Discrimination In To Kill A Mockingbird

Discrimination is the unjust categorization of groups of people. Eric Berne, a Canadian psychiatrist who studied human behavior, made several observations relating to discrimination. Berne stated, “The moment a little boy is concerned with which is a jay and which is a sparrow, he can no longer see the birds or hear them sing” (goodreads.com). The Canadian psychiatrist is stating that as soon as people notice that not everyone looks the same, stereotypes begin to form and the uniqueness and differences of people are no longer appreciated. This leads into the two stories that center themselves around discrimination, one of which is To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper E. Lee. To Kill A Mockingbird, is a story about a young girl and …show more content…
Lee’s, To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout defines the image of a curious and outgoing child. Scout is young and does not yet understand the quirks and roles of societal members, which makes her the ideal candidate to use when discussing the morality of discrimination. Discrimination and social injustice are both constant themes throughout the story, such as in the Tom Robinson case. Tom Robinson, a black man, is accused of rape and found guilty even though there is suitable evidence that proves his innocence. The sheer fact that Tom Robinson is black puts him under a lot of scrutiny. Scout and Jem are in shock after witnessing the results of the hearing and do not understand why Tom Robinson was found guilty. Dolphus Raymond, a local “drunk”, tries to explain to Jem and Scout the social injustices blacks face in Chapter 20 when he witnessed Jem crying about the hearing, “[...] Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they’re people, too”. In this quote Dolphus expresses his mutual distaste of discrimination of black people with Scout and Jem. Scout’s morals are shown because she continues to agree with Dolphus’ thoughts. Scout may be young, but she is beginning to understand the atrocities of the society she lives in. Earlier in the story Scout also experiences discrimination herself from her Aunt Alexandra. Scout is not particularly “lady-like” and her Aunt does not approve of her “boyish” style so she forces …show more content…
In the beginning of the film, Elizabeth, Skeeter’s friend, is having a clique of girls over for a bridge club. Aibileen, Elizabeth’s maid, is serving the girls and preparing meals in the kitchen while Hilly, the cruelest and most racist of the bunch, starts to talk disrespectfully about the “blacks” living in town. Aibileen hears this and is disgusted, but she knows in order to keep her job, she must stay quiet about it so she continues working. Skeeter is with the girls who were talking bad about blacks and finds it offensive that they would talk like that, so she gets up and walks into the kitchen to apologize to Aibileen. Skeeter shows remorse and expresses her regrets that Aibileen must listen to that. This scene expresses Skeeter’s moral views on social discrimination in Jackson because she takes the time to apologize to Aibileen for something she did not even partake in. Skeeter’s general disgust with the morality of the situation also shows off her disapproval of the discrimination being flaunted around town. Another example of a time when Skeeter exploited her distaste of the morality of the discrimination in Jackson was when she carried through a plan to compile stories of black maids that would expose their treatment. After she witnessed Hilly’s