Who Is Normalized In To Kill A Mockingbird
“There should be no discrimination against languages people speak, skin color, or religion” -Malala Yousafzai. The novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is a story about the Finch family- a wealthy white family- living in Alabama during the Great Depression and their experiences when the dad- Atticus Finch- takes the case of an African-American in a racist county. Harper Lee uses the citizens of Maycomb County and their actions towards African-Americans to demonstrate the racism they are unaware they are taking part in, leading us to conclude that racism is so embedded in society that people don’t even notice it. Scout & Jem, the children of an impartial man, make comments that showed some of their hidden ideas that
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As an illustration, in the text on page 83, it states, “He’s nothin’ but a n****r lover”, says Scout’s cousin- Francis- when he begins insulting Atticus for taking the case of Tom Robinson- a Black man accused of rape. Francis’s use of the n-word leads us to conclude that the use of derogatory language in Maycomb is heavily normalized because the fact that children- like Francis- openly use this type of language, it shows us that the community and adults he lives with use these words enough that the children begin to think it’s okay to use disrespectful language towards others. To further demonstrate this idea, another example of the Finch family being intolerant to African-Americans appears when Scout’s aunt, Alexandra, does not allow her and Jem to go with Calpurnia to her church. “You may not” (136).In making this comment, we can infer that Aunt Alexandra does not want her family being associated with African-Americans. Aunt Alexandra’s comment may be suggesting that because white people treat black people in such unfriendly ways, & because they would often link black people with being mannerless & uneducated, two things that Aunt Alexandra despises, many families would avoid interacting with black people because they feared that it would bring dishonor to their family
As an illustration, in the text on page 83, it states, “He’s nothin’ but a n****r lover”, says Scout’s cousin- Francis- when he begins insulting Atticus for taking the case of Tom Robinson- a Black man accused of rape. Francis’s use of the n-word leads us to conclude that the use of derogatory language in Maycomb is heavily normalized because the fact that children- like Francis- openly use this type of language, it shows us that the community and adults he lives with use these words enough that the children begin to think it’s okay to use disrespectful language towards others. To further demonstrate this idea, another example of the Finch family being intolerant to African-Americans appears when Scout’s aunt, Alexandra, does not allow her and Jem to go with Calpurnia to her church. “You may not” (136).In making this comment, we can infer that Aunt Alexandra does not want her family being associated with African-Americans. Aunt Alexandra’s comment may be suggesting that because white people treat black people in such unfriendly ways, & because they would often link black people with being mannerless & uneducated, two things that Aunt Alexandra despises, many families would avoid interacting with black people because they feared that it would bring dishonor to their family