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Persecution In To Kill A Mockingbird

Decent Essays

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

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