Prejudice In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
analytical Essay
611 words
The prejudices present in the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, display the views of the Old South. Defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a prejudice is an adverse opinion formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge. A significant prejudice present is sexism against women. The segregation of social classes is also exhibited in the novel. Most importantly, racism plays a dominant role in To Kill a Mockingbird. Although very common in the South, the prejudices displayed are morally wrong.
One important prejudice present is sexism against women. For example, Scout is criticized for her tom-boy ways. Aunt Alexandra is always nagging Scout about her beloved overalls. Scout finds the dresses she is expected to wear ugly and uncomfortable. She would rather hang out with Jem and Dill than stay inside with her aunt. Another example of sexism is the mistreatment of Mayella Ewell. Bob Ewell expects her to stay home and watch the children while he is away hunting or drinking. Mayella makes comments implying that her father sexually abuses her. Even Tom Robinson s...
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the prejudices present in to kill a mockingbird display the views of the old south, such as sexism against women and segregation of social classes.
- Analyzes sexism against women, such as scout being criticized for her tom-boy ways, aunt alexandra nagging her about her beloved overalls, and mayella ewell's mistreatment.
- Explains the segregation of social classes in maycomb. the cunninghams, ewells and negroes are disgraced.
- Analyzes how atticus defends tom robinson in to kill a mockingbird to protect his word and honor.
- Analyzes how prejudices in to kill a mockingbird show the views of many people in the south, including sexism against women and the separation of the four social classes.
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- Sexism, Prejudice, and Racism in Lee's To Kill A Mockingbirdanalytical essayThe most apparent theme of discrimination in To Kill A Mockingbird is racism, however there is more than just that. Other types of discrimination exist in To Kill A Mockingbird such as prejudice towards women, sexism. For example, Scout says, “Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn't supposed to be doing anything that required pants” (Lee 59).
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the phrase to kill a mockingbird is a simplistic explanation of unjustly abuse of the innocent, such as boo radley.
- Analyzes how the narrator describes the dirty, dismantled house with a fence made from tree limbs and sharp object attached by barbwire that surrounded an old ford model t that had been put up on cinderblocks.
- Explains that general is the idea that no two things are ever the same and that people must be careful of the generalizations they make of people and the groups they are apart of.
- Explains shackelford, dean, and hunter's rpt. in contemporary literary criticism.
- Cites johnson, claudia, and gale's contemporary literary criticism select.
- Describes richards, gary, and jelena krstovic's rpt. in children’s literature review.
- Explains claudia durst johnson's book, to kill a mockingbird: threatening boundaries, and gale virtual reference library.
- Cites smykowski, adam, and jeffrey w. hunter's rpt. in contemporary literary criticism (to kill a mockingbird).
- Analyzes kasper, annie's review of general semantics in to kill a mockingbird.
- Analyzes how the enduring legacy of to kill a mockingbird continues to shape character and touch lives the world over.
- Analyzes metress, christopher, "to kill a mockingbird': threatening boundaries." the mississippi quarterly 48.2 (1995): 397+.
- Analyzes how lee discusses the effects of ignorance and the toll it takes on people such as tom robinson, boo radley, scout herself.
- Analyzes how atticus defends boo radley from the townsfolk's lack of understanding of him. the last, and probably most talked about type of prejudice in the novel is racism.
- Analyzes the subtle examples of racial symbolism in the book, along with the evident racism that undeniably stands out. the trial against the falsely accused tom robinson is an example in itself, but the judges are as well.
- Analyzes how to kill a mockingbird has a moralistic tone that resonates with us today. it shows the horrible things that humans can do to one another.
2037 wordsRead More - Examples Of Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbirdanalytical essayPrejudice is a one of the most horrible actions that is used by many people throughout the course of the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. At the time, they had just entered the Great Depression, a time that was very bad for everyone throughout the US, especially blacks. It was also very common for white people to treat other black people unfairly, mostly because it was during a time that blacks protested and fought for their rights. Many people still thought that they still should have had control over blacks, even though many people knew they were wrong. Some people would be racist and try to make their way right again, like Bob Ewell, while others tried to defend blacks and their given freedoms, like Atticus. Most people thought it was fine
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how prejudice is used by many people throughout the course of the novel, to kill a mockingbird.
- Analyzes how bob ewell treated a black man badly in front of dozens of people in the novel as he was trying to prove that tom robinson had raped his daughter.
- Explains that even though bob ewell did a lot of prejudice things, some of the black people that scout and jem encountered were prejudice. calpurnia brought them to her church one sunday morning.
- Analyzes how atticus finch fought for the rights of tom robinson in a trial that they should have one.
- Explains that scout, jem, and dill learned many lessons about prejudice people and things that you shouldn't do in the novel. they learned that not all rumors are true.
893 wordsRead More - What Is Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbirdanalytical essayPrejudice: a feeling of like or dislike for someone or something especially when it is not reasonable or logical. Throughout the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, there is prejudice all over the place and it’s very hard for the people in the town to defeat the prejudice and the use of prejudice. The town of Maycomb is a very old and very small, everyone knew everyone. The town is very prejudice, so when an African American man is charged with raping a white girl, the whole town turns against him. Even though the town haven’t heard his part of what really happened. By Lee creating the pattern of people in this town being prejudice, it reveals that it is hard to defeat prejudice in the town of Maycomb because it’s engraved into their society.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how lee creates a pattern of people in maycomb being prejudiced because it is engraved into their society.
- Analyzes how lee demonstrates that prejudice is hard to defeat in maycomb. cecil jacobs is biased, but most 6 year olds aren't smart enough to make these statements by themselves.
- Analyzes how harper lee expresses the difficulty of defeating prejudice by showing how everyone in maycomb has been doing it since they were young.
- Analyzes how lee displays prejudice toward tom, even though atticus proved him innocent, shows that the people of maycomb can't overcome the use of prejudice.
- Analyzes how the people of maycomb can't stop being prejudiced, even though atticus wore himself out to prove tom robinson innocent. lee created the pattern of people being prejudicial.
1201 wordsRead More - The Reality of Discriminationanalytical essayThe famous novel, To Kill Mockingbird, portrayed such literary excellence, that it will always be a large mark on the history of American literature. In To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel set in the 1930s about a child heroine, discrimination and prejudices both play key roles throughout. Today, one could not imagine what life would have been like had they lived during these times. Scout Finch, a girl who, in this novel, begins to understand the reality of the problems in her small southern town, was faced with discrimination in many instances. Three forms of discrimination throughout To Kill a Mockingbird were discrimination against gender, race, and the unknown.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the famous novel, to kill mockingbird, portrayed literary excellence and marked the history of american literature.
- Analyzes how sexism in to kill a mockingbird began when jeremy atticus finch and jean louise (scout) met charles "dill" baker harris.
- Analyzes how jem and dill discriminated against scout for "acting like a girl" but the discrimination against women holding operative positions in town is worse.
- Analyzes the discrimination against the unknown in to kill a mockingbird. the infamous arthur radley's bad reputation was due to the judgments and gossip spread about by the townspeople.
- Explains that boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks. he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch.
- Analyzes how scout, jem, and dill tried to make boo come out, but scout realized that judging someone before knowing the truth can be deceiving.
- Analyzes how racial discrimination is frequently shown in to kill a mockingbird. the conflict began when judge taylor came to atticus finch and specifically asked him to take the case.
- Narrates how scout jem and dill found atticus asleep in front of the jail, and he was treated differently than mayella and bob ewell.
- Analyzes how atticus' involvement with tom robinson leads to scout's early questioning of racist precepts and behavior. scout sees the effects of racism on her teachers and neighbors.
- Analyzes the extent of racial discrimination dispersed throughout the south during these times.
- Concludes that discrimination of gender, the unknown, and race was present in the novel to kill a mockingbird.
- Opines that maycomb's people knew no other way to live. they acted out of habit because they were raised by their parents and grandparents. scout was a part of this change as she grew and her innocence was put behind her
1922 wordsRead More - Essay C&Canalytical essayPrejudice, while not as well-discussed in Of Mice & Men (OM&M), plays a central role in To Kill A Mockingbird (TKAM). Scout, the main character of TKAM, is introduced as a very young girl, ignorant to the prejudice raging around her. The first time she is really impacted by this prejudice and racism is when her father, Atticus, takes a case defending a black man. This trial becomes a pivotal point where her childish innocence fades in the face of real life. After witnessing the ugliness of the racist adults, she begins to notice things that weren’t at first apparent.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how crooks, a negro farmhand, is swayed by the idea of owning his own farmland with george, lennie, and candy. the emphasis on prejudice in om&m is vastly less than that of tkam.
- Compares the tragic scene of george's loss of innocence to the one of candy’s dog being shot. george had to make a pyrrhic choice that left him with the blood of his closest friend on his hands.
- Analyzes how s of to kill a mockingbird and of mice & men discuss prejudice, family, and courage through the characters' loss of innocence.
- Analyzes how innocence and the loss thereof played a role in the shaping of family relations in tkam.
- Analyzes how a young girl appealed to the human sensibilities of mr. cunningham, who saw how wrong he would be to run atticus down.
1143 wordsRead More - Prejudice in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbirdopinionated essayPrejudice in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ was written by Harper Lee in 1960. Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama, a city of about 7,000 people. She studied law at the University of Alabama and one year at Oxford University. After giving up working as a clerk for an airline she moved into a cold-water apartment in New York to concentrate on writing. She first handed this book to a publisher in 1957 but it was rejected so she took two further years to rework it before it was published as ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ in 1960.
In this essay, the author
- Describes the town in which it is set, a small southern town like her own.
- Explains that he is an older father than most but does his best at raising his two children.
- Opines that they regard her as more of a helpful friend than an irritant.
- Opines that they can deem him no good to be part of white society anyway.
- Narrates how a white mob of whites invaded the maycomb jail on the night that he was returned.
- Analyzes how he seems to ignore her but she perseveres and asks him how his son is.
- Explains that the children absorb some of the details and use them in their own.
- Opines that the town has no regard for him and he is neither.
- Narrates how they found her only after she had died.
- Explains that atticus is in the forms of names people call him on the street.
- Opines that black people see him in a similar way to that of the way they view him.
- Opines that miss caroline told them to tell their father not to teach them any more.
- Opines that scout is upset by this and doesn't see why it's wrong.
- Opines that the only way he is ever going to leave prison is hope.
- Opines that we feel we know them and have an insight into their life as they live.
- Analyzes how has left no thread loose at the end of the novel, and each episode is different.
- Narrates how her father forced her to lie in court because she was forced to do so.
- Opines that it was not her choice to accuse tom of rape but was forced to do so by mr.
- Narrates the blanket around scout when he sees that she is cold.
- Explains that many people, in court and in life, so he can be referred to as.
- Explains how to get the most out of life and cause no damage.
- Describes how she is forced to live the way she does by her father who has taken all of her rights away.
- Explains that scout is five and jem is nine, but by the conclusion, she is 9 and he is 12. we witness the two of them grow up and develop
- Compares him to a mockingbird in the sense that he does no wrong.
6279 wordsRead More - Prejudice in To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Leeopinionated essayHave you ever been a victim to prejudice? I have – it’s like being thrown into a trench of darkness every time, with only the wish to change you for the sake of society. It’s a terrible feeling, coming from Southeastern Asia it’s something my family and I have encountered continually. I believe that prejudice, intolerance, and moral blindness should not be an issue in our world, especially in the year of 2014. We as young Canadian citizens should learn virtues of fairness, charity, and tolerance in order for our next generations to prosper.
In this essay, the author
- Compares the finch family in to kill a mockingbird and martin luther king jr.
- Opines that we need to teach young people tolerance so they can accept the things our government and society didn't accept before.
- Concludes it should be our mission to eliminate the remaining percent of prejudice, intolerance, and moral blindness in order for the following generations to be a more innovative understanding society.
- Opines that prejudice, intolerance, and moral blindness should not be an issue in our world, especially in the year of 2014.
872 wordsRead More - Racism And Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Leeanalytical essayThe novel To Kill A Mockingbird, written by renowned author Harper Lee, was published on July 11, 1960. Her novel received the prestigious Pulitzer Prize and has become a modern-day American classic novel. The book’s setting is in Alabama and occurs when widespread racism and discrimination are high in the South. The name of the book arises from the common belief and saying that, ’It is a sin to kill a mockingbird’. To Kill A Mockingbird is narrated by Scout Finch, about her father, Atticus Finch, a well-known lawyer who fights to prove the innocence of a black man (Tom Robinson), who is unjustly accused of rape, and about Boo Radley, her mysterious neighbor who saves both her and her brother Jem from being killed.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that harper lee's novel to kill a mockingbird received the pulitzer prize and has become a modern-day american classic novel.
- Analyzes how atticus shows mr. robinson's innocence and how the jury ruled against him despite the clarity and facts provided.
- Opines that to kill a mockingbird reinforced their belief that one should always stand up for what one believes, despite what anyone else may think.
- Analyzes how the setting of the book was in 1935, maycomb, alabama, where racism was still high and ongoing despite the abolishment of slavery in 1865 in america.
- Analyzes how the phrase "to kill a mockingbird" stuck with them throughout the book. the phrase refers to tom robinson, who is falsely accused of rape when all he had tried to do was help.
- Opines that to kill a mockingbird is an american classic novel that teaches valuable lessons and captivates the reader with its precision in depicting the setting and the characters.
809 wordsRead More - Prejudice In 'To Kill A Mockingbird'analytical essay1. The prejudice against the Negroes were difficult to understand. 2. The students of the class has enjoyed reading To Kill a Mockingbird. 3.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the prejudice against the negroes was difficult to understand. the students enjoyed reading to kill a mockingbird.
- Opines that bill was the most violent rooster, and it took supreme courage to turn his back and walk away.
207 wordsRead More - prejudice in to kill a mockingbirdanalytical essayPrejudice 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.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that jem recognises the class & family group on page 249, "there are four kinds of folks in the world..."
- Opines that the breaking down of prejudice has to be targeted towards individuals first, like the cunningham man at the trial. miss maudie says "a baby step" must be taken instead of trying to solve all prejudice at once.
- Analyzes how atticus tries to get into the skin of robert ewell, but he fails. harper lee doesn't explain what to do with inherently evil characters.
- Opines that both are innocent: boo of his evil persona and tom of the crime of rape.
- Explains that at tense moments even the mockingbird is silent, while at moments of descriptive beauty, it lurks in the background.
- Analyzes how atticus represents tom even though success is unlikely (real courage) and he stands against racial prejudice in the community (courageous act).
- Analyzes how prejudice is directed towards groups and individuals in the maycomb community. racial prejudice consumed the mob, which wished to prevent tom from gaining a court hearing, the basic form of justice.
- Analyzes how the white community was frightened for their own position in society. alexandra is obsessed with heredity and educating scout and jem of their superior family background.
- Analyzes how mayella played on this idea at the trial to blackmail the jury into defending her. tom robinson's hearing was racial, but also class and gender prejudice entered into it.
- Analyzes the prejudice directed towards individuals in the novel who do not fit into the expected behavioural patterns of society and about whom little is known. children are frightened of boo radley.
- Explains that the children's fear of boo dies when they realise that he is a real person, capable of suffering like everyone else.
- Analyzes how harper lee's aim for readers is to live the lives of her characters, and to make them appreciate similar characters in their communities.
- Analyzes how boo is imprisoned to protect him from prejudice, while tom is killed as a result of prejudice. atticus could also be mockingbird, since he has sung tom's song of truth to the people.
- Describes the symbols of courage, such as the snowman, mrs dubose's camellias, and boo s tree.
1344 wordsRead More