Lindsey Congdon
Mrs. Peterson
Period 7
December 1, 2009 To Kill a Mockingbird Essay The Dictionary defines prejudice as, “an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason.” There has been prejudice known throughout history, mostly against the blacks during and before the time of Martin Luther King Jr. In The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee there is clear evidence of prejudice against the blacks. In both of these novels, the readers are shown that Rosaleen Daise (The Secret Life of Bees) and Tom Robinson (To Kill a Mockingbird) are two characters affected the most by discrimination and prejudice. In both novels, the authors had one major
Ray, who was probably on his way back this minute to do Lord-knows-what to me. Not to mention I had to get Rosaleen out of jail.” (Kidd41) Therefore, she saves Rosaleen from jail and together they head off to Tiburon, South Carolina, in search of the Black Madonna. In both of these novels, the readers are shown that Rosaleen Daise and Tom Robinson are two characters affected the most by discrimination and prejudice. People would like to believe that if they lived back during the 1930’s that they would not be the ones discriminating against the colored folks. However, even today, there are subtle prejudices in society. A white person is still a little afraid when walking alone in a black neighborhood. There are areas of our country where black people are still called ‘nigger’ by white people. During the time of these novels it was not so easy to go against the normal rules of society and people are often influenced by peers and family members. Luckily, like Atticus Finch and Lily Owens, there are often individuals whose strength and strong belief in right and wrong are not influenced by what others think. People must strive to be individuals who are not influenced by the prejudices of their