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Theme Of Social Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

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In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, the themes of social inequality, race relations, and perspective are shown carefully in Maycomb through the viewpoint of Jem and Scout. As the children mature and grow their understanding of the distinctive cultures in Maycomb develops and transforms. Through the progression of the novel, interactions between the different races are revealed and they allow Scout and Jem, alongside the readers to view the relationship between black and white people in Maycomb. When Scout goes to visit the “Negro” church, it allows her to view the black community from a different perspective. Furthermore, she acknowledges the ingrained bias the white citizens carry against the black citizens as well as their discriminatory …show more content…

Mr. Dolphus Raymond, is one of the wisest and knowledgeable characters shown in this novel, yet he is a slightly peculiar. Being a wealthy white man, he goes against the white culture of Maycomb and lives with his black mistress away from the white community. He is well aware of the racism and prejudice present in Maycomb, and is clearly not an advocate for it. “They don’t belong anywhere. Colored folks won’t have ‘em because they’re half white, white folks won’t have ‘em cause they’re colored, so they’re just in-betweens, don’t belong anywhere.” (pg. 215). Consequently, Mr. Raymond’s children are not welcomed in either society because they are multi-cultured, this goes to show how segregated Maycomb’s society is. “He’s got a Co-Cola bottle full of whiskey in there.” (pg. 214). Additionally, Mr. Raymond drinks Coca-Cola out of a bottle in a paper bag, to falsely show that he is drinking whiskey. By doing so he can avoid being bombarded by the white community, and also so they can blame his actions on something instead of believing that it is his choice. By Choosing to live outside the ‘traditional’ Maycomb society, Dolphus Raymond is one of the characters, bringing change to the society, even though it may be the slightest. Dolphus Raymond plays a crucial role in portraying the cultural differences seen in Maycomb and this is shown through the lens of the

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“Cry about the simple hell people give other people—without even thinking. Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they’re people, too”(Lee 269). Dolphus Raymond is a white man who came rich family. But he chose to marry a black woman and had children with her.

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1381 Words | 6 Pages

Dolphus Raymond does his best to teach Scout, Dill, and Jem about society’s racist views, empathy, and why he pretends to be a drunk because of the racial stereotypes set by society. According to Jem’s gossip about the death of Mr. Raymond’s first fiancé, as a result of him supposedly liking a colored woman, in chapter sixteen Jem says, “ because she found out about his colored woman, he reckoned he could keep her and get married too. He's been sorta drunk ever since" (Lee 215). This quote shows the reader that the townspeople accepts that Mr. Raymond married a colored woman because he is always “drunk.” However, Mr. Raymond is not really a drunk, he just pretends to be so that the people of Maycomb have a way to justify him treating colored people with respect.

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1155 Words | 5 Pages

The White townspeople do not appreciate him because he has biracial children. In the story, he speaks to Scout and Dill about racism in Maycomb. He says, "Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they’re people, too”(205). Dolphus Raymond attempts to get Scout and Dill to understand why they are more likely to not be upset by these injustices in the world. This quote also proves that prejudiced opinions are taught by the experiences someone has since children are not born with malicious thoughts.

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744 Words | 3 Pages

Saving the Modern World: One Satire at a Time There are so many problems that the world faces today, some more urgent than others. Some individuals choose to focus on the newest fashion style or celebrity breakup rather than focus on one that could bring about the doom of a nation. The use of satire in great literary works, television entertainment, and comics is an effective way to enlighten the world on the difficulties it faces.

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671 Words | 3 Pages

This shows that Mr. Raymond is willing to live with this lie in order to satisfy his neighbors' need to understand his lack of racism. Just like the mockingbird he means no harms to anyone and wishes only to live in peace with his family. Furthermore, Mr Raymond symbolizes a mockingbird because he doesn't like to fight. For instance, when scout asked him why does he pretend he’s drunk, he says When I come to town, if I weave a little and drink out of this sack, folks can say Dolphus Raymond's in the clutches of whiskey—that's why he won't change his ways. He can't help himself, that's why he lives the way he does" it indicates that Mr. Raymond's leads a double life instead of fighting for what he believes in.

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1114 Words | 5 Pages

This ‘act’ that Raymond constantly puts on implies that he lost hope of Maycomb ever understanding his want to be with a colored woman. He lost so much hope that he had to give a reason to Maycomb to blame the decisions he makes whilst being drunk, otherwise it would leave Maycomb in a state of turmoil. Like Scout says, “.. a being who deliberately perpetrated fraud against himself’ (Lee 268), he lost all hope and belief that the adults of Maycomb would understand, therefore it resulted him telling it to children because they understand. Furthermore, Mayella Ewell is another character who lost hope in the residents of Maycomb. Bob Ewell, her father, undeniably abused Mayella throughout her livelihood and was brought into question and confrontation during court.

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Bob Ewell, a white man with white children, seems to be more respected in southern society than Dolphus, a white man with a black girlfriend and mixed children. In reality, Dolphus is actually more righteous than Bob. The portrayal of these two characters through the venue of Scout shows the prejudice and distortion that the people of Maycomb have based on race or the association with a minority. Dolphus Raymond represents how race has no effect on the moral standards of family, religion, and alcoholism, despite society’s beliefs. Dolphus Raymond also represents the concept of a mockingbird as does Atticus, Tom Robinson’s lawyer.

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The Co-existence Of Good and Evil In Human Morality: To Kill A Mockingbird Analysis Essay Set in the rural southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, To Kill A Mockingbird is seen through the eyes of Scout Finch and her older brother Jem, Maycomb appears to be friendly and peaceful. However the children are exposed to the dangers and the truth of their community. As they mature and learn important lessons from others, they’re exposed to prejudice, inequality, racism, social class and injustice.

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Racism is a major theme in this novel, which portrays different forms of racism in the Maycomb community. The first is segregation. Segregation is present, even in the most highly respected places such as churches where they share the same God yet go to separate buildings and the Courtroom where they stand under the same laws and justice yet sit in segregated areas. Then there is verbal racism where white folk use racial slurs in conversation [Mr. Ewell says] "I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin' on my Mayella!". There is also subtle racism where it is implied but not physically said out loud “"You felt sorry for her, you felt sorry for her?"

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1099 Words | 5 Pages

In the book, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” by Harper Lee, the author writes about what happens in the small southern town of Maycomb, in Alabama. Lee uses the influence of belief in traditions such as roles and family bonds to show that they are causes of conflict. Throughout the book, roles such as gender, age, race, and family confines characters to act, look, and even speak certain ways, causing internal, external, and family conflicts. This theme that different types of roles and family bonds are the root of conflict is developed through the use of physical setting, anti stereotype, and historical setting The author shows that Scout faces external conflicts caused by the pressure to fit into the stereotypical gender roles accustomed to girls at this time in history.

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839 Words | 4 Pages

He explains that folks in the town assume that he is in the clutches of whiskey, however this is him giving them an excuse because he likes to converse with the black people in Maycomb. As the society calls for whites to only talk to whites, Mr. Raymond changes his appearance to give the townspeople an excuse. Mr. Raymond knows they only judge him off of his appearance in town, and this allows him to do as he

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875 Words | 4 Pages

Essay 1 Date Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird “To kill a Mockingbird” is a novel in which Harper Lee, the author, presents forth various themes among them the unheard theme of social molarity. Harper dramatically uses a distinctive language through Scout, who is the narrator of the story to bring out the difficulties faced by children living in the southern Alabama town of Maycomb. Harper has dramatically displayed use of bildungsroman throughout the story; this helped to give the story a unique touch of a child’s view to bring out a different type of humor and wit. It has also used to develop and thrive the theme of morality in the society.

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2053 Words | 9 Pages

By going out of the norm and being different from others in the Maycomb community, it encourages many negative reactions, despite that being out of the norm is a good thing, the right thing. There are many characters in the book that receive negativity by being different and defying society’s norms, such as Mr. Dolphus Raymond, Mr. Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley and Mr. Atticus Finch.

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714 Words | 3 Pages

Our story is set in the 1930’s, a time where racism was simply a part of life, not a decision. This can be seen through the fact that the jury in the court was comprised completely of white men. There wasn’t even the thought of allowing colored people, or women onto the jury. The juries in this court were also mostly farmers, showing that there was not a very wide variety in profession in Maycomb.

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1661 Words | 7 Pages

The book that I have chosen to read is, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. In this book, it is about a single parent, Atticus (Atticus Finch) with two children. Jem (Jeremy Atticus Finch) and Scout (Jean Louise Finch). The protagonist is Scout. The story covers a span of three years, during which the main characters undergo significant changes.

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