To Kill A Mockingbird Caste System

A last name. Race. That is all it takes to tell a great deal about a person. A person’s last name and race can be the difference between living in poverty or wealth. Whether a person can get the job or not. Many people claim that America is the land of opportunity, but I believe that those opportunities are for people who are born into it. To Kill a Mockingbird brilliantly illustrates how the caste system affects society and is still prominent today. Americans claim that the caste system is gone, but it is still here. The caste system in Maycomb is similar to those in America. Everyone knows everyone else by what their last name is. That last name limits a person to specific standard or raises the bar for them. The Ewells and Cunninghams are
known for being poor and will always be poor. The Cunninghams are better personality wise than the Ewells, but they are still on the same level. They are both on the same level in the caste system because they only take their wealth in account. In the system, skin color is also taken into account. Being black or a minority immediately puts them at the bottom of the system. This is also the case in America. A person’s name also makes a big difference in their life. In the “José vs. Joe Experiment”, a man decided to apply to several jobs with the same application, but he would change the name. When applying with the name José, he was unable to get a response for a job. When applying with the name Joe, his inbox was flooded with emails telling him that he was accepted into the workplace. Although they had the same experiences and résumé, the workplace still chose Joe over José. I honestly feel sickened to think that this is how people choose their employees. I could have the same exact training as another person, but they would choose them over me because of race. It also makes me feel uneasy because there is nothing I can do about my race. I was born with it and it is here to stay.
The caste system leads to stereotypes, especially in the legal system.
As said by Michelle Alexander, many minorities are labeled as criminals and have no chance of proving himself innocent because “their people” are inclined to do those crimes. Black people are known for violent robbery. Hispanics are known for drug dealing. Muslims are labeled as terrorists. These people are not even given a chance to prove that they are mislabeled because by the time they can, they have already been taken in for “suspicious” behavior. Many black people are being fatally wounded due to skeptical behavior. Random search is just another word for racial profiling. Reports state that ever since the attacks on the twin towers, airport security has been stricter on those who look Muslim and are of Middle Eastern descent. But why is being a person of color cause people to feel threatened? It is because people of color are labeled as criminals and will never be able to step out of that stereotype because of the caste system.
After reading these articles, I am realizing that the caste system is also practiced at school. Teachers can tell how a student will act if they had previous family members in their class. Being the sixth Lalo to attend Roxbury comes with expectations that I am “supposed” to fulfill. When they see my last name teachers usually tell me, “Oh you’re a Lalo? You must be related to (relative’s name)! They were such a great student.” I feel pressured to meet the expectation my last name has and this is just a small scale
example.
America is a caste system that can never be eradicated. One might believe it is gone, but it will never truly disappear. People can try to step out of the stereotype, but others will just see them as an exception.