Racial Discrimination In To Kill A Mockingbird

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“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, he is trash”(Lee 125). Jem and Scout go through so much in To Kill A Mockingbird, their moral development is astounding and intriguing. Both of them encountered racial discrimination and prejudice in the community, and experienced how cruel, and unjust their society is. Both Jem and Scout start to distinguish from Atticus that people should not be determined by their looks but by their moral standings. They were taught by Atticus to walk in an individual's shoes, before judging them. Jem…show more content…
Jem and Scout do not recognise this problem until their father is assigned to Tom Robinson's case. While hearing what their father has to say about Tom, and what he is being accused of, everything is being set out for them, now is when they start to experience first hand racism. “‘Which, gentlemen, we know is in itself a lie as black as Tom Robinson's skin, a lie I do not have to point out to you. You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men. There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man living who has never looked upon a woman without desire.’” (Lee 47-48). Scout and Jem know that the case is unfair, but they do not understand why it is being dismissed from other peoples minds, especially the jury.“‘That's what I thought, too,’ he said at last, ‘when I was your age. If there's just one kind of folks, why can't they get along with each other? If they're all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other?’” (Lee 170-171) They never come to find out why their community despises everyone, but they do now, know to never despise someone because of…show more content…
“‘Atticus, he was real nice.” “Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them.’”(Lee 287-288) Boo Radley is an example of not judging someone by their appearance or rumors that you have heard, especially when you do not know them. Boo was aware of how cruel the world was and he decided to stay hidden from the discrimination, and prejudice. Although, Scout and Jem are told horrible things about him, and even though they are afraid of him, they investigate. Following after he saves them from Bob Ewell, they start to understand that all the things they were told about Boo were wrong. In reality he was a child mentally and just wanted to be loved by someone, and not looked upon as a threat. Jem and Scout grew from this lesson, and they know that they should not judge people on how they are
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