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Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

1188 Words5 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. pg 207)". This quote shines on the complicated idea of race and poverty and how people view each other depending on status in the town of Maycomb in the 1930s. This connects back to the topic sentence …show more content…

Has the effect of altering someone's thinking, causing them to make mistakes thinking-wise. Secondly, during Tom Robinson's trial, Atticus highlights the misleading information and racial prejudice in Mayella Ewelles's statement against Tom Robinson, showing the social pressure and how it can affect the thoughts of someone. again during the Tom Robinson trial, Atticus caused attention to "She was a white, and she tempted a negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man. not an old uncle, but a strong young man. No code mattered to her before she broke it, but it came crashing down on her afterward. (pg 207)" This quote shows the social pressure and how people act towards each other and how Mayella Ewell broke the unsaid Rules and made them when she was accused of kissing a black man Tom Robinson. This connects to the idea that both Mayella and Tom Robinson are seen as something on the outside, but in reality, both of them are different on the inside. Lastly, Atticus explains to Jem the harsh reality of the case. Atticus talks about how Tom will probably be guilty because of the racist bias. One of the things Atticus

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