When I was in elementary school, I can recall being the only mixed-race child in my class. Although I did not realize it at the time, the fact that I am biracial is what separated me from others, trapping me in a no man’s land. I was never enough of one ethnicity to be a part of the Asian or Caucasian group. As a result, I was alone most of the time and did not have many friends, just like Scout Finch from the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. In the novel, Scout does not fit in with a specific group: she is too wild to befriend other girls her age, and cannot hang out with boys because she is a girl. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the theme that being unique is not a quality to be ashamed of is developed through Scout. Despite her differences, Scout justifies this theme by questioning her teacher’s opinion on …show more content…
Miss Gates, Scout’s third grade teacher assigns her students to find a current event topic to present in class. On the day the assignment is due, Cecil Jacobs, one of Scout’s peers, brings in an article about Hitler and the persecution of Jews and presents it to the class. Miss Gates responds to the article with a strong disdain for persecution. She explains that persecution comes from prejudiced people, and that she is proud to live in America because the country does not persecute its citizens. Scout is bothered by Miss Gates’ words, for she clearly remembers her teacher supporting the persecution of Tom Robinson shortly after his trial. Later on in the day, she explains to Jem that she does not understand how people could loathe Hitler for persecuting the Jews, but then support the persecution going on in their own town. The development of Scout’s abstract thinking at a young age shows that her thoughts are more mature than those of her peers, proving that it is not always a humiliating thing to be
In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” society shapes and influences Scout and makes her see the reality of social hierarchy and discrimination in society. For instance, in the text it states, “If there’s just one kind of folks, why can’t they get along with each other? If they’re all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other? (Lee 304). Literally speaking, this quote tells us that despite everyone being the same, there is still hate towards others, and discrimination is still present in their society. This quote may suggest and show how Scout is influenced by society and changed into someone more mature, and can now see the disparities and understand the discriminations shown in her society. Another example states, “There’s four kinds of folks in the world, there’s
Discrimination: a noun that is defined as, “the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex”. There are many types of discrimination in To Kill a Mockingbird. To Kill a Mockingbird is a story that is taken place during the Great Depression . Scout is the main character and her father Atticus is defending a man named Tom Robinson, who is a Negro. There are three main topics that are discriminated in To Kill a Mockingbird. The three main topics that are discriminated are socioeconomics, gender, and most importantly, racism.
Intolerance is the unwillingness to accept views, beliefs, or behavior that differ from one's own. In To Kill A Mockingbird, the society of Maycomb, Alabama is very intolerant, as is Scout in the beginning of the novel. Towards the end, however as Scout grows, she starts to view the world differently and become more accepting of people's lives that differ from hers. Scout develops as a character from an innocent, intolerant little girl to a more knowledgeable and understanding human being.
When Scout begins to notice the views of her peers and those around her, she is confused by people’s prejudice overruling their judgement.
In Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, one of the most prominent themes used in the novel is the action of intolerance and the affect it has on all people. The theme of intolerance is fully explored in the case of Tom Robinson and the underlying racism shown in the treatment of him. Intolerance is met by all three main characters, Scout, Atticus and Jem but is experience by many of the other supporting characters. There was no one kind of intolerant person; they all came from different background, which is testimony to the point of the book ‘You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of views.’ This quote shows that you have no idea why a person does what they do until you experience things from their
Discrimination is prejudicial treatment towards different kinds of people based on any differentiating criteria, such as their race, behavior, or sex. Throughout Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, various forms of discrimination are shown. Racism is an obvious form that is shown in the story with characters such as Tom Robinson and Calpurnia being the targets. However, there are also signs of prejudice and sexism in the story with characters such as Boo Radley and Scout Finch.. The forms of discrimination shown in To Kill a Mockingbird are racism, prejudice, and sexism
Holding prejudices inhibits people, and for Scout, the oppression of Mayella Ewell and the black community teach her that all people are prejudiced. Taking her first steps towards understanding, Scout recognizes the ingrained racism of Maycomb when she reflects on her teacher’s (Miss Gates) hypocrisy.(VB) Though Miss Gates condones Hitler for his prejudices towards Jews, she turns around and believes less of the black community right at home. “I heard her say it’s time somebody taught ‘em a lesson, they were gettin’ way above themselves, an’ the next thing they think they can do is marry us. Jem, how can you hate Hitler so much, then turn around and be ugly to folks right at home” (331).
This experience introduces Scout to the racial tension in the Jim Crow South as well as two types of African Americans: those like Lula who discriminate against the whites and those like Reverend who want to treat everyone equal and welcome the white children. Although many critics beliefs that Scout is a unreliable narrator because Scout is an inexperience child in the novel, and the adult Scout who narrates the story might not fully remember the details about her childhood (Goodread). While this is true, it is important to consider the point that Scout’s honest and outspoken personality make her a objective
In the Novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, The Narrator Scout Finch relays her experiences of Racism and Prejudice. Children are new to the world, they haven’t experienced the real world yet. They have unbiased opinions, they don’t know the stereotypes until they figure it out themselves. Scout Finch is just a little girl during the great depression. In Maycomb county where she lives, Black people were frowned upon by most families. People even shunned others if they were married to a black man or women if they were white. If a Black person was convicted of a crime they would most likely be found guilty.
When has society protected the innocent who have been persecuted wrongly even when they understand that these individuals have done nothing wrong? Most of the times society has encountered this issue, society as a whole agreed to persecute the individual beyond a reasonable doubt, even when they have a sense of doubt that the persecuted person is innocent. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there are many people who come into the story with a kind and gentle façade. However, underneath that façade, they are cruel and unforgiving beings who behave like the cruel society that persecutes the innocent. Lee creates a figurative expression to express this which compares the persecuted people to a mockingbird. The people who represent
A white woman accused Tom Robinson with rape and harassment. Now that the trial is over and we know that it is not true, he was sentenced to prison. Tom eventually tried to escape. Tom was shot seventeen times. I can see how Tom would try to escape for something he did not do. To be shot seventeen times you will die. Tom Robinson died having to deal with racism his whole life. Tom was a great man. Tom would help out around with the Ewells without even earning a penny. Saying that they were going through the Great Depression, I would say he is very loyal. For this to happen to him was tragic. Now Boo Radley had been prisoned in side the basement. When he was younger he stabbed his father with a scissors. Ever since then everyone had been scared
Discrimination is a timeless problem apparent throughout all of history. People have taken steps against these reckless ideas, but the problems have yet to become completely obsolete. It has taken many individuals and institutions to get where we are now. In the 1960s people began to fight the ideas of racism and discrimination in their own homes and within their own families. Many families have to deal with issues involving discrimination, but families address this situation in different manners based on their direct involvement.
The book How to Kill a Mockingbird explains life in the 1930’s for small southern towns. In the book, the small town of Maycomb County, Alabama shows a numerous amount of discrimination among and directed towards the general public. Some of the discrimination was not only occurring in small southern towns, but all over the United States. The social classes, religion, and racism are some of the types of discrimination that was present in this time period in American History. One of the major discrimination was the social standings of the town’s folks.
Finally, touching the end of To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout Finch refines into a Good Samaritan. At school, when she learns about the brutal German dictator Adolf Hitler, Scout’s teacher, Miss Gate bitterly comments on Adolf Hitler’s temperament. While finding Miss Gate’s attitudes absurd, Scout talks to Jem, quoting, “Well, coming out of the courthouse that night…I heard [Miss Gate] say it’s time somebody taught ‘em a lesson… Jem, how can you hate Hitler so bad an’ then’ turn around and be ugly about the folks right at home—”(Lee 250). Scout is able to see the hypocritical and ironic attitudes of Miss Gate who dislikes Hitler due to his inhumane demeanors yet fails to see her own unjust behaviours, like the priest from “The Parable of the Good
When Scout begins to notice the views of her peers and those around her, she is confused by people’s prejudice overruling their judgement.