Examples Of Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

Prejudice is a real life problem in the world. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee describes the prejudices found in a small American town in the 1930's. Race, social class, and gender are examples of prejudice.

Racial prejudice is discrimination based on the color of ones skin. An example is when Tom Robinson is convicted in his trial. Tom was convicted because he was a black man and his word was not considered as important or truthful as a white man's word. Tom never should have been accused of the crime, but because whites do not trust blacks he was found guilty. Atticus, Tom's attorney, recognized the system wasn't going to change. "When it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins." (220) Another example

Women the early 1900's weren't allowed to vote or be in a jury. They said women couldn't be in a jury because they were considered to be too weak to hear the details of some case, and come up with an expedient conviction. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus explains this tradition when he says, "I guess it's to protect our frail ladies from sordid cases like Tom's. Besides, I doubt if we'd ever get a complete case tried--the ladies'd be interrupting to ask questions." (221) Another example of prejudice against women is not allowing women to pursue certain careers. Women were thought not to be smart enough or strong enough to do some of the jobs men did. One of the main occupations of women was teaching. A third example of prejudice against women is when they have been force to follow a certain image, or "act like a lady." Scout discovers this when Alexandra tells her that she has to wear a dress and behave in a way that Scout feels uncomfortable. Scout also is told to stop fighting and cussing and "act like a lady." It's unfortunate that women were underestimated by what they can do and not allowed to pursue any career they