Theme of Discrimination in To Kill a Mockingbird (Book Analysis)

Discrimination to this day is still an obstacle around the world, that has still not been resolved. Taken place in the 1930s depression act of Alabama is the novel written by Nelle Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird. The book is about a little girl named Scout Finch that learns about the unfairness against certain people in her town while experiencing it herself. After reading this essay on To Kill a Mocking Bird, you'll have a better understanding of why discrimination is a problem that we need to educate ourselves on since it teaches sexism with women, racism towards colored people, and classism to the poor.

Sexism is a factor in Scout’s life that she faces very often. As stated in Scout’s point of view, “Next morning when I awakened I found Jem and Dill in the back yard deep in conversation. When I joined them, as usual they said go away” (Lee 25). Scout says that she had been rejected by the two boys multiple times because they don’t want her involved in their plans. Even though the three are supposed to be friends they start pushing her away solely because she’s a girl. Another instance of discrimination in To Kill a Mocking Bird, is when Tom Robinson speaks in Mayella Ewell’s place saying, “She says ‘what her papa do to her don’t count’” (Lee 103). The “what” that her father does is sexual harassment. It is a form of discrimination, and Mayella is being taken advantage of because she is a woman.

Tom Robinson is also a person who faces inequality in Maycomb County. Atticus says something after Tom is pledged guilty; he says, “‘In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins’” (Lee 117). Atticus tells this to Jem after Jem claims that it was unfair that Tom is put to death. Even with all of the evidence going against Mr. Ewell, Tom is a black man that has no chance of winning with a racist jury. A different racist example in the book is about mixed-race people, “White people wouldn’t have anything to do with her because she lived among pigs; Negroes wouldn’t have anything to do with her because she was white” (Lee 102). Mr. Raymond’s children face a lot of prejudice due to being half white, and half black. White’s see Raymond’s kids as a hundred percent black, and it goes the other way around, prejudice caused both sides to stay away from the children.

Mr. Raymond is a rich white man who uses his wealth and drunkenness as a privilege, which brings us to our next part of social injustice, classicism. Jem explains to Scout about social classes in the book, he quotes “‘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’” (Lee 120). Jem explains the four social statuses a person can have. The middle class, lower class, an even lower class, and then the next class that ties with racial inequality.  An example of classism is when Aunt Alexandra says, “‘Because— he—is—trash, that’s why you can’t play with him’” (Lee 120). Aunt Alexandra tells Scout that she can’t hang out with Walter  Cunningham because he is poor, which Aunt Alexandra refers to as “trash”.  Aunt Alexandra judges Walter because of his class and not being wealthy enough for her family.

You can see discrimination in Harper Lee’s novel countless times when women are subjected to sexism, colored people are subjected to racism, and the poor are subjected to classism. The two examples we’ve seen for sexism is the unfairness to young girls like Mayella and Scout. Through racism, there’s Tom Robinson’s unfair case and multi-racial children that aren’t accepted. Finally, for classism, we see Aunt Alexandra looking down upon the Cunninghams for being poor. All of these aspects are important to know because it reflects on the real world today.