ipl-logo

How Does Atticus Finch Use Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

718 Words3 Pages

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is a timeless, touching novel that examines stereotyping and its consequences. The novel follows Atticus Finch, a small-town lawyer, as he defends a black man, Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping a white women in Maycomb, Alabama. The novel also shows how the lives of Atticus' children, Scout and Jem, are effected and how what they experience influences the way they grow up. It allows us to see characters like Boo Radley and Bob Ewell as they add to the theme of racism and prejudice as well. To Kill a Mockingbird deals most obviously with racial prejudice but the greater lesson has to do with class differences and how a person's inherited social status unfairly determines how individuals are treated by others. …show more content…

People of Maycomb County react in fear and mistrust when it comes to characters such as Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. Most people tend to fear what they don't know and no one knows Boo Radley. When it comes to him people let their fear cloud their judgment. The citizens of Maycomb would rather believe ridiculous rumors, such as "his hands were bloodstained because once you ate a raw animal, the blood would not wash off. (Lee chapter 1), than try to understand someone they fear. Everyone in Maycomb mistreats Boo because of how he has been perceived for so

Show More
Related

Boo Radley Quotes

748 Words | 3 Pages

Scout says, “Jem seemed to have little fear of Boo Radley now that Walter and I walked beside him”(Lee 31). From this quote, I can sense that most of the children were fearful of Mr. Arthur. In the novel, Boo Radley is shown as scary and intimidating, but by using context I can tell he is innocent and just longs to stay inside. As I was reading, it seemed as if people in Maycomb had a tendency to target Boo as the town gossip and criminal. Jem warns, “Don’t blame me when he gouges your eyes out”(Lee 17).

Read More

Character Analysis Of Boo Radley In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

586 Words | 3 Pages

Rumors swept through the town, ruining a man’s reputation and giving him no reason to step outside of his own home. In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Arthur “Boo” Radley is the most complex of Maycomb’s residents. Many say Boo is a killer that should not be trusted near children. However, Scout thinks otherwise as she tries to understand Boo herself. She learns more than she figured, as Boo teaches her numerous lessons without even meeting her.

Read More

Examples Of Hypocrisy In To Kill A Mockingbird

158 Words | 1 Pages

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a timeless classic cherished by millions around the world, and it is a story of unjust prejudice and hypocrisy set in the 1930s Maycomb, Alabama. We view this story through the blurred lens of Scout Finch, the narrator of the book and the daughter of Atticus Finch, a lawyer tasked with defending Tom Robinson, a black man wrongfully accused of sexual violence against a white woman. Through Atticus’s virtuous example, we also see many people in Maycomb who are antithetical to him, and it is those people who account for the hypocrisy and prejudice in Maycomb. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee depicts Atticus Finch as a man of integrity and moral virtues, contrasting with other characters in Maycomb

Read More

To Kill A Mockingbird Boo Radley Analysis

457 Words | 2 Pages

They are judging Boo Radley before they even get to know him and they based their thinking the fact that Boo Radley likes to stay at home. Countless rumors and theories are talked among people because of the way Boo Radley likes to live his life: “Any stealthy small crimes committed in Maycomb were his work” (Lee 10). Numerous people in Maycomb have used their creative imagination and negative thinking towards Boo Radley to make up ridiculous stories even though most of them don’t know him very well and that much of them have heard about Boo Radley from someone else: “People said he went out at night when the moon was down, and peeped in the windows. When people’s azaleas froze in a cold snap, it was because he had breathed on them” (Lee 10). The negative judgment of the

Read More

Stereotypes In To Kill A Mockingbird Essay

1338 Words | 6 Pages

Boo Radley, an innocent man who hasn’t been seen in years, is someone who is significantly affected by these stereotypes. This is displayed in the quote,“Inside the house lived a malevolent phantom. People said he existed, but Jem and I had never seen him” (Lee 9). Boo Radley is derived to be an evil person even though very few, if any, people have ever seen him. The people of Maycomb place stereotypes on him from stories and allow their imagination to make false accusations.

Read More

How Does Harper Lee Use Racial Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

456 Words | 2 Pages

Harper Lee's beloved novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is a powerful exploration of the theme of racial prejudice. Set in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s, the story follows the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman. In "To Kill a Mockingbird," Harper Lee effectively illustrates the destructive impact of prejudice and racism on society through the experiences of the Finch family and the trial of Tom Robinson, emphasizing the importance of empathy and understanding to challenge ingrained societal injustices. The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee delves into the deep-rooted issue of racial prejudice, shedding light on the destructive impact it has on individuals and society as a whole. Before this, Dolphus Raymond is predicting that Dill won’t cry about these things when he gets older, once they realize what the world is they won't be fazed when things like this happen.

Read More

To Kill A Mockingbird Prejudice Quotes

1505 Words | 7 Pages

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is an exceptional book portraying prejudice in the 1930’s. This book shares about the life of a kid named Scout and her adventures in Maycomb County. Throughout the book we see prejudice in the eyes of a child and how it affects Scout’s life. In the book a black man is accused of raping a white woman and Scout’s dad, Atticus, is appointed to defend the black man. Scout soon learns the public perception on this trial.

Read More

Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

1146 Words | 5 Pages

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee tells a story of racial prejudice during the Depression and how it is combated. The main development in the novel is that a Atticus, the father of Scout and Jem, has been appointed to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a young white woman named Mayella. Many people in the town of Maycomb, particularly people involved with the case of Tom, have a negative attitude towards African Americans. Prejudice was a terrible issue in the South during the Depression, but Atticus Finch shows that racial injustice can be combated in two main ways, each having different levels of effectiveness.

Read More

Journal Entries On To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

1107 Words | 5 Pages

Also, the kids fear him because of what they hear about him. The neighbor lady told the kids that one day Boo was sitting in the living room cutting out scraps from the newspaper when his dad walked by and he stabbed him with the scissors in the leg. Also, Boo Radley was in the only gang that had ever been in Maycomb, Alabama. The gang did very little like going to picture shows and experiment with whiskey, but it was still discussed by the town and people were still scared of them. Because he was associated with this gang in the past, the town blames him for all the bad things that happen to the town.

Read More

Ethical Issues In To Kill A Mockingbird

1471 Words | 6 Pages

People in Maycomb dislike the Radleys even though Boo cares a lot about Scout and Jem. Arthur Radley, otherwise known as “Boo” is an important character in the story of To Kill a Mockingbird. Boo is often viewed as a menace to society in Maycomb County. People often steer clear of the Radleys, which leads to Scout and Jem being afraid of him. One example of Boo having a bad reputation is the incorrect rumors about Boo spread by the people of Maycomb County.

Read More

Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

1457 Words | 6 Pages

People believe that Boo "went out at night when the moon was down and peeped in windows... any stealthy small crimes committed in Maycomb were his work" (9). People would blame Boo for any unexplained situation or crime in Maycomb. Nobody knows what he looks like which is proved when Jem tells Dill, "Boo was about six and a half feet tall, … there was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time" (13). This is an example of prejudice because the town associates his mysterious ways with monstrous characteristics.

Read More

Theme Of Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

1455 Words | 6 Pages

“Scout, I’m beginning to understand something. I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the house all this time…” (227). Prejudice and discrimination are major issues that are present in the town of Maycomb; Scout and her brother Jem are young children who learn about the disturbing existence of the bigotry that they were previously unaware of in their familiar southern hometown throughout the trial of Tom Robinson, an innocent African American who is accused of rape by a white woman. To Kill a Mockingbird introduces a world that harbors prejudice against some of its very citizens and describes how discrimination was a major flaw in society and still is a flaw present day society. The author, Harper Lee develops a major theme of people should not discriminate against others solely due to prejudice on the basis of differences for it leads to consequences using dialogue between the characters, thoughts from the narrator 's perspective, and descriptions of beliefs during the time period throughout the book To Kill a Mockingbird.

Read More

To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

634 Words | 3 Pages

People said [Boo Radley] went out at night when the moon was down, and peeped in the windows. Any stealthy small crimes committed in Maycomb were his work” People are judging Boo Radley just because he doesn’t come out of his house. He is being blamed for crimes committed at night, and stalking locals. Nobody has a shred of evidence to prove this, and yet he’s being judged for just being who he is. In actuality, Boo Radley is a kind person, willing to risk his own life to save Scout Jem’s.

Read More

Racial Ideology In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

948 Words | 4 Pages

(245) Clearly, Tom Robinson's case is unfair, and injustice is distinctly shown. In this regard, Boo Radley is being treated unfairly because he is not considered to be a normal person in Scout's eyes. As the town of Maycomb blames Boo Radley for anything negative that happens, it shows the racial ideology in Maycomb. This is displayed when Jem says, "I hope you’ve got it through your head that he’ll kill us each and every one, Dill Harris," said Jem, when we joined him. "Don’t blame me when he gouges your eyes out.

Read More

The Real Truth In To Kill A Mockingbird

929 Words | 4 Pages

In Maycomb County the people spread rumors about Boo Radley because he is mysterious and stays inside his house. He keeps to himself and people believe he is a killer who should be locked up. They believe the rumors they hear and just because they never see him they construct an image in their heads that he is dangerous. In truth Boo just wants to have friends and looks over the Finch children. When Bob Ewell attacks Jem and Scout Boo is the one who saves them and Atticus is very grateful (Lee 276).

Read More

More about How Does Atticus Finch Use Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

Related Topics

Open Document