Harper Lee’s novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ expresses the harsh reality of the prejudice of race, sexism and class that was so present in the deep south of America in the 1930s but still todays society. The novel is told through the eyes of a girl, Scout, who from a young age is exposed to the brutality of prejudice and the effects it has on people and real life. In the small town of Maycomb, where the story takes place a black man, Tom Robinson, is falsey accused of raping Mayella Ewell. I found whilst reading this and the unjust events that follow appalling but not as surprising as it should be because sadly this is a situation that can so easily be a reality for people and has been. Tom Robinson is defended in court by Scout’s father, Atticus Finch. Atticus is a lawyer who takes pride in doing what he believes is morally right, in this case, proving Tom Robinson’s innocence. Reading this novel from the beginning to the end enlightned me to the damaging effects of  prejudice that took place but still do today as although as a society we like to believe we have come so far and maybe we have, but, the truth is the actions are still the same so how can the motivation be any different? People of different race, gender and class are still prejudged by people before they open they mouth and before they can even walk into the room. 

The main characters that are most victimised to the cruelties of prejudice in the novel to me are Jean Louise Finch (Scout) and Tom Robinson. Although the overall theme of prejudice is seen throughout the whole novel and affects almost every person in the story these two characters are the ones we as an audience get to personally see in to. Scout is a wild spirited young girl who clearly contradicts the classic stereotype of what a ‘lady’ should be in the 1930s. In novel there are a continuous string of sexist phrases that are so said so casually that even now those same things are still said without the understanding of the prejudice involved. ” ‘-I declare to the lord you’re gettin’ more like a girl everyday!’ With that, I had no option but to join them. ” Jem accusing Scout of becoming more ‘lady-like’ implies the stereotype that females are scared more easily and delicate in comparison to a ‘big strong man’. This type of casual toxic masculinity that was extremely evident in that day I believe is still VERY present but just sort of brushed under the covers more. Female inferiority was completley acceptable then and although now not as widely tolerated it is still engrained into people’s subconscisouness’s seen through little comments such as ‘like a girl’ or ‘such a girl’.  Following this idea that being female is considered ‘lesser’ was drilled into Scout’s mind extremely young as the idea of becoming ‘like a girl’ is repulsive to her and her response to Jem enhances the idea that she feels like she needs to prove her self. I personally can understand this feeling of needing the gratification from other males to feel equal and as worthy, especially when I was younger and heavily involved in a male dominated sport at the time, running, and feeling like I needed to be just as good or better to feel worthy of their respect. Scout, even being brought up by Atticus who obviously molded her way of seeing things for the better (to be open minded without prejudice) she still, because of the heavy sexism present felt the pressure from others to be ‘different’ from her normal self and to become a ‘lady’. 

I found Tom Robinson a cruel victim to racial prejudice brought upon him by society and what they deemed ‘acceptable’. The reality of the racial prejudice of the 1930s in the deep south of america was shown early on in the novel but was properly expressed through the court trial involving a black mans word against a white mans.  Tom Robinson’s fate was put into the hands of a so-called unbiased jury after Atticus Finch had put forward an exceedingly convincing argument in favour of Tom, however,  Mr. Robinson pleaded guilty. I was so mad at the book and I know that it is the point, it is supposed to make me emotional and trigger anger in me but I was still upset. The basic sense of it is so hard for me to understand, it was so obvious to me that he was innocent and the fact that the jury and the rest of the white people could not see it, well chose not to see it. It is hard for me to understand because growing up in the modern day we are learnt to believe from factual means such as science and  evidence rather than just preconceived ideas involving prejudice. I think in that aspect society has drastically improved however when something is brainwashed through generations and generations it becomes hard for it to dissapear which is why racial prejudice is still present. However the prejudice of race was so intense that they really did believe the worst of him. I think they wanted to believe that Tom, an innocent black man, was capable of horrendous acts because it made it easy. He did it because he is a ‘savage’ , they all are because they aren’t the ‘same’. This mindset that black people or just different people are less human or just is down to the primitive survival instincts of fear. People hate what they fear and fear what is different. It scares me that less than 100 years ago this sort of act was deemed alright because humans don’t change. Popular belief can change but humans dont change and they haven’t since we can date back to. The control that prejudice can have on the world I think is probably the most powerful thing.

Apart from the affects on Scout’s social standing, her mind and Jem’s both unusually (for that time period and now) managed to avoid preaching prejudice themself. In the Finch household, Atticus is obviously a believer in equality and against prejudice as his outlook on life influences Jem and especially Scout. Scout and Jem are both young and are yet to fully comprehend the injustices that the world and people face however I think we are naive to think that because they are children they don’t know whats right and wrong. Scout illistrates this through her conversation with Jem on the kinds of ‘folks’ there are in the world as Jem believes there is 4 types but Scout acknowledges that there is any different types of people but just different paths that each person has taken. “Naw, Jem, I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.”, majority of adults in the novel (the 1930s) and still now would be quick to dismiss a word that comes out of childs mouth if it contradicted societys status quo, such as a belief on racism. However Scout’s perspective is a representation that people are not born prejudiced, their minds are molded by figures around them. Hate, racism and class are all things that are instilled into malleable minds at young ages which therefore also means impartiality, fairness and open mindness can be learnt too. Tom Robinson through racial prejudice and Scout Finch through sexist prejudice both have their lives exploited because of the fact that people are so afraid of change and difference that they decide they don’t like the food before they even try it. 

Tom Robinson, Scout Finch, Atticus Finch, Boo Radley and Walter Cunningham are all examples of different types of prejudice and its minor and major impacts on real life.  The prejudice recieved slowly chips away at ones innocence, because like I wrote earlier, people aren’t born racist or sexist or mean, they are molded by society, therefore each of these characters are born innocent. At the start they are all unaffected by society and its general belief or beliefs, however over time  prejudice created by fear (of change) slowly changes how one sees the world and takes over. I think that is why this book is called ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. Atticus tells Scout to, “Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird,”. , this is why Atticus is so fixtated on teaching his children to lead non-judgmental lives because to pre-judge is to destroy open-mindness and equality. Eliminating these vital parts kills any hope of regaining back that innocence, and to Atticus that is the killing of the ‘mockingbird’. I believe that the symbolism of the mockinbird is used because like Calpurnia tells, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy…but sing their hearts out for us.”,  they do no harm (like a childs unbiased perspective) and to destroy that with hate and prejudice and to change their outlook on life is the killing.