How Does Lee Present Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

"The book to read is not the one that thinks for you, but the one that makes you think." Stated by Harper Lee. Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird has attracted controversy since it's publishing due to the difficult subjects that are approached in the novel. The novel uses many of its characters as symbols of specific conflicts present during the time of its publishing, such as those of classism, prejudice, discrimination, and racism. Lee achieves this by putting characters in positions of oppression and showing that oppression by each conflict. In To Kill A Mockingbird, characters such as the Cunninghams, Boo Radley, Scout and Jem Finch, and Tom Robinson represent certain conflicts throughout the novel and each of these characters show the

In Maycomb, rumors that are spread compare him to a creature, a stalker, and a criminal of the town, saying "went out at night when the moon was out, peeped in windows, and committed small crimes throughout Maycomb", Miss Stephanie Crawford most likely being the one to spread them. Many of the rumors like these come from the fact that the town does not see much of him ever, he is much like a recluse, which the town fails to understand. Ms. Crawford is also mostly responsible for this rumor in particular, as she claimed to have seen Boo Radley in her window, some night, which is probably wasn't true to begin with. To continue, many of the prejudices in the novel, like this one, come from a lack of understanding and the willingness of the town to their minds up about who Boo is when they truly have no clue. Along with the fact that these rumors spread from a lack of knowledge, the children of the town pick up on the comments and rumors made about Boo. Also, due to even their own misunderstanding as children, they believe the things that many adults say about him as a person along with what they come up with themselves. This is proved when Jem's description of him is a half man, half monster, again comparing him to that of a creature rather than a real person living in the town just as everyone else does. Prejudices like these

Not only does it affect the two of them, but they also discriminate through ageism themselves. Mr. Avery, as an example, blames both Jem and Scout for the weather when states that "bad children like you [make] the seasons change". Mr. Avery explains this directly to Jem and Scout due to their ages, rather than giving them a logical reason or explanation as to why or how seasons really change. It can be assumed that if they both happened to be young adults or adults period, Mr. Avery might've made a comment about the speed of the weather's change, or what weather is to be expected. Although, with Jem and Scout being children, they are not expected to understand it as much, and in turn, a lot of the time they are only talked to about their behavior instead of being exposed to conversations or claims that they can learn from. Even though Jem and Scout most likely are aware of this usual treatment and are probably affected by it, they do not hesitate to target others in similar ways, such as with Mrs. Dubose. Jem and Scout are shown to have formed a negative opinion of Mrs. Dubose when they describe her as "very old" and "the meanest old lady woman who ever lived". Due to her age, through the Finch children's eyes, Mrs. Dubose is an ancient, mean, bitter, and abusive old woman. It is obvious that if the