Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

Literature contains many hidden themes and references about the struggles and plights humans encountered throughout the eras. Harper Lee wrote the well-recognized novel To Kill a Mockingbird, which focuses on the societal norms of the United States' South during the 1930s. Now considered a "classic of American literature" (Sutton) for Lee's "gift of storytelling" (Dave), which influenced the American citizens' consciences and culture (Sutton), even ranking second to the Bible for "making a difference in people's lives" in a 1991 survey by the Book of the Month Club (Sutton) and winning a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, To Kill a Mockingbird questions the ethics of the 1930s South and calls out the South's approval and tolerance of racism and discrimination.

Racial prejudice and social injustice dominated the small, fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930s. Atticus Finch, a defense attorney and great believer of the justice system, strives to instill the values of equality in his children despite the conflicting and blatant racist culture of Maycomb County. Lee makes use of several examples throughout the novel to illustrate racial conflict. For example, in chapter nineteen, Tom Robinson faces a biased court and jury to contest the discrimination against him which solidifies the theme of racism in To Kill a Mockingbird. In this chapter, Robinson explains to the court that he fled the area for fear of his safety, informing Atticus that "… if you was a nigger like me, you'd be scared, too" (Lee 261). The unjust conviction of Tom Robinson, whom the jury rendered a guilty verdict despite overwhelming evidence that logically exonerated him, exemplifies racial prejudice in its essence. Humans feel the need to rise to the top of the social hierarchy, whether to attain the highest position in a group, possibly using discrimination as a method to sabotage opponents, or in To Kill a Mockingbird's case, discrimination against African-Americans to make the whites stay on top. Lee portrayed Robinson's situation as an example

The novel, set in the segregated part of the South during the 1930s, as told through the eyes of Scout Finch, documents the journey of a white lawyer and his conflict to prove the innocence of a black person. In an era where racism and prejudice formed the norm and limited the actions of colored people due to the implementation of Jim Crow laws which prohibited interaction between blacks and whites. Lee depicts Atticus Finch's bravery and courage to edify his children and community in defying the status quo, highlights racial discrimination and prejudice that Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and the rest of the African-Americans faced in the 1930s, and showcases the coming-of-age journey of Jem and Scout, to confront all the social injustices in the United States. To Kill a Mockingbird addresses discrimination and prejudice, problems the current generation still encounter in modern society, although not as severe as the 1900s. White supremacists still wage racial wars against blacks, and now other minorities such as Jews, Muslims, and Asians, and minorities also participate