To Kill a Mockingbird

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To Kill a Mockingbird

By Haris Ahmed

“…As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat

black men every day of your life, but let me tell you

something and don’t you forget it - whenever a

white man does that to a black man, no matter

who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family

he comes from, that man is trash.”

This is a key quotation, which demonstrates racial prejudice in the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”, by Harper Lee. The author uses different techniques to make the theme of prejudice clear.

        The setting of “To Kill a Mockingbird” was in Alabama, in the fictional Maycomb County, in the 1930’s. During this time black people suffered a great deal of discrimination from white people. This was the result of the American Civil War, which took place almost 100 years before. This caused a lot of racial tension and antagonism amongst black and white people. Despite the racial tension, there were no immediate signs of prejudice, until later on in the book. At the beginning, the author tries to give the impression Maycomb County is a peaceful and tranquil town, by creating a laid-back and slow-moving atmosphere. A quote which shows Maycomb County’s atmosphere at the beginning of the book is:

“People moved slowly then. They ambled across

the square, shuffled in and out of the stores around it,

took their time about everything. A day was twenty-four

 hours long but seemed longer. There was no hurry…”

This forces the reader to have a very positive perception of Maycomb County, by the author creating a very pleasant atmosphere. By the atmosphere being extremely slow-moving at the beginning of the book, it indicates that the residents of Maycomb County did not suffer from any stress. The mood of the passage emphasizes on the town being quiet and somewhat dull, because an occurrence will take place that will change the entire town of Maycomb. This creates a false impression for the reader, as it seems that everyone in the town gets along with each other, when in actual fact some of them don’t. The reason why this time is appropriate, to demonstrate the theme of prejudice is because there was a lot more racial tension during the 1930’s. As the result of the story taking place less than 100 years after the American Civil War. Harper Lee has deliberately chosen to have the setting of the book long after the American Civil War to make the theme of prejudice clear, by emphasizing the fact that people still had a great deal of prejudice, even in the 1930’s. This shows how strong prejudice is, in the minds of Maycomb County’s residents, which is something that has been embedded in the cultural of the town. During the beginning of the book, I got the impression Maycomb was a very tranquil town, so I was extremely shocked when I realised it wasn’t.

        The use of first person narrative allows the reader to experience the story from Scout’s point of view. Six year old Jean Louise “Scout” Finch is the daughter of Atticus Finch, who sits on the Alabama State Legislature and acts as Maycomb County’s leading attorney. The author has deliberately used first person narrative as Scout is completely innocent and naïve; therefore she has no discrimination against blacks, as she is very young. By having Calpurnia, a black servant in the Finch’s house, Scout has got accustomed to a black person’s presence, and accepted her as a family member. The reader can hear the story from an unbiased and unprejudiced point of view, as a result of experiencing the story from a young girl’s eyes:

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“Naw Jem, I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.”

This shows that Scout is quite mature, as she understands Atticus’ belief that all humans must be accepted and treated equally. It also shows that she is extremely decisive, opinionated and certainly not narrow-minded. Despite the strong influence of Aunt Alexandra’s racist and prejudiced view towards others, her standards are not present in Scout. This indicates that Scout recognizes hypocrisy and injustice in her elders, and gives an accurate impression of what Scout will be like when she is older. It becomes more apparent throughout the duration of the ...

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