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How Does Lee Use Discrimination In To Kill A Mockingbird

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In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows that stereotypical thoughts lead to different opinions or discrimination. Discrimination is expressed in many ways in this novel like through the setting. Maycomb county has a “usual disease” where everyone discriminates people when they come by. “You know what’s gonna happen as well as I do, Jack, and I hope and pray I can get Jem and Scout through it without bitterness, and most of all, without catching Maycomb’s usual disease” (Lee 88). In Maycomb everyone thinks the same way. When they see a black person they will treat them badly because of the stereotypes against them. Atticus hopes that his children will not become like the rest and “catch the usual Maycomb disease” and hopes that they will …show more content…

Jem and Scout tell Calpurnia that they see a dog walking down the street towards them and by looking, Cal warns everyone that there is a “mad dog” coming towards them. “‘Look at him,’ whispered Jem. ‘Mr. Heck said they walk in a straight line. He can’t even stay in the road.’ ‘He looks more sick than anything,’ I said” (Lee 95). The mad dog symbolizes Tom Robinson. They are both categorized as being dangerous and everyone thinks that they need to be taken care of. When the dog is killed it is similar to when Tom is killed. They didn’t deserve to be killed and were innocent but since everyone assumed that they were a danger, they were executed. In many cases things are judged before actually knowing what is actually going on. When this happens things do not turn out as planned.. One more example is during Tom Robinson’s court case Atticus makes his final closing statement. “Judge Taylor was polling the jury: ‘Guilty...guilty...guilty,,,guilty...” (Lee 211). The jury symbolizes the effect of racism. Tom had a lot of evidence to prove that he is innocent, however because of the stereotypes against people of his color the jury decision was that he was guilty. Tom didn’t really have a chance since it was two white folks against him. If Tom had not been black he most likely would have been proven innocent, however since he is black the jury’s opinion was changed. The opinions of people are changed based on little things

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He poured it all over--” (Lee 24). What she did not understand was that his family was less fortunate than the Finch’s, and he did not get to eat like this at home. Seconds later, Scout learns one of the limits of adult patience when Calpurnia calls her into the kitchen to scold her. “Don’t matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this house’s yo’ comp’ny, and don’t let me catch you remarkin’ on their ways like you was so high and mighty! Yo’ folks might be better’n than the Cunninghams but it don’t count for nothin’ the way you’re disgracin’ ‘em-- if you can’t act fit to eat at the table you can just set here and eat in the kitchen” (Lee 25).

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Early on in the book, the main character, Scout, spots a dog coming down the street. It’s acting very strangely. The family’s helper, Calpurnia, gets on the phone saying, “This is Cal. I swear to God there’s a mad dog down the street a

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In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and Witch Hunt by Marc Aronson, prejudice is rampant. It has many forms, it can be easily seen, but yet it is rarely noticed. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus hopes that he “can get Jem and Scout through [the trial] without bitterness, and without catching Maycomb’s usual disease [racial prejudice],” similar to the Salem Witch Trials and that “Tituba’s appearance and heritage probably were not what influenced the girls [to accuse people of witchcraft and act strangely], the fact that she was Indian was enough.” Atticus explains that during the trial of Tom Robinson, racial prejudice is going to become very apparent to Jem and Scout. He doesn't want his children to go down a path of biased views of people

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It’s an awful feeling knowing that no matter how hard you work, you’ll never earn as much money as your white counterpart. Sadly, this has been the case for hundreds of years for African Americans living in the United States. To Kill a Mockingbird reveals the everyday struggles that African Americans endured during the 1930’s. Many of the events in the novel were based on the author, Harper Lee’s life. Just like Atticus, Lee’s father was also a lawyer.

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"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.

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762 Words | 4 Pages

Number One In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee tries to get the audience to understand that racism, sexism, and social status were of great importance to the people in Maycomb County, as they are in today’s society as well. Lee takes the readers through a journey, where she presents them with characters like Tom Robinson, Scout Finch, and Mayella Ewell. While there were many issues in society at the time, prejudice would have been seen as number one on a list. Racism is shown in this book from beginning to end.

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You can never judge a person until you look at things from their point of view. In the book to kill a mockingbird the author Harper Lee, emphasises on how you never understand a person until you walk around in their skin. The author also emphasises on how race does not affect how a person should be treated. One of the main characters, Atticus is a lawyer, he is defending a black man accused of rape. He is treated poorly because he is a white man however he is defending a black man, Atticus sees everyone as the same race.

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To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is the story of a small town named Maycomb Located in Alabama, highlighting the adventures of the finch children and many other people in the small town. The people in this town are very judgemental and of each other and it often leads to people being labeled with stereotypes and people think they know everything about that person however that is not reality. It is not possible to know the reality of a person 's life by placing a stereotype without seeing it through their own eyes and experiencing the things they experience. This happens often throughout the story with many people in the town. People are labeled as many things such a “monster” a “nigger” and many other things that seem to put them in their

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Later on we see more racism through the Tom Robinson trials. Lee Harper takes us through the trial of a black man, Tom Robinson who supposedly raped a white woman, when in fact he did not because she came onto him, and Tom, the black man, is taken to court. The verdict of the trail is obvious but the jury did not seem to think so. Lee reveals: “I shut my eyes. Judge Taylor was polling the jury: ‘Guilty… guilty… guilty,’”

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“Cry about the simple hell people give other people without even thinking” (Lee 269). In this statement, Dolphus Raymond speaks to the children in attempt to display the reality of hatred and discrimination that surrounds humanity. Throughout Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, it becomes quite evident that growing up in a world full of hatred looks much different through eyes that have not seen prejudice. Through these innocent perspectives, the reader looks through a window to glimpse the very raw core of human nature.

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Have you ever treated someone poorly based on thier looks or skin color? Racial discrimination was a significant problem in Maycomb County in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Atticus, a single father who is raising two kids in Maycomb that has a code to treat blacks of a less worth than whites. Atticus being a knowledgeable, courageous, and understanding man breaks the code of racial discrimination and he influences his children to become stong willed, and understanding adults. Atticus’s aptitude to be understanding is shown in all conflicts he is faced with.

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Innocence is a time in one’s life of carefreeness and peace. In youth, children have yet to experience the harsh realities of life, and when they do, it is often hard to cope with. In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee portrays Maycomb’s prejudiced ways through an unfair trial of an innocent man, and through the treatment of certain members of the community. The young narrator, Scout, and her older brother, Jem, experience growth and learn compassion when the trial exacerbates Maycomb’s intense intolerance. In this novel, Lee uses the characterization of the Finch children to demonstrate that innocent children who have been exposed to their community’s prejudice, often have trouble adjusting, but need a mentor figure to help them mature.

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To Kill a Mockingbird Argumentative Essay Racial equality and discrimination is a founding issue that has been spread throughout every part of the world, To Kill A Mockingbird was written and published by Harper Lee in 1960, this time was dominated by civil rights protests and some of the first hippie movements following the crushing reality of the Vietnam War, the 60s also saw the struggle against segregation and racial equality. It is no surprise that the extreme political conflict affecting her life and world would greatly impact her writing and influence how she perceived the world during the writing of To Kill a Mockingbird. the influence of the fight for racial inequality is shown greatly in her book as she depicts the everyday life

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In To Kill a Mockingbird there are lots of racial, gender, and religious, discrimination. Which is shown a multiple amount of times throughout the novel. To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee which takes place in Maycomb Alabama, where there is a lot of racial discrimination. But there is also some gender, and religious, discrimination.

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