Discrimination in To Kill a Mockingbird Essay Example

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a fictional novel that takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s. There are many forms of prejudice and discrimination in this well-known novel. Harper Lee mainly highlights discrimination based on race in this story, but there are other forms of prejudice in the mix, too. Some of the other most highlighted forms of prejudice in this story take on the forms of ignorance on the matter of mental illness, especially in the lives of the main characters who choose to ignore some serious issues with their neighbor and deem him “crazy.” The final form of discrimination in this novel is misogyny and gender inequality. This book not only covers the surface, but goes into depth about discrimination issues such as racism, mental health, and gender inequality. 

To begin, racism is a major form of prejudice presented in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Racism takes on many forms in this novel, and is an overarching issue within the story. One example of racism in this story is in Aunt Alexandra’s behaviors. Aunt Alexandra is very unlike her brother, Atticus Finch, who believes in a fair chance for all people alike. Aunt Alexandra is a racist for a couple of reasons. The reasons are that she disapproves of Calpurnia working for Atticus and she did not want Atticus to defend Tom Robinson. She felt that Calpurnia was not needed since she was there to be their role model instead, even though Atticus had made it clear that he needed Calpurnia to work for them and be a role model for his children. Aunt Alexandra felt that Calpurnia was a bad influence simply because of her race. Also, Aunt Alexandra disapproved of Atticus and his choice to defend Tom Robinson. She brought her brother down, saying that he shouldn’t participate in helping an African American when they had no chance of winning. Another example of racism in this story is the Tom Robinson trial. Everyone else refused to help Tom Robison because of his skin color and the fact that he seemingly had no chance of winning his case. Of course, Atticus stepped in to help. However, if he had not, no one would have done such a thing. The town of Maycomb is so drowned in its own racism that they do not care to help anyone who is not caucasion.

Secondly, another example of prejudice in this story is sexism. A prime example of this is in the beginning of the story when Aunt Alexandra comes to visit. She judges Scout for her boy-like behavior and her constant inability to be ladylike. Scout spends her days outside in the mud and initiating fights. Alexandra gets frustrated with Scout, and wishes for her to change. If Scout were a boy, however, Aunt Alexandra would not wish to change her behavior to that degree. Jem, in some ways, acts worse than Scout! Aunt Alexandra never gets upset with Jem when he acts too boyish or impolite, but when Scout does something remotely similar, she becomes very upset. 

The final example of prejudice in this story actually takes place early on in the book when Scout, Jem, and Dill judge Boo Radley because Boo is mentally incompetent. Boo stays inside the Radley home most days, not making so much as a tiny sound. The children create rumors about Boo Radley because he is different. These rumors consist of things like Boo supposedly being a vampire and an evil person when it is simply unrealistic. While Boo obviously is not as bad as the kids make him up to be, he does have some issues. Because of his issues, Boo is heavily judged when, in reality, he isn't all that bad. Arthur Boo Radley is mentally suffering. Boo Radley was stuck in his house for years all by himself without any property medication, which can drive anyone to a depressing or ill state of mind. People discriminate against people like Boo in this story. There is a public stigma about Boo and his incompetence. Many people in Maycomb see him as a murderer, evil person, insane person, and the list goes on. In reality, the same people who spread rumors about Boo are the same people who have never even spoken a word to him. Therefore, people are making a poor deduction of someone without even knowing the first thing about that person.

Works Cited

Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York, New York. Grand Central Publishing, 1960.