Exploring Prejudice: To Kill a Mockingbird and Civil Rights Movement

This essay delves into the pervasive theme of prejudice as depicted in Harper Lee's 'To Kill a Mockingbird' and its connection to the Civil Rights Movement. It examines how societal biases, particularly racism, impact various characters like Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley, illustrating the consequences of discrimination. The analysis explores the historical context of the novel, set during the Great Depression in the American South, and compares it to the realities of the Civil Rights Movement, highlighting the ongoing struggle for equality and justice. The essay investigates the ways prejudice manifests, its effects on individuals and communities, and the enduring relevance of these themes in contemporary society. It references key chapters and events within the novel, such as Tom Robinson's trial and the missionary tea, to underscore the systemic nature of prejudice and its impact on both the victims and the perpetrators. The essay also draws upon external sources to provide a broader understanding of the concepts of prejudice and discrimination.

An investigation into prejudice in Harper Lee “To Kill A Mockingbird” and The Civil Rights Movement
Article
Introduction
Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” is a Southern Gothic novel in the fictional town of Maycomb,
Alabama, during the Great Depression. It presents a fictional world (which is prejudiced against black
people) through the first person narrative, which can act as a constraint as it tends to be highly
subjective and biased about Lee’s feelings towards prejudice.Lee wrote this in the 1960’s, in past
tense, in a time when many white people, particularly in the southern states of America were racist
towards black people. However, the author illustrates that societal prejudice is inevitable and leads to
discrimination. The novel explores the concept that our society continues to be racist and the central
themes and issues of To Kill a Mockingbird are arguably just as relevant to society today (as evidenced
through the black community recently speaking out against centuries of oppression). The novel's moral
message is to offer a message to the world that we should live together in peace through cooperation,
kindness and respect. The novel is clearly intended for young adults as it deals with themes of
systematic racism; the primary purpose is to inform the readers that everyone deserves to be treated
equally, and the secondary purpose addressed issues that inform the intended audience of racial
prejudice of whites towards blacks in the 1930’s.Due to the formality of the text, it is intended to an
older audience, which is a common convention of a gothic novel to be more formal. I believe that the
Southern American societ , in the 1930’s, were growing up with the preconceived notions of what is
right and what is wrong and children should be able to follow their own instinctive belief of what is
right and wrong. Additionally, it is easy to judge and have preconceived notions of someone just to
make it simpler for us to understand.To Kill A Mockingbird evokes a nostalgic, innocent and dark tone
as you progressively move through the chapters,and acts as an affordance as the description helps
construct and depict visual imagery for the reader. This helps them to get a better understanding of
what the writer's feelings and attitudes are in the novel. Further in this report reacting upon data being
collected various scenarios of 1930’s sexism was very prevalent these were those times when women
used to have less rights than men. All the findings and situations are being presented ink this report
and an attempt is being made towards covering all the major incidents of the novel to provide clear
and distinctive knowledge about the given topic after reading this research paper.
To Kill a Mockingbird is from the viewpoint of Scout, acting as both the narrator and protagonist of the
novel. She narrates the events in chronological order. Lee separates the novel into two main parts to
represent a passage of time and symbolism of the Mockingbird through Boo Radley (first part) and
Tom Robinson (second part). Boo is an important symbol of the Mockingbird as he is interpreted as a
monster and he is who the children discriminate against (even when all along he has been giving them
gifts- unbeknown to them) , and who society misjudged. Moreover, Tom is like a symbolic Mockingbird
because of his innocence. He was a man who did no harm to others but instead helped them out of
kindness - a mockingbird who becomes a victim to a racist society. Lee purposefully creates vulnerable
and helpless characters that are subject to ongoing prejudice arguably to make a comment on social
issues at the time.
I shall explore how prejudice affects the characters differently. Boo is not accepted by society as he is
different from others. Boo feels as though he is not accepted and is punished by a society that is very
judgemental. Therefore isolating himself which leads to feelings of loneliness, fear of others and social
isolation. ( https://www.aresearchguide.com/the-personality-of-boo-radley.html) Atticus Finch is
accused of loving black people when defending Tom’s case (And because of this the town exhibits
prejudice towards him) ,however he ignores them as he believes in equal rights and doesn’t believe in
prejudice or racism. Tom is also affected as he was wrongfully accused of raping a white women, which
led to gossip and racial prejudice towards him affecting his family as they were treated as outcasts.
(https://caldwelltkam.weebly.com/tom-robinson.html)
The novel centres around Atticus, an attorney and lawyer who defends blacks from the white cruelty.
One of his cases involve defending an innocent black man of rape allegations of a white woman.
Atticus is the protagonist in the story and disagrees with the practice of racism in the society. His

primary purpose is to lift up the social position of black people beyond the white people. During the
novel, we see the story unfold through the main protagonist and we see prejudice through Scouts’
eyes - through the eyes of a child. The children learn through being exposed to cultural prejudice and
otherness. Throughout the novel, the children’s foculizer is corrupted by the preconceptions, norms
and social codes present in Maycomb and the way these children reflect these relationships show how
children perceive social tension. The children also treat Boo with a lot of prejudice as many inhabitants
of Maycomb see Boo as a threat to their safety and as an object of gossip. Tom Robinson’s trial takes
place in the segregated south, influenced by racist prejudices manifested in the community and its
people, although Atticus proves Tom’s innocence the jury still refuses to declare the innocence of a
black man which evidently proves the town of Maycomb held racial discrimination above justice.
During Aunt Alexandra's missionary tea the white middle class ladies discuss the living conditions of
the women and children of the Mruna tribe in Africa. The people of Maycomb treat Dolphus Raymond
and his family as outcasts, simply because he is in a relationship with a black woman. His children
“don't belong anywhere. Coloured folks won’t have em because they’re half white;white folks won't
have em cause they’re coloured” (Harper Lee, 1960: p.177) Later on, there is news following Tom’s
death, a man who did no harm to others, but instead helped others out of kindness - a mockingbird
who becomes a victim to a racist society. However, by the end of the novel, the reader is left with a
message regarding prejudice and discrimination, that the only way to avoid this issue in society is to
shield the children from our own, teaching them to see everyone as equal. Boo Radley, Atticus Finch
and Tom Robinson are all victims of prejudice, and all three characters are plagued by this and affects
them all differently; crippling them and disabling them from acting as they wish.
Although I will refer to the whole novel, the sections that I focus on are chapters 23-27, where we see
how people in Maycomb are prejudiced against blacks and children. I am exploring these due to the
white population being superior and causing the African-American population to suffer severe
indignities - considering the fact that even in the court of law, a white woman's word was believed over
a black man (regardless of evidence). These chapters reveals to the reader about the prejudice
harboured by the white men.
The non-literary text that I have chosen to compare to To Kill A Mockingbird is the Civil Rights
Movement obtained from the History Article, published in 2009 (https://www.history.com/topics/black-
history/civil-rights-movement). The primary purpose of the text, is advocating for non-violent civil
disobedience in protest against incidents of police brutality and all racially motivated violence against
black people. This creates an informative tone, but it also enforces the secondary purpose of getting
the audience of the article (people worldwide), to acknowledge racial injustice, oppression and
inequality of black people. This therefore, reinforces advocacy for people to facilitate and abide by,
which is acting as an affordance as it is easily accessible. The text is in written mode and past tense,
which highlights how black people were, and are racially prejudiced by white people and how the
oppression of black people is still a problem to this day. Unlike To Kill A Mockingbird, the article
reassures the readers to not see this text as a constraint, as the facts presented and the opinions of
others about the movement support the credibility.
This article is more explicit about the unfairness black people still receive in comparison to To Kill A
Mockingbird. Taking into account the black community is slowly being considered as an equal in
today's society, the message in the article acknowledges that black people are all victims of
systematic racism. However, I believe that there is still racial prejudice, even though there is change,
the psychological effects of racism have circumscribed Black lives and deaths of black people still
exists, even if such oppression is private, rumors are ongoing, as outlined through the characters
within Harpers novel.
I intend to investigate how prejudice is presented in the texts outlined, the effects of it and show how
prejudice is enforced, making it clear that black community is perceived to be outcasts, that the
oppression of black lives is prevalent even within today’s supposedly equal society.
When comparing prejudice in historical and modern terms, prejudice is a belief or view that does not
take account of fundamental truth. This is similar to indifference, intelligence or schooling lacking. We
also hope for improved learning, and this is something that cannot be accepted. Explore historically

prejudicial examples. Sexism, which changes over time, is a downside. In general, as people become
less naive or more educated, biases are eliminated. This is not necessarily the case, of course,
because pure hate continues to abound, but over time, the type of bigotry has changed. Here are a
few bigotry cases. When it comes to modern times various laws and regulations are made in various
nations which protects the rights of various individual from the same. However, there is still lack of
knowledge about the prejudice practice. Therefore, various points still needs to be taken into
consideration and evaluated for a dream of prejudice free world.
Prejudice from the legal angle, this is a lengthy statute which attracts "no-detail" privilege in writing or
in verbal communication among conflict parties for the legitimate purpose of seeking to settle the
dispute. This ensures that in all subsequent litigation they will normally not be admitted in court or are
part of a settlement. In two recent cases, the courts have taken into account the application and scope
of right and given guidance for whether and how to do it.
Review
According to BBC Bitesize, prejudice “comes from the words 'to judge before'. It is forming an
unfavourable opinion or feeling about a person or a group of people, without a full examination of the
situation (https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z3vrq6f/revision/1). In addition to this, racist prejudice
“played a key role in supporting slavery. Beliefs about the inferiority of blacks, notions that blacks
experienced less pain and fewer emotions, and racist ideas about the behavior of blacks were all used
as justifications to support slavery” (Good Therapy, 2019, https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-
therapy/issues/prejudice-discrimination). Both of these statements correlate to both my literary and
non-literary text: the literary text portrays the amount of prejudice affecting the people in the 1960’s,
while my non-literary text does so throughout the years, especially towards black people.The
processes of prejudice is that it is “bias which devalues people because of their perceived membership
of a social group” (page 8, https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/research-report-56-
processes-of-prejudice-theory-evidence-and-intervention.pdf),however, they also suggest that
“Prejudice is also a part of people’s experience, and therefore they engage with prejudice in a variety
of ways, including being a victim of prejudice, encountering people who challenge their prejudices, and
trying to avoid being prejudiced” (2. The social psychology of prejudice, page
13, https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/research-report-56-processes-of-prejudice-
theory-evidence-and-intervention.pdf)
In some ways, it could be argued that bigoted people are only prejudiced, if they are jealous or feel
superior. They have prejudiced attitudes and emotions and behave in a prejudiced way because they
adhere to what is considered normal in the social groups to which they belong. The area I wish to
investigate is to consider whether anything has really changed in that time period. When considering
both the literary and non-literary texts from a modern perspective, it is easy to acknowledge the
oppressive nature upon which both societies were formed. In the literary text, Harper Lee attacks the
stereotype of the promiscuous and sexually voracious black men, and endorses the stereotype of
‘white trash’. Lee also showed how hypocritical women can be in the sixties. The non-literary text
signifies how black people are being oppressed and prejudiced even after so many years, it carries on
to this day (Kendra Cherry,2020,
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-prejudice-2795476)
The Street Directory describes To Kill A Mockingbird's message that “People should not be judged
according to who/what they are but should be judged on their actions and behaviours” (Sadeer Nasser,
2008, https://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/106654/languages/
novel_message_of_to_kill_a_mockingbird.html), thus implying that being prejudiced towards anyone
can have a major impact on people's lives, as everyone will have the same negative view of an

individual as society falsely accuse them, as evident in the Civil Rights Movement article.
An activist, Martin Luther King, led the Civil Rights Movement to end segregation of African Americans
to achieve civil rights. He altered people’s view on race and campaigned for the rights of the Blacks to
help overcome justice (Jennifer Betts, https://biography.yourdictionary.com/articles/martin-luther-king-
progress-civil-rights-movement.html). As seen in the Civil Rights Movement article, King’s I have a
dream speech “became a slogan for equality and freedom” (Unknown author,
2009, https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement)
Attorneys and semi are also in charge of "without discrimination" correspondence. An offers term to
negotiate a settlement or agreement is without discrimination. It is useful for 'without exception to
my / our interests' and is used to protect those for which there is contention that a compromise given
in mediation represents a denial of a right or acceptance of responsibility in some proceedings under
civil law. Security provided by the concept of no discrimination implies that parties to the negotiations
without prejudice can demonstrate in a dispute whether the contents or details are disputed or
whether any bid or compromise was made. However, as the following explanation illustrates, there
must be a type of bid or bargaining material in the Contact Body for safeguarding without
discrimination to exist. Is thus established that now in good conscience efforts were made for a
resolution of the case or of any of the matters to be negotiated and without prejudice, express or
implicitly. Moreover, until all the parties agree to the publication or information of negotiations, a
resolution is negotiated, an offer is made "except as to costs," or a person who is not a party to the
proceedings in which negotiations are being conducted shall seek disclosure.

Analysis
What prejudice is there in the texts?
Harper Lee’s, “To Kill A Mockingbird, demonstrates the injustices the characters go through. There are
three main types of prejudice throughout the novel: gender, class and racial prejudice. Lee depicts
these to illustrate the preconceived notions in Maycomb County, around the Great Depression”.
During the 1930’s, sexism was very prevalent, where women had significantly less rights than men. An
example of this is seen through the main protagonist, Scout, conveying her child-like innocence and
naivety with society dictating strict gender stereotypes. Scout explains, “for the second time in my life
I thought of running away” (Harper Lee, 1960: p.150), illustrating how people want to shape Scout into
something she doesn’t want to be. The abstract noun “thought” following the material verb “running”
and the adverb “away” emphasises that women feel entrapped and men/boys see women/girls as
fragile and weak . This restricts the women to express themselves freely and have the same
opportunities that a man has. “I declare to the Lord you’re getting more like a girl everyday” (Harper
Lee, 1960: p.57) insinuates that she is being excluded from playing with the boys, which connotes that
women in this time period were restricted from things that society didn’t want them to do through the
concrete noun “girl” as they were seen as vulnerable.The felicitous conditions of gender roles and
social status illustrates that men have the power to force control over women. Society's mindset is that
the man works while the woman stays inside and cleans, highlighting that women are forced to abide
by the rules. Similarly, the Civil Rights Movement, portrays how Blacks were deprived of their human
rights, ill treated by whites and subjected to any offenders irrespective of their innocence to simply
“gain equal rights'' (Unknown author, 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-
movement) attempting to obtain liberation from the white Americans. The fact that the “Civil War
didnt end discrimination”infers how selfish the whites were during that time period, “(Unknown author,
2009, https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement) further suggesting the
restriction to freedom the Black Americans had and that there was no sympathy towards them
whatsoever.
Maycomb was put into a society where everyone is a classist, (another example of prejudice) and so
society criticized Atticus for defending an African American due to the fact that his ‘class’ did not
belong defending Tom’s class. Mr Cunningham, a poor but hard working man, finds ways to repay
Atticus “because that's the only way he can pay me. He has no money” (Harper Lee, 1960: p.23)
highlighting that even though this is all he can afford it shows a sense of respect and responsibility.The
adverb “only” connotes there’s only one way for the lower class to repay the people. Comparably,
during the Civil Rights Movement, Black Americans had to “fight for equality” (Unknown author,
2009, https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement), in order to achieve the
justice they deserve. Most White people were against this movement as they only saw Black people as
servants, lower social class, and discriminated against them. Whereas, Lee reveals how the Great
Depression time period affected the people (families) in Maycomb County. “He ain’t company, Cal, he's
just a Cunningham '' (Harper Lee, 1960: p.27), reveals the strict hierarchy between the people. The
class division typifies how unfair and cruel the system is and the diction “ain’t” adds on to the
formality of the sentence. The third person singular pronoun “he” infers how prejudice affects the
friends' relationship.
Lee illustrates how racism can be hazardous to society. “Once you have a drop of negro blood. That
makes you all black” (Harper Lee, 1960: p. 178). The racial slur ‘black’ evokes any affiliation or
relations to black ancestry, and are perceived as outcasts. The repetition of the second person direct
address “you” epitomises how society divides people up into races and the determiner “all” highlights
that the whites did not accept African Americans as equals but as slaves and properties. In the same
way,African American’s struggled to “sought legislative changes for equality and the rights to vote''
(Unknown author, 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement), this
impacted them which indicate the myriad racial prejudice amongst them. The material verb “changes''
reveals that the blacks had to go through so much in order to prevent dicrimination and racial
prejudice. However, In To Kill A Mockingbird, people like Mrs. Merrikweather tend to show dominance

over certain people, she explains how “there’s nothing more distracting than a sulky darky” (Harper
Lee, 1960: p.256), this quote displays how these people are unable to feel any sympathy for the
blacks. The racial slur “sulky darky” emphasises how narrow-minded and bigoted some of the
inhabitants can be. The evaluative adjective “distracting” generates a racist tone as these people feel
that the Negroes degrade them and will not see the innocence of the blacks. Likewise, African
americans “had more than enough of prejudice and violence against them” (Unknown author,
2009, https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement) demonstrates how
complicated and exhausting it was to feel inferior. The abstract nouns “prejudice” and “violence”
emphasises the severe anguish and resentment the blacks had to encounter throughout their lives
especially during the Civil Rights Movement. The othering of “them” connotes racial inequality.
Only a few of the injustices faced by victims of racial discrimination and related intolerance
include limited job prospects, racism, and endemic poverty. In cultures all over the world, women face
a host of disadvantages, including lower wages for equal work, high illiteracy rates, and inadequate
access to health care. While race and gender both play a role in inequality, they are not mutually
exclusive forms of discrimination. They do, in reality, sometimes cross, resulting in compounded or
double discrimination. Race, colour, gender, and national origin become "differences that matter" for
many women's social identity variables. These factors may result in issues that are unique to particular
groups of women or that affect some women more than others. Consider the social barriers that a
Roma woman in Eastern Europe must overcome. As a member of the Romani community, she has few
supporters and is the target of constant hostility. She is a woman in her family and a minority in her
society, all of which disadvantage her. The same definition can be applied to an aboriginal woman in
Australia, a Dalit woman in India, a female asylum seeker in England, and so on. These women live in a
world where ethnic and gender inequality coexist. Figures on the status of women around the world,
regardless of race, show that they still have a long way to go before achieving equality with men.
According to a new report by the United Nations Development Fund for Women, women fall short on
several main indices that measure progress toward gender equality and women's empowerment
(UNIFEM). The global literacy rate for women is 71.4 percent, compared to 83.7 percent for men.
Women account for two-thirds of the world's 960 million illiterate adults. In manufacturing and
services, the wage gap between men and women persists, with women earning 78 percent of what
men earn in the same industry. In only 28 countries in the 1990s, women held 30% of decision-making
positions. In addition, women make up 70% of the 1.3 billion people who live in poverty.
How is prejudice enforced?
There Is a clear difference in how the African Americans were prejudiced in my two texts. In To Kill A
Mockingbird the oppression of Black Americans is more prominent through the character's speech and
language; in To Kill A mockingbird the people of Maycomb County referred to Black people as “negro”
or “nigger” which highligts how subtly racism was engraved within everyones subconscious. The
offensive terms used, infers the widespread prejudice in society towards the characters being
characterized by what the people in Maycomb perceive them to be. Lee uses race discourse through
these racial slurs to perhapes argue the racist mentality of the people in society and that prejudice and
discrimination are taught by the environment a person grows up in. I believe that Lee uses systematic
racism to reveal how it was so normal to use these remarks, as it's in the white peoples vocabulary. I
even found that the African Americans resisted to fight back because of the racial hierarchy and social
injustices. Another example of this is when Lee uses Southern diction such as “nigger-lover” (Harper
Lee, 1960: p.92) throughout the novel, perhaps to imply that these terms don’t mean anything. The
semantic field of racial epithets could arguably illustrate during that time period, African Americans
had to tolerate these derogatory words.

In both texts the use of syntax clearly reveals how White people oppressed the Blacks. The imperative
“kiss me back” (Harper Lee, 1960: p.214) refers to Miss Mayella wanting to possibly have intercourse
with Tom Robinson. The illocutionary act here reveals she intended for Tom to kiss her back. The
abstract noun “kiss” followed by the first person pronoun “me” and the concrete noun “back” implies
that she is forcing Tom without his permission. The proper noun “nigger” could arguably connote Miss
Mayella has a higher superiority over Tom as this forceful tone put him in a bad position as he was
accused of raping Miss Mayella, through the quote “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell
opened her mouth and screamed” (Harper Lee,1960: p.266). Also, the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird was
felicitous at the time as people normalised the offensive terms “negro” and “nigger” instead of
referring to their names, which again highlights the revelation of racial prejudice through the Whites in
Maycomb County society.
Similarly, The Civil Rights Movement article reveals “Black people still faced discrimination” (Unknown
author, 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement). The base adverb
“still” infers how even though people faced racial prejudice and discrimination implies how cruel and
selfish people were and still are as it still exists for the Blacks. The 9 Black students, known as the little
rock nine, “faced continual harassment and prejudice” (Unknown author,
2009, https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement), which highlights how Black
people had little to no freedom. The repetition of the verb “faced” arguably connotes that the Whites
did not want Blacks to earn the same rights or to be treated justifiable as they considered they had
much more rights than Blacks. The adjective “continual” refers to how African Americans were
segregated and abused physically and verbally due to their identification as unwanted and uncivilised
individuals. In addition to this, the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird was published in the era of the Civil
Right Movement when Blacks began to build their power movement and was written for supporting
equality between blacks and whites.
To Kill a Mockingbird however, illustrates the Blacks perspective through oppression. The novel
represents the lifestyle of the people in the South. “Mr. Finch if you was a nigger like me. You’d be
scared to” (Harper Lee, 1960: p.215). The repetition of the second person direct address “you”
demonstrates the racial injustices the people face and how much hatred there is towards them. It also
refers to how the Southerners could not handle the preconceptions if they were being discriminated
against. The base adjective “scared” highlights how it has affected the African Americans physically,
mentally, and emotionally, and the severe indignities they had to encounter. Also, Atticus refers to
Maycomb as “Maycomb's usual disease” (Harper Lee, 1960: p.98) which emphasises the “disease” is
the prejudice and racism the people had to face daily. Taking into account that it is difficult to get
cured from being racist as it is being spread like a “disease”
Racial trauma, also known as race-based traumatic stress, is caused by exposure to ethnic abuse or
racism. Anxiety, depression, chronic stress, high blood pressure, disordered eating, substance abuse,
and even PTSD symptoms such as hypervigilance, suicidal ideation, and mood swings can be
triggered. Racial discrimination may be passed down through generations, for example, through the
sharing of harrowing stories or the constant mistreatment of a community. By the age of a year, black
babies have higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol than white babies, meaning that they are
already reacting negatively to discrimination and racism, according to studies. Racism not only
contributes to mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and trauma, but it also makes
seeking care more difficult. For many black people and minorities, there is a substantial disparity in
access to mental health services. You can face discrimination in the health-care system as a whole,
even though you have access to a doctor or therapist. A lack of cultural understanding or prejudice on
the part of a medical professional can result in a misdiagnosis or ineffective treatment, or even
prevent you from seeking help.

What are the effects of prejudice?
The novel To Kill A Mockingbird, demonstrates how the people in Maycomb county easily generate
biased perceptions and attitudes. “In our courts, when it’s a white man's word against a black man’s,
the white man always wins” (Harper Lee, 1960: p.243). The possessive determiner “our” signifies that
the courts decisions were based on pure prejudice, which effected Tom as he was wrongfully accused
of raping a white women.The repetitive use of indefinite article determiners “a” reveal how biased
society are against Black people and the adverb “always” again refers to white men holding power and
a sense of authority. The quote “They don't belong anywhere. Coloured folks wont have em because
they are half white; white folks won't have em because they are coloured” (Harper Lee, 1960: p.177).
The use of repetitive othering of “they” through the third person plural pronouns and the repetition of
the cacophonic concrete nouns “coloured” reiterates the whites power over the Blacks which affected
the African Americans severely by disrespecting and dehumanizing them. The informal pronouns “em”
could potentially refer to the racial separation and are unable to be accepted by society as prejudice
played a huge part in the sixties.
Additionally, the Civil Rights Movement was held to ensure equality and for Black
people to stand up to the verbal and physical prejudice they had been through over the years
“struggle for social justice (Unknown author, 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-
rights-movement). The prejudice is also treated as an illegal activity which is punishable under the
laws and regulatory authority of various nations. It causes huge impact on one’s personality i.e. is the
person who is being discriminated or prejudiced. Not only this it also results in lowering down the
capabilities to perform certain tasks of an individual whether being an individual personal life tasks to
attain life goals and objectives or could also be any corporate or organizational tasks in which an
individual in employed. The short simple sentence connotes how big of an impact this movement was
to the people who suffered. The concrete nouns “struggle” and “justice” demonstrates that the
movements goal was to end racial segregation and to desire for equality and freedom, but also reveals
how it negatively impacted the lives of the victims. The quote “continued to endure the devastating
effects of racism” (Unknown author, 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-
movement),illustrates how African Americans were exhausted of being discriminated against and could
not control the tyranny. The mental verb “endure” connotes the effects of prejudice lowered the
people's self esteem and perhaps even the will to live, as they suffered too much and the base
adjective “devastating” weakened them, that they couldn't live the life they wanted as they were seen
as slaves. “Still experienced blatant prejudice in their daily lives” (Unknown author,
2009, https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement) implies that to this day
prejudice still stands. The verb “experienced” enforces that there has been a huge improvement since
the 20th century. The Blacks could not cope as most weren't in the right emotional state as they were
treated wrongly through the base adjective “blatant”. As per the title of this report paper i.e., “To Kill A
Mockingbird, demonstrates the injustices the characters go through. There are three main types of
prejudice throughout the novel: gender, class and racial prejudice”.
From prejudice to gender roles, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird explores the myths woven
into the fabric of Southern society in the United States during the 1930s, in the aftermath of the Great

Depression. This revolutionary novel is still regarded as a masterpiece of American literature today.
Lee develops characters with a lot of personality, complexity, and, above all, human flaws and
struggles. Scout, also known as Jean Louise Finch, is a six-year-old girl who is the protagonist of the
book. Scout is raised in Maycomb, a small town where everyone knows everyone else and secrecy and
secrets are unheard of. She is a tomboy who spends the majority of her time dressed in overalls and
muddy shoes playing with her older brother, Jem, and friend, Dill.
Effects of prejudice
The victim of discrimination is made to feel less than fully human as a result of prejudice. When people
are undervalued by others, their self-esteem suffers, and they stop trying to improve themselves.
Prejudice is often the cause of bullying and other forms of discrimination. These factors lead to a
fearful atmosphere, both for what may happen at any given moment and for what the future can bring.
In extreme situations, this may lead to an individual taking their own life. As the extermination of 6
million Jews during World War Two demonstrated, prejudice can lead to genocide in its most extreme
ways. This is an example of what can happen when bigotry is allowed to flourish unchecked in society.
Racism and bigotry can make individuals and whole populations feel uncomfortable, scared, and
worthless. Death is the worst-case scenario.
Furthermore, in To Kill A Mockingbird the quote “white men cheat Black men everyday of your life”
(Harper Lee, 1960: p.243) which alludes how societies racist attitudes can lead to a Black man’s death.
The verb “cheat” emphasises “Black men'' have no choice but to accept a White man's term. The
possessive determiner “your'' could refer to only the Blacks, as they are divided and othered by social
hier archy and race. Also, the abstract noun “life’ could arguably imply that death is the only possible
way for the racial prejudices and discrimination to stop.Throughout the years, the African Americans
didn't have equal rights, as they were denied opportunities because of their race and the colour of
their skin. The treatment of African Americans is cruel and unjust. In the novel, the guards told Tom to
stop after he tried to escape but left him with “seventeen bullet holes in him” (Harper Lee, 1960:
p.260). This establishes the guards let their racial views influence their decision. This quote could
potentially connote that Tom thought death was the only way to his freedom because of the way
things turned out for him ,he had no other option but to try to escape.
Moreover, The Whites were “unhappy” that the Black Americans were “now on a more-or-less equal
playing field” (Unknown author, 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-
movement). The base adjective “Equal” encapsulates that the African Americans endured so much
pain that they wanted to secure equal rights, however the Whites still viewed Blacks as inferior as they
had no rights and the right to freedom. Also,the adjective “unhappy” emphasises on the fact that
these people were colonized and economically exploited and denied basic rights, which implies how
long they have been suffering. Equally, the Civil Rights Movement held in Alabama were “viciously
beaten” , “tear gassed” and “hospitalised” (Unknown author,
2009, https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement),which indicates that it
affected the Blacks mental health due to the unfair treatment by the bigoted people. The adverb
“viciously” connotes that the African Americans constantly faced racial inequality throughout history.
The concrete nouns “tear gassed” and “hospitalised” signifies they were segregated and abused
physically and verbally due to their dissimilar skin colour and identity because they were known as
unwanted, uncivilised individuals.

Conclusion
After studying both texts, it is demonstrating that prejudice has improved drastically throughout the
years. However there have been a few criticisms about the novel as many conclude that Blacks aren’t
the target audience, as it is narrated through Scout's perspective of Maycomb County (a young white
girl). Stated throughout my analysis, most people see this as a constraint as the novel To Kill A
Mockingbird is written from a white person’s perspective, excluding Black people’s feelings. Hence why
text one showed my question focus really well in this way, whereas, my second text stated real life
situations through the extreme emotional racism of individuals.
To make my investigation more effective, I could have used a non-literary text that took into account
the opinions of black peoples. I feel as though the systematic views on racism are not handled
correctly as the white people have never really experienced it greatly, in addition to the Black people
or the black characters in the novel. Nevertheless, the Civil Right Movement Article, encapsulated the
effects of those expressing racial hatred. Through my analysis, I have stated how the felicitous
condition supports my viewpoints. I could have perhaps included that despite both texts, revealing the
causes and effects of racial prejudice and discrimination, the article imply it is infelicitious to be racist
whereas in the novel it is felicitous.
Lee’s novel explores what happens between the people of Maycomb County, whether they were
through Tom Robinson's trial or through the character development and the understanding of racism
through the persona’s narrative. Whereas, the article reviews the emotional distress and horrors of
prejudice. In the novel, I have mixed emotions with this text, as the important factors include the
preconceived notions of prejudice, told from a White person perspective. As a reader, it should include
more about Tom Robinson's life rather than the Whites, to centre around Black people’s perceptions of
prejudice. If I was to approach this investigation in another way however, I could perhaps explore why
it is that prejudice is still prevalent in today’s society. Another critique of my investigation is that I
could have argued prejudice from a religious perspective, this way it would have appealed to different
types of prejudiced societies that were established in different cultures. However, I chose not to do this
as I wanted to emphasise on the fact that people like Martin Luther King supported the Black people
and helped them make a stand to society's racial preconceptions. I could have also changed my non-
literary text to the Black Lives Matter movement and stated differences between the two era’s, but I
chose to use the Civil Rights Movement instead, as it solely connects to that time period, giving a more
in-depth view of how African Americans were treated in the 20th century.
Bibliography
Harper Lee (1960). To Kill a Mockingbird, Hollywood: Script City.
A Research Guide for Students. (2018). The Personality of Boo Radley in Quotes - A Research
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to kill a mockingbird facts of the books. (n.d.). Tom Robinson, https://caldwelltkam.weebly.com/tom-
robinson.htm (20/03/2021)
BBC Bitesize. (n.d.). What is prejudice? - Prejudice and discrimination - GCSE Religious Studies
Revision, https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z3vrq6f/revision/1 (20/03/2021)

Goodtherapy.org. (2017). Prejudice and Discrimination, https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-
therapy/issues/prejudice-discrimination (20/03/2021)
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Extracts
Literary
Page 150
I don't see any harm in letting her go out there. Cal’d look after her there as well as she does here.
Who was the hero they were talking about? My heart sank: me. I felt the starched walls of a pink
cotton penitentiary closing in on me, and for the second time in my life I thought of running away.
Immediately.
Page 57
Scout, I'm telling you for the last time, shut your trap or go home - I declare to the lord you’re gettin’
more like a girl everyday!
Page 23
Why does he pay you like that? I asked.
Because that's the only way he can pay me. He has no money.
Are we poor, Atticus?
Atticus nodded. We are indeed.
Jem’s nose wrinkled. Are we as poor as the Cunninghams?
Page 27
He aint company, Cal, he's just a Cunningham -
Hush your mouth. Dont matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this house’s yo’ comp’any, and don’t
you let me catch you remarkin’ on their ways like you were so high and mighty! Yo’ folks might be
better’n the Cunnnghams but it don't count for nothin’ the way you’re disgracin’ ‘em - if you cant fit to
eat at the table you can just set here and eat in the kitchen.

Page 178
Well if we came out durin’ the Old Testament it’s too long ago too long ago to matter.
That’s what i thought, said Jem, but around here one have a drop of negro blood, that makes you all
black.
Page 256
Mrs Merriweather faced Mrs farrow: Gertrude, I tell you there’s nothing more distracting than a sulky
darky. Their mouths go down to here. Just ruins your day to have one of ‘em in the kitchen.
Page 266
How could this be so, I wondered, as I read Mr Underwood's editorial. Senseless killing - Tom had been
given due process of law to the day of his death; he had been tried openly and convicted by 12 good
men and true; my father had fought for him all the way. Mr Underwood's meaning became clear:
Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robbinson, but in the secret courts of
men's hearts that Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her
mouth and screamed.
Page 215
Tom, go back once more to Mr Ewell, said Attucks.
Did he say anything to you?
Not anything, suh. The nights said somethin’, but I weren’t there -
That’ll do, Atticus cut in sharply. What you did hear, who was he talking to?
Mr Finch, he were talkin’ and lookin’ at Miss Mayella.
Then you ran?
I sho’did, suh.
Why did you run?
I was scared, suh?
Why were you scared?
Mr Finch, if you was a nigger like me, you’d be scared, too.
Page 98
Right, but do you think i could face my children otherwise? You know what’s going to happen as well as
I do, Jack, and I hope and pray I can get Jem and Scout through it without bitterness, and most of all,
without catching Maycomb's usual disease. Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when
anything involving a Negro comes up, is something i dont pretend to understand… I just hope that Jem
and Scout come to me for their answers instead of listening to the town. I hope they trust me enough…
Jean Louise?
Page 243
There's something in our world that makes men lose their heads - they could’nt be fair if they tried. In
our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man’s, the white man always wins. They’re
ugly, but those are the facts of life.