Prejudice was a very common act in the 1900’s. Harper Lee demonstrates the impact of preconception through her Pulitzer Prize winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. In To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus Finch hopes to raise his children not to catch “Maycomb’s usual disease”. The “disease” Atticus is referring to is the act of prejudice. People of color were the majority who were treated unequally. However, there were a variety of attacks on the penniless as well. The disease of prejudice is an act of evil, can spread like a wildfire, but can be stopped by the noble deeds of just one individual. Having a preconceived opinion of a person is something that closes off the gateway of having an open mind and leads to a mind that gets increasingly narrower. In Saudi Arabia, a woman is required to walk behind the man who is accompanying her. Men in Saudi Arabia judge women based on ideas in their heads that cannot be supported. Because of what they are demoralized to, …show more content…
A way to stop prejudice is to have people get outside their typical comfort zones and take the initiative to make a change. Atticus, in To Kill a Mockingbird, takes the initiative of raising his children as open-minded individuals and is successful in doing so. The process of terminating prejudice starts with the acts of one person. Once that person stands up for what he/she believes in, others will follow in their footsteps. Marie Killilea once said, “Just as a child is born without fear, so it is born without prejudice. Prejudice, like fear, is acquired”. A child is born without knowing anything about the world, including prejudice. The way to stop prejudice starts with influences on the new generation and what the people of this generation change about our world. Ending prejudice will take work, determination, and the occasional look of disgust, but it is not