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Racial and social injustice in education to kill a mocking bird
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Other than the obvious theme of racism, the movie also touches on the prejudices between social classes and education are seen throughout the movie as well. The behavior and manners of the Cunningham family is what definitely sets them apart from the Ewell family. Although both households are penniless, the Cunningham’s tries to have a neat outward appearance, while the Ewell’s are absolutely untidy. This contrast is noticeable on Scout’s first day of school. Walter Cunningham is wearing a tidy clean shirt and restored overalls; Burris Ewell has dirty neck and face, black fingernails, with bugs in his hair. Both Cunningham’s and Ewell’s are uneducated and they sometime don’t attend school for different reasons.
Imagine a world where anyone who was born with brown hair got to give orders to anyone born with blonde hair. If you're born with brown hair, you could have better careers and the better education whereas the blondes wouldn’t even been given a fair court trial. If something like this happened overnight, there would be a huge uproar, but what if it happened over time and generations grew to accept it? Eventually, people would start to argue that brown haired people were naturally superior to blondes. If you were living in a tiny town in the Deep South, such as Maycomb, you’d have even less of a reason to question the status quo. Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird is trying to teach his kids, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view- until you climb in his skin and walk around in it.” Furthermore, the largest forms of discrimination in the novel are racism and classism.
Three students kicked out of a high school for threatening to bring a gun to school. Why would they? Because people were prejudice against them because other students thought they were “losers”. Moral: You shouldn’t not like a person because they aren’t like you. Prejudice was far much worse in the time period of To Kill A Mockingbird. But, Prejudice is the reason for much social injustice. Three characters named Nathan Radley, Atticus Finch, and Aunt Alexandria show us this in the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird.
Prejudice is a strong word. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, a black man, Tom Robinson, was accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell, and was brought to trial. There were distinct views concerning Tom Robinson's innocence – views influenced by prejudice. The townspeople of Maycomb believed in Tom's guilt while Atticus and the children believed in Tom's innocence.
Prejudice is arguably the most prominent theme of the novel. It is directed towards groups and individuals in the Maycomb community. Prejudice is linked with ideas of fear superstition and injustice.
“Agape means understanding, redeeming good will for all men… Therefore, agape makes no distinction between friends and enemy.” Martin Luther King Jr.’s “An Experiment in Love” emphasizes the importance of understanding and compassion, and the equality of all men on earth, for “all men are brothers.” To Kill a Mockingbird, set in the 1930’s, similarly examines these ideas during the time of the Great Depression, when many families were unable to find work and therefore became impoverished. It was also a time when racism was largely present. In many situations, racism was taught to one’s children, and then to the next generation. When ignorance is taught to children by their own parents, it is not uncommon that those children will continue
Walter Cunningham a normal young boy despite one thing, he has no money. Though all people during the Great Depression were suffering through hardship, the Cunningham's couldn't bear a quarter. Notwithstanding they had no money, Walter indicates pride, but everyone else still discriminates, his label is poor. To young children who picked up this the richer, older generation, a man with no money is a man with no worth. The discrimination is the wealthy against the needy, the upper-class believe to be superior. Moreover, this concludes that the society Maycomb, County represents is not just racist but additionally bigoted for irrational
Burris Ewell and Walter Cunningham, characters from “To Kill A Mockingbird”, both have many similarities as they do differences. Burris and Walter who are both poor residents of Maycomb county, are two very different characters. While one might argue that both live in poverty, that's where the similarities end. Walter Cunningham, is a very sweet and kind little gentlemen whose family is known to be very poor but, also very trustworthy and honest. Mr.Cunningham, Walter's father, is a sincere person who is known to work hard and be responsible for his family's financial situation. On the other hand Walter’s family is known for being alcoholic, and using welfare checks from the government on things like whiskey. Both children have father figures
In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the Ewells and the Cunninghams are two very different families. The first difference you can see is their difference in ethics. This is seen by the way each of them get along in life. The Cunninghams farm and get food legally and “they never take what they can’t give back”(20). The Ewells, on the other hand, “were permitted to hunt and trap out of season”(31). Meanwhile, the town turns a blind eye to it. Also there is a difference in appearance.The The Cunninghams are dressed well for what they have. Walter, although he doesn’t have shoes, “Has a clean shirt and neatly mended overalls”(19). While, on the other hand, the Ewells are nasty and disgusting. Scout claims that Burris “was the filthiest human
In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the two families show multiple differences. First,which has many differences, manners, the Ewells don't have any manners and are always dirty. “His fingernails were filled with dirt” (19). Although, they could ‘beef’ up their manners; the Cunninghams on the other hand, were clean with their “neatly mended overalls” (20) and manners. Unlike the Cunninghams, the Ewells had a very bad work ethic. “Mr. Ewell doesn’t work they live off welfare and they act greedy.” (21) When you act greedy you ask for a lot of things or you make people feel bad for you. The Cunninghams' work to live and don't take charity and like to earn money themselves, pay people back… But not with money they pay them back with
The Cunningham family was an example of social prejudice because they were poor. “Miss Caroline, he’s a Cunningham” (Lee, 20). This is when they are in class and Miss Caroline is trying to give him lunch money. Scout tells her he is poor and won’t be able to pay her back and is too proud to take it. “He ain’t company, Cal, he’s just a Cunningham” (Lee, 25). They invited Walter back to the house for lunch and he poured syrup all over his food and Scout gets on his case about it. Cal tells her she shouldn’t do that and she implies that it doesn’t matter what they say to him he is just a Cunningham, she is being prejudiced because she knows he is poor. Another reason people are prejudiced to the Cunninghams is because they have to pay with crops.
The novel , To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee includes the contradictory characters Cunningham and Ewells . These families have identifiable similarities and differences
Scout's perception of prejudice is evolved through countless experiences in Harper Lee's, To Kill a Mockingbird. Written in the nineteen thirties, To Kill a Mockingbird promotes the understanding of self-discovery through Scout, an intelligent and outspoken child living with respectable family in Maycomb County, Alabama. Throughout various encounters in the novel, Harper Lee causes Scout's perspective to change and develop from innocence to awareness and eventually towards understanding.
For example, the book says, “When a man spends all his relief checks on green whiskey his children have a way of crying from hunger pains.” (31). Another way the Cunninghams and Ewells are different is their way of life. The Cunninghams live more civilized and try to do their best to look good with the money they have. For example Walter comes to school with, “a clean shirt and neatly mended overalls.” (19). The Cunninghams also always pay everyone back however they can. In contrast, the Ewells “live like animals” (30) and take everything they can get. Burris Ewell, “was the filthiest human I had ever seen. His neck was dark grey, the backs of his hands were rusty, and his fingernails were black deep into the quick.” (27). The last way the Cunninghams and Ewells differ is their personality. The Cunningham's father is a courteous man, it shows this in the book when Atticus says, “As the Cunninghams had no money to pay a lawyer, they simply paid us with what they had.” (21). The kids are respectful to adults and always are thankful for what people give them. The Ewells, however, are very disrespectful. The kids are rude to their teachers and never do what the teacher tells them to
Mr. Cunningham is one of the men that shows up at the jail, with violent intents towards Tom Robinson. He is one of many men from the town, who, in their everyday lives, seem normal, kind and decent. The "blind spots" that Atticus refers to is the fact that Mr. Cunningham is blind to the fact that black people are their equals. They are racist, and their racism makes them blind to any sort of rational thought when it comes to black people. That blind spots leads him to the jail, to enact violence upon an innocent black man, just because he is black. Cunningham would never do this to a white man--he is blind to white man's cruelty, and overly sensitive to any possible scandal involving a black man.
Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” In To Kill a Mockingbird ,school plays a huge role in the characters' lives. Each family or the families in the book view school differently.Some take school very seriously and others only come on the first day. This is based on the town's caste system. Since it was during the Great Depression, there were not many rich people. At the top of the caste system was the wealthy but average families like the Finches. They go to school regularly and therefore advance well. The Cunninghams and the Ewells were classified as the middle class.They did not take school as serious and went less often.They lived a normal lifestyle ,but struggled. The bottom of the system was mostly the blacks. Since these families were in different classes of the caste system, they all live very different lives.