The Importance Of Stereotypes In To Kill A Mockingbird

Stereotypes are created in today’s society for people who are deemed as different, not dominant, or unprivileged. Those who do not fall into a stereotype are often seen as privileged. One of the largest, and longest lived stereotype is race, specifically those who are African American. It is seen as a privilege to be viewed and treated as a white person, while those who fall into any other race are viewed and treated as being different. Recently, I have become very aware of difficulties facing the minorities. Before I witnessed an incident, I had been blind to the fact that there are privileges and so many stereotypes in today’s society. This blindness that I was experiencing, however, “is an aspect of privilege itself, … ‘the luxury of obliviousness’”

The theatrical performance also happened to coincide with the annual and traditional Black History Month performance. Since To Kill a Mockingbird is viewed as a controversial play, it caused much conflict between those involved in the two performances. The male who portrayed Tom Robinson in To Kill A Mockingbird, whom I will refer to as John, was also involved in the Black History Month performance. John was singled out and bullied by his friends in the Black History Month performance because they believed that he was disrespecting people of color by portraying a “weak” African American male. During this conflict, racial tensions escalated and were evident throughout the entire school. The issues of racial differences, judgments, and privileges seen in To Kill A Mockingbird, were played out in real life. The bullying that John was experiencing resulted in the performers’ self doubt, a further division between races, and political unrest throughout the school. In order to reestablish the peace, the performance of To Kill A Mockingbird was rescheduled, thus no longer interfering with the Black History Month of February. The sense of privilege and white power was brought to light during this particular

As a respectable white member of society, I took my privilege for granted - to not be identified as an “outsider”, or someone who is deemed as different than everyone else. I feel as if I do not need to work to be seen or heard as much as some people do. However, for someone who is placed into a stereotype, it is a constant struggle for them to be heard, seen, or taken seriously by others. People who are placed into stereotypes, such as African Americans, are not always as privileged. By putting on a show in the month of February that portrayed an African American male who did not have much of a voice and was singled out due to the color of his skin, we were subconsciously stating our racial dominance over those who were involved in the Black History Month