Theme Of Human Rights In To Kill A Mockingbird

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In the literary works Night, To Kill a Mockingbird, and the “Rwandan Genocide,” many human rights outlined in “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights” were violated. Night is an autobiography written by Elie Wiesel, who was a Jew that survived the Holocaust. He suffered in several different concentration camps, enduring the pain they inflicted. To Kill a Mockingbird is a historical fiction novel written in retrospect of fictional events. Scout, the narrator, is a young girl whose family is experiencing the Depression and segregation. Her father, Atticus (a lawyer), is appointed to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, from accusations of raping a young woman. The “Rwandan Genocide” is an informational text written to explain what happened …show more content…

This family isn’t treated fairly because of the gossip which has been spread about them. Boo (formally Arthur) Radley is thought to be a terrible man who sneaks around at night, looking in neighbor’s windows, spying on everyone. Every crime committed in Maycomb is said to be Boo’s work. “People said he went out at night when the moon was down, and peeped in windows…” (Lee, 9). Article one of the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, which states “They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood,” was violated. The people of Maycomb didn’t treat the Radleys with any respect and held them in disregard. At the conclusion, when Scout finally meets Boo, she understands that all the rumors about him aren’t …show more content…

In Night, the author describes what he had to encounter just because he was a Jew - cruel beatings, starvation, and forced labor. In To Kill a Mockingbird, characters Tom and Boo were treated unfairly either because of their color or because of rumors that were spread about them. In the “Rwandan Genocide,” the Tutsis were murdered by the Hutus out of jealousy and spite. Each of these literary works incorporates human rights that were breached. In each reference and situation, what happened to these people was morally and ethically wrong. It is tragic to see individuals, social groups, or entire races and ethnicities having basic human rights