Kate Hibbett
February 24,2006
English 1, Nalbandian
Prejudice Can Kill
�Mockingbirds don�t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don�t eat up people�s gardens, don�t nest in corncribs, they don�t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That�s why it�s a sin to kill a mockingbird.� In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, prejudice is a growing problem and is responsible for much social injustice. In this world, there are some people who symbolize mockingbirds. They try their best to do what�s good for the world, even in the worst situations. Like all things in life, mockingbirds are constantly being prayed on. Prejudice is a mockingbird�s main attacker. Prejudice brings out the worst in people and causes them to do things unkind and cruel. In this book, there are three main types of prejudice: sexual, race, and age. These kinds of prejudice takes the Finch children on the roller coaster ride of their life.
One example of prejudice in To Kill A Mockingbird involves Jem and Scout. Jem constantly teases Scout about her �girlish� ways and how she�s too young to understand things, even though she�s only a few years younger than Jem himself and one of Maycomb�s biggest tomboys. Mainly, sexual and age prejudice is displayed with Jem and Scout. �I swear, Scout, sometimes you act so much like a girl it�s mortifyin�,� Jem said to Scout one afternoon. It�s amazing to me how Jem can pick on a girl for acting like a girl. It seems like he�s just jealous that for once in Scout�s life she choses to not act like him and act like herself. Another time Jem showed prejudice towards Scout was when she started the first grade, and Jem was starting the fifth. While they were walking to school on the first day, Jem made it clear to Scout that she was not to bother him during school. �But you�ll see � school�s different,� (16) Jem said to her as they passed the Radley house. The only obvious reason why Jem wouldn�t want Scout around him during school was that she was younger than him. It�s the same in highschool, freshman don�t talk to seniors unless they�re spoken to first. It�s pracitcaly the facts of life.
Aunt Alexandra also shows a lot of prejudice towards a lot of people. For example, she would constantly nag on Scout for wearing her overalls and breeches. Scout would overhear numerous conversations late at night between Atticus and Aunt Alexandra. They would talk about how Scout needed a female role model around while she was growing up to set her straight. Everyone thought Atticus was letting his children run around wild. This kind of sexual prejudice brought Scout�s self esteem down as well. After Aunt Alexandra lectured Scout about wearing dresses, Scout said, �When I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn�t suppose to be doing things that required pants.�
The last and most important example of prejudice in To Kill A Mockingbird deals with Tom Robinson. Being a black man living in Maycomb, he is accused of beating a raping Mayella, a 19 year old white girl. In court, it�s made clear that since he is black, it�s obvious he commited the crime. Atticus reveals to the public that it�s almost physically impossible for Tom to commit the crime since he only has on fully functioning arm. Even though Atticus has proved Tom innocent, the jury finds him guilty. Why? Because he is a black man living in a white dominant world.
In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, three strong types of prejudice is shown and it affects all kinds of people ranging from children to adults. It can lower people�s self esteem, ruin relationships, break up families and even lead to death, in Tom Robinson�s case. To some people, prejudice is a way of life, to others it�s the only way they know. Whatever the cause or reason, prejudice can kill the only good things in life: mockingbirds.