Prejudice has caused the pain and suffering of others for manySome examples of this include the Holocaust and slavery in the UnitedStates. In to Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee racism was the cause ofmuch agony to the blacks of a segregated South. Along with blacks, othergroups of people are judged unfairly just because of their difference fromothers. The prejudice and bigotry of society causes the victimization ofSome who are discriminated against are those who are borndifferently than the majority. One person that is treated unfairly isCalpurnia, as you can see when Aunt Alexandra tried to get Atticus to fireCalpurnia, because in her eyes, Calpurnia wasn’t a good enough female rolemodel (p.136). This is a prejudice action, because Calpurnia is as goodas a role model as Aunt Alexandra, if not better. Aunt Alexandra is abigot and doesn’t see the character of Calpurnia, just the color of herskin. Another person who is treated like an inferior is Scout by herteacher, because she knew how to read. “She discovered that I wasliterate and looked at me with more than faint distaste. (p.17).” Scoutis treated like it is her fault that she knows more than the average childdid. She learned earlier than others so she gets punished unjustly. TomRobinson is also one who is discriminated by a biased community. Tom isfound guilty by the jury in his case against the Ewells (p.211). Theguilty verdict is a direct result of a racist community. Tom was nevergiven a fair chance in the trial, even though that the evidence wasproving him innocent. People that are born differently often getmistreated and are discriminated against.
Another group that is treated poorly in the society based onbigotry, are the people who have chosen to be different. One who chose tobe different is Dolphus Raymond. He pretended to be drunk so no one gavehim any trouble on the way that he lived his life (p.200). The way aperson lives should be there own personal business. He has the right tolive differently than others if he feels that is the way he wants to live. Another person that lives differently is Boo Radley. Boo stayed insidehis house for a number of years without ever coming out to interact withothers. He didn’t want attention that would come from the rumors thatwere said about him. Stories were made up about him and he felt it wasbest for him to stay inside. The people who chose to be different took arisk of being made outcasts of the majority of the society.
The final group that was made to feel different was the group thatdefended and protected the minorities and the wrongfully treated people. Atticus was a good example of one who defended the different by defendingTom Robinson in his case. Atticus had integrity that gave him thestrength to endure the ridicule that arose from his decision to defend ablack man in a segregated area. Atticus was threatened and his childrenwere treated poorly by their peers, because he had the courage to stand upfor the oppressed. Sheriff Tate defends the different when he says, “Inever heard tell that it’s against the law for a citizen t do his utmostto prevent a crime from being committed, which is exactly what he did, butmaybe you’ll say it’s my duty to tell the town all about it and not hushit up. (p.276).” Sheriff Tate is trying to protect Boo from the attentionthat could frighten him. The sheriff is doing the right thing by hidingthe truth from the community. By defending the different, people take achance of being known as strange or inferiors to the rest of the peopleThroughout the story, people that are unlike the majority, gethurt. They are given obstacles that they have to overcome in order tosurvive. Some people in the world can survive these obstacles, and thereare some that just give up. By fighting for your rights, people start torealize that character is the important attribute to a person. To Kill aMockingbird, by Harper Lee showed me that the people with differences arenot always doing things the wrong way. It is the majority that may beBibliography:
