Racism and Discrimination in to Kill a Mockingbird

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Racism and Discrimination as the theme in To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel, that offers a view of life through a young girl’s eyes. The novel is focused on two main themes which are racism and discrimination.

Racism is probably the biggest theme of the novel. It comes in as an open and subtle manner that is being displayed through speeches and actions. Racism in Maycomb takes mainly the form of having white people against black people. There are many people in Maycomb that are racist because they think of Negroes are a disgraced race and are mostly unreliable and untrustworthy. The speeches and actions are the most common forms of racism however the layout of the …show more content…

(pg14)” Arthur was discriminated against and was unable to defend his reputation because he tends to keep to himself by staying at home. However, this discrimination of Boo was quite ironic because he was quite the opposite of this demonized character. In one of the most climatic parts in the novel, it was Arthur who managed to save the Finch children from Bob Ewell’s murderous acts after the school play. The reader realizes that Boo was not the monster people thought he was in fact, a strong savior who was able to overcome the heaped amount of discrimination he suffered and still turn out to be a rightful person.

In conclusion, To Kill a Mockingbird displays the themes racism and discrimination very clearly. Racism is developed through Mrs. Dubose’s comments towards the Finch family and the conflict between the whites and the Negroes during the court case. Discrimination is emphasized through the transformation of Arthur Radley from a monster to a savior in the novel. (Lee 1-376)

Lee, Harper. To Kill A Mockingbird. 50th. New York Boston: Grand Central publishing, 2010. 1-376.

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