Theme Of Dehumanization In To Kill A Mockingbird

Extinguishing the Flame of Hope

How does dehumanization cause people to feel hopeless? What can this hopelessness lead to? Dehumanization is depriving people of their human qualities or rights. Dehumanization is present in fictional novels and in today’s society. Racism, stereotypes, and prejudice can all cause people to feel dehumanized, and this humiliation often leads to desperation and hopelessness.

In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, a character named Boo Radley is humiliated by the citizens of Maycomb, Alabama. Boo Radley has stayed inside in his home for most of his life due to a violent incident that occurred with his father when he was a teenager (Lee 13). The novel states: “According to Miss Stephanie, Boo was sitting in the livingroom cutting some items from The Maycomb Tribune to paste in his scrapbook. His father entered the room. As Mr. Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his parent’s

According to the article, “Study: Even for college-educated blacks, road to full-time work is rocky,” many African Americans are unemployed, even if they have a college degree (Bowean). Some African Americans cannot pass the interview process because of racism, stereotypes, and prejudice (Bowean). A common perception of African Americans is that they are not smart enough to work at a job or own a business (Bowean). “Among recent black graduates ages 22 to 27, the jobless rate in 2013, the last year for which data are available, was 12.4 percent compared with 5.6 percent for whites (Bowean).” In fact, some of these African Americans do not have the finances to support their families’ needs. Eventually, many of these families become homeless with no money, food, clothing, or shelter (Bowean). Homelessness can then cause these poor people to feel desperate and hopeless about their