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To Kill A Mockingbird Prejudice Essay

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Prejudice is embedded into society and is taught from generation to generation. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee the setting is 1930’s in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama. The people in this town look down on those different from them and have been taught prejudice for generations. Even though it was set so long ago the lessons are still applicable to many situations today. In this story a young girl named Scout is the narrator and her father is a lawyer who is representing a black man accused of raping a white girl. It is obvious what the fate of the man will be but the story highlights how and why an innocent man is sent to prison and later murdered.
Being around something all the time makes you perceive the event and attitude …show more content…

This is shown in the text when Atticus tells her not to speak badly of black people in front of Cal : “ You said Braxton Underwood despises Negroes right in front of her” (157). Aunt Alexandra replies with “ Well I’m sure Cal knows it. Everybody in Maycomb knows it” (157). Atticus is scolding Alexandra for talking bad about blacks right in front of Cal but she does not care. Alexandra assumes Cal knows white people don’t like black people and expects Cal to tolerate hearing ignorant things being said about her race. This shows that prejudice was so normalized Alexandra presumed what she was doing as acceptable and not going to offend anyone. Anyone would be offended by what Alexandra was saying but Cal had to keep her mouth shut and accept prejudice.
To Kill A Mockingbird is an important book that has continued to teach people about race and prejudice for over 50 years. Harper Lee’s message is the harsh reality of how prejudice is built into society and is one of the most important messages of the 20th and 21st centuries. This book teaches us to stand up to prejudice and spread more love. It teaches us to look at things from another person's point of view and to be accepting of those who are different from us. Even to this day we face issues involving prejudice such as police brutality, the achievement gap, homophobia, and equal

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