Scout And Jems Treatment Of Boo Radley example essay topic

Scout And Jems Treatment Of Boo Radley Is Just One Example Of Prejudice In To Kill Mockingbird Dis Shashi varsaniScout and Jems treatment of Boo Radley is just one example of prejudice in To Kill A Mockingbird Discuss. There are many examples of prejudice in To kill a mockingbird. The deep hatred and fear that exists between whites and Negroes means that violence can break out at any time. The Lynch mob, made up of normally reasonable, respectable men, was ready to kill and it did nearly succeed.

Bob Ewells hatred of Atticus nearly results in the death of Scout and Jem, but circumstances forced Atticus to use his gun to kill the dog. Atticus does not want Scout and Jem to admire and encourage violence. Atticus hopes to show Scout and Jem that the causes of violence can be removed. I think Atticus was too idealistic here, because he misjudges the extent of Bob Ewells hatred, he also hoped that the racial problem in Maycomb could be solved by tolerance, which was perhaps a little idealistic. A dominant theme in To Kill A Mockingbird was the cruelty people inflicted on each other by rumours of pre-formed ideas the simple hell people give other people.

These ideas that the people of Maycomb have of each other are not just deep racial prejudice but they are intolerant and rigid behaviour, which they wish to impose on each other. People such as Boo Radley, Dolphus Raymond and Maud i Atkinson are picked on and discouraged because they do not fit in with the other people of Maycomb. Dolphus Raymond is regarded as an outsider because he is a white man who chooses to live with Negroes and has half-cast children. Arthur (Boo) Radley is just one example of prejudice in the novel. Arthur Radley, or Boo as the children call him is seen as a figure of mystery and fear in the eyes of Scout an Jem.

Boo was locked in the house by his father for resisting arrest and for stealing a vehicle. Boo is a monster, ghost or hint in the minds of the children. The children learn that when he was thirty-three years he calmly stabbed his father in the leg with a pair of scissors and had to be locked in the basement by his father. The Radley are regarded as outsiders because they never mix with the townspeople, or attend church (Boo isnt even allowed to go to his mothers funeral). The doors are always kept shut; unlike every other house, there are no screen doors so nobody can see inside. Boos affection for the children was the only thing that tempts him outside.

At the end of the novel Scout and Jem feel regret because they think they gave him nothing in return. Jem and Scout also realised that they were being prejudiced towards Boo without knowing what he was really like. The people of Maycomb try to exaggerate his activities by spreading vicious rumours about him like poisoning pecan nuts in the schoolyard, eating cats and squirrels raw, terrifying Miss Crawford by staring at her through her window at night, and killing azaleas by breathing on them. Scout and Jem think of Boo Radley as a horrible person just because they have heard rumours, but Boo gradually emerges as a very different person from the one Scout and Jem imagined him to be because he was very kind and shy and he even left presents for Scout and Jem in the tree. Tom Robinson and Boo Radley can be compared with the mockingbird because they have done nothing wrong but help others. Tom and Boo are persecuted, one by the jury and the other by the children.

Tom Robinson is an admirable character and very brave. He showed these qualities in the trial by speaking his mind and saying the truth, but this still was not enough to sway the jury into returning the right verdict of Not Guilty. One of the worst examples of prejudice came in the trial; nobody liked Tom Robinsons answer when he admits he felt sorry for Mayella, this showed how much racism and prejudice there was between the people of Maycomb. Black people were not allowed to feel sorry for white people; it was as if Tom was found guilty in order to teach him his place. The jury was more sympathetic towards Mayella because she was white. Tom Robinson went against the acceptable behaviour of a Negro and dared to feel sorry for a white person.

Religion is one of the main differences between the two communities. Hypocrisy abounds in the white community because many of them are full of pride and prejudice. Calpurnia underlines the cruelty of Mr Radley towards his son by her comment there goes the meanest... The children were very surprised at her comment because they wouldnt expect a Negro to comment on the ways of white people; this was the first comment on the relationship between Negroes and whites.

Another example of prejudice in the novel is racial prejudice. Jem and scout are made to feel unwelcome by Lula because they are white. Scout was watching what was going on in the church with curiosity and comparing it with the church she usually attends. The children had not yet become aware of the racial prejudice in Maycomb; Scout did not understand that in terms of status, all Negroes are regarded as being lower even then the Ewells.

For the first time Scout and Jem realised that Calpurnia leads a double life, from her they learnt an important lesson that you cannot change people against their will. Mr Raymond reveals his secret to Scout and Jem because he respects their innocence. They might have understood him because they had not yet been contaminated by prejudice. He can see the hell white people give coloured folks. Scout recognised the worth of people like the Cunningham's and she explained their differences as a lack of education. I agree with Scout in saying this and I feel that Atticus would support her in saying this.

When the people of Maycomb received the news of Toms death I noticed that the repetition of the word typical demonstrated how easily they slotted the death into their own preconceived ideas about Negroes, no matter what Tom did in there minds he had no human dignity. To kill a mockingbird has many examples of prejudice. Scout and Jems treatment of Boo Radley was just one of them. I think racial prejudice was the main one in the novel, when Tom was convicted of a crime he did not commit.

The blacks resent Toms conviction but as they had been second-class citizens from birth they seemed to expect it. This didnt make the way they were treated right. The main reason I think is why people persecute others is because they have not been educated and they do not know better. They are also full of hate and they have to take it out on someone else. Justice is killed when the jury followed her own prejudices and ignored the true evidence. The innocence of childhood died for Scout and Jem when they realise the adult world is often a cruel and unjust place.

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