Scout And Jems Treatment Of Boo Radley

Is Just One Example Of Prejudice In ?To Kill Mockingbird? Dis Essay, Research Paper

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 Maudi

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 and Jem. Boo was locked in the house by his father for ?resisting

arrest? and for ?stealing a vehicle?. Boo is a monster, ghost or ?haint? 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 Radleys are regarded as outsiders

because they never mix with the townspeople, or attend church (Boo isn?t 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. Boo?s

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. There are many examples of prejudice in ?To Kill A

Mockingbird?. 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 Robinson?s 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 wouldn?t 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 Tom?s

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 Tom?s conviction but as they had been

second-class citizens from birth they seemed to expect it. This didn?t 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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