Prejudice and Tolerance in To Kill a Mockingbird - 1068 Words

â€Å"Prejudice and Tolerance.† By Elizabeth Cassar, Laura Furze, and Angelica Newbond During the 1930’s depression, there was a great divide between black and white America. There were many communities and groups who had been exposed to the same treatment and persecution as the Negroes in To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee has used a small town setting, such as that in To Kill a Mockingbird, to illustrate America’s views on white supremacy and the inferiority of the black race. The author has illustrated view that are expressed world-wide through her characters in Maycomb county. In the small town of Maycomb, prejudice towards Negroes was a common sentiment of white people. Prejudice is strongly evident between these cultures in To Kill†¦show more content†¦people still looked at the Radley Place, unwilling to discard their initial suspicions† (p. 9) Maycomb’s prejudice towards Mr Arthur Radley was cruel and unfounded; Boo was a mockingbird, who never hurt the world, but through people’s early judgment, they hurt him. Boo Radley proved to be one of the heros of the novel, which supported Atticus’s view that ideas formed before hand are groundless, and prejudice is wrong. In the country town of Maycomb, people were easily influenced so prejudice was shown by most. The citizens knew that the colour of your skin determined your place in life and that Negroes were to be treated differently. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, there was only one true character that portrayed the true essence of tolerance. Atticus Finch stood on his own two feet, and never formed an opinion unless he had prior knowledge on the particular person or situation. Throughout the entirety of this novel, it was Atticus alone who not only was tolerant, but set an exemplarily example to his children, and the town, of how knowing before judging is not only important, but vital to society. â€Å"First of all†¦if you can learn a simple trick Scout, you’ll get along better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person till you consider things from his point of view†¦until you climb into his skin and walk around in it† (p.33). This is a perfect ex ample of how Atticus passes on his knowledge to his children, and educates them on how respectShow MoreRelatedEssay To Kill a Mockingbird: An Analysis of Discrimination893 Words   |  4 PagesTo Kill a Mockingbird: An Analysis of Discrimination The most important theme of the 1960 Pulitzer Prize winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird is author Harper Lee’s tenacious exploration of the moral nature of people. 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The reasoning people could have behind banning it is that they feel that the racism, language and subject matter in the book is offensive, inappropriate, immoral and that it encourages and condones such things. To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in Maycomb, a small town in Alabama, during the depression from 1935-1937, and is told from the perspective of a little girl named ScoutRead MoreAnalysis of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Essay1360 Words   |  6 PagesAnalysis of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee In 1960, Harper Lee published her critically acclaimed book To Kill a Mockingbird. Only a year after being published the American classic novel was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in fiction as well as the Brotherhood Award of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. Gregory Peck stared as Atticus in the successfully adapted 1962 motion picture of To Kill a Mockingbird that won an Academy Award. 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The story if full of interesting characters, some good and some bad, but each very important to the plot of the story. It is very important to understand each of character’s views and the plot of the story as it plays an important role in the overall theme of the story