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Ethical dilemmas in to kill a mockingbird
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Ethical dilemmas in to kill a mockingbird
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In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee conveys that prejudice divides communities and that persecution of innocent people is evil; furthermore; these two minor themes reinforce the major thematic idea that a simple assumption can divide people. When Tom Robinson is put on trial for supposedly raped Mayella Ewell, the racism in Maycomb surfaces and creates conflict. In the novel, a stranger says, “You know what we want,” ‘another man said.’ “Get aside from the door, Mr. Finch.”(172). Some drunken men want to harm Tom Robinson for the wrong that he did.
Prejudice in To Kill a Mockingbird Prejudice, although not as prevalent in today’s society, was very common during the time of the Great Depression. To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee. It follows Scout, the protagonist and narrator, as she matures throughout her childhood. As she matures, she is introduced to the evil in the world, specifically prejudice, as her father defends Tom Robinson, a black man, for being wrongfully accused of rape. This novel reveals that prejudice does not only harm an individual, but also contributes to a larger problem in society.
“She was a widow, a chameleon lady who worked in her flower beds in an old straw hat and men's coveralls, but after her five o'clock bath she would appear on the porch and reign over the street in magisterial beauty” (59). Chameleons are distinctive lizards with the ability to turn into bright beautiful colors, yet still blend in and avoid judgment. Miss Maudie, being described as a chameleon lady, was a rare exception to prejudice. She seemed to be the only women in the small town of Maycomb not pre-judged for her clothing choices. In a rural town in 1960 Alabama, prejudice would be a common reaction due to the low exposure of diversity, and characters like aunt Alexandra definitely demonstrated to others like Miss Maudie.
Throughout TKAM, prejudice is prevalent towards characters such as Tom Robinson and the Cunninghams. Bob Ewell is the antagonist of the novel as Lee portrays people who are racist as “evil” and depicts figures like Atticus who are against racism as “good”. Bob Ewell’s hatred towards African-American people in Maycomb is extreme, which resulted in the death of Tom Robinson after successfully forcing Mayella through abuse to accuse Tom of rape. Prejudice results in social inequality especially between the whites and blacks, this is displayed in dialogue between Atticus and Jem in which he states “In our courts, when it’s a white man vs a black man. The white man always wins”, Lee uses juxtaposition to compare “a white mans word” symbolising privilege
Prejudice of The Mockingbird Prejudice is a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. This is the common definition found on Google. Prejudice is a common occurrence in our everyday lives. We are constantly judging first and thinking second without even questioning it. Prejudice is one of the main ideas of the book To Kill A Mockingbird.
There were many examples of prejudice in “To Kill a Mockingbird”, but a few of them were much more noticeable than others. There was a great deal of prejudice against black people, specifically Tom Robinson, in this book, this was largely because of the time era this book was set in and, because this book was set in a predominantly slave state after the slavery abolition act. There was also an abundance of prejudice against Boo Radley just because they didn’t know who he was and as a community they deemed it necessary for some explanation of him staying inside all the time. Both of these men faced the consequences of rejection from society just because there was prejudice against them.
Prejudice is preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. So how would that be represented in the book to kill a mockingbird? Well the main character Scout learns about different types of prejudice that are illustrated by the actions of the towns people towards Boo Radley, the Ewells and Tom Robinson. Scout learns that they way Dyl, Jem, and herself look at and judge Boo Radley is very prejudice because they do not know how Boo Radley really is.
Atticus and the family try to help save a black man's life from the Ewells. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, prejudice is shown as something that corrupts the citizens of Maycomb. This is shown through Tom Robinson, Bob Ewell, and Mayella Ewell. Tom Robinson gets discriminated because he is an African American. First, Mayella accuses him of raping her even though she liked him and went to kiss him first.
Prejudice is perceived opinion that isn’t based a upon actual fact. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, there are a lot of examples of prejudice towards black people because it was around that time that African Americans were finally receiving the same rights legally as that of a white man, but the white man thought that this was preposterous. However, throughout the story we see plenty of prejudices against other types of people. For instance, there are prejudices against, Boo Radley, women, and finally white people that believe the blacks are equal to the whites. These are the three types of prejudices that I will be discussing throughout my essay.
How does prejudice affect the world? In To Kill a Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee answers that question throughout the novel. Prejudice is something that still occurs today, as well as in this novel. To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, shows many different types of prejudice, including gender, racial, and class. This novel takes place when all three of these types of prejudice happen on a daily basis.
Prejudice is an inevitable aspect of society that has affected people in negative lights. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout demonstrates her growth in understanding social issues that occur in the typical American society of Maycomb, where discrimination occurs towards both the lower-income population and racial minority. Calpurnia acts like a parental figure to inspire Scout of the invisible yet existing prejudice towards the economically disadvantaged people. When Jem invites Walter Cunningham to dine at his house, Scout disappoints Calpurnia by disrespecting Walter at the dinner table. Due to the sense of responsibility in the family, Calpurnia calls her out to educate her that, “‘[no] matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this
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.
Prejudice in To Kill a Mockingbird “The thing about it is, our kind of folks don’t like the Cunninghams, the Cunninghams don’t like the Ewells, and the Ewells hate and despise the colored folks” (Lee 302-303). Harper Lee masterfully tells the story about a little girl named Scout and her brother Jem. They go on many adventures and explore the world as they grow up.
Prejudice is when a person has a pre-determined opinion about someone or something despite not having an actual reason to think that way. We see multiple examples of prejudice and racism in “To Kill A Mockingbird”. For example, when Tom Robinson is accused of raping and beating Mayella, the majority of the county is quick to immediately assume he had to have done it specifically because he was black. Many people were so consumed with the stereotypes surrounding black people at the time that many important details were unknown until the trial nobody knew he was crippled until he went up to testify. We learn that Mayella had a bruise on the right side of her face, and even when it was proven highly unlikely he would’ve been able to harm her
Essay In the novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee, there are many important messages shown throughout the book. However the primary focus was set on racial prejudice that existed in the 1930s-1940’s in the fictional town of Maycomb County. The racism in the novel was very much a reality in 1930s-1940s America. A very good example of the racial prejudice that existed was in the courtroom during Tom Robinson’s trial, an innocent Negro man held against his will for a crime he did not commit.
