Skip to main content

What would be a good topic and thesis statement from Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird that relates to modern society?

Thesis Statement:



Harper Lee explores the theme of prejudice, which is a significant and relevant topic in today's society, throughout her novel To Kill a Mockingbird to comment on America's deep-seeded race and class issues.



A good thesis statement should make a judgment or claim about the main idea that can be supported throughout the remainder of the essay. Harper Lee examines prejudice through the eyes of the naive narrator, Scout Finch. The majority of the town of Maycomb, Alabama is prejudiced against black people, and there are many examples of characters criticizing Atticus Finch for defending Tom Robinson throughout the novel. A few instances include Cecil Jacobs and Francis Hancock's comments to Scout in Chapter 9 and Mrs. Dubose's racially motivated insults in Chapter 11. Tom Robinson also becomes a victim of racial injustice because of the prejudiced jury's decision to convict him. In addition to racial prejudice, Lee also examines prejudiced feelings towards individuals from lower social classes. In Chapter 23, Aunt Alexandra tells Scout that she cannot play with Walter Cunningham Jr. because she considers him trash based on the fact that his family is poor and lives out in the woods.


In today's society, racial prejudice remains prevalent. The recent events regarding white police officers and black males have incited protests in Missouri, New York, and Washington, D.C. One of the major goals of the Black Lives Matter movement is to end racial profiling, which is rooted in prejudice, and demand justice for African Americans who have been killed in altercations with police. Also, one of the major issues being discussed throughout the Democratic primaries deals with the economic disparity between the upper and lower class. Citizens from both the upper and lower classes view each other with contempt and hold prejudiced views towards one another. Lower class citizens sometimes feel that wealthy individuals take advantage of the system via tax breaks while members of the upper class feel that less wealthy citizens "freeload." These are just a few examples that one could explore in order to examine modern-day prejudice.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

etymology - Origin of the greeting "Sweet dreams".

Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are the similarities between the relationships of the characters in The Outsiders and Romeo and Juliet?

At first glance, it might appear as if the characters in  The Outsiders  by S. E. Hinton and  Romeo and Juliet  by William Shakespeare do not have much in common; however, when one isolates the core of the conflicts, it becomes clear that the relationships in both stories are rooted in rivalry and secrecy.  In both  The Outsiders  and  Romeo and Juliet , an overarching theme is rivalry. While   socioeconomic status separates the greasers from the Socs in The Outsiders , last names separates the Montagues from the Capulets, who appear to be relatively equal in terms of socioeconomic status. Due to these rivalries, there are instances of deadly interactions in both stories. In  The Outsiders , Johnny kills Bob (whether his actions were justified or not is debatable). In  Romeo and Juliet , Romeo kills Tybalt and Paris, and Tybalt kills Mercutio. These deaths have profound effects on the main characters. In Ponyboy's case, the Johnny's death and other events in the novel inspire h...
Post a Comment
Read more