Dehumanization In Elie Wiesel's To Kill A Mockingbird

“The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world.” (Unknown) No one deserves to be looked down upon. No one deserves to be treated differently. Most importantly, no one deserves to feel belittled. In the novel Night, Elie Wiesel, the author and narrator, goes through numerous nights of pain and suffering from incidents as small as being starved to being beaten. This novel illustrates horrific events of Jews, in particular, being segregated from the rest of the world because of their ethnicity. To kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a novel that took place around the Great Depression. It demonstrates a symbol of dehumanization and is filled with a town full of racism and segregation. The Universal

The people who make up society tend to overlook the reality of what the world once was and what it continues to be. To Kill a Mockingbird is not just a novel that tells a story of what a young girl’s life was like as a child, but also tells the story of the violations of humanity. Mayella Ewell, a white woman, kissed Tom Robinson, a black man. Feeling ashamed of her actions, she accused him of rape. Because he was a black man accused of rape, he was found guilty and sentenced to death in prison. This situation violates article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that we are all born with free and equal rights. “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.“ ( Lee, 323 ) Article 2 emphasizes the idea that we are all given equal opportunities. Tom Robinson was not given a fair trial; his trial was irrelevant. Mr. Bob Ewell had no evidence that Tom Robinson raped his daughter; the jury made their decision based off assumptions. “ His face was as white as his hands, his gray eyes were so colorless I thought he was blind.” (Lee, 362) For many years, Boo Radley lived in his house. He hardly ever went out, but when he did, he would do it when no one was looking. Though he saved their lives, Scout and Jem made Boo Radley out to be a monster because no one ever saw him. This is why

“ Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. “ (Lee, 194 ) The title of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird has a significant meaning to it. The novel reveals many hellish situations. It was sinful to treat Tom Robinson like trash because of hatred towards his race. It was sinful to keep Boo Radley locked away from society because of the mistakes he made. These preventable situations are like killing a mockingbird; you shouldn’t do it but it is done anyway. Tom Robinson and Boo Radley were mockingbirds because they were not a threat to society, yet were punished for being human. Holocaust victims were alienated in a reprehensible way. The Nazis did not care how they treated their own. They shot people who had a soul just like they did. They burned people that were human beings just like they were. They beat people who were insubordinate because they were so ‘perfect’. Humans deserve to be treated like humans and not like objects or