To Kill a Mockingbird: A Battle of Good vs. Evil
Uploaded by crazybowl1 on Apr 23, 2002
"Discrimination is a hellhound that gnaws at Negroes in every waking moment of their lives to remind them that the lie of their inferiority is accepted as truth in the society dominating them." Martin Luther King, Jr., speech, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, August 16, 1967. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a classic novel that takes place during the 1930s where we are introduced to the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, in which there was prejudice and stereotyping towards the people who were different then the general public. In the book, Jem and Scout learn the theme of prejudice and are taught by their father, Atticus, ways to use themes like courage and justice to prevent hatred and discrimination in their own lives.
The main and underlying theme in the novel is that of prejudice. Prejudice has caused the pain and suffering of people for many centuries. Throughout the whole novel, there are many examples of racism and its destructive force in any society. An example of discrimination was when Francis, relative of Aunt Alexandra, talked about Atticus when he said, "He’s nothing but a nigger-lover!"(page 83) In the story, people who are unlike the majority get hurt by those who think less of them. Tom Robinson is one character who is discriminated by the biased community. Because Tom is black, the members of the white community look down upon him and treat him with no respect. Tom undergoes a court case after being accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Because Tom was black, he wasn’t given a fair trial and ended up receiving a guilty verdict. The guilty verdict is a direct result of a racist community. Tom was never given a fair chance in the trial, even though the evidence proves him innocent. People that are born differently often get mistreated and are discriminated against. Atticus described a type of prejudice to Jem when he said, "As you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don't you forget it-whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash."(page 220) Another character that faces the prejudice town is Boo Radley. Boo stays inside his house for a number of years...