Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

How does prejudice affect how people treat others? In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, a southern town called Maycomb is filled with prejudice. The story is set in the 1930s, a heavily racist time. Scout and Jem, the main characters, can see how prejudice affects how people treat each other. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird shows how people judge each other without knowing what they’ve experienced through characters, events, and setting. In To Kill a Mockingbird, characters judged each other without thinking about what they have been through. When talking to Scout about school, Atticus said “If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider
things from his point of view.” (39). Atticus understands that you must think about what someone has been through before you can try and judge them. He tells Scout that she must see things from their point of view if she wants to get along with others. Atticus told Scout this because she was mad at her teacher and Walter, but was not thinking about how they felt. Scout was thinking that her teacher was some horrible person who thought she was always right, but she was just upset that she could not teach Scout how to read. Scout was also mad about having to explain to her teacher, who is new to town, that Walter was poor. Atticus was telling Scout that she should not have judged them before thinking about their situation. Another example occurs when Scout asks Jem about colored children. Jem tells Scout that they are “Half white, half colored...they’re real sad. They don’t belong anywhere. Colored folks won’t have ‘em because they’re half white; white folks won’t have ‘em ‘cause they look colored.” (215). In Maycomb. colored children do not fit in. Jem told Scout about them not being accepted in the white or black community. They are like this because no one has thought about what their life is like. The mixed children are outcasts, they don’t have any friends outside of family. On top of that people automatically decide that colored children are not worth their time before even learning their names. It isn’t even their fault that they are colored, but no one cares. They only need to know that they are mixed, and it is horrible. A final example occurred when Dill met Mr. Dolphus Raymond. When Raymond handed Dill a drink, Scout said “Dill, you watch out, now,” I warned. Dill released the straws and grinned. “Scout, it’s nothing but Coca-Cola.” (267). Because Mr. Raymond had colored children, he isn’t very popular in town. Because of this, Mr. Raymond acts like a drunk. Scout knows about his unpopularity, and it has even affected how she thinks. She assumed that Mr. Raymond was a bad person just because of what others have said, she did not take any time to learn about him. Scout learns that Mr. Raymond is just misunderstood by everyone and that he lives a fake life because of prejudice. Because of prejudice, people are treated unfairly in Maycomb. In To Kill a Mockingbird, events showed that people judged each other without thinking about what they have been through.
One big event was the court case of Tom Robinson. When Atticus was talking to the Jury, he said “You gentlemen would go along with the assumption...that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women.” (273). Atticus already knew that he could not win this court case, because no one would stand with Tom. In this event, Atticus was calling out the jury and every racist person in Maycomb. He was saying that they just assume that every negro is a bad person, but they don’t consider what they have experienced. They did not think that Tom, an innocent man, was about to have his life ruined. They only saw the color of his skin, and Atticus was not okay with that. Another example is when Scout beats up Walter Cunningham. After school, Scout thought “Catching Walter Cunningham in the schoolyard gave me some pleasure, but when I was rubbing his nose in the dirt Jem came by and told me to stop.” (30). Scout was not thinking about Walter Cunningham in this scenario. She was only thinking of herself and how she had to explain that Walter was poor to the teacher, which inconvenienced her. Walter is already poor and has a hard enough life, but Scout continues to make it harder. Jem, who is more mature, realized this and got her to stop. Scout let her thoughts of prejudice get the better of her.
A final event that takes place is when Scout asks Aunt Alexandra if she can play with Walter Cunningham. Scout says “But I want to play with Walter, Aunty, why can’t I?” She took off her glasses and stared at me. “I’ll tell you why...Because-he-is-trash, that’s why.” (301). Alexandra doesn’t know anything about the Cunninghams, only that they are poor. Because of this she does not want Scout to play with Walter. She calls his family trash for being poor during the great depression. Alexandra did not think about how multiple families were poor during the depression, she only had to focus on the Cunninghams. She let prejudice get to her head and would call another family trash because of the amount of money they had. Events in To Kill a Mockingbird are prejudice fueled. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the setting shows that people judge each other without thinking about what they have been through.
Scout overhears Atticus saying “I hope and pray I can get Jem and Scout through it without bitterness...without catching Maycomb’s usual disease. Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up…”(117). The “usual disease” is that Maycomb residence are extremely racist and prejudiced towards negroes. He knows that even if he had all of the evidence in the world, Maycomb would not side with a black man. Atticus only hopes that his children will not turn out like this, and that they will think about others and not be full of prejudice, unlike the town that they live in. He even says that the reasonable people go mad when a negro is involved/ Another example is when Scout overheard people talking about the case. After hearing them talk about knowing that Atticus was appointed to the job, she thought “But did this explain the town’s attitude? The court appointed Atticus to defend him. Atticus aimed to defend him. That’s what they didn’t like about it.” (218). This quote means that the people of Maycomb do not think about the situations of others. Atticus did not volunteer for the position of Tom’s lawyer, but was appointed to it. Despite this, he is treated horribly by the once reasonable people of Maycomb. They look past his situation and just think about him defending a black man, which is doing his job. Atticus is a
lawyer who needs to support his family. A final example is when Atticus talks about the people of Maycomb. Atticus says “When it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins…those are the facts of life.” “Doesn’t make it right,” said Jem.” (295). The people of Maycomb are racist and will always value the opinion of a white man over a black man’s. Atticus knew this, and tried to explain that to Jem after losing the case. Jem, who thought that the people of Maycomb were the best in the world, now knows the truth. He has witnessed first-hand how horrible people treat other because of prejudice. The people of Maycomb ruined a black man’s life, even though all of the evidence supported him. All they see is the color of his skin, nothing else. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee shows how people judge each other without knowing what they have experienced. Lee shows this through multiple characters, events, and the setting in which the story takes place. The story shows how unfair some people are treated because of prejudice. To Kill a Mockingbird shows just how ugly prejudice can truly be.