Throughout the novel, there are many incidents that show prejudice against women. One time that this is shown is when Alexandra, Scout’s aunt, bothers her continuously about how she is dressed and how she acts. An example of this is when Alexandra tells Scout that she should not be wearing breeches (pants); rather, she should be wearing dresses all the time, and that she does not need to be involved in anything that requires her to wear breeches. Aunt Alexandra also tells her that she needs to behave like a sunbeam, and that she has grown progressively worse every year. When Alexandra tells her that she needs to behave like a sunbeam, she means that she has to help her father, and act like a normal girl, not like a boy. Another example of prejudice against women is when Scout is talking to Atticus and she asks him why women cannot be part of the jury during trials in Alabama. Atticus tells her a few reasons for this. One reason he says is in order “…to protect our frail ladies from sordid cases like Tom’s” (221). This shows that Atticus thinks that women should not be exposed to tough cases like men. He also states that women cannot be part of the jury because the ladies will keep interrupting, asking question, and the case would never end.
Throughout the novel there are many of examples that show class prejudice. One example is how the whole town treats the Radley family. The town thinks that they are different, and abnormal. The evidence that shows this is when Scout is talking about how the Radleys never go to church, and the townspeople think that that is weird. Also, Scout says that Mrs. Radley is never invited to drink coffee with her neighbors, which is what all the neighbors do together, and that Mr. Nathan Radley is never spoken to when he goes to buy groceries. Scout also says that the fact that the Radley family does not open their shutters and doors on Sundays is “…alien to Maycomb…” (9). Finally, Scout says that no one ever goes to the Radley family on Sundays and says hello, which shows the people are afraid of them just because they are different. Another example of class prejudice is how Alexandra calls the Cunningham family “trash” when she is talking to Scout. Alexandra starts by saying that the Cunningham’s are not the Finch’s “type of people” (224), and that Scout should not play with them. Also, she says that there is a drinking streak in their family and that Finch women are not interested in those kinds of people. Finally, Scout asks Alexandra if she would be allowed to invite Walter Cunningham if he was kin to them, and Aunt Alexandra says that even if he was a kin to them, he would still not be invited to their house. A final example of class prejudice is the town’s thoughts about the Ewell family. To begin, the Ewells are a family that lives behind a dumpster, and have no manners. The Ewell children are not educated, since they only go to the first day of school every school year, and then they never come back. Those are some of the reasons that the Ewell family has a really low reputation and why people are prejudicial against them. Another reason is that people are prejudiced against them is because of the way they treat other people. One example of this is when Burris Ewell, a first grader, calls his teacher “a snot-nosed slut.” That proves that the Ewell’s have no manners or respect. Lastly, Bob Ewell, the father, harasses Mrs. Robinson, Tom Robinson’s wife, after Tom dies. He follows her, and scared her a lot. Also, Bob Ewell threatens Atticus after the trial and tells him that he will get him back for embarrassing him in court.
Finally, the novel shows a lot of racial prejudice. The first example of this is when Scout and Jem pass Mrs. Dubose’s house; Mrs. Dubose starts yelling and cussing at them. Mrs. Dubose starts of by telling them that they are horrible children, and that they are being raised badly. As Scout and Jem start walking away, she yells to them that their father, Atticus, is “…no better than the niggers and trash he works for!” (102). Mrs. Dubose also screamed out to them that when they grow up they will be “…lawing for niggers.” (101). A second example of racism is the day that Calpurnia decides to take Scout and Jem with her to church, a lady questions her why she brought “…white chillum to nigger church” (119). Calpurnia explains to her that they are her company, but the lady chooses to continue arguing. The lady also states that they have their own church, and that the blacks have theirs, and that white people should not go to a black church. Another example of racism is when Link Deas, a town’s member, comes to talk to Atticus. The two talk about the trial, and other personal stuff. During their talk, Link Deas tells Atticus that he has nothing to gain from this trail, and that it is not worth it. This is very racist since he is saying that if Atticus is going to try to protect an African-American, he will not gain anything, although he will lose a lot of respect from others. The fourth example of racism is how Dolphus Raymond’s likes and dislikes. Dolphus Raymond likes to handout with the African-Americans more than he does with the while people, therefore he does. Because of this, some people discriminate against him and treat him differently. Also, before he was about to get married, his fiancé heard that he had an attraction for a black woman, and killed herself because of it. The final racist example is how Mr. Bob Ewell ends up winning the trial even though there is proof that Tom Robinson is innocent. During the trial, Atticus questions Mr. Bob Ewell and asks him if he writes with his left hand, or his right hand. Mr. Bob Ewell tells him that he is left handed, and as far as Atticus knows, Tom Robinson is right handed. Mayella also says that when she was punched, she was punched on the right side of her face, which means that someone who is a lefty would have probably punched her, and that person is Mr. Bob Ewell. Also, when Mayella is testifying, she seems very nervous, and starts sobbing multiple times. This obviously proves that she is lying, and that Tom Robinson is innocent. After the whole trial is over, the verdict that is received states the Ewell family wins the trial, which is very racist, since it is obvious that Tom Robinson is innocent, although the jury is racist and chooses to vote unethically against him.
In conclusion, the novel To Kill a Mockingbird focused a lot on racial prejudice, class prejudice, and prejudice against women. It made all the problems and disagreements in Maycomb very clear and distinct. It showed the way people treated others just because they were different, and also the way people thought about others. Overall, this was a very well-thought, enjoyable novel!
