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

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Prejudice is like a plague on society. It intends to stay long in society and cause people to fear it. There is no vaccine and no cure to help it. It divides us and we do not think as one. It spreads like wildfire and gets everyone in its path. Everything in their life is secondary and they just think about that disease. This is what prejudice is like in a person, separating them and hitting them hard. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, the character Boo Radley, the symbol of the rabid dog, and the real world connection of gender inequality all display the theme of prejudice causing people to judge one another even when they don’t know the real truth about them.

Boo Radley is a prime example of someone who embodies the theme of people judging one another without truly knowing an individual. Boo is judged because he doesn’t associate with others in the community. He …show more content…

The rabid dog whose name was Tim Johnson had rabies. Because of this, he was considered dangerous and a threat to anyone near. The text explains, “Don’t you go near that dog, you understand? Don’t go near him, he’s just as dangerous dead as alive,” (Lee 111). The town of Maycomb is compared to a rabid, mad dog who is infected with racism. Those infected with racism tend to show the same type of behavior on a dead or alive black person. Racism will cause people to judge and mistreat another individual who isn’t black, but associates with one. The text says, “I know it’s February, Miss Eula May, but I know a mad dog when I see one,” (Lee 107). This proves it doesn’t matter what month or what time of year, racism exists at any given time. This is what happened to Maycomb when Tom was on trial. Regardless of the truth or his innocence, he was guilty because he was black and those who supported him were prejudiced against as