To Kill a Mockingbird Essay free essay sample

Prejudice towards different people is a huge part of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird novel. Nearly every little mishap in the book has been somehow linked or caused by prejudice. Naturally, the town of Maycomb is affected by it, and the effect isn’t for the best. Prejudice is a destructive force in Maycomb, bringing nothing to the town. The cause of Maycomb being destroyed is prejudice spreading hatred throughout the town, separating the people, and excluding and enabling members of the town to fully get what they need. There is a lot of hatred spread throughout Maycomb County. The town is filled with prejudice people spreading their prejudice ways to other people, or to the younger generations. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout comes home from school with racist language on her tongue, and hate for a kid in her class. Even though her father, Atticus, tries to teach his kids that being prejudice is bad, Scout picks it up anyway, from her other social activities. We will write a custom essay sample on To Kill a Mockingbird Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Another example is Francis, Jem and Scout’s cousin. His grandmother, known as Aunt Alexandra, is extremely prejudiced against black, poor, and weird people. This is a trait she has obviously spread to her grandson, and it is proven when he calls Atticus a ‘black-person lover’, tempting Scout to punch him. The third example from To Kill a Mockingbird is how Bob Ewell spits in Atticus’s face because Atticus was defending Tom, a convicted black man. Atticus was just doing his job as a lawyer, but since Bob Ewell is a prejudiced man, he felt the need to tell Atticus his place in the world, and in his mind, it’s not among the black people. All these people are consumed by hate by what the older, or other generation has burned into their brains, that it’s right to treat people based on what they look like, or believe in. Prejudice is also a destructive force because it physically and mentally separates the people of Maycomb. There are ‘groups’ in Maycomb, which are marked by one or more trait that all of the members of the group have similarly. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the people of Maycomb have two types of churches; a black-person church, and a white-person church. When Scout and Jem are taken to Calpurnia’s black-only church, it’s a surprise for all of the members of the church. At first the people react in an unpleasant way to their arrival, but then they get used to the idea of white people in their church. Another example is how the Ewells are separated from the rest of Maycomb. The Ewells are very economically unstable, so they live behind the town dump, isolated from the rest of the town. Dolphus Raymond and his family are another example of isolated residents of Maycomb. Dolphus Raymond is a white man, who is married to a black woman. In Maycomb, that is an unspeakable scandal, because blacks and whites aren’t supposed to mix. He and his kids and wife are separated from the rest of society because they are different. Jem calls Raymond’s half-white-half-black kids sad because they don’t belong anywhere. The white people don’t want to have anything to do with them because they are black, and the blacks don’t want them because they’re white. These groups are divided by thin but defined lines and people aren’t encouraged to cross them. This causes separation and it leads to the town being divided into multiple groups, all because of prejudice. Being excluded or not being able to get what you need because of prejudice is another reason why it’s a destructive force in Maycomb. The groups of people in Maycomb rarely allow different people to interact with each other. Sometimes, people get excluded because of the colour of their skin, or by the amount of money they carry in their pockets. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Helen Robinson, the wife of the convicted black man, can’t find a job after her husband gets accused of rape. She needed to support her family by getting a job, but nobody wanted to employ her because of what her husband was rumored to have done. Prejudice against Tom Robinson lead to his wife and kids not being able to get what they needed. Another example of exclusion in To Kill a Mockingbird is when Aunt Alexandra wouldn’t let Scout play with Walter Cunningham because he was poor. She says that his family is different from the Finches, and that he wasn’t as good as them. She also places certain families of Maycomb into groups that exclude the rest of the town from their activities. An example of this is when she ways that all Penfield women are flighty, after a Penfield girl giggled during church. According to her, all Maycomb families have a streak of their own, and that places them into their own groups. This lead s to exclusion from various other groups, because people don’t think you belong with them, and not being able to get what you want. If a person can’t feed their kids or support themselves, they can’t lead a good life. In all forms of prejudice, whether its racism, sexism, or ageism, it brings no good to Maycomb County, and is a destructive force to the small town. The town of Maycomb is the discriminating way it is because of prejudice people spreading hatred throughout the town, separating the people, and excluding and enabling citizens of the town to fully get what they need. Mainly all of the problems in the novel are caused by prejudice, and slowly but surely, the people of the town will have to see the effects of their ways, and their town will destruct if the prejudice people don’t change. To Kill a Mockingbird Essay free essay sample In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates through characters of various background that maturation can lead one to develop just morals if he or she is exposed to the right type of environment. Scout and Jem Finch are able to develop a sense of empathy, selflessness, and honesty because they are raised by Atticus and are exposed to people in their family who exhibit these traits. Scout’s character is shaped by maturation as the novel progresses, she initially is a girl characterized as somewhat bratty and uncompassionate. However, with the counsel of Atticus who tells her, â€Å"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it’ † (Lee 30). Scout gains an improved sense of empathy once she has matured a few years. Being the daughter of an intelligent man, such as Atticus, serves Scout well in developing values. We will write a custom essay sample on To Kill a Mockingbird Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Atticus is not the only one in her family who affects Scout with his display of empathy, maturity, and fairness; her Uncle Jack has equally righteous standards. As a young child who picks up what she hears, Scout catches a habit of swearing unnecessarily. Scout doesn’t realize that it is immature to use swear words at inappropriate times. â€Å"But at supper that evening when I asked him to pass the damn ham, please, Uncle Jack pointed at me. ‘See me afterwards, young lady,’ he said† (Lee 79). Scout is surrounded by the guidance of mature adults who can teach her better and Uncle Jack’s guidance causes Scout to understand that it’s improper to use profanities casually. Scout receives appropriate counsel because she is exposed to mature adults who teach her valuable principles. Like Scout, Jem Finch is able to learn moral lessons from the people who guide him. As a nine year-old boy in the beginning of the novel, Jem’s perception of courage is simplistic and naive. He perceives bravery to be accepting dares and having the guts to do daring deeds. As demonstrated by Scout’s observations, â€Å"In all his life, Jem had never declined a dare† (Lee 13). However, through various lessons about what it means to be courageous, Atticus teaches him the meaning of moral bravery. Atticus says to his son â€Å"I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. Its when you know youre licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what† (Lee 112). Jem is able to learn what it truly means to be brave through the exposure to his father who manifests values of bravery, strength, and integrity. Being raised in the right kind of society allows one to develop strong values through maturation. A prime example of the negative effect that maturation has on those who are not raised in an environment of love, maturity, and happiness are the Ewell family. The Ewell’s are â€Å"the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations† who are looked at as the black sheep of Maycomb county because â€Å"none of them had done an honest day’s work in [Atticus’s] recollection† (Lee 30). Those raised in the background of the Ewell family â€Å"[are] people, but [live] like animals† and are not exposed to decent people, habits, or values. The Ewells are adamant to adapt to the standards of Maycomb’s society. â€Å" ‘There are ways of keeping them in school by force, but it’s silly to force people like the Ewells into a new environment—’† (Lee 30). The Ewells display closed-mindedness by not willing to attend school for a change, which portrays them as immature people. One instance in which the Ewells demonstrate bad character is when Mayella Ewell accuses Tom Robinson, an innocent man, of rape. In actuality, Mayella is the one who was seducing Tom. As a result, Mayella’s father beats her, and uses her injuries from the beatings as false evidence that Tom sexually assaulted her. Mayella’s actions are laced with dishonesty, selfishness, and a lack of empathy; her father’s are no better, revealing bigotry, prejudice, and selfishness. Mayella was not raised in a proper environment in which she could have been given the guidance to teach her the importance of honesty and other virtues, making her an unpleasant being. One’s surroundings play a large role in the ethics he or she develops. Atticus Finch is able to influence Scout and Jem in such a way that he teaches them values such as empathy, honesty, and bravery because he himself comes from a background of intelligence and moral education. Atticus chose of his own will to defend Tom Robinson in Mayella’s case when nobody else was willing to defend him because â€Å"If [he] didn’t [he] couldn’t hold up [his] head in town, [he] couldn’t represent this county in the legislature, [he] couldn’t even tell [Scout] or Jem not to do something again he]† (Lee 75). Atticus’s decision to defend Tom derived from his passion for empathy and equality. Scout and Jem are able to take after Atticus’s traits from being raised by him. Harper Lee demonstrates in To Kill a Mockingbird, using three characters that are raised in different backgrounds that maturation may teach people principles such as empathy, fairness, and nobility if they are brought about in an ethical community. Being exposed to the correct kind of environment allows one to develop good habits in life and general moral values. Guidance is important in the process of growing up because it sets examples for those who are growing, who take after what they are taught in life. The people around us shape our qualities, affecting what kind of people we will become. Who we are depends on our surroundings, which is eventually who we become. The morals we develop depend on the environment we are in throughout maturation. To Kill a Mockingbird Essay free essay sample To kill a Mockingbird Discrimination is a topic many authors have focused on for a long time. It has been the basis of many arguments, and has been around for thousands of years. Prejudice still currently affects our society today. In Harper Lee’s book, To Kill A Mockingbird, prejudice is evident in the form of social, and racial discrimination through the characters of Scout, Atticus, and Tom and some other characters in the novel. The most prominent form of racial discrimination in the book is Tom’s trial. Tom, a black male, was wrongly accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Bob Ewell comes up with this story to convince the jury that Tom is guilty, and to cover his tracks of domestic abuse. Mayella Ewell was attacked by a person who is left handed, and Tom’s left hand was crippled by an accident with a cotton gin. Although Tom had a reason for being perfectly innocent, the jury sentenced him just because it was a white woman’s words over a black male’s. We will write a custom essay sample on To Kill a Mockingbird Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Using the example above, one finds that black men are at the lowest part of the totem pole. Page 226 says â€Å"There’s four kinds of folks in the world. There’s the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there’s the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes. † Women in this time were also discriminated against. Scout is reprimanded for being a tom boy. She is told by her aunt several times that she couldn’t be a woman if she wore breeches. Her aunt also reckons that Scout should participate in feminine activities such as: playing with stoves, tea sets, and necklaces. Atticus Finch, Scouts Dad, also somewhat discriminates against women. Page 221 voices Atticus telling Jem women are not to serve on a jury. Dill explains to Scout that if girls did something that normally only boys do, she is going to be slandered for it. Scout being a tomboy is socially against the rules of this time. Discrimination will continue to be present for a long time. The novel gives hope for the future, and that there will be no more prejudice in the modern and future world. Many characters of Maycomb want to change the views of the prejudiced townsfolk, even though discrimination is a difficult force to defeat. People who have read this novel are sure to become aware of things, such as prejudice, happening all around them. To Kill a Mockingbird Essay free essay sample The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee has caused several controversies. Many school systems have banned this novel from reading due to the harsh content while other schools have not. This novel should not be banned from Stafford County school systems. To Kill a Mockingbird exposes readers to the reality of American history, teaches students valuable life lessons, it is a highly entertaining novel, and our right to freedom of press in the First Amendment. Many believe To Kill a Mockingbird should be banned in school systems, but this novel exposes readers to the reality of American history. Whether society wants to believe it or not, the events in this book did happen more than we would have liked. For example, Tom Robinson’s trial, Tom was innocent, but the jury tried him as guilty because of the color of his skin. Situations like the trial happened many times in history and this novel perhaps helps us to understand why. We will write a custom essay sample on To Kill a Mockingbird Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The novel also explains what society thought of mixed children or interracial couples. Though this novel uses profaned language, it emphasizes the harshness of the past and allows readers a view into a part of American history that readers will not want to repeat. To Kill a Mockingbird does not only teach about history, it also teaches students valuable life lessons. In this novel, Atticus Finch teaches Scout the valuable lesson of not judging someone until you’ve walked in their shoes. Not only does the story line mention Atticus explaining this lesson to Scout, it grows on that idea and shows how Scout applies it to her life situations. While reading about Scout applying this lesson, it gets readers to think how they could apply it to their own lives. The lesson is a very commonly heard one, but Harper Lee writes it in a way that readers will never forget. Harper Lee made To Kill a Mockingbird a highly entertaining novel. Throughout the story there are laughable moments. This novel doesn’t only have enjoyable moments like Jem showing Scout his â€Å"chest hair†, but it also has moments with great suspense such as Jem’s pants getting caught on the Radley’s fence. Harper Lee has impressive writing skills, she was able to compact the feelings of suspense, comedy, anger, sadness, and many more all into one novel. No student should ever miss out on such a fantastically written book because their school is apprehensive on exposing students to entertainment. Lastly, School systems should not ban To Kill a Mockingbird because of our right to Freedom of the Press in the First Amendment. The meaning of Freedom of the Press means the right to write freely, however why write something if it will not be read by an audience it is meant for? A current controversy is it appropriate to judge a book written in a different era based on the standards of today’s society? That being said, most school systems ban our rights of reading what was freely written because they believe banning it will protect students from the racial past. What the school systems do not realize is, they are cutting students off from learning the truth and if we do not learn from history, are we doomed to repeat it? The banning of this novel is pure ignorance. To Kill a Mockingbird should not be banned form Stafford County school systems. This novel allows students to learn an important part of history, and it teaches them unforgettable life values. To Kill a Mockingbird is a great source of entertainment and banning it will go against historical rights. Racial comments, bigotry, and events did happen in history. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird is able to explain the racial depths of the past with realistic situations. Everyone should have a chance to read, discuss, and understand this novel in a school environment.