The Mistaken Mindset
Prejudice is a common expression in general on a small scale, but there have been many instances where an entire nation’s belief was based on a prejudiced idea. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, individuals express their version of justice in different ways. The novel is set in the racially separated town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s during the Great Depression. The main characters are all involved in a plot in which narrow mindedness leads to pain and suffering. . In Maycomb County, prejudice rapidly spreads because of blindly brought up racist citizens and their need to blame things on someone else, but this stereotyping can be stopped when an individual defends what they believe, despite society’s beliefs.
The fact that Maycombs citizens were raised to believe that racism was a mindset to have is the largest reason prejudice spread against black people. Cousin Francis is someone who was raised racist, telling Scout and Jem that “Grandma says it’s bad enough he lets you all run wild, but now he’s turned out a nigger-lover we’ll never be able to walk the streets of Maycomb again” (83). Francis was being terribly brain-washed by his racist’s family and believes that his own uncle is a terrible man just because that’s what his grandma told him. He’s an extremely important example of how racism within Maycomb just starts at such a young age for children and are taught racist ideas. One of these people, Mrs. Dubose, is so openly racist that she tells Scout and Jem that “[Their] father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for!” (Lee 117). Mrs. Dubose and most of the town’s people dislike the Finches because Atticus being a well-respected white man was going to go in court and defend a black man. Jem and Scout start to become aware that all of the town’s people who believe this simply do because of the racial segregation. Maycomb County is filled with racist men, women, and children, and the main reason they all act this way is because of
The fact that Maycombs citizens were raised to believe that racism was a mindset to have is the largest reason prejudice spread against black people. Cousin Francis is someone who was raised racist, telling Scout and Jem that “Grandma says it’s bad enough he lets you all run wild, but now he’s turned out a nigger-lover we’ll never be able to walk the streets of Maycomb again” (83). Francis was being terribly brain-washed by his racist’s family and believes that his own uncle is a terrible man just because that’s what his grandma told him. He’s an extremely important example of how racism within Maycomb just starts at such a young age for children and are taught racist ideas. One of these people, Mrs. Dubose, is so openly racist that she tells Scout and Jem that “[Their] father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for!” (Lee 117). Mrs. Dubose and most of the town’s people dislike the Finches because Atticus being a well-respected white man was going to go in court and defend a black man. Jem and Scout start to become aware that all of the town’s people who believe this simply do because of the racial segregation. Maycomb County is filled with racist men, women, and children, and the main reason they all act this way is because of