The Prejudice Of Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

Jason Lin Mrs. Christopher Honors English One/Period 2 1 March 2015 The Prejudice of Maycomb â€Å"All men are created equal†, one of the most ignored statements that our founding fathers wrote in the Constitution. People exercise prejudice everywhere in the U.S. Prejudice is a topic that is constantly revisited in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Her novel focuses on Scout, the daughter of Atticus Finch, living her life in the 1930s of rural Maycomb, Alabama. Scout witnesses the injustice and prejudice against many people, not only Negroes. The heat of prejudice rises when Atticus decides to defend Tom Robinson, a black who is going under trial for allegedly raping a white girl. Despite the clear evidence that Robinson is innocent,†¦show more content†¦Calpurnia responds that â€Å"folks don’t like to have somebody around knowin’ more than they do. It aggravates’em. You’re not gonna change any of them by talking right, they’ve got to learn themselves, and when they don’t wan t to learn, there’s nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language.†(Lee 167) Calpurnia ‘s insight offers us a look at the language divide between whites and blacks. White people dislike a person who speaks like a black and black people dislike a person who speaks like a white. The fact that the black community despises the way whites act and vice versa shows the fear of difference. Scout’s neighbor, Mrs. Dubose also dislikes people who act differently, including Atticus, which is shown when, she shouts at Scout. â€Å"‘Yes indeed, what has the world come to when a Finch goes against his raising? I’ll tell you.’ She put her hand to her mouth. When she drew it away, It trailed a long silver thread of saliva. ‘Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash that he works for!’†(Lee 135) Mrs. Dubose dislikes people who act differently than expected. Atticus acted differently than other peopl e earning him the hatred of Mrs. Dubose. Mrs. Dubose also compares Negroes to trash, showing that she also hates Negroes, probably because they have different skin color from her. The town of Maycomb demonstrates again and