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66 lines
4.2 KiB
66 lines
4.2 KiB
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To Kill A Mockingbird
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Prejudice has caused the pain and suffering of others for many
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centuries.
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Some examples of this include the Holocaust and slavery in the United
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States. In to Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee racism was the cause of
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much agony to the blacks of a segregated South. Along with blacks, other
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groups of people are judged unfairly just because of their difference from
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others. The prejudice and bigotry of society causes the victimization of
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people with differences.
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Some who are discriminated against are those who are born
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differently than the majority. One person that is treated unfairly is
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Calpurnia, as you can see when Aunt Alexandra tried to get Atticus to fire
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Calpurnia, because in her eyes, Calpurnia wasn't a good enough female role
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model (p.136). This is a prejudice action, because Calpurnia is as good
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as a role model as Aunt Alexandra, if not better. Aunt Alexandra is a
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bigot and doesn't see the character of Calpurnia, just the color of her
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skin. Another person who is treated like an inferior is Scout by her
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teacher, because she knew how to read. She discovered that I was
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literate and looked at me with more than faint distaste. (p.17). Scout
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is treated like it is her fault that she knows more than the average child
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did. She learned earlier than others so she gets punished unjustly. Tom
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Robinson is also one who is discriminated by a biased community. Tom is
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found guilty by the jury in his case against the Ewells (p.211). The
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guilty verdict is a direct result of a racist community. Tom was never
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given a fair chance in the trial, even though that the evidence was
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proving him innocent. People that are born differently often get
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mistreated and are discriminated against.
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Another group that is treated poorly in the society based on
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bigotry, are the people who have chosen to be different. One who chose to
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be different is Dolphus Raymond. He pretended to be drunk so no one gave
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him any trouble on the way that he lived his life (p.200). The way a
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person lives should be there own personal business. He has the right to
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live differently than others if he feels that is the way he wants to live.
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Another person that lives differently is Boo Radley. Boo stayed inside
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his house for a number of years without ever coming out to interact with
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others. He didn't want attention that would come from the rumors that
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were said about him. Stories were made up about him and he felt it was
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best for him to stay inside. The people who chose to be different took a
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risk of being made outcasts of the majority of the society.
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The final group that was made to feel different was the group that
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defended and protected the minorities and the wrongfully treated people.
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Atticus was a good example of one who defended the different by defending
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Tom Robinson in his case. Atticus had integrity that gave him the
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strength to endure the ridicule that arose from his decision to defend a
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black man in a segregated area. Atticus was threatened and his children
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were treated poorly by their peers, because he had the courage to stand up
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for the oppressed. Sheriff Tate defends the different when he says, I
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never heard tell that it's against the law for a citizen t do his utmost
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to prevent a crime from being committed, which is exactly what he did, but
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maybe you'll say it's my duty to tell the town all about it and not hush
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it up. (p.276). Sheriff Tate is trying to protect Boo from the attention
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that could frighten him. The sheriff is doing the right thing by hiding
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the truth from the community. By defending the different, people take a
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chance of being known as strange or inferiors to the rest of the people
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that they are around.
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Throughout the story, people that are unlike the majority, get
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hurt. They are given obstacles that they have to overcome in order to
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survive. Some people in the world can survive these obstacles, and there
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are some that just give up. By fighting for your rights, people start to
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realize that character is the important attribute to a person. To Kill a
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Mockingbird, by Harper Lee showed me that the people with differences are
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not always doing things the wrong way. It is the majority that may be
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going at it all wrong.
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<br><br>
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Words: 751
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