ipl-logo

Examples Of Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

479 Words2 Pages

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee reveals how prejudice is portrayed through the characters in the story. Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch, and Boo Radley are all victims of prejudice in the novel and each of the opinions towards them are proven wrong. During the trial of Tom Robinson, people are prejudice towards him purely because of the fact that he’s an african american man who was accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. The day of the trial occurred and the jury was predominantly white. While Bob was accusing Tom he said “I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella!” Rather than treating Tom as just a person he had to reference Tom’s race in his testimony. Mayella took the stand and admitted she was never examined by a medical examiner after the incident and while being questioned by Atticus, it was obvious she was lying and Mr. Ewell could of beaten her. Although all this information was brought about, the white jury still convicted Tom of rapeing Mrs. Ewell. He never had a chance of winning the trial because of his skin color and the prejudice that whites are superior to blacks. …show more content…

Atticus becomes a victim of prejudice because he gets a lot of backlash due to him defending an african american man. Although Francis and Mrs. Dubose are treating Atticus as if he’s wrong for defending Tom he still sticks to the case. Scout asked Atticus if he’s a nigger-lover and he politely replied with “I certainly am, I do my best to love everybody… it’s never an insult to be called what someone thinks is a bad name. It just shows how poor that person is, it doesn’t hurt you” (108). Atticus doesn’t let people’s ignorance get in the way of what he

Show More
Related
762 Words | 4 Pages

In society today there are those that are pushed out of the crowd because of what they look like, how they act, and what others say to be true about them. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows that unselfish, kind hearted people can experience prejudice from others. Always wanting to be the better person, Atticus Finch is like the mockingbird when taking the responsibility of defending Tom Robinson, who is a black man. Once Atticus gets the news that he will be defending Tom Robinson, who is accused of rape, he is very stressed until the end of the trial. Harper Lee shows this when she says, “It’s this Tom Robinson case that’s worrying him to death...”

Read More
212 Words | 1 Pages

In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Tom Robinson is accused of raping a white women named Mayella Ewell. This definitely makes him a victim of racial prejudice because he is wrongfully convicted. To confirm this, in a conversation with Atticus at his trial, Atticus asked him: “Tom, did you rape Mayella Ewell?” “I did not suh.” “Did you resist her advances?”

Read More
1131 Words | 5 Pages

“The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this county in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again. ”(Pg.86) Atticus was explaining to Scout why it was important to defend a man like Tom Robinson, even though it could cause many problems not only for him, but for his children too, when Atticus took the case he knew it would affect him personally. For helping an African-American man, Atticus is seen as doing something wrong and for that people lose respect and harass Atticus, for his decision to help defend Tom Robinson. A man that harassed Atticus was Bob Ewell, “Atticus was leaving the post office when Mr. Ewell approached him, cursed him, spat on him, and threatened to kill him”(pg.248).

Read More
703 Words | 3 Pages

Prejudice and racism are two very bad things. What if there was a way to solve them? Throughout the book To Kill a Mockingbird there are quite a few examples of prejudice and racism. They are all solved by one thing, empathy. In the situation of Mrs. Dubose, they hated her but once they understood the struggle she was going through they weren't as mad anymore.

Read More
662 Words | 3 Pages

Prejudice meaning adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge of the facts, was a huge factor in the novel, '' To Kill A Mockingbird'' by Harper Lee. There were three types of prejudice throughout the book, they are the racism prejudice, gender prejudice and the social classes prejudice. Also prejudice was pretty common thing in the middle 1900's, so be glad you weren't raised then. There are handfuls of examples throughout the book, some of them being very discreet. ''

Read More
639 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel “To Kill a Mocking Bird”, there is a variety amount of complications and situations going around. The novel shows how prejudice and racism is such a huge problem. There are so many different ways that it is portrayed and shows how many of the characters deal with this situation. However, there are three characters whom do not show prejudice or racism throughout the book. Atticus Finch, Scout, and Tom Robinson are three characters that do not show prejudice.

Read More
628 Words | 3 Pages

Racism and Prejudice in "To Kill a Mockingbird" Harper Lee's timeless novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" delves into the dark realities of racism and prejudice in the American South during the 1930s. As witnessed through the innocent eyes of Scout Finch, the young protagonist, Lee presents a poignant portrayal of the deep-seated injustices and discrimination faced by African Americans in a small Southern town. The novel serves as a stark indictment of the pervasive systemic racism that prevailed during that era and continues to resonate in contemporary society. One of the most glaring examples of racism in "To Kill a Mockingbird" is the harrowing injustice suffered by Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman.

Read More
577 Words | 3 Pages

The central idea that develops throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird is racism because throughout the book many people had prejudice, scared, and peer pressured into being racist towards the black people who lived in Maycomb. To Kill a Mockingbird showed what living with racism back then was like and it also showed the reader that many people had prejudice. Prejudice is shown all throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird and is one of the main themes that develops throughout the book. Prejudice is when someone judge others by how they look before getting to know the person personally.

Read More
879 Words | 4 Pages

A Fading Preconception Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, the town of Maycomb prejudices Tom Robinson for his skin tone and previous experiences with negro men and women. To Kill a Mockingbird took place during The Great Depression. People were losing their jobs and beloved families. Tom Robinson, a negro man in To Kill a Mockingbird, had to deal with the entire town of Maycomb against him during the Great Depression. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee shows how the town of Maycomb goes against a black man in the south during times of prejudice and racism.

Read More
744 Words | 3 Pages

The​ ​problem​ ​of​ ​human​ ​inequality​ ​and​ ​the​ ​divisions​ ​within​ ​human​ ​society​ ​is a​ ​big​ ​part​ ​of​ ​the​ ​novel​ ​“To​ ​Kill​ ​a​ ​Mockingbird”​ ​and​ ​it​ ​is​ ​still​ ​part​ ​of​ ​our​ ​society today.​ ​An​ ​example​ ​of​ ​this​ ​problem​ ​is​ ​the​ ​trial​ ​of​ ​Tom​ ​Robinson,​ ​Walter Cunningham​ ​Jr.​ being treated differently because of who he is,​ ​and​ ​the​ ​discrimination​ ​against​ ​black people.​ ​Our​ ​society​ ​is​ ​still​ ​dealing​ ​with​ ​this​ ​situation​ ​because​ ​people​ ​are​ ​harassing other​ ​races​ ​and​ ​black​ ​people​ ​are​ ​getting​ ​killed​ ​by​ ​police​ ​officers. In​ ​the​ ​novel,​ ​the​ ​trial​ ​of​ ​Tom​ ​Robinson​ ​plays​ ​a​ ​big​ ​part​ ​in​ ​this​ ​problem​ ​of human​ ​inequality​

Read More
1719 Words | 7 Pages

The trial is a clear-cut case that should not have even made it to court, as Atticus says. The only reason the case makes it to trial is the fact that it is an African American versus a white woman. In Atticus’ closing statement, he speaks briefly about the state not producing a single piece of physical evidence that could convict Tom Robinson, as the only physical evidence that can be held against Tom Robinson is the bruise marks Mayella received. This still does not correlate with Mr. Robinson because not only is he not left-handed, but he also has an arm that is lifeless. “...but there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone who led almost exclusively with his left…and Tom Robinson now sits before you, having taken the oath with only good hand he possesses—his right hand.”

Read More
635 Words | 3 Pages

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch, against all odds, chooses to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping Mr. Ewell’s white daughter. During the 1930s, when the story took place, Tom’s hometown Maycomb was very racist and segregated. Negroes were considered inferior to all white people, making it difficult for Atticus to support Mr. Robinson against the “superior”Mr. Ewell.

Read More
1088 Words | 5 Pages

Final Essay Outline: Thesis Statement/opening paragraph: In the story To Kill A Mockingbird, discrimination and the act of being prejudice is common among the main characters, on both the receiving and serving end. Certain characters, like Scout and Jeremy Finch, Bob Ewell, and the town folk truly create the main problem and set the theme of the story. For example, when Bob Ewell accuses Atticus Finch of being an african-american lover, because he is defending Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson was accused of raping Mayella Ewell, according to Bob. Boo Radley is accused of being dead by Scout, Jem and Dill.

Read More
783 Words | 4 Pages

Prejudice Brings Inequality Imagine that you are a framed black man sitting in the middle of a courtroom full of people that are mostly against you. The man that’s defending you, Atticus Finch, has just handed the floor to Mr. Gilmer, the man that’s defending the person that has framed you. You’re scared, nervous, and you have no idea what to do. You know that Mr. Gilmer is going to cut up the little dignity that you have. This is how Tom Robinson feels during the trial scene of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

Read More
494 Words | 2 Pages

In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee explores the concept that when one acts hypocritical or prejudiced, it is hard to identify. An example of this is at the missionary circle, when Mrs. Merriweather says, “I tell you there are some good but misguided people in this town. Good, but misguided. Folks in this town who think they’re doing right, I mean. Now far be it from me to say who, but some of ‘em in this town thought they were doing the right thing a while back, but all they did was stir ‘em up.

Read More

More about Examples Of Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

Open Document