Explore the theme of prejudice in

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YEAR 11 WIDER READING COURSEWORK                   KIERAN PRINCE

Explore the theme of prejudice in "The Son's Veto" by Thomas Hardy and "To Kill A

Mockingbird" by Harper Lee.

Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird", is set in Maycomb County in southern North

America. The story is written about the prejudices people experienced in the 1930's. Atticus, a lawyer and one of only a few good honest men in the story, battles to save a black man accused of raping a poor white woman. Atticus lives with his two children and a black maid. The children get involved with an intriguing character named "Boo", a lonely and ostracised man. "Boo" ends up saving the children, sacrificing the life of a prejudice driven man.

In Thomas Hardy's "The Son's Veto", a disabled middle-class woman lives alone with her public school boy son. The boy despises his mother's manors and way of living. He is much too upper class for her. She marries a middle class vicar away from the community much to the pleasure of her son. The two move to London to escape the prejudice. She becomes a widow after her husband's death. She meets a man named Sam, she wishes to marry this man but her son will not allow it. They meet in secret but the marriage cannot be. Sophy dies after losing the will to live, mainly caused by her son's controlling ways.

Sophy, a lower classed ex-parlour maid, a middle-class man, Mr. Twycott. For this the two would have been the victims of direct prejudice. There would also be prejudice towards an upper class man marrying a disabled woman. People would have looked down upon Mr. Twycott for marrying a lower class disabled woman. It was unacceptable in the community for two different classes to marry "There was a marriage-service at the community-rails, which hardly a soul knew of", the two had to marry in secret so they did not have to cope with the speculation and criticism of the community.

They had no friends, as they did not want anyone to find out about their romance. Everyone in society was made to think that inter-class marriages were morally wrong. The two would also suffer prejudice because he was a religious man and she was someone who would usually be on her hands and knees working for him.

The two had to move away from the small-minded community of the small village to dusty London, "the couple removed thither, abandoning their pretty home, with trees and shrubs and glebe, for a narrow, dusty house in a long, straight, and their fine peal of bells for the wretchedest one-tongued clangour that ever tortured mortal ears". The move from the quaint attractive village to the dusty streets of London was appropriate as London is a large city and there would be less speculation of a man with a disabled, lower -classed woman. In the village the two would have been known by all and would have been frowned upon. The two didn't make friends because they did not want to attract attention to themselves by telling friends of their inter-class marriage. When in the city, Sophy would have suffered prejudice because of her accent. This would also cause prejudice toward the man that she is with, Mr.

Twycott.

Mr. Twycott had "committed social suicide" by marrying Sophy because, even tough she has a "spotless character" and has done no wrong, she is much too lower class to be his wife. The vicar would be expected to be relentless in picking his wife and that they must fit all the stereotypes of the religion and community. Once he had committed himself to the cause, he had "committed social suicide" because he could no longer face the villagers, he was expected to keep up their beliefs, and now he has married a lower-class woman, something he has probably preached about in church. He would be made an outcast if anybody found out, he had to separate his life with the community's way of life to keep the marriage a secret.

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In "To Kill A Mockingbird", prejudice is the definitely the most prominent theme. The most predominant of these prejudices is against the black community of the county. The blacks are treated as outcasts in society. They are made to give way on the pavements for white people, they have to use different transport and they have the most degrading jobs in the community. The blacks would be given jobs involving hard labour and the lowest of wages. The blacks had their own communities within the county.

The blacks lived in and around their own areas of the ...

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