Discovering Perspectives: Unpacking Prejudice and Racism

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Discovery can encompass the experience of facing confronting and meaningful situations that have the potential to alter an individual’s perspective of the world around them. The texts Go Back To Where You Came From (2011), The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, adapted as a film by Brian Percival (2013), To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960) and I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King Jr. (1963) explore the universal experience of discovery through the outcome of emotional and intellectual discoveries conveyed through the audience, purpose and context of the texts. The documentary series, Go Back to Where You Came From explores the notion of discovery though its audience, purpose and context as the authentic refugee experience encourages the audience
Similar to The Book Thief, TKAM is written through the eyes of a young girl, Scout, the daughter of a lawyer, Atticus Finch who chooses to defend an innocent black man in court. The setting of TKAM is in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama where there is a social divide between black and white people and racism is extremely evident. The composer’s purpose was to write a semi-autobiographical story of her childhood in which she was exposed to racial prejudice. TKAM was published in 1960, a time where racial prejudice was still evident in the USA, and thus Lee hoped to expose and challenge these prejudices. The composer displays the notion of discovery through the character of Scout, as she sees firsthand the evil and prejudices of people in Maycomb as her father defends a black man in court. Scout learns many moral values from her father as he educates her to treat everyone equally. As Atticus quotes, “you never understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around.” Thus, as Scout is a young white girl, she does not understand the prejudices black people face, however as Atticus instils a social conscience into his children, Scout begins to understand the evil and racial prejudice of white people in Maycomb. Lee also uses symbolism of birds throughout TKAM to convey the notion of racial prejudice of the South through Atticus’s quote, “shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” Thus, to kill a mockingbird is to kill innocence as mockingbirds make music and do no harm. The composer uses this quote to convey that it is a sin to kill someone who has done no harm, thus meaning the innocent black man Atticus is defending in court. Moreover, the notion of discovery can be understood through the composer’s

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