of discrimination is stereotyping, which is where a certain race of people are all believed to have a particular idea or way that they act, and have an oversimplified image. My chosen story is “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee and is about Scout and Jem Finch, two kids in the 1930s, who watches the trial of Tom Robinson, an African American, who was accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white girl. Even with all the evidence and the obvious fact that Tom was innocent, the jury and judge both chose to say...
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...It seems like almost everyone has to be perfect to not get judged. There people in life who say all the right things at the right times. There will also be people who will say all the wrong things at the wrong times. If God wanted this world to be perfect and everybody be the same, then he would have created that way. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee everyone seems to be discriminated by their looks or how they dress. Six year old Scout, who acts like a tomboy likes to voices her opinions and recognize hypocrisy and injustice in her elders, just so happens to be be at the right place at the right time and say the right thing. Aunt Alexandra, the kind of woman who wears a corset even under her bathrobe, and has to be a perfectionist, walks in the front door and the first thing she says is, “ Put my bags in front of the bedroom Calpernia” and “ Jeane Louise stop scratching your head” was the second thing she said. What this is showing is that Aunt Alexandra jumps to conclusion when she sees Calpernia standing in the Finch’s house. This shows how people can come to judgment...
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...Discrimination is so unknowingly dangerous, it causes a plethora of people to die. In the literary works of To Kill a Mocking Bird, and 12 Angry Men, people were killed or almost killed because of their ethnic or social economic background. These situations happen all over the world, and these stories bring them to life. Maycomb, a quiet old town in the South, has one problem-discrimination towards those who are different. For this reason alone, Tom Robinson, a black slave, was sent to death for a crime he didn't commit. Jem stated, "once you have a drop of negro blood, you are all black," (Lee 56) when talking about a half black citizen. The mere association with black people makes yourself "black". The people of Maycomb avoid black people...
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...In the novel to kill a mocking bird there is many examples of discrimination. Discrimination is the injust treatment of a person based on their appearance, race, sexuality, class, or gender. There are three main types of discrimination found in this novel and these are racism, which is the main form of discrimination found in this novel; sexism; and classism. These forms of discrimination put together form the main plot of this book. Racism is a belief that all members of a particular race possess certain traits or abilities. There is many forms of racism in this novel, many of the bad things being towards African Americans. Calpurnia is the only African American person treated decently in the course of this novel, she is employed by white people and they appreciate her. The only character that says anything bad about her was Aunt...
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...Throughout the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee discusses the effects of discrimination and the toll it takes on people. Through examples of sexism, prejudice, and racism, from the townsfolk of a small town in Alabama, she shows the readers the injustice of many. The victims of discrimination serve as the ‘mockingbirds’ of the story, as said by Atticus,“Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (Lee, 94). In essence, this story demonstrates the loss of innocence of many, especially Scout who is affected by sexism and racism most of all. By far, one of the most evident forms of discrimination present in To Kill a Mockingbird is racism. It impacts the actions of every single character in the book and formulates...
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...“Cry about the simple hell people give other people without even thinking” (Lee 269). In this statement, Dolphus Raymond speaks to the children and attempts at opening their minds to the reality of hatred and discrimination at the base of humanity. Throughout Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, it becomes quite evident that growing up in a world full of hatred looks much different through eyes that have not seen prejudice. Through these innocent perspectives, the reader looks through a window to see the very raw core of human nature. Because of this purity, that Jem and Scout see Tom as a mockingbird. Tom represents a mockingbird in a few, yet significant, ways. First of all he ignites the children to sing their own song of youthful innocence; he is a minority and considered “crippled” in the eyes of many characters in the novel. Finally, Tom goes out of his way to be a hard-working and helpful man, even though his graciousness is not reciprocated. All of the way through the trial of Tom Robinson, many injustices become clear to both Scout and Jem. The unfair and biased treatment of Robinson leads to...
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...other various events in the 1930’s inspired Harper Lee’s world renown novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. Three events that profoundly correspond to the novel are the Jim Crow laws, mob mentality, and the Scottsboro trials. The first influence on Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird are the Jim Crow laws. The Jim Crow laws are a set of anti-Black laws in order to keep whites on the top of the racial caste system (Pilgrim). The Jim Crow laws vary from ordering Blacks to let White motorists go first at intersections...
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...Would To Kill A Mockingbird be relevant or not. The novel To Kill A Mockingbird has succeeded the test of time. To Kill A Mockingbird is relevant because it defines different stereotypes, bad and good ones. Schools are still reading To Kill a Mockingbird. According to, Why Does 'To Kill A Mockingbird' Still Have Such An Impact, “Every year, students come when I teach this course, they want to work on ‘To Kill a Mockingbird. This proves that everybody is interested in To Kill A Mockingbird. As you can see To Kill A Mockingbird is still relevant to schools. Kids learn from the book To Kill a Mockingbird. “The narrator, Scout, is a delight”. “She has an ironic view of life but at the same time, is innocent”. She is also a strong female role model. It teaches kids about “discrimination, racism, cruelty” and growing up. To Kill A Mockingbird has topics that teenagers can connect with. Others might say that To Kill a Mockingbird is not relevant. “A source stated that Harper Lee doesn’t really measure up to the others in literary talent, but we like to pretend she does.” The characters are stereotypes especially Atticus Finch, Bob Ewell and Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson was the brave stereotype, Bob Ewell was the bully and liar stereotype, and Atticus Finch was the brave, forgiving and kind stereotype. As you can see in To Kill A Mockingbird...
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