Sexism, Prejudice, and Racism in Lees To Kill A Mockingbird

Throughout the book To Kill A Mockingbird Lee discusses the effects of ignorance and the toll it takes on people such as Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, Scout herself, and many more. Through her examples of sexism, prejudice, and racism, from the populist of poverty stricken Southerners, she shows the readers the injustice of many. The victims of ignorance are the ‘mockingbirds’ of the story. A good example of this injustice is the trial of Tom Robinson, who is falsely accused of raping a white girl and is found guilty. The book is from the point of view Scout, a child, who has an advantage over most kids due to her having a lawyer as a dad, to see the other side of the story. Her father tells her in the story, â€Å"you never really know a man until†¦show more content†¦The missionary ladies, like Aunt Alexandra, in general abide by the same rules of politeness. They believed on the surface fragrant women were to â€Å"rock slowly, fan gently, and drink cool waterà ¢â‚¬  (Johnson). To them women were to act as a clique, and if someone did not act a certain way they would be looked down upon for being different and cast as an exile. They also pride themselves on family values whereas at the heart of things have no family values at all, and they use it as a way to segregate people into groups (Johnson). Alexandra maintains the stereotypical concept of what is the white southern feministic racist. All of the attributes sort of melt together and perpetuate one another. She retains her feministic way by getting Calpurnia, the black helper, to do all of her physical labor for her. An example of this behavior is present in the scene in which Alexandra arrives at the Finches’ house and commands Calpurnia to take her suitcase and her belongings upstairs so she can retain the feministic southern air about her. The prejudice attitude she has is also being passed down through the family. In one scene Scout beats up her annoying cousin for calling Atticus a â€Å"nigger-lover†. The only thing Alexandra does is getting on to scout for fighting and telling her it is unladylike to fight (Richards). Another example of sexism in the storyShow MoreRelatedRacism, Sexism and Socioeconomic Prejudice in Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird828 Words   |  4 Pagesother negative things† (2006 Anti-Defamation League). Also, prejudice in â€Å"children may be reinforced by listening to derogatory ethnic jokes, especially when others laugh along or think theyre cool†. Lastly, children may simply imitate the prejudices of their older family members and popular friends. Prejudice is to pre- judge. â€Å"Prejudice is a baseless and usually negative attitude toward members of a group. 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In Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, the innocent characters (or ‘mockingbirds’) are generally characters who are misunderstood by the harsh society in 1930s America. This ranges from a lack of understanding or knowledge about mental illness in the case of Boo Radley, to pure racism in the case of Tom Robinson. In Of Mice And Men, there is a bigger focus on sexism, but againRead MoreTo Kill a Mocking Bird Reflection2428 Words   |  10 PagesStatement on area of study Prejudice Prejudice; what a strong and powerful word that is. When prejudice first comes to mind I first think of, judgment, bias, stereotyping, unfairness and intolerance. Its much more than that its an evil discriminator act of power. A preconceived opinion of someone de to physical characteristics that cant be helped or changed. There are many different forms of prejudice but the four main ones to me are as follows. Sexism (the unfair prejudice against someone because