ipl-logo

Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

627 Words3 Pages

To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is a novel that has several characters who experience the negative aspects of living in a prejudiced town like Maycomb, Alabama. The children during the novel are misguided by the influence of gossip which encourages their fascination toward Boo Radley. Another character, Tom Robinson, cannot get a fair trial because of society’s racist views held against him because he is a Black man. Prejudice helps to develop the childish actions at the beginning of the plot, and one man’s conflict with society during his trial in To Kill A Mockingbird.
One of the first moments of intrigue established in the plot of To Kill a Mockingbird revolves around stories told by people who have certain prejudices against …show more content…

According to Miss Stephanie, Boo was sitting in the living room cutting some items from 'The Maycomb Tribune' to paste in his scrapbook. His father entered the room. As Mr. Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his parent’s leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants, and resumed his activities. (11)
While the family certainly seems mysterious, the children really know nothing about Boo Radley as no one has seen him for many years. Based on the rumours told by Miss Stephanie Crawford, the children’s misinformed curiosity concerning this man is the beginning of their summertime goal of learning about Boo Radley at the start of the novel. The initial incident of the plot concerning the children and Boo Radley is based only on information that is full of prejudice. Maycomb society in the 1930s holds prejudicial views of its Black citizens based on generations of racism. The main conflict in the novel involves Atticus’s struggle to defend Tom Robinson, a Black man on trial for allegedly harming a white woman. Recognizing society’s opinions on Black people, Atticus pleads with the jury to consider things from a different point of

Show More
Related
909 Words | 4 Pages

The children hear from Mrs. Stephanie Crawford about her encounter with Boo Radley, claiming that she saw him look through the window at her one night, and stories like that cause Scout, Jem, and Dill to fear Boo. After listening to the Tom Robinson case and hearing about his unfortunate death, Scout and Jem begin to comprehend why Boo never comes out of his house. Jem explains to Scout, “I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the house all this time . . . it’s because he wants to stay inside” (259).

Read More
1051 Words | 5 Pages

The book “To Kill A Mockingbird” was written by Harper lee. Throughout the book Lee uses a story to get a deeper meaning out to her audience and the world. During the where the story was set there were inequality issues and very prejudice opinions. Intertwined in the book she addresses the controversial topics like race and different forms of prejudice. There were several different forms of prejudice in this book.

Read More
830 Words | 4 Pages

The book To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is a fictional book that covers the roots and consequences of racism and prejudice. The book introduces a character, Atticus Finch, as an intelligent and diligent lawyer who works in a trial to defend a black man, who is introduced as Tom Robinson. Once Atticus was selected for the trial, he experienced numerous setbacks during the process. Atticus has the difficult duty of defending Tom in a legal system tainted by prejudice and hostility. Despite the overwhelming odds stacked against him, Atticus stubbornly upholds his beliefs and refuses to be persuaded by the rampant unfairness all around him.

Read More
1188 Words | 5 Pages

Peter Alexopoulos Tue Apr 9 G block. Mayella Ewell & Tom Robinson are not who people believe they are on the inside. Firstly, Atticus cross-examines Mayella Ewell, a young white woman who is accusing Tom Robinson, a black man, of raping her, Atticus then points out the self-contradiction of the situation. Mayella's White Privilege protects her but makes whatever she says more believable because this novel takes place post-slavery in Alabama. During Tom Robinson trial, Atticus points out "She is the victim of cruel poverty and ignorance but I cannot pity her because she is white.

Read More
724 Words | 3 Pages

Maya Angelo once stated, “Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future, and renders the present inaccessible”. Marie Lu uses this idea in Legend (Penguin Random House, 2013). Fifteen-year-olds, Day and June, are both seeking revenge against each other's wills. June wants revenge against Day for the murder of her brother. Day wants revenge against all government officials, like June.

Read More
757 Words | 4 Pages

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

Read More
549 Words | 3 Pages

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, is a story about inequality, injustice and racism seen through the eyes of two innocent children, Jem and Scout. Jem and Scout live in Maycomb, Alabama and learn these sad lessons through their relationships with their father Atticus, their maid Calpurnia, their mysterious neighbor Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson, a black man who is accused of a terrible crime. Through their relationship with Boo and Tom, Jem and Scout learn about racism and inequality that changes how they see the world. Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are two different people who share similar struggles with inequality throughout this story. Boo and Tom experience a form of racism and discrimination.

Read More
316 Words | 2 Pages

Tom Robinson is accused of a crime he claims he did not do; yet the jury has a different opinion. To Kill a Mockingbird, a historical fiction novel by Harper Lee, is set in the 1930’s and the town they are in is Maycomb, Alabama which is based off of the town of Monroeville, Alabama. The book was written for young adults at the time, but was written over 50 years ago and i still relevant to modern readers today because of how school systems want to teach about The Great Depression, it read to or is being read by students because it teaches cultural and moral lessons. Throughout this novel you will meet many different type of people, with all kinds of personality. Harper Lee wrote To Kill a Mockingbird for readers to know more about what

Read More
451 Words | 2 Pages

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a novel about two siblings, Scout and Jem Finch growing up in Maycomb County, a very prejudice town in the 1930’s. In the beginning of the novel, the children soon become interested in the stories of their neighbor, “Boo” Radley. Boo has been locked in his house his whole life, so the children start to believe the stories of how scary and dangerous he is. Soon after, Boo starts to leave Jem and Scout gifts in an old tree when Atticus, their father, gets assigned to defend a black man. As the trial was coming up, Atticus had to prepare to prove that the black man, Tom Robinson, didn't rape a white woman.

Read More
505 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates how prejudices are generalized. This novel depicts how the family of Scout, Jem, and Atticus live with differing opinions in the prejudiced town of Maycomb, Alabama. When a black man Tom Robinson, is being accused of raping a young white girl Mayella Ewell, Atticus defends Tom in the court case. Atticus was able to hold out the jury but was unable to win the case over the biased town. Harper Lee emphasizes that society will often create prejudices and generalize them onto people of different groups by events including Tom Robinson's death, Scout's feelings toward women, and Aunt Alexandra’s thoughts on the Cunninghams.

Read More
1146 Words | 5 Pages

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee tells a story of racial prejudice during the Depression and how it is combated. The main development in the novel is that a Atticus, the father of Scout and Jem, has been appointed to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a young white woman named Mayella. Many people in the town of Maycomb, particularly people involved with the case of Tom, have a negative attitude towards African Americans. Prejudice was a terrible issue in the South during the Depression, but Atticus Finch shows that racial injustice can be combated in two main ways, each having different levels of effectiveness.

Read More
1126 Words | 5 Pages

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, is about a family that lives in Maycomb, Alabama. The people in the family are Atticus Finch, Jem (son), Scout (daughter), and their maid Calpurnia. The novel takes a twist when Atticus, who is a lawyer, is appointed to be Tom’s(who is a black man) attorney. Atticus defends Tom against sexual assault charges, but they do not win the case against the Ewells, even though everything the Ewells said was a lie. The novel explicitly shows that there are many examples of people being prejudice against one another.

Read More
501 Words | 3 Pages

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a well written novel that brings importance and understanding to the differences of people through the unfair trial where a black man is accused of raping a white women during the 1930’s in Maycomb, Alabama. When our differences are materialized and brought forth we feel uncomfortable or ashamed. When our faults like racism and classism are brought up we shy away or get defensive. Before Tom Robison’s trial even takes place we’re shown how the townspeople of Maycomb react to white going against black or how they think of people who have less than them. If a large group of people feel this way they will do their best to get rid of the thing bringing them these feelings.

Read More
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.

Read More
440 Words | 2 Pages

Prejudice in To Kill a Mockingbird Prejudice in the 1950s was a problem and it still is in 2017. When it comes to the topic of prejudice in To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee conveys it is important that before judging someone, get to know them better. One example of prejudice Harper Lee uses in To Kill a Mockingbird is Tom Robinson. In the small town of Maycomb almost everyone assumes Tom is guilty of raping Mayella Ewell even though there is no evidence or reasoning.

Read More

More about Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

Related Topics

Open Document