Maya Angelou, an American author, poet, and civil rights activist, once said, “Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.” Social injustice came about because of a community’s ignorance to appreciate the life they are given, instead of taking advantage of others. The inability to recognize a person’s experiences, either good or bad, and continuing to exploit their weaknesses is possessing no empathy--one of the main themes in To Kill A Mockingbird. Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, our eight year old narrator, develops maturity throughout the book in the prejudiced town of Maycomb County (Alabama in the 1930s) in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird. Through the use of irony, symbolism, …show more content…
As Ms. Gates, Scout’s third grade teacher, is explaining to the class about Hitler persecuting the Jews, the hatred she feels for him is fueled because “over here we don’t believe in persecuting anybody” (Lee 329). This dialogue is ironic because they hate a man across the world for persecuting others, but then prosecute Tom Robinson, a well moraled black man accused of rape, because of the color of his skin. Maycomb County is blind to the social injustice occurring within itself and prosecuted Tom Robinson to save the last ounce of pride the “white trash folks” have for themselves. Another situation Harper Lee exemplifies irony is when Lula, a black woman in Calpurnia’s church, confronts Calpurnia about bringing “white chillun” to their church, referring to Jem and Scout, and how “they got their church, we got our'n” (Lee 52). Lula being racist towards the white children in a black community is ironic because in the South during the 1930s, white people were mainly racist towards blacks. It shows racial injustice between social classes and how it turns people against each other. Maycomb County has pitted each race against each other and neither of them are able to mix freely. Dolphus Raymond’s “drinking problem,” when he actually drinks Coca-Cola, is an excuse to give racists a reason why he enjoys the company of blacks more than
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is set in Alabama in the 1930s, and concerns itself primarily with the interrelated themes of prejudice and empathy. These themes are explored as the story follows Scout Finch as she learns lessons in empathy, ultimately rejecting prejudice. While all characters in Lee’s novel learn from their experiences, not all are able to grow in the same manner as Scout. The idea of a positive role model, typified by the character of Atticus Finch, and the ramifications of its absence, is a concept that Lee places much emphasis on. The isolated setting is also pivotal in the development of characters. Lee uses the contrast between characters that learn lessons in empathy and compassion, and characters that cling to the ideals of a small town, to explore factors that nurture or diminish prejudice.
Growing up in a prejudiced environment can cause individuals to develop biased views in regard to both gender and class. This is true in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, where such prejudices are prevalent in the way of life of 1930s Maycomb, Alabama. The novel is centered around the trial of a black man who is accused of raping a white woman. The narrator, a young girl named Scout, is able to get a close up view of the trial because her father is defending Tom Robinson, the defendant. The aura of the town divided by the trial reveals certain people’s prejudices to Scout, giving her a better perspective of her world.
Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, focuses on the maturation of a brother and sister in the "tired old town(Lee 3)" of Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930ís. Maycomb, a classic southern town full of gossip, tradition and burdened with a legacy of racism, seems a strange place to stage a drama which encourages equal treatment and non prejudice. However, the narratorís fresh outlook on the sleepy town furnishes the reader with a multitude of viewpoints on civil rights. The traditional Southern racism of Maycomb is looked at through the eyes of our young narrator, Scout Finch. Scoutís innocent perspective compels her to ask questions about why whites treat blacks the way they do. These questions are crucial in Scoutís search for her own identity. Scout must come to terms with the racism of her town and how it affects the people in her life. She must find her own position and what role she will play in the whole racial game. A number of people greatly influence Scout. The two major role models in her life, her Aunt Alexandria and her father Atticus, pull Scout in two opposing directions. Through their dealings with Calpurnia, the Finch's black housekeeper, both the reader and Scout are able to distinguish what path each individual wants Scout to follow.
In a desperate attempt to save his client, Tom Robinson, from death, Atticus Finch boldly declares, “To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white” (Lee 271). The gross amounts of lurid racial inequality in the early 20th century South is unfathomable to the everyday modern person. African-Americans received absolutely no equality anywhere, especially not in American court rooms. After reading accounts of the trials of nine young men accused of raping two white women, novelist Harper Lee took up her pen and wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, a blistering exposition of tragic inequalities suffered by African Americans told from the point of view of a young girl. Though there are a few trivial differences between the events of the Scottsboro trials and the trial of Tom Robinson portrayed in To Kill a Mockingbird, such as the accusers’ attitudes towards attention, the two cases share a superabundance of similarities. Among these are the preservation of idealist views regarding southern womanhood and excessive brutality utilized by police.
In the novel, ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee some characters suffer in the hands of justice and fairness more than others. Many characters in the novel are discriminated against such as Calpurnia, Dolphus Raymond, Helen Robinson, Burris Ewell and more. However I will be focusing on the discrimination against Tom Robinson for his race, Walter Cunningham for his low socioeconomic status and Boo Radley for the rumors and supposed mental instability he holds. I chose those three because they are the most prominent and I will discuss how the discrimination against the characters therefore leads to their injustice or unfairness.
This is about social inequality in the book “To kill a mockingbird”. The book is set in alabama during the 1930. The main character are Scout, Jem, Dill, Atticus, and Calpurnia. The plot was about who was Boo Radley and how to get him out of his house. Later it becomes about a man named Tom Robinson and him being tried for rape. Now let us get into the three main topics in social inequality Race, gender, and financial.
To Kill a Mockingbird, a book written by Harper Lee, takes place in the era of the Great Depression. Many people are struggling, and race discrimination is prominent. Many events throughout this book evince social inequality within this time period, such as when Jean Louise Finch is repeatedly suppressed by her aunt and told to act like a girl. When Tom Robinson is charged guilty just because of his skin tone, social inequality is also evident. The different families that appeared in the book also depicts social inequality when one could be defined by his family name, for instance, the Ewells who are known for being filthy and disrespectful. Though the importance of morality is stressed by Atticus, Jean Finch’s father, the constancy of social
Prejudice, in itself is injustice, becomes a major player in the fight for justice when the forces of justice are antagonized. Through trials of court and mentality, Lee brings her characters and readers on a journey through the deep south to show the change of power and righteousness from prejudice to justice. In To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee utilizes the characters, settings, and conflicts in order to illustrate the impact of prejudice on justice.
Discrimination is common nowadays, and barely anyone considers or realizes the effect it provides. In this story, the answer of what effect discrimination delivers is displayed. From discrimination in the novel, “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee the effect given is injustice being done towards another. This unjustness is demonstrated in the book towards Walter Cunningham, Helen Robinson and Tom Robinson.
How would you like it if someone walked up to you and berated you based on the color of your skin? A characteristic like that isn’t even something you can control, so an insult of that nature can leave one furious and oppressed. Discrimination is inevitable in any culture, throughout history, in modern times, and even in ancient times. For example, the oppression and murder of 6 million Jewish people during the Holocaust, the African Slave Trade which occurred for multiple centuries, and more recently, the “ethnic cleansing” of Rohingya people in Myanmar, brought on by the government of the Asian nation, all of which are tragedies doomed to happen when history repeats itself and people do not learn
“In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins” (Lee, 295). This statement from Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, exemplifies the theme of racial prejudice that Lee weaves into her story. Racism, defined by the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language as “discrimination or prejudice based on race”, has been a major social issue throughout American history, especially in the Deep South. There, for many years, white men and women wrongly regarded blacks as inferior, unintelligent, and sub-human. Harper Lee, a descendant of General Robert E. Lee, experienced first-hand racial tension and bias, while growing up in the South.
Throughout the years social Equality has improved Social equality by definition means a state of affairs in which all people within a specific society or isolated group have the same status in certain respects, including civil rights, freedom of speech, property rights and equal access to certain social goods and services. In the Book To Kill a Mockingbird the author Harper Lee states through fiction the way people were treated during the great depression. Through the comparison of character interactions in the novel and the influence of current events, it is revealed that the concept of social equality has greatly changed from the 1930s to present day. During the 1930s social equality wasn’t a thing given to everyone.
Dillon Tan Jiunn Jye Mr. Keddy ENG3U 20th October, 2016 The hopeless existence of social inequality . One of the common ways authors tend to express their message and emotions is through writing novels, which in most cases was inspired by their life experiences and stories that they consider significant. This can be applied to Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill a Mocking Bird” as well, as she tries to convey the existence of social inequality in her childhood, in which she transforms her experiences into a novel which she portrays the existence of social inequality, the importance of moral education, and the coexistence of good and evil. In the book of “To Kill a Mocking Bird”, the story follows a young girl “Scout Finch”, her brother, and her friend,
Growing up in Maycomb, Southern Alabama in the 1930s was not an easy thing. Amid a town of prejudice and racism, stood a lone house where equality and respect for all gleamed like a shining star amid an empty space. The house of Atticus Finch was that shining star. Jean Louise Finch, also known as “Scout”, is given the opportunity of being raised in this house by her father, Atticus. I stole this essay from the net. As she grows, Atticus passes down his values of equality and righteousness to Scout and her brother Jeremy Atticus Finch, also known as “Jem”. In “To Kill a Mockingbird”, by Harper Lee, we see Scout learns many lessons about dealing with prejudice by observing the behavior of other characters in the story.
In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee taught many lessons. The biggest lesson I learned is that there will always be people who treat people badly because of social inequality, but there will also always be people trying to fight against that. Aunt Alexandra chose to be mean to little Walter Cunningham, just because he didn’t have as much money as them. That is a form of social inequality. Also, when Tom Robinson was found guilty of a crime he didn’t commit for being black.When Atticus stood up for Tom Robinson that was people fighting against social inequality.