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To Kill A Mockingbird Prejudice Quotes

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In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the symbol of the mockingbird to show that prejudice can affect even the most selfless people. The mockingbird symbol is seen through three specific characters which include: Boo Radley, Tom Robinson and, Atticus Finch. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Boo Radley is one of the first characters to be seen as a mockingbird. He is an outcast and he is judged by all the gossip that speaks differently of him, he is a mockingbird in the midst of evil. Boo is not harmful and it would be wrong to harm him; as Scout would say, ¨Well, it’d sort of be like shootin’ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?¨ (276). Scout realized that sheriff could not let people know that Boo Radley was the individual who killed …show more content…

He is a respectable man who is torn down because of the prejudice towards his race. Tom is an innocent mockingbird who does nothing but go out of the way to help others. In the book, Tom is accused of raping a white woman, when he was only helping her with some of her chores. During Tom’s trial he was asked many questions as to why he helped Mayella Ewell in the first place, he responded “Yes, suh. I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more’n the rest of ‘em -” (197). Tom was only doing a service for Miss. Mayella because he noticed that she worked hard for the children and for her father who abused her because he was often drunk. Tom gave his strength and time to help out Mayella and Tom pitied her because she seemed lonely. Tom only wanted to also help Mayella manage the property she lived on. Tom was a well mannered gentleman who loved his family and helped others “he would not have dared strike a white woman under any circumstances and expect to live long, so he took the first opportunity to run—a sure sign of guilt” (195). Tom tried to avoid the circumstance that he was put into but he became a wounded mockingbird who had less hope of healing. Because Tom was a black man, society looked down on him. Even the Ewell’s, who were the lowest out of all the white

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775 Words | 4 Pages

Tom is a man of character who stated that he often helped Mayella Ewell. He went out of his way for others but was a victim of of racism and was characterized by what the people in Maycomb said and thought of him Tom Robinson passed by Mayella’s house everyday to and from Mr. Link Deas field. He stopped and she spoke to him as a civilized person

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748 Words | 3 Pages

The reason Boo was able to save them from being killed was because he could see well in the dark along with rushing to help as soon as he could even though he was not armed and Bob was. One quote in the book is where Mr. Tate says “Draggin’ him with his shy ways into the limelight-to me, that’s a sin.”(Lee 370) as he realizes bring Boo to testify what had occurred would be akin to shooting a mockingbird. Mr. Tate comes to this conclusion as bringing him to court would cause significant gossip and fame, which Boo has been avoiding and figures out that Boo only killed Bob out of kindness, and like a mockingbird all they do is help the community. That is why Boo is considered a mockingbird in this situation as he risks danger to protect two children and asks for nothing in

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762 Words | 4 Pages

After all the work he did for her he never accepted any pay because Tom said she could not afford to pay him. Also, Tom never went on to the Ewell property without invitation so he was not a law breaking person, like the citizens of Maycomb made him out to be. Tom Robinson is like a mockingbird because of what he did for Mayella and how he did it out of the goodness of his

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425 Words | 2 Pages

“Some things I cannot change but 'til I try, I 'll never know!” This line from “Defying Gravity” exactly mirrors the character of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. Mr. Finch was well aware that he was a bird without wings trying to fly when he stood up against prejudice. In other words, Atticus Finch knew it was impossible to correct the misconceptions of his prejudiced peers, yet he still fought for justice. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee explores the theme of prejudice through Atticus Finch, the master of empathy, civility, and integrity, which are essential qualities to earn a respectable title in our society today.

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821 Words | 4 Pages

In Harper Lee's novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, a mockingbird is someone who does nothing wrong, and only does things for the good of others, and is sometimes thought of in the wrong light. Tom Robinson is a black man from Maycomb, Alabama, who was accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a woman from the same town. Robinson is a crippled man, who only has one arm after it being destroyed in a cotton gin, and he helps Mayella with small tasks free of charge whenever he is asked. Tom

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561 Words | 3 Pages

What is power? In the book To kill a Mockingbird there is a girl by the name of Mayella Ewell. Mayella is very powerful, and she shows it through three things Race, Gender, and Class. In this paper the question, how is Mayella powerful, will be answered. Almost all the way through the book she remains powerful, which makes Mayella a great character.

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The Curse of Prejudice Albert Einstein once said, “What is right is not always popular and what is popular is not always right.” This quote demonstrates the ubiquitous plot in the novel on how people usually follow what others think instead of thinking for themselves. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee suggests that one of the significant ways to circumvent the prejudice that arises from deceiving appearances is by a personal connection to others. This is evidenced by Boo Radley, Mrs. Dubose, and Atticus Finch.

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Finally when Tom was blamed for raping Mayella, even thought everyone knew the truth, and when he did something to help her out out of the goodness of his heart, but because he was of different status and race backfires, Toms status as a symbolic mockingbird becomes

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836 Words | 4 Pages

“...Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird,” was what Atticus mentioned to Jem one unique day in Maycomb. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, this statement seems like an ordinary phrase, but it eventually blooms into the main theme of the story. This wise statement made by Atticus was a referral to prejudice.

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761 Words | 4 Pages

Prejudice beliefs Southern trees bear strange fruit Blood on the leaves and blood at the root Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees. (Billie Holiday and Abel Meeropol, 1937) Strange Fruit, written while lynching occurred, nauseates me as Billie Holiday and Abel Meeropol show the everyday horror living in the south. The poem prompts the realization of lynching that existed in our society.

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290 Words | 2 Pages

In the passage, Lee argues that racism and prejudice are often due to ignorance, and that the only way to get rid of racism is to develop acceptance and understanding. After Tom Robinson is killed, Mr. Underwood compares his death to the killing of “songbirds by hunters and children.” The word “songbirds” is an obvious reference to Atticus’s lessons about mockingbirds, in which he states killing them is a sin. Killing a songbird, according to him, is a sin because such birds are innocent and do nothing but sing. Lee’s diction to shows the reader that Tom was an innocent man, killed by Maycomb’s racism and hatred.

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998 Words | 4 Pages

Three Mockingbirds In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird shows three people that symbolize a mockingbird. Mockingbirds are known as innocent creatures in this novel. The novel takes place in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. It’s about two children growing up to learn the harsh and racist world they live in.

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1157 Words | 5 Pages

How did prejudice happen in this world that God made? Prejudice is an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason. In this world, there are a lot of prejudice. Prejudice doesn´t happen suddenly but it happens from a root. Everything happens from a root and that causes to be or do something.

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837 Words | 4 Pages

In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, conflict is driven throughout the novel from racism and prejudice. The characters in the story must determine what is right and what is easy. Atticus Finch, a lawyer, and father, does what is right all the time. Atticus defends Tom Robinson, a black man, in a rape trial against a white family. Harper Lee’s novel is built to make people uncomfortable.

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732 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee the term mockingbird symbolizes innocence in a person. In the novel it focuses on the fact that innocence, represented by the mockingbird, can be wrongfully harmed. There are two characters: Tom Robinson and Arthur “Boo” Radley that are supposed to represent the mockingbird. In the novel, Tom Robinson is the best example of a mockingbird because he is prosecuted for a crime he did not commit. Also, he was judged unfairly based on the color of his skin in his trial.

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