Peer Pressure In To Kill A Mockingbird

Peer pressure appeared throughout the course of the short story. The children in the brownies Girl Scout program were pressured and influenced into having an altercation with the brownie troop 909. The characters in the story named Armetta and Octavia was like the leaders of the group. Anything they said or the way they acted, did not receive backlash by other fellow girl scouts because many were afraid of the outcome if one was to question their wrong doing .When the two character supposedly heard that one of the members of troop 909 called Daphne a nigger, they wanted their scout group to brawl with them . Armetta and Octavia in a way forced her to say that the girl called her out her name by repeatedly asking her and giving her a nudge

After hearing their elders say not so many nice things about white people the girls are unknowingly envy of the Troop 909 girls. When the brownies saw the Troop 909 girl they saw them with their Disney blankets and igloo coolers, things that the girls did not have. They also saw their long straight hair just like they seen in shampoo commercials. The only girl they knew with long hair was Octavia. Having “good hair” is the reason why anything Octavia says the girls listen with urgency. Being that the troop was from an all black neighborhood and attend a segregated school, the only thing they know about Caucasians are the things they saw on the television about them and what they parents said about them. In the beginning of the story, Arnette stated that the girls in troop 090 smelled like wet Chihuahuas to members of her girl scout. Arnette never smelled a Chihuahua before nor have she ever seen one. What Arnette said to describe what the troop smell like was a stereotype use to describe what Caucasian smell like. Since she is not around much Caucasian she is saying then based on what others told her. In addition to her saying that whites smell like wet Chihuahuas, she also made jokes about the word Caucasian. People often tease or make fun of things they don’t know or understand , Giving the fact that she is never around whites she just going off the things she is taught or seen. During their last encounter with troop 090, they realized that members of this group are mentally challenged and that some of the girls are Echolalic. In many cases children who uses racial terms or who are discriminative towards other learns it from their parents. I understand why Octavia and Armetta wanted to confront the girls for calling Daphne a nigger. That term is use to degrade African Americans and they felt that if they confronted them they will finally have a chance to stand up for themselves and other African