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Racial Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

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To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming of age novel as one sees how Scout and Jem Finch are slowly growing up and understanding situations that were once not so clear to them as children. At the beginning of the novel, both children are completely oblivious and naïve towards the negative side of Maycomb which highlights the powerful and dominant effects of racial prejudice in their community. The children are unable to identify human’s personality traits to a great extent, but rather characterize them as being either good or evil. Both Jem and Scout are influenced easily by the people surrounding them. Boo Radley, a ‘malevolent phantom’ sparks significant curiosity within Scout and Jem; igniting an urge for them to witness Boo Radley leave his …show more content…

Upon attending school for the first time; Scout gets reprimanded by her teacher for ‘[rising] graciously on Walter’s behalf’, in trying to inform Miss Caroline about Walter Cunningham’s living conditions. Scout was immensely surprised and struggled to comprehend her teacher’s motivation for her scolding, evident when Scout blames Walter for the anguish she was exposed to. Thus, ‘catching Walter Cunningham in the schoolyard gave [her] some pleasure]’ as she has not yet developed empathy. This portrays Scout’s immaturity as she uses violence as a coping mechanism. Atticus tries to put things in perspective for Scout by informing her that ‘[she] [can] never really understand a person until [she] consider[s] things from [their] point of view’, highlighting Atticus’s intention of broadening Scout’s …show more content…

Scout is expected to conform to extreme societal pressures regarding gender roles, demonstrated at the Missionary Brunch, whereby she is criticized. Although the ladies of Maycomb ridicule Scout for wearing her ‘britches’ ‘under [her] dress’, Scout remained diligent, especially, when she ‘picked up the tray and watched [herself] walk’. This shows that she is finally aware of acting like a lady. At the end of the novel, Scout is walking Boo home and treats him like a gentleman as ‘[she] slip[s] [her] hand into the crook of his arm’. This reinforces Scout’s transformation into becoming a lady, and highlights her development of empathy, as she does not want to look superior to Boo. As Scout is standing on Boo’s porch, she begins to perceive life from Boo’s perspective, highlighting Atticus’s constant efforts in encouraging her to open her eyes and expand her narrow-minded view, as seen throughout the

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In the very beginning of the book, Scout doesn’t want to go to school anymore because she had a fight with the teacher, Miss Caroline. Atticus says to Scout that she will never “really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” This helps Scout to see that Miss Caroline made a simple mistake, and it should not be held against her.

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In the book To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee, we follow Jem and Scout as they try to discover who Boo Radley truly is. In Maycomb County, Boo becomes stereotyped as a monster that has been hiding for many years. Scout and Jem want to find out why Boo stays inside and if he really is as bad as people claim. Jem and Scout use empathy and try to relate to him even though he is seemed a monster. Boo teaches Jem and Scout to not judge someone from stereotypes and try to understand a person for who they truly are.

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That Boo is not what he seems. In the beginning of the book, Scout is scared of Boo because she did not know him or what he looked like. However, when she finally meets Boo she states “Atticus, he was real nice…” (376) in this case, Scout is referring to Boo. Boo does many good things throughout the book and is judged based on rumours that have spread throughout the Maycomb community over the years. Finally, without knowing how he looks, or anything about him, people of Maycomb continue to judge

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Scout admits she feels fine and Atticus asks her what is wrong. She tells him that her teacher, Miss Caroline, says that they cannot read together anymore because she is too advanced for her age. Atticus responds with, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it,”(Lee 39). Though Scout does not fully understand the concept of this lesson, it slowly comes to her as the book advances. She is able to make many connections using what Atticus taught her, and she truly understands the meaning of standing in another person’s shoes.

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Scout grows quite a bit over the course of the book; her views on herself, others, and the world around her come to change dramatically. As scout is getting into fights at school with almost everyone who does her wrong, Atticus forces her to stop and be more ‘ladylike’. This turns out to be a bit of a struggle, especially when Atticus takes on the Tom Robinson case and people start to call him a n***er lover. Scout’s quote emphasizes this point, “‘You can just take that back, boy!’

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To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel that follows the life of Scout, a young girl living in the 1930s. Written by Harper Lee, the book covers the tough themes of racism and discrimination. However, it can be difficult for the reader to pinpoint a specific “bad guy.” You could blame the more obvious figures, such as the Ewells, but they are not the only ones in the story who act obnoxious or racist. It is because of this that the Ewells, nor any other person, are the novel’s antagonists- instead, the antagonist is human prejudice.

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Alabama in the 1930s was full of racism and prejudice. Harper Lee uses her book To Kill a Mockingbird to express the problems and bring them into the minds of ordinary people. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses mockingbirds to represent innocence, the Radley Place to represent mystery, fear, and understanding, and the sick dog to represent the illness of society. In To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee uses the mockingbird to represent innocence.

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"To Kill a Mockingbird," by Harper Lee is a novel surrounding the people of Maycomb County, all of them having contrasting opinions and views. The story is told through the protagonist, Scout's perspective as she goes through her daily events while witnessing the prejudice among her own society. Prejudice is a preconceived opinion of a person based on stereotypes without real facts and discriminating them based on race, social class, and gender. In this novel, Lee explores the human nature of prejudice and the various types present in Maycomb. There are several types of prejudice, but Lee focuses on three types throughout the novel.

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On Scout’s first day of school, she runs into some problems with her teacher and asks Atticus if she can stay home, Instead he gives her a valuable piece of advice. “First of all, if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it. ”(pg.39

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It is a common belief among humankind that we have the ability to think rationally. Additionally, factors such as bias, memory, judgement, and personal psychology demonstrate the nonsensical sides to our mind and behavior. Our perception of humanity promotes the inequality of different races, classes, and ages, which proves the statement: “It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this” (Russell.) Ironically, people have a bias against humanity and its rationale, considering the fact that we are all human.

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People are capable of forming their impression of someone within ten seconds of meeting them. This can begin to form prejudice; an adverse opinion or leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Another factor that can influence a person’s opinion towards another is the views of their society. Atticus says, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view--until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (22). This quote how unfair and unjust prejudice is without solid facts to base your opinion on.

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To Kill a Mockingbird: Life Lessons and Coming of Age Imagine a sleepy Alabama town in the 1930s, where gossip spreads like wildfire and racism exists as deeply rooted as the oaks that line its streets. This town serves as the setting for the renowned bildungsroman novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which explores many themes that children face as they grow up. The story is told through the eyes of Scout, a six year-old girl. A prominent theme in the story is maturation, which occurs as Scout and her brother Jem learn to cope with racism, ignorance, and sexism in their town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. Among the many lessons learned and conflicts faced in the novel, three in particular teach Scout about perspective, mercy,

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The evenings spent on Miss Maudie’s porch, for example, show how she influences Scout and her view of Boo Radley: “The things that happen to people we never really know. What happens in houses behind closed doors, what secrets--” (61). Scout sees Boo as a monstrous legend, reinforced by the stories of Jem and Miss Stephanie (13), but Miss Maudie sees him as a person, even instructing Scout to call him Arthur, not Boo (57). Miss Maudie can see that Boo’s fate was decided by a father who used the Bible like a weapon, “so busy worrying about the next world [he] never learned to live in this one” (60). Once Scout learns about his past, Boo is less of a mythical creature to her and more of a person, even though she has not yet grown out of her childish fears.

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Ultimately, Scout overcomes the social norms placed upon women when she punches Francis in the face, picks a fight with Cecil Jacobs and chooses to spend most of her time playing with Jem and Dill. First and foremost, Scout escapes the restrictions imposed upon women by continuing to play with Jem and Dill instead of indulging herself in learning how to cook or drinking tea with other women. Although she will sometimes sit with Calpurnia in the kitchen and drink tea with her aunt

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