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Arthur Radley Discrimination Quotes

Decent Essays

Discrimination
“Defeating racism, tribalism, intolerance and all forms of discrimination will liberate us all, victim and perpetrator” – Ban Ki-moon. The historical fiction novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee demonstrates the way discrimination can shapes one’s beliefs. Discrimination can occur in many forms, some which include racism, prejudice, and social class. When discrimination is present, the whole character of an individual is often overlooked and one certain trait is focused on instead. Prejudice is an opinion based on no actual experience or reason. An example of prejudice in To Kill a Mockingbird can be seen through the character by the name of Arthur Radley. Because Arthur, nicknamed Boo, never came out of his home many rumors about ‘Boo’ were created. Because of the gossip about this character, people unfairly feared Boo without having proof for the accusations being made. Arthur Radley was an example of …show more content…

In the novel, a rape case took place between a white woman and black man. Even with mountains of evidence that should have changed the course of the case, Tom Robinson, the accused, was found guilty. Race is clearly shown in the quote, “ In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins,” (220). Despite evidence pointing to his innocence, race won in the trial. When race is taken into account, it can blind people of the truth. A following example of how race was used to discriminate is when two main white characters were taken to a mostly black church by their black housekeeper. In this situation, the two white children were judged and not wanted by some of the people attending the church because of their race. Individual’s will be judged based on external characteristics instead of who they are as a person. Discriminating by a person’s race can bring out the worst in an individual and blind people of true

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