Prejudice is a complex and intricate issue that has existed for a large part of human history. Because of this, many authors and musicians have written their own individual pieces in an attempt to make sense of it and its impacts. Many of these follow along the lines of believing following prejudice is somewhat of a choice. In some cases, a moment of awakening causes the prejudice to dissipate, whereas in others this awakening has no impact and prejudicial views continue to cloud one’s judgement. Two pieces that help to illustrate this are “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, a 1960s novel expressing bias in law and the awakening points that follow and “White Privilege 2” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, a 2016 song in which the narrator questions how modern day prejudice affects him. Despite their obvious differences, in both, the writers use various methods to educate us about the complicated emotions associated with prejudice, the complexity and seriousness of the issue and that it isn’t just the victims who end up being impacted by it.
Both writings explore the same theme of prejudice and it’s awakening points, however, do so in slightly different ways. In “To Kill A Mockingbird” Scout and Jem start with no idea about prejudice and are naive to how their society functions. However, after the trial of Tom Robinson, they have their awakening points, realise the effects of prejudice on their own mindsets and how “it ain’t right”. In “White Privilege 2” the narrator is aware of prejudice, however, is unaware of how exactly it affects him as a white man in the 21st century. The song starts with the narrator attending a black lives matter riot. He “wants to take a stance because we are not free” but then later questioned if “it was okay for [him] to say” because “we are not we”. This means that he believes since he’s not being personally victimised by prejudice he has no right to protest it. However when he sees “a line of police officers that look the same as [him],” he has his awakening point and realises that just witnessing prejudice can cause one to evoke it someone else. Here the differences are obvious. In “To Kill a Mockingbird” the residents of Maycomb realise the existence of prejudice during their awakening point whereas in “White Privilege 2” the narrator is aware of prejudice and realises the extent of its impacts during his awakening points. However despite these differences, there are still many connections between the two. Besides both pieces referring to prejudice’s awakening point their protagonists also become more aware of how society works in their time periods and how everyone is affected by it.
Another similarity between the two is the author’s use of analogies. Macklemore uses the analogy of burning houses to explain the thinking behind the black lives matter movement. He states that “If a house was on fire, the fire department wouldn’t show up and start putting water on all the houses because all houses matter. They would put water on the house that is burning because [they] needed it the most.” This explains the movement, giving an explanation for many who have heard about the movement online but are yet to understand what it is fighting for. It goes against the alternative the “all lives matter” movement which many have offered up as an alternative movement since they believe it is more inclusive of all. However as Macklemore believes, in the present time, it is not all whose rights need fighting for. Harper Lee also uses various analogies that connect parts of her story to real life situations in order to help better explain her theme. For example, she relates what happened during the Tom Robinson trial to Hitler and what he did during World War Two. Miss Gates, Scout’s teacher, made sure to tell them in class about “how bad it was [Hitler] treaten’ the Jews like that.” However after the trial, Scout then overheard her say “it’s time somebody taught [coloured people] a lesson” and that they “were gettin’ way above themselves.” This caused Scout to have somewhat of an awakening moment and wonder “how can you hate Hitler so bad an’ then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home.” By somewhat comparing or relating the two to each other, this provided context for the situation and to why the theme was so relevant. These analogies also help the reader to understand that not everything around prejudice is simple and cannot be explained in a simple sentence.
Both pieces have points where they mention prejudice in, and the unfairness of, the judicial system. “To Kill a Mockingbird” is based on a trial in which a wrongful conviction is awarded due to the jurors having their opinion blinded by prejudice. It sparked controversy in its fictional setting of Maycomb, Alabama causing the mindset of its residents to change. Similarly, in “White Privilege 2” the narrator explains that he is a “product of the same system that let of Darren Wilson, guilty.” Darren Wilson was a white police officer from Baltimore who was let off innocent on the murder of the coloured Mike Brown. While it cannot be proven whether Wilson was, in fact, guilty, much of the evidence is pointed towards it. His verdict sparked controversy and riots around the country, invoking debates on the existence of racism that still exists in the United States. This shows how serious of an issue prejudice still is. If the judicial system, which is supposed to be the voice of reason and truth, cannot look past their own biased mindset, then there is still a long road to the abolition of prejudice.
In both pieces, the authors use first-person points of view to do various things. In “To Kill a Mockingbird” Harper Lee does this to show the mindset of a child (Scout) in that time period and also to show her growth through the story. It is clear the struggle that she goes through as the trial goes on and also what she is thinking as her awakening point occurs. In “White Privilege 2” Macklemore does the same in order to show the inner battle his narrator was facing, to help emphasise his points and to express deeper emotions. His narrator questions himself, wondering “if it’s his place to give two cents,” and his own motives which add to the emotionality and theme of the song. Some may argue that the use of the first-person narrative creates a shrouded view and limits the reader’s understanding of the full topic to what the protagonist sees. However despite that being partially true, in these cases, it was a good thing. Often the points most important would’ve been missed if first person narrative wasn’t used. For example, when the trial was ending only Scout could “see something only a lawyer’s child could be expected to see” and states her inner thinking on the trial’s proceedings. Her following statement on Atticus ends up be beneficial to understanding his motivation and that all would not have been possible without the use of first person narrative. This first person narrative also helps to give us an insight into the inner contemplation that the characters have when they experience their awakening point, be it on how they’ve been affected, or the issue as a whole.
Both stories are similar in the fact that they are extremely relevant to and caused controversy in the time period in which they were released in. “To Kill a Mockingbird” was released during the height of 1960s civil rights movement when coloured people were still struggling for their voice and the prejudice was only starting to come to light. This time period was a pivotal point in American history and this book helped to address many of the issues on display. It educated the public including children on the issue in a way they were able to understand. However despite currently being referred to as a classic of modern literature, upon its release, many schools outlawed “To Kill a Mockingbird” due to its controversial themes and use of explicit language. In fact, it still remains banned in various classrooms across the world. “White Privilege 2” was also released at an interesting time period in which many of the issues discussed in the civil rights movement were making a recurrence. The new black lives matter movement addresses these disparities. Macklemore also name drops several people of controversy including the aforementioned Darren Wilson and the phrase “rest in peace Mike Brown” referring to the unarmed coloured man who was supposedly accidentally killed.
In conclusion, despite their obvious differences, “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “White Privilege 2” both share the same theme. In order for prejudice to dissipate, one must first have an awakening point. The similarities also continue to extend beyond just the theme, including in elements of craft and the events occurring in the time period they were released. Both Harper Lee and Macklemore saw something they disagreed with in society and wrote their pieces with the intention of educating other about it. They were not wrong. The issues described in their work need to be addressed, let us as readers use their messages and make a difference. Prospective awakening points are everywhere, it just takes one to open your mind and make a change.
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