To Kill A Mockingbird
Good evening parents.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the fear of difference and resulting pressure to conform is a strong theme permeating the plot. It is most clearly shown in the characters’ attitudes towards race and fashion, both of which are still pervasive in Australia in 2011.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, the power of racism causes men and women to fear difference and conform to the status quo. The majority of white citizens were extremely racist; a few were even involved with the Ku Klux Klan. The whites tried to control the African – Americans, for fear of rebellion. They allocated separate housing areas for the African – Americans, forced them to build their own church and have as little to do with them as possible. This segregation highlighted the White fear of cultural difference, as well as a fundamental belief in their own superiority. When Atticus assents to defend Tom Robinson, he is mistreated and persecuted for “siding with the blacks.” Even Scout and Jem are judged and endure taunts from the townspeople. This indicates that there is pressure to conform to the social code of the day, and if a white person behaves otherwise they will be ostracized and judged.
Australia 2011 still struggles with racism, though perhaps not as overtly as in the context of To Kill a Mockingbird. Aboriginal people are often clumped together in housing commission dwellings or “missions” on the outskirts of towns or cities, where services are few. When two people discuss a crime, a standard question amongst some can be, “was he black?” Whilst there are many creative and gifted and generous Indigenous citizens amongst us, contributing great things to our communities, a skewed picture, fueled by the media and racist attitudes, can serve to paint all Indigenous people as violent, alcoholics, and/or perpetrators of crime. In a major country town where I have lived, if an Indigenous group of teenagers walks into a supermarket, the security guard is automatically
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the fear of difference and resulting pressure to conform is a strong theme permeating the plot. It is most clearly shown in the characters’ attitudes towards race and fashion, both of which are still pervasive in Australia in 2011.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, the power of racism causes men and women to fear difference and conform to the status quo. The majority of white citizens were extremely racist; a few were even involved with the Ku Klux Klan. The whites tried to control the African – Americans, for fear of rebellion. They allocated separate housing areas for the African – Americans, forced them to build their own church and have as little to do with them as possible. This segregation highlighted the White fear of cultural difference, as well as a fundamental belief in their own superiority. When Atticus assents to defend Tom Robinson, he is mistreated and persecuted for “siding with the blacks.” Even Scout and Jem are judged and endure taunts from the townspeople. This indicates that there is pressure to conform to the social code of the day, and if a white person behaves otherwise they will be ostracized and judged.
Australia 2011 still struggles with racism, though perhaps not as overtly as in the context of To Kill a Mockingbird. Aboriginal people are often clumped together in housing commission dwellings or “missions” on the outskirts of towns or cities, where services are few. When two people discuss a crime, a standard question amongst some can be, “was he black?” Whilst there are many creative and gifted and generous Indigenous citizens amongst us, contributing great things to our communities, a skewed picture, fueled by the media and racist attitudes, can serve to paint all Indigenous people as violent, alcoholics, and/or perpetrators of crime. In a major country town where I have lived, if an Indigenous group of teenagers walks into a supermarket, the security guard is automatically