Examples Of Bigotry In To Kill A Mockingbird

In most societies, there are standards that help protect the citizens. However, when the standards are set by people who are prejudiced and bigoted the outcome can potentially be harmful to those whom the society deems “unacceptable” or “different”. To Kill a Mockingbird by the famed author Harper Lee is a novel that allows the audience to reflect on significant social issues and values in our society. The poem by Abel Meeropol titled Strange Fruit also reflects on the tragedy of discrimination. The novel deals with many issues that involve racial injustice, the destruction of innocence and class in the American Deep South. The poem, in just three verses, powerfully deals with the outcome of the social issue of racism in its most extreme form. The prejudice and bigotry are embedded in the social values and laws of a society. It is not until individuals and groups rally against the prejudice that change occurs. The novel is set in Maycomb, a close-minded town that demonstrates racism and other prejudices. The town can be seen as a microcosm for the Southern States of the USA in the 1930s. Atticus, a
A primary example of this is Mr. Cunningham, who is generally a good and honest man. However, he becomes part of a group that has a mob mentality because of the strength in numbers and they are allowed to remain faceless. This mob makes an attempt to break Tom out of his jail before his trial so that they themselves would be able to lynch him. These actions mean that as a group none of the individuals has to take individual responsibility. As a group, they are a ‘shadow’ moving as one; but when Scout puts a name on one of the faceless men the illusion is broken and the ‘shadows became substance’. Mr Cunningham is singled out and forced to take responsibility for his bigoted behavior. The mob mentality is lost and the complex situation is broken