To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - Themes :: Kill Mockingbird essays

To Kill a Mockingbird - Themes     Although the character of Boo Radley does not reveal himself until the end of the sassy, he is important to all of the themes present in To Kill a Mockingbird   One of the more dominant themes is prejudice. There argon three main types of prejudice that are explored in the novel racial prejudice, social prejudice and fear of the unknown.   Racial prejudice is present passim the novel in the people of Maycombs everyday life, as it is a novel set in the deep south of America in the 1930s. This is a close shortly after the American civil war, so slaverys abolishment had occurred not long ago. Because this had not been around for long, most peoples attitudes towards Negroes had not changed, despite efforts towards change.   The attitude that shows the best examples of racial prejudice is the trial of tom turkey Robinson. In his trial, tom Robinson is misjudged and mistreated because he is black. One of the most p rominent examples of this is the modality in which Mr. Gilmer, gobblers prosecutor, calls Tom boy. He uses a tone of voice, which one would use when talk of the town to the lowest creature on earth, towards Tom and makes him look foolish. This is all because Tom is Black.   The worst example of racial prejudice is Tom Robinsons trial verdict. all(prenominal) of the evidence produced by Atticus makes it clear that Tom is innocent, yet Tom is found guilty. This verdict is clearly based on the item that Tom is black, but also that he, a black man, felt grimy for a white woman. I felt right sorry for her This description would have brought all jury of Southern America to outrage in the 1930s. To them it was not right for a Negro to feel pity for any member of the white community.   Another example of racial prejudice in the novel is at Aunt Alexandras ladys meeting. It also shows the hypocrisy that took place in Maycomb. Miss Merriweather goes on to explain the sin and squalor that is suffered by those ridiculous Mrunas and makes herself seem most ethnically aware, but the she refers to Helen Robinson as That darkys wife The way that Miss Merriweather uses this term as if it is everyday language shows that Negroes are not respected, and are given quite offensive names.