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Examples Of Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Lee Harper’s novel exhibits the results of the great depression and prejudice in the southern states. To Kill a Mockingbird, is a novel loosely based on Lee Harpers life and struggles and takes place in Maycomb county, Alabama in the 1930’s. Lee explores the concept of prejudice throughout the book with many different characters. The characters are judged by society even though no one knows all the facts, this portrays prejudice. Prejudice is the preconceived opinion on something or someone not based on reason or actual experience. The community of Maycomb county is bias towards Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Scout Finch. Tom Robinson is faced with racial prejudice. He along with other blacks in the south in the 1930’s have to follow many unfair laws called Jim Crow laws. Although none of the townsfolk really know what happened in Tom Robinson's case and there is no evidence, they all assume he is guilty just because he is black. The white people of Maycomb county are extremely racist. An example of this is when Cecil Jacobs says to Scout “Scout Finch’s daddy defended niggers”. It shouldn't be an insult that a lawyer defends a black man. Tom should …show more content…

He is an unusual man and has been ostracized by Maycomb county. Even though few to none of the neighbors actually know Boo Radley, most of the adults spread rumors and the children are scared of him. Most of their opinions on him are bias and unfair. Jem is incredibly prejudice towards Boo Radley. An example of this is when he tells Dill and Scout what Boo looks like. Jem says, “he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch.” Although he has never actually seen Boo he describes him in vivid details as a monster. This is incredible unfair towards Boo because Jem does not actually know what he looks like. Jem's description is not based on actual experience or reason it is based on how he imagines Boo would look. It is most likely inaccurate and

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In chapter 1 on page 14 Jem describes what Boo looks like. “Jem gave a reasonable description of Boo: Boo was about six-and-a-half-feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained-if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. ”(14) Because of what all of Jems neighbors are telling him, Jem gets a fearful image of Boo, and Jem tells Dill about the Radley’s and says that ”...if Dill wanted to get himself killed, all he had to do was go up knock on the front door. ”(14) Also the way the Radley’s house looks makes you and the characters get a horrific emotion about Boo.

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