Prejudice will always be apart of human nature. Prejudice is when one has a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. Many citizens in the world do not realize they demonstrate prejudice in their life. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates prejudice through racism, social class, and sexism through certain characters, to emphasize not to judge a person before being placed in their shoes.
Racism is represented to strengthen Harper Lee’s theme of prejudice. Mrs. Dubose yells at Jem and Scout across the street, “‘Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for!”’ (Lee 117). Mrs. Dubose showed quite the character of racism. She is upset and angry that Atticus is helping Tom in
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In Maycomb County, Jem and Scout have certain beliefs about the different families in the county. Jem states, “There’s four types of folks in the world. There’s the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there’s the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods, and a kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes” (Lee 258). This quote is showing what Jem believes, and what he has taught himself from what he has seen. Jem is “ranking” the families in Maycomb County. He has put himself, and his family at the top, and black people at the bottom. Throughout the book, Harper Lee there introduces the Cunninghams, who are more poor than Finch’s, and then the Ewells, who are the poorest, living behind the dump. On the other hand, Miss Caroline, an outsider from northern Alabama, does not understand the social ranks in Maycomb. Scout tries to explain to her, ‘“That’s okay, ma’am, you'll get to know all the county folks after a while”’ (Lee 22). A couple paragraphs before this, Ms. Caroline was trying to offer Walter Cunningham some money for his lunch and he could pay her back later. He would not take the money, and Scout, the only one in class who was brave enough, told Miss Caroline that the Cunninghams can not pay back the money they are given. Ms. Caroline, how oblivious she is, punishes Scout for telling her such a thing. Miss Caroline then finds out more about the social class, like the
Prejudice is one of the world’s greatest struggles. It does not only hold society back, but is harmful to the people who do good .In Harper Lee’s book To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout and Jem live through and witness prejudice and racism in the small town of Maycomb. They see someone wrongly accused of a crime because of his race. Scout and Jem also witness and take part in prejudice against a man no one knows anything about. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee uses characterization to show the negative effects of prejudice and racism.
What is Prejudice ? Prejudice : is an unjustified or incorrect attitude towards an individual based solely on the individual's membership of a social group. In this particular part of West Memphis Arkansas, it was very quiet and very conservative place. They believed in southern values and they
To Kill a Mockingbird a novel written by Harper Lee is told by a girl named Scout. Is Maycomb an awful place.Maycomb is prejudice Francis is calling Atticus a nigger-lover because he’s going to be defending a black guy named Tom Robinson. On page 110 Francis says He’s nothing but a nigger-lover.Saying something like that is prejudiced because basically Francis is saying Atticus is loving blacks and Francis is saying it like its a bad thing.On page 135 “your father's no better than the niggers and trash he work for. Mrs.Dubose is saying that Atticus is no better than the trash he work for so she is saying the blacks are trash.Mrs.Dubose said something that is very prejudiced to Scout and Jem because she is saying there father Atticus is just
First of all, Lee’s critical tone of prejudice is demonstrated by Scout’s innocent curiosity and perception of her surrounding society. Specifically, Lee’s critical tone is illustrated by Scout’s curiosity and the numerous questions she asks her family members throughout the duration of the novel. For example, when Scout raises questions to her Aunt Alexandra concerning her prejudice towards the Cunningham family, her innocence is exhibited by her desire to understand the world, but also to question it. A specific example of Scout’s curiosity is when Aunt Alexandra informs Scout not to invite Walter over for dinner, which leads Scout to ask “Why not, Aunty? They’re good folks” (223). Aunt Alexandra responds with: “The thing is, you can scrub Walter Cunningham till he shines, you can put him in shoes and a new suit, but he’ll never be like Jem” (224). Aunt Alexandra’s response exemplifies her prejudice towards the structure of the social classes in Maycomb County. However, Scout’s innocent nature enables her to remain uncorrupted by prejudice and to question the unquestionable. Lee’s use of a child as a narrator allows her to ask the tough questions regarding Maycomb County’s way of life and question why it is prejudiced towards a certain individual or group of individuals. Moreover, Harper Lee’s choice of narration
Prejudice is defined as: “An unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason.” Harper Lee explores this theme throughout To Kill A Mockingbird with various characters demonstrating or being affected by it, especially because it is set in the turbulent time of 1930s southern USA. In particular, the theme is prominent in the characters Arthur (Boo) Radley, Atticus Finch, and Tom Robinson. I will begin with Arthur (Boo) Radley.
Another life lesson that Jem and Scout learn about throughout the story is of the categorization of people in Maycomb, which ties in with the prejudice. They notice that most of the people in Maycomb value their ancestry and background very much, especially to see who settled down in the area first and had more distinguished and important ancestors. They also notice how the people of Maycomb are always judging one another and saying that a person acts a certain way because of his background, ancestry, or race. On pg. 226 Jem says, “There's four kinds of folks in the world. There's the ordinary folks like us and the neighbors, there's the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes.”The quote above is the way Jem believes that people are divided in Maycomb County. This shows how the environment around Jem and Scout is affecting them and how they are starting to see and understand people and their actions.
Prejudice is when we have a preconceived opinion about someone or a group of people that is formed without knowledge, or even a real understanding about them.
Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird portrays four different economic classes of people in a small town named Maycomb. Low economic classes similar to Lee’s fictional Ewell and Cunningham families affect the way other community members treat them along with the amount of sympathy they receive. Higher economic classes look down on the Ewell and Cunningham families based on their wealth and how they make a living. The Cunningham’s have little money however it was one of their biggest priorities to pay Atticus back.
Prejudice is an opinion in which is not based on any reasoning, and may cause harm. Prejudice can be seen just about anywhere, and it affects our daily lives. There are many different ways a person can show prejudice beliefs, but why do they believe things they have never experience? Some may say it’s something personal with one’s self that causes prejudice thoughts, or some may think it their surroundings contribute as a motive.
Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible. (Maya Angelou) By definition prejudice is a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. Prejudice to others is hate, judgement, and evil. The effects of prejudice are shown in the novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the play The Merchant of Venice, and the tragedy known as the Holocaust. Prejudice affected all people differently, but one thing is true for all; prejudice is crippling and disables those who experience it from being who they truly are and doing as they please.
In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird racism was a problem in Maycomb. Atticus quoted, “There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads—they couldn’t be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins. They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life.” “Lee #224)
Throughout the novel, economic status divides the citizens of Maycomb County into, according to Jem Finch, four groups: the ordinary people (Finches), the Cunningham’s type of people, the Ewell’s type of people, and the black people. Harper Lee tries to show the reader how people often judge others based on how much money they have. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the Finch family lives in Maycomb County, whose residents are very judgmental and racist. Scout and Jem Finch are raised by their father, Atticus, who has the unpopular opinion that black people and poor people are not beneath anyone. This leads to Scout, the main character, having a unique perspective on life and her peers.
They recur throughout the story and help make the book the way it is. The theme of racism in To Kill a Mockingbird is very evident throughout the story. Characters such as Lula and Mrs. Dubose represent this theme in that they show that different people have very different opinions and how racism shows up in Scout and Jem’s everyday lives. “‘You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here--they got their church, we got our’n’”
In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout narrates the novel by telling the story of how Jem broke his arm. Atticus Finch is the father of two kids, Jem and Scout, who always get into trouble and are the most mischievous and nosy kids around. Atticus is a lawyer who is in a case defending a black man named Tom Robinson, who is harmless and innocent, while the kids are always tormenting and bothering the innocent Boo Radley. Because they are innocent and harmless, but treated with suspicion, both Boo and Tom exemplify the symbol of the mockingbird in this novel. Tom Robinson is represented by a mockingbird in this story by always being innocent and never harming, but always being tormented.
Prejudice is the negative attitude based on false generalizations about members of different racial and ethnic groups. From prejudice, discrimination is born. We all are guilty of discriminating other people, but one can only speculate the factors that bring about this hatred towards one another. Although a single cause cannot account for the presence of racism, factors such as socialization, self-justification, and competition are a few human attributes that lead to acts of racial discrimination.