Everyday, someone somewhere faces some sort of discrimination. Maybe its the colour of their skin, or because they speak another language, or maybe theyre just carrying a few extra pounds. Whatever the reason, discrimination is hurtful, and can create wounds that never heal. One of the central themes in Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird is discrimination. As the narrator, Scout struggles with understanding the intolerance she witnesses, the bigotry she endures and her own prejudice against others.
The events surrounding Tom Robinsons trial open Scouts eyes to the fact that people discriminate against each other. Tom is looked down upon because he is black. Tom Robinson was probably the only person who was ever decent to [Mayella]. But she said he took advantage of her, and when she stood up she looked at him as if he were dirt beneath her feet (192). Atticus is chastised in the community for taking Tom on as a client and being a nigger-lover (83). The school buzzed with talk about him defending Tom Robinson, none of which was complimentary (89), and Francis makes sure Scout knows what Atticus is doing certainly does mortify the rest of the family (83). Scout is furious and lashes out at Francis with her tongue and her fists vowing, I swear before God if Ill sit there and let him say something about Atticus (86). Scout doesnt understand why people are saying such mean things about her father when all hes trying to do is help Tom.
Scout tries to stay brave when she herself is faced with ridicule. When Cecil Jacobs[announces] in the schoolyardthat Scout Finchs daddy defended niggers (74), she is mortified and asks Atticus why Cecil would say such a thing. Atticus warns her that she might hear some ugly talk about [the trial]butyou just hold your head high and keep those fists down (76). The next day when Cecil calls Scout a coward (77), she says, I could take being called a coward for (77) Atticus and it was the first time [she] ever walked away from a fight (77). Scout also felt centered out and different when her teacher Miss Caroline discovered [she] was literate and looked at [her] with more than faint distaste (17). Miss Caroline makes Scout feel guilty for knowing how to read and write. She never deliberately learned to readreading was something that just came to (17) her. Reading was a part of her life for as long as she could remember, yet to Miss Caroline already knowing how to read in the first grade was a crime (17).
Scout also feels discriminated against when Jem and Dill excluded [her] from their plans (42) because she was a girl. Jem told [her she] was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, thats why other people hated them so, and if [she] started behaving like one [she] could just go off and find some to play with (41). To Scout, this was the ultimate slap in the face. Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of [Scouts] attire (81) and said Scout could not possibly hope to be a lady if [she] wore breeches (81). This hurt [Scouts] feelings and set her [teeth] permanently on edge (81). She was a true tomboy and didnt believe she should be defined by the clothes she wore, or the boyish things she liked to do.
Scout is not perfect and harbours certain prejudices of her own. When Jem and Dill want to send Boo Radley a note, Scout says theyve gone crazy, [and] he kill (47) them with his bloody fangs (48). Despite never laying eyes on him before, Scout describes Boo as being about:
six-and-a-half feet tall, [and] judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catchThere was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time (13).
Scout allows her preconceived notion of Boo to influence the way she acts towards him, thinking hes someone who lurks in the shadows and creeps around at night. Her opinion is based on pure fiction and speculation. This is also the case with Dolphus Raymond. Everyone thinks he is a drunk and Scout calls him an evil man (200). When she and Dill discover the bottle in his paper sack is nothing but Coca-Cola (200), Scout wants an explanation as to why Mr. Raymond pretends. He tells her:
Some folks dont like the way I liveif I weave a little and drink out of this sack, folks can say Dolphus Raymonds in the clutches of whiskey thats why he wont change his waysThey would never understand that I live like I do because thats the way I want to live (201).
Once Scout starts looking at things from another persons point of view, she becomes more aware of how hurtful prejudice and discrimination can be. Atticus was righthe said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them (279). Looking back she sometimes felt a twinge of remorseat ever having taken part in what must have been sheer torment to Arthur Radley (242), and when she does meet Boo, she tells Atticus that he was real nice (281). Atticus responds by saying, Most people are Scout, when you finally see them (281). Scout learns a valuable lesson that helps her grow and mature as a person.
In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout is exposed and has to deal with the many sides of bigotry and prejudice. Discrimination is a closed-minded approach to life and causes incredible amounts of grief and sorrow. Shining the light and really opening your eyes to the effects of discrimination is the only way to stop the spread and the hurt. Unfortunately, prejudice is an epidemic that cannot be cured by modern medicine or science, but only by each persons tolerance and acceptance of those around. Will it ever stop? The answer lies with you.
Works Cited
Lee, Harper. To Kill A Mockingbird. New York: Warner Books, 1982
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