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Marginalization In Of Mice And Men

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The theme of marginalization in society and how it has impacted on people’s lives is a significant theme for all. Marginalization is where a certain group of people are treated differently than others due to their race, gender or beliefs. The marginalized are not usually considered “main stream”, which means to have the power in society, and thus have no say in how you are treated. We see this theme in four texts, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, To Kill a Mockingbird directed by Robert Mulligan (1962), The Test by Angelica Gibbs and The Worn Path by Eudora Welty. Each of my selected texts has a character who is marginalized (Crooks & Tom Robinson & Marian & Phoenix Jackson) and is considered not part of the mainstream of society, consequently …show more content…

To Kill a Mockingbird shows the theme of marginalization where Tom Robinson, an African American (like of Mice and Men) is being accused of a rape that he did not commit. He is then convicted of this crime by a white jury with little substantial evidence. Because of his conviction, his life is shortened by him having been shot by white supremacists. A quote from the film states “quote”. From this quote it shows how Atticus (the lawyer defending Tom) points out how the evidence is inconclusive and how a white man would not be charged with this type of crime with the evidence given. This example clearly shows the theme of “marginalisation and how it effects a person”, because it shows how one person (Tom Robinsons) is being convicted because they are different and he has no power in society. The jury that convicted Tom Robinson is made up of white Europeans that hold the supreme power in society because of the colour of their skin. In this scenario, they are considered the “main stream”. To add to this it also shows how it the marginalization has had an impact on Tom Robinson’s life through by him being shot for something he didn’t do. The children of Atticus also take note of how Tom was wrongfully convicted. The children were raised by Atticus, who had a strong belief that all men are equal. The children see Tom as innocence and are curious to know why he was convicted on such inconclusive evidence. From looking at this example we can compare this text to the first text (Of Mice and Men). We can see both in both texts that African Americans (Crooks & Tom Robinson) are a marginalized group of people that are treated differently and as result their lives are impacted. The implication of marginalization is seen through how Crooks experiencing loneliness and how Tom Robinsons life is shortened. This text reinforces the message of text one which tells us that marginalization is a

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Leading up to the Civil Rights Movement, the black community was in a constant battle against law enforcement treating them unfair compared to the white community. The Scottsboro Boys and Emmett Till’s cases were one of the many times that the legal system showed to be unfair to blacks. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, the law enforcement and community were very racist against blacks and believed all blacks were criminals. In the story, Atticus Finch, who is a lawyer gets put into a very difficult situation and decides to defend a black man, who went by the name of Tom Robinson.

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In the story To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, it displays how many racial issues occurred in the southern part of the country during the 1930’s. An example being when Tom Robinson who is a innocent black man who is being accused of assault against Mayella Ewell. At the courthouse, every witness stated that Tom Robinson raped Mayella Ewell on November 21st and punched her in her right eye. But, Tom Robinson can’t use his left arm so there was no possible way that Tom Robinson punched Mayella Ewell. Atticus Finch attempts to prove Tom Robinson’s innocence by using strong, emotional appeals to convince the jury.

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Mr. Robinson faces racism within the court and in town. Tom Robinson was fated to death even when he had lots of evidence proving his innocence. On page 323 it states, “ Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.” This shows everyone already made up their mind about Tom without listening to the evidence and Tom never even had a chance of surviving. Also, on page 323 the text says, “but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case.”

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Imagine living during a time where you would be discriminated against and divided just because the color of your skin. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, a black man named Tom Robinson was falsely accused of having raped a white woman and was not given a fair trial. The towns hatred towards black people have caused a prejudice to occur against him. The jury was made up of only white males who are biased against black people due to this prejudice. Tom has good morals, is noble, and a good-hearted human being.

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