1. How is prejudice a major theme presented in the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Prejudice is a bad thing that should not happen in our life. But yet, because of hatred towards each other, it happens through out the world. Prejudice is also a feeling and action of oppression and discrimination towards the minority. This is what Harper Lee wants to show in this novel. She brought up the theme of prejudice in term of racism. Why is it happening, how it is done and who done it, these are the aspects that will be highlighted in this essay.
There are lots of reasons why racism happens. A person discriminates because it is his/her nature or character to oppress and discriminate others. One of the reasons is, it is the culture of particular society to be prejudice towards other races. They have a bad perception towards the black, a black people must be an evil person. In this novel, the black is the minority and the white is the majority. The majority speaks louder than the minority. Though the minority is right, they are still become the one to be blame. Tom for example, in his case, he got strong evidences showing that he is not guilty. However, when the majority is conquering, the minority cannot do anything. In the court, the decision-makers (the judge and the jury) are white. Moreover, Bob Ewell is prosecuting Tom for the sin that he had not done because the Ewells wants to cover their shame since Mayella was in love with Tom. It is their culture that forbade interracial marriage between black man and white woman.
How is it happen? First is by accusing Tom of rapping Mayella. For Bob Ewell, it is illegal for white women to marry white men, and it is against their culture. Therefore, Ewells charged Tom for the charge that he did not do. Second is by segregating the public place into two, for the white and the black. In this novel, this can be clearly seen in the court scene where they have the coloured balcony for the black in the court, which is...