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The Theme Of Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

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It’s not necessary to ask if you have seen or heard of a prejudice situation, you most likely saw one this past month, in a social setting or in your typical history class. A judgement or opinion that is not based on reason or experience is prejudice. This is just one of the many stories told about racism, and social inequality. Therefore, In the novel to Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses Tom Robinson and Boo Radley to portray the theme that social inequality is caused by prejudice. Harper Lee uses Tom Robinson’s character to communicate that people in his community were discriminant towards him and others. For instance, Tom Robinson is looked down upon or is made to be less superior by the people around him. Only one of very few people upheld Tom’s name, that one believer is his defender, Atticus. Atticus says, “They couldn’t be fair is they tried. In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black mans, the white man always wins. They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life” (Lee 252). What Atticus is trying to indicate is that in Tom Robinson’s court case, or even in life, one man will always condescend another based on any justification due to prejudice. In the end, lack of evidence wasn’t enough for the people who saw Tom Robinson not as …show more content…

Boo is the reason for most of Maycomb county’s superstitions, he allegedly had a dreadful past that eventually turned into gossip for young Jem and Scout. Scout gradually begins to realize that Boo isn’t made of the malignant rumors being said about him. Scout says to her father, “When they finally saw him, why he hadn’t done any of those things… Atticus, he was real nice…” (Lee 323). Thus, Scout realizes that Boo isn’t what everyone says he is and that he is indeed an innocent character. The simple way to put it is to not judge a book by its cover, but prejudice is the central

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He puts his leadership efforts on display to make a change in his community by defending a black man in court, which was often frowned upon in the 1900s: “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to win” (Lee 87). With this in mind, defending an African-American man in court shows that he does not care much for the ‘normal’ in society. As a result, an angry mob attempts to lynch Tom at the jailhouse, but Atticus stays put, sticking to his beliefs about a fair trial. Atticus’s defense of Tom Robinson represents his leadership and perseverance; most people disagreed with him and even knew the verdict before it was announced, but Atticus kept fighting diligently. An angry mob attempts to lynch Tom, but Atticus stays put, sticking to his beliefs about a fair trial.

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In his closing speech to the jury Atticus expressed his perspective on Tom Robinson’s case and the prejudice against all black people. He explains to the jury “... some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men…” (Lee, page 204). He believes all people make mistakes, everyone is human, and that no race is superior than another because of skin colour.

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Plenary Keynote “On the Idea of a Christian College” - Dr. Timothy Larsen (8:30 session) “Knowledge is an end in and of itself” In this discussion, Dr. Timothy Larsen discussed the calling and the mission of a Christian liberal arts college and how a college like Northwestern allows us as students to connect our faith, purpose, intellect, and service. Throughout the speech, Larsen argued against the critics who believe that a liberal arts education is worthless and that students who attend such colleges are “being scammed” because they are taught things that they will never otherwise use in their careers and/or life. These critics of a liberal arts education do not believe there is a utility-maximizing point for the widened array of required subject study offered at a liberal arts college.

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By defending Tom Robinson in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus demonstrates that morality overlooks social prejudices. Atticus defends Tom Robinson in spite of the criticism and opposition he and his children encounter from society. His awareness that a person's color should not determine their behavior shows that he sees African Americans as having the same values as white people. It may seem like Atticus is only defending Tom Robinson because of his sense of duty, but he is also doing it because he exhibits morality by overlooking prejudices and understands how all people deserve justice, no matter what race they are.

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Atticus fights for Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of raping a white girl. Although Atticus gets backlash for defending Robinson, he continues to fight for equality. When he speaks to the jury he says, “... in our courts all men are created equal” (274). By using a stern tone, Atticus makes it clear that he expects a fair trial for Robinson and that he should not be discriminated against due to his race. In addition, he states that “when

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The townspeople thought Boo was an evil man who caused trouble around the neighborhood because of his past experiences as a child. Boo opens up to Jem and Scout throughout the novel and they see he is really a lonely, caring man in need of a friend. Boo was known as the towns troublemaker and had a bad reputation, many people were scared of him. " Inside the house lived a malevolent phantom people said he existed, but Jem and I had never seen him. People say he went out at night when the moon was down, and peeped and windows.

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After three years, Scout learns to have patience when trying to reach out to someone and not judge others due to insubstantial rumors. She also understands what Atticus means by viewing another’s perspective. In an attempt to learn about Boo, Scout follows Jem and Dill impatiently as they try to bring Boo out of his house. Having never seen Boo, they do anything they could to just have a glimpse of him so they could learn about him.

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In Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, the theme is discrimination to others can lead to the wrong assumptions. For example, Tom Robinson was never given a fair chance during his trial because of his race. The story quotes “I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man” (Lee 279). The jury ended up convicting Tom Robinson guilty because of his skin color, not because he was truly was. The jury has the wrong assumptions about Tom Robinson and his race .

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Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird has a recurring theme of prejudice. Throughout the novel the narrator Scout Finch, Arthur “Boo” Radley and colored people are faced with prejudice. Prejudice is an assumption about someone based solely on what they believe is true or on what they were told or taught. Scout experiences prejudice because of her age, Boo because he is seldom seen and colored people because of the color of their skin.

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She becomes conscious of the fact that just because Boo did not follow society's norms, that did not make him an evil person. While standing on the porch of the Radley house, everything clicks for Scout as she gains empathy for Boo. “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough” (Lee 374).

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Racism and Prejudice are two things that have existed just as long as we have. So in a book written in the 60s about the 30s, racism, and prejudice are something that occurs. But not everyone in To Kill A Mockingbird shows racial prejudice. The youth in the story, Scout, Jem, and Dill all experience growing up in a town full of racism and prejudice and they learn they fall, grow, and they get back up again time after time. To Kill A Mockingbird demonstrates the idea of “As children transition into adulthood from childhood they learn that social inequality is often the result of prejudice and racism.”, by having a town full of racial prejudice and still managing to have people who see the good in people.

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Religion is one main focus in Voltaire’s writing. Voltaire constantly ridicules different religions in his writing. His attacks were shrewd and effective. Voltaire was an effective writer of the time because he was able to talk about religion in a subliminal way. Because he was such a controversial writer, he used his writing to navigate around censorship and still get his point across.

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Atticus Finch was a lawyer that had to be exploitive if he wanted to win cases. When he gave a closing argument for the case of Tom Robinson, he had to find a way to persuade his audience. Instead of making his speech specifically about Tom Robinson, Atticus stated that some people of a race may lie, but that is true for all humans, no matter what the color of their skin is. Atticus said that, “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, 30). He believed that you shouldn’t judge someone’s actions until

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In our society, innocent people, known as mockingbirds, experience prejudice in their lives. A/T: In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Background: Tom Robinson is a black person who’s was accused of raping a white girl named Mayella Ewell which he has never done. For this reason, Atticus Finch was appointed to be his lawyer. As a result, Atticus takes a stand for him by approving his case and standing up for him, but Tom was still found guilty.

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In the quote it demonstrates how Atticus has to simply explain to the Scout, you should never look at someone differently based on how much money they have. You should look at them for who they are. Some people are not as fortunate as others, it is not there fault, but like they Cunningham 's, they find a way. Atticus did not only open the kids eyes to how you should not judge someone, but also, to stand up for what you believe in, despite what others might say. When Atticus is presented with the Tom Robinson case, without much thought, he says yes to being his lawyer.

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