Imagine the world, where everybody is equal. There will be no discrimination, no conflict and no assault. We all once dreamed that it will be what the world is going to be, but unfortunately, that is not what the world wants to be. Not everybody is nice as we think, and they will make obstacles to stop our dreams from happening. Discrimination, sexism, things that stop the dream we all long for it to be true. Religion and cultures have their own practises, but that does not mean that there cannot be a female priest, female that take the roles that are stereotypical male roles. At the current rates, the world is changing, with the first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, and the first female resident in the world, Marma Estela ‘Isabel’ Martinez Cartas de Peron of Argentina.Even though those people have broken walls of gender discrimination, there are still many barriers made from culture beliefs to religion. Every female should have a right to education, to learn even the basics of how to read and write, that girls can play any sport they want, even if it is a boyish sport like contact rugby, and women should have the same wage as men for the same jobs.
People say that ‘education is a right, like the right to have proper food and a roof over your head.’ For many, it is funny that girls do not need to go to school, and part of the reason is that they do not have a choice. They might not have enough money, or their parents do not want them to go to school, and instead helping the farm etc. Many girls in the world are rejected for what they want to do, going to school. According to the book ‘I am Malala’, she was shot in the head for what she wants to do. Yes, the talibans have their reasons, but people in the opposite sex are humans as well. And it is normal for humans to go to school. In other countries, girls can go to school without people shooting their head because they go to school. They face a different obstacle, things like pregnancy, child marriage, poverty and school based violence. In worst case scenarios, those people get discriminated because they are trying to get through those obstacles that others might not realize. They are discriminated because they are different than the other students around them.
According to the UN, there are 7 main advantages for girls having a good education. (some not relevant)
- Education beats poverty. One extra year of schooling increases a person’s earnings by up to 10%. 171 million people could be lifted out of poverty if all students in low-income countries left school with basic reading skills. This explains that education is proven to help people to get out of poverty. - - Education can help people to get out of those harsh rural areas with bad living conditions to the great white way.
- Education promotes gender equality. Women who went to school understand the danger in processing a child, and this helps them to control how many children each family can have. For example, in Mali, a women with at least a secondary education have an average of 3 children, while those with no education have an average of 7 children. This explains that with education there will be a decrease of population, and the world will not be so overpopulated, and that people will not produce a lot of children knowing the dangers of producing a lot of children.
- Education contributes to provide maternal health. Women with higher levels of education are more likely to delay and space out their pregnancies, and to seek health care and support.
- Education helps combat HIV, malaria and other preventable diseases. This facilities access to treatments and fight against stigma and discrimination. This means that education can decrease the world’s death rate, whether it have a positive effect or a negative consequence.
- Education helps global development. ‘An estimated $16 billion in aid is needed annually to reach the EFA goals in poor countries. However, in 2008 poor countries received only $2 billion aid for basic education. The worldwide military expenditure for 2009 was $1.5 trillion.’
Stereotypical girls, do they have to sacrifice of what they want to be in the future just because of their gender? This theory applies for jobs. One of the main streaks of employment discrimination is gender. Why can’t girls work as an engineer? Rejecting a female because of her natural habitat? Rejecting a female just because… because she is a female? The world can create any kind of nonsense they want us to face.
(Unfinished)
Sports. Either its rugby, baseball etc, many debate that girls should not play boy sport. Firstly, how will you define boy sport? A sport that only boys can play? Can’t all girls play boy sport? Why not just make a girl team? Many say that girls are not as physically strong as boys, but girls can play what sport they want to play. Girls are generally stereotypically at home, as the men are stereotypically known as wiser. Sports like football, contact rugby and baseball are generally known as boy sport. Some people have to give up what they love because of what they are born into. Girls are just as good as the boys. Maybe with longer hair, silkier skin, slightly shorter, a little less masculine, they are just the same. Some girls could possibly have equal skills perhaps even better. Having their own rights is like having a cupcake that was yours, and was given not by choice to another person. Girls could be tougher than the boys who think they are the best at sports.
Personally, I play quite a lot of sports, but people judge me because I am smaller, shorter and look like I have no muscle at all. Little did they know that I was trained for a long time, and even if I have already showed them that I can play that sport 10 times better than them, they still believe that I am a total brat that is nothing but showing off. Women have their own skills and qualities, but if they wanted to play boy sports, then let their dreams come true. I have also been there when boys discriminated of what sports I should like and what sport I shouldn’t. I have always liked playing sports like badminton, basketball, touch rugby and many other sport, and yet I am still this small. People do not usually believe that I even play sport, generally commenting on the size that I am in. Only a few people see that I always have tanned skin and spotable muscle on my legs and arms. People have to understand that we girls can play whatever sport we want, and might not have to be the same team as the boys. The teams does not matter as much as enjoying the sport itself.
In the world, there are lots of confusions. Disagree or not, those rules have been set to make the world better. Even if there are many people that follow those rules, there are people out there that disagree of what it is made for the better. What we are living now is only the beginning. There are many other challenges in the future that is waiting for humanity to face. We are only solving the first pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. The world need to stop discriminating people. Be the change you want to see in the world. Follow your dreams. Support gender equality.
Showing posts with label Inequality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Inequality. Show all posts
Sunday, June 12, 2016
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Personal Appearance And Personal Identity
Adolescence is a time at which people from all places and cultures struggle to form their own identity. No longer children, but not yet adults, they must forge their sense of self and come to terms with the image they project to others. For young girls in particular, self identity and image is often closely associated with physical appearance. “Blue Gold” and “ Does My Head Look Big In This?” are both coming of age stories in which young girls from different places and cultures struggle to form their own identities, and in each of the stories physical appearance and clothing play an important part in the girls’ journeys towards self affirmation.
“Blue Gold” is a three part story which confronts the issues surrounding the technology industry through the stories of three girls from very different cultures in living in very different circumstances in different places around the world. Each girl must try to find her sense of self and make a place for herself in society. “Does My Head Look Big In This?” is the story of an Australian-Palestinian-Muslim girl and her journey towards self discovery. She must reconcile her Palestinian Muslim heritage within her place in secular Australian culture. A shared theme between these two books is that physical appearance and dress are central to self identity and image.
In “Blue Gold” Elizabeth Stewart uses Laiping’s uniform to show her loss of self identity and freedom. Laiping is a Chinese factory worker, the factory uniform, identical to thousands of others, demonstrates Laiping’s insignificance in the eyes of the company that controls her. Her uniform strips her of her personal identity and transforms her into “just a factory girl, like a hundred thousand others.” Laiping loses all sense of self and self empowerment. The idea, of clothing having the power to take away identity as well as display it, is also prevalent in ‘Does My Head Look Big In This?’ Once Amal starts to wear the hijab, people perceive her differently; “Too many people look at it as though it (the hijab) has bizarre powers sewn into its microfibers. Powers that transform Muslim girls into UCOs (Unidentified Covered Objects), which turn Muslim girls from an 'us' to a 'them.” When Amal dons the hijab people view her not as herself but as a Muslim, they ignore her character and focus her religion alone. To Amal this is not the way the hijab should be viewed. To her it is a symbol of her religion of which she is justly proud, it is not meant to strip her of identity but help project it. Throughout the story, Amal meets many people who are weary of Islam and who see the hijab as the single most important thing about her. However fortunately Amal also meets people who understand that the hijab is simply a symbol of her religion, an important part of her identity but not her sole defining characteristic.
In “Blue Gold” the story of Sylvie, a Congolese girl who is trapped in a refugee camp in Tanzania, is closely linked to her personal appearance and dress.The main focus of her story is her impending forced marriage to a ruthless warlord named Kayembe. Kayembe wants to marry her because she is pretty, he has no interest in her character or values. He views her as an attractive chatel. On the day of her wedding she is forced to wear a dress chosen by Kayembe.The dress is described as being too long and having “wires in it to shape a woman’s bosom.” Clearly Sylvie is being forced into womanhood too early, she is entirely under Kayembe’s control, her identity and self empowerment are being stripped away and the wedding dress is a powerful symbol of this . Conversely while many people in Amal’s story assume that the hijab is a symbol of oppression and that she was forced into wearing it, when this is definitely not the case. The hijab is an integral part of Amal’s self identity and image. Amal chooses to wear the hijab without any pressure from her parents. She does so because she is proud to be a muslim woman, to her the hijab demonstrates her identity and self empowerment.
In “ Blue Gold” Fiona’s story is one which concerns body image as part of a young girl’s self perception and identity, which can be connected to one of Amal’s friends, Simone. Fiona’s world comes crashing down around her as a topless photo that she foolishly sent to her boyfriend is released onto the internet. She is bombarded by unwanted comments from her peers, as well as people she has never met. She loses confidence in herself and her body. The lack of clothing in the photo is not only a plot point, it is a symbol for her vulnerability. In “Does My Head Look Big In This?”, Amal’s best friend Simone also struggles with body image. Poisonous barbs from her mother and judgmental comments directed at her by other students lead Simone to loathe her own body. She tries desperately to lose weight and to achieve a perfect and unattainable figure. It takes the kindness and love of her friends to convince Simone that she is beautiful no matter what she weighs, just as it takes the love and understanding of her mother, teachers and friends to help Fiona regain her confidence and self identity.
Physical appearance and dress contribute to the way we see ourselves and others. The authors of both books understand this and harness the concept in the development of their characters and storylines.“Does My Head Look Big In This?” takes a very overt position with the clothing being a central theme of the book whilst “Blue Gold” weaves the symbolism of clothing (and even the absence of clothing) into the underlying stories.”Does My Head Look Big In This?” forces the reader to confront the issue of clothing and question whether clothes make a person or whether they are merely another layer of the character's identity. In Blue Gold, however, the theme of physical appearance and dress was largely understated however when focussed upon was both powerful, intended and well considered.
“Blue Gold” is a three part story which confronts the issues surrounding the technology industry through the stories of three girls from very different cultures in living in very different circumstances in different places around the world. Each girl must try to find her sense of self and make a place for herself in society. “Does My Head Look Big In This?” is the story of an Australian-Palestinian-Muslim girl and her journey towards self discovery. She must reconcile her Palestinian Muslim heritage within her place in secular Australian culture. A shared theme between these two books is that physical appearance and dress are central to self identity and image.
In “Blue Gold” Elizabeth Stewart uses Laiping’s uniform to show her loss of self identity and freedom. Laiping is a Chinese factory worker, the factory uniform, identical to thousands of others, demonstrates Laiping’s insignificance in the eyes of the company that controls her. Her uniform strips her of her personal identity and transforms her into “just a factory girl, like a hundred thousand others.” Laiping loses all sense of self and self empowerment. The idea, of clothing having the power to take away identity as well as display it, is also prevalent in ‘Does My Head Look Big In This?’ Once Amal starts to wear the hijab, people perceive her differently; “Too many people look at it as though it (the hijab) has bizarre powers sewn into its microfibers. Powers that transform Muslim girls into UCOs (Unidentified Covered Objects), which turn Muslim girls from an 'us' to a 'them.” When Amal dons the hijab people view her not as herself but as a Muslim, they ignore her character and focus her religion alone. To Amal this is not the way the hijab should be viewed. To her it is a symbol of her religion of which she is justly proud, it is not meant to strip her of identity but help project it. Throughout the story, Amal meets many people who are weary of Islam and who see the hijab as the single most important thing about her. However fortunately Amal also meets people who understand that the hijab is simply a symbol of her religion, an important part of her identity but not her sole defining characteristic.
In “Blue Gold” the story of Sylvie, a Congolese girl who is trapped in a refugee camp in Tanzania, is closely linked to her personal appearance and dress.The main focus of her story is her impending forced marriage to a ruthless warlord named Kayembe. Kayembe wants to marry her because she is pretty, he has no interest in her character or values. He views her as an attractive chatel. On the day of her wedding she is forced to wear a dress chosen by Kayembe.The dress is described as being too long and having “wires in it to shape a woman’s bosom.” Clearly Sylvie is being forced into womanhood too early, she is entirely under Kayembe’s control, her identity and self empowerment are being stripped away and the wedding dress is a powerful symbol of this . Conversely while many people in Amal’s story assume that the hijab is a symbol of oppression and that she was forced into wearing it, when this is definitely not the case. The hijab is an integral part of Amal’s self identity and image. Amal chooses to wear the hijab without any pressure from her parents. She does so because she is proud to be a muslim woman, to her the hijab demonstrates her identity and self empowerment.
In “ Blue Gold” Fiona’s story is one which concerns body image as part of a young girl’s self perception and identity, which can be connected to one of Amal’s friends, Simone. Fiona’s world comes crashing down around her as a topless photo that she foolishly sent to her boyfriend is released onto the internet. She is bombarded by unwanted comments from her peers, as well as people she has never met. She loses confidence in herself and her body. The lack of clothing in the photo is not only a plot point, it is a symbol for her vulnerability. In “Does My Head Look Big In This?”, Amal’s best friend Simone also struggles with body image. Poisonous barbs from her mother and judgmental comments directed at her by other students lead Simone to loathe her own body. She tries desperately to lose weight and to achieve a perfect and unattainable figure. It takes the kindness and love of her friends to convince Simone that she is beautiful no matter what she weighs, just as it takes the love and understanding of her mother, teachers and friends to help Fiona regain her confidence and self identity.
Physical appearance and dress contribute to the way we see ourselves and others. The authors of both books understand this and harness the concept in the development of their characters and storylines.“Does My Head Look Big In This?” takes a very overt position with the clothing being a central theme of the book whilst “Blue Gold” weaves the symbolism of clothing (and even the absence of clothing) into the underlying stories.”Does My Head Look Big In This?” forces the reader to confront the issue of clothing and question whether clothes make a person or whether they are merely another layer of the character's identity. In Blue Gold, however, the theme of physical appearance and dress was largely understated however when focussed upon was both powerful, intended and well considered.
Prejudice and Inequality Prevalent in Society
To Kill A Mockingbird meets The Help
Harper Lee’s award-winning classic “To Kill A Mockingbird” and Kathryn Stockett’s “The Help” are both timeless stories about perspective and loss of innocence set in an era of deep-seated racial and social prejudices. These themes are woven into the two novels and help us to understand the life people led in the past. These two books are both stories of racial inequality, a struggle for social dominance, loss of innocence and viewing the world as a good and untouched place and then having that idea ruined by someone. Both novels also highlight the dangers for people in the more privileged classes in challenging the status quo, and the prejudice surrounding African-Americans.
To Kill A Mockingbird is a novel that follows the adventures of a five-year-old girl named Scout, her brother, Jem, and her neighbor’s nephew in Maycomb County, in the American Deep South. It is set in the 1930s, a time when blacks and whites lived segregated lives and prejudice against colored people was widespread and tolerated by authorities. This novel tells us about Tom Robinson, a kind-hearted, African-American man falsely accused but ultimately convicted of raping a white girl and Atticus, Scout’s father, who represents him in court, to the dismay of many members of white society in the county. Throughout To Kill A Mockingbird, the use of symbolism, imagery and metaphors help us to understand the importance of innocence and how it plays a role in the society in which Lee was living when she wrote the book.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett is a novel also set in the Deep South but in the 1960s. To Kill A Mockingbird has a strong influence on this book and some of the issues raised by Harper Lee have been translated into this novel. This story follows Skeeter Phelan, a young, aspiring, caucasian journalist who was deeply inspired by her black maid Constantine while growing up. Skeeter enjoyed a privileged upbringing in the high society of Jackson, Mississippi, with a lot of friends and a position in the very sought after Jackson Junior League Club, run by her best friend and antagonist of the story, Hilly Holbrook. After watching her friends and mother treat their black maids poorly and learning that her old maid Constantine dies, she feels that it is time to make a change and progress towards racial equality. She gains the friendship and trust of a black maid named Aibileen Clark and Aibileen’s best friend Minny Jackson. Her dream is to write a collection of stories from a dozen maids and their experiences working with white women. Through much persuasion and time spent building the trust of maids and other domestic workers, she gathers two dozen women willing to share their stories.
We can connect these ideologies to real life issues. Today we still face the complex issues of racism, sexism and blatant inequality of gender, race, and religion. As the two books are set in different time periods than they are today, the lasting effect that this era had on our society is still very visible. The divide between black and white people, specifically in the Deep South of United States of America, is what is stopping our world from progressing. African American children and adults are still getting gunned down by police, Muslim children of color are still receiving hate and being blamed for ISIS and women are still earning less money than men for the same job.
In To Kill A Mockingbird, the title gives us a hint of the most significant symbol in the story, mockingbirds. Mockingbirds are the symbol of innocence and childhood. It helps us to remember the feeling of seeing the world through the eyes of a child. As Atticus explains to Jem in chapter ten why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird whilst giving him his first rifle, he says. “I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you’ll go after birds. “Shoot all the bluejays you want if you can hit’s, but remember, it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. […] They don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy.” Characters like Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and Jem Finch can be compared to mockingbirds and are walking metaphors throughout the story. The reason for this is because they are all innocent people who only had intentions to help people throughout the story. Tom Robinson tried to help a woman in need, Boo just wanted to be an accepted member of society and Jem became aware of the amount of evil in the world instead of seeing it as a good place for the first time.
On the night Tom is convicted, Jem becomes finally aware of the evil that has taken place. Even after every single person in the courtroom knows Tom is innocent, yet they sentence him guilty anyways. He says to Atticus. “I don’t know, but they did it. They’ve done it before and they did it tonight and they’ll do it again and when they do it-seems that only children weep. Good night.” This helps us to understand that even though Atticus believes that what the jury has done is wrong, there is not much that he can do to reverse it and change people’s minds.
This can be compared to the characters in The Help. Although it is set in a different time period, the characters in The Help still face the same struggles that ostracized members of Maycomb faced back in the 1930s. For example, Treelore Clark died an avoidable death while trying to earn a living. “One night he working late at the Scanlon-Taylor Mill, lugging two-by-fours, splinters slicing all the way through the glove. He too small for that kind of work, too skinny, but he needed that job.” Because of his color when he was injured he was not treated with the same urgency that a white person would have been shown. Aibileen, Treelore’s mother, explains her son as a quiet, thoughtful twenty-four-year-old man. A person who was about to start his life with his fiance. Aibileen recounts what he was doing and how it happened. “He was tired. It was raining. He slip off the loading dock, fell down on the drive. Tractor trailer didn't see him and crushed his lungs fore he could move. By the time I found out, he was dead.” This shows the working conditions that African Americans had no choice but to work in.
A similarity between To Kill A Mockingbird is how alike the contrasted characters from both books are. For example, in The Help, Skeeter often compares herself to Boo Radley. On page 101 she says. "I've become one of those people who prowl around at night in their cars. God, I am the town's Boo Radley, just like in To Kill a Mockingbird." Common traits that they share are that they are both seen as outcasts, people who do not fit in with the social norm.
Skeeter is an independent, awkward young woman who does not believe in relying on a man and living your life quietly as a housewife. She has aspirations and wants to reach them and feels that people are equal, and for this reason, she is seen as a stain in her bloodline and not a proper lady. For example, when Skeeter is born her older brother Carlton explains. "It's not a baby it's a skeeter!" Thus showing that she is not your average, pretty young woman. Skeeter is almost 6 feet tall and has incurable “kinky” hair and was teased by boys for her looks during middle school. She turned to her maid, Constantine, who told her a life lesson she never forgot. “[You] gotta ask yourself this question. Am I really gonna believe all them bad things them fools say about me today?” This helps Skeeter to remember that she is not what other people say she is. Boo Radley is seen as a murderous and dangerous person by many citizens of Maycomb, adults included while in reality he is actually an awkward but kind-hearted man who wants nothing more than to fit into society. This lesson applies to Boo as well. He is not the rumors about him, but his own person.
The treatment meted out to Boo Radley, Scout’s tormented next door neighbor is another metaphor for the racial prejudice prevalent in society. He is a person who only ever wanted to contribute to society but was ridiculed by his neighbors, ostracized by his community and demonized by children. Everything that was not right in Maycomb was traced back to Boo. For example, when azaleas freeze in a cold snap, it was Boo who did it. “The Maycomb school grounds adjoined the back of the Radley lot; from the Radley chickenyard tall pecan trees shook their fruit into the schoolyard, but the nuts lay untouched by the children: Radley pecans would kill you. A baseball hit into the Radley yard was a lost ball and no questions asked.” Even adults would partake in the rumors, egging on the children and feeding them with lies about how Boo Radley was a bad person who went to prison.
This is very comparable to the treatment that Skeeter is given. As The Help carries on, Hilly Holbrook decides that Skeeter is no longer welcome in the Jackson Junior League and tries her hardest to turn everyone against her. Given that Hilly has a powerful command over one of the major social events and network in Jackson, her influence is enormous. Facing the prospect of losing their social status by upsetting Hilly, even Skeeter’s closest friends turn away from her. Much like Boo Radley, Skeeter quickly becomes ostracized by the other ladies. This goes to show that even though Boo and Skeeter are both white, they are still treated as divergents thus showing that you are still not safe even if you look the same as your enemy.
The vibe that Skeeter and Boo receive for being different really makes us question how our society functions. Just because we are different means that we are not allowed to be accepted? This lesson that was taught years ago has translated into our society today, and people are paying the price for it. Skeeter’s actions highlight the poor treatment given to African American domestic workers and because of the discomfort that causes, Skeeter is ostracized by her friends. It is easier to ignore the inequalities and bad behavior of a certain race when it is your own than to go against society’s prevailing norms.
Inferring from the text, it is explicit that some of the citizens of Jackson, Mississippi know that the way they treat others is wrong, that it is unfair to put yourself as a race above another and that to act like you are better is completely unjust. However, they do it anyways, and why? Because people feel it is easier to root for the “winning” side, it’s easier to go with the flow and not cause a ripple in the water. Skeeter and Scout prove otherwise, that even though things will be harder than just sticking to the norm, the results are more awarding.
The Help and To Kill A Mockingbird are stories that make you think about the impact that our behavior has on society. Lee and Stockett have both written stories that put racism into words. These books help us to understand why people feel the need to show dominance and the way that they assert their power, through fear, judgment and strong yet misplaced beliefs. This helps us understand why in today’s society we still have to deal with racist and sexists beliefs, and the reason is because of our past. These two novels show that in a world of hate and prejudice it only takes one person to start a movement, but that the challenges facing anyone who does so remain enormous.
Harper Lee’s award-winning classic “To Kill A Mockingbird” and Kathryn Stockett’s “The Help” are both timeless stories about perspective and loss of innocence set in an era of deep-seated racial and social prejudices. These themes are woven into the two novels and help us to understand the life people led in the past. These two books are both stories of racial inequality, a struggle for social dominance, loss of innocence and viewing the world as a good and untouched place and then having that idea ruined by someone. Both novels also highlight the dangers for people in the more privileged classes in challenging the status quo, and the prejudice surrounding African-Americans.
To Kill A Mockingbird is a novel that follows the adventures of a five-year-old girl named Scout, her brother, Jem, and her neighbor’s nephew in Maycomb County, in the American Deep South. It is set in the 1930s, a time when blacks and whites lived segregated lives and prejudice against colored people was widespread and tolerated by authorities. This novel tells us about Tom Robinson, a kind-hearted, African-American man falsely accused but ultimately convicted of raping a white girl and Atticus, Scout’s father, who represents him in court, to the dismay of many members of white society in the county. Throughout To Kill A Mockingbird, the use of symbolism, imagery and metaphors help us to understand the importance of innocence and how it plays a role in the society in which Lee was living when she wrote the book.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett is a novel also set in the Deep South but in the 1960s. To Kill A Mockingbird has a strong influence on this book and some of the issues raised by Harper Lee have been translated into this novel. This story follows Skeeter Phelan, a young, aspiring, caucasian journalist who was deeply inspired by her black maid Constantine while growing up. Skeeter enjoyed a privileged upbringing in the high society of Jackson, Mississippi, with a lot of friends and a position in the very sought after Jackson Junior League Club, run by her best friend and antagonist of the story, Hilly Holbrook. After watching her friends and mother treat their black maids poorly and learning that her old maid Constantine dies, she feels that it is time to make a change and progress towards racial equality. She gains the friendship and trust of a black maid named Aibileen Clark and Aibileen’s best friend Minny Jackson. Her dream is to write a collection of stories from a dozen maids and their experiences working with white women. Through much persuasion and time spent building the trust of maids and other domestic workers, she gathers two dozen women willing to share their stories.
We can connect these ideologies to real life issues. Today we still face the complex issues of racism, sexism and blatant inequality of gender, race, and religion. As the two books are set in different time periods than they are today, the lasting effect that this era had on our society is still very visible. The divide between black and white people, specifically in the Deep South of United States of America, is what is stopping our world from progressing. African American children and adults are still getting gunned down by police, Muslim children of color are still receiving hate and being blamed for ISIS and women are still earning less money than men for the same job.
In To Kill A Mockingbird, the title gives us a hint of the most significant symbol in the story, mockingbirds. Mockingbirds are the symbol of innocence and childhood. It helps us to remember the feeling of seeing the world through the eyes of a child. As Atticus explains to Jem in chapter ten why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird whilst giving him his first rifle, he says. “I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you’ll go after birds. “Shoot all the bluejays you want if you can hit’s, but remember, it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. […] They don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy.” Characters like Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and Jem Finch can be compared to mockingbirds and are walking metaphors throughout the story. The reason for this is because they are all innocent people who only had intentions to help people throughout the story. Tom Robinson tried to help a woman in need, Boo just wanted to be an accepted member of society and Jem became aware of the amount of evil in the world instead of seeing it as a good place for the first time.
On the night Tom is convicted, Jem becomes finally aware of the evil that has taken place. Even after every single person in the courtroom knows Tom is innocent, yet they sentence him guilty anyways. He says to Atticus. “I don’t know, but they did it. They’ve done it before and they did it tonight and they’ll do it again and when they do it-seems that only children weep. Good night.” This helps us to understand that even though Atticus believes that what the jury has done is wrong, there is not much that he can do to reverse it and change people’s minds.
This can be compared to the characters in The Help. Although it is set in a different time period, the characters in The Help still face the same struggles that ostracized members of Maycomb faced back in the 1930s. For example, Treelore Clark died an avoidable death while trying to earn a living. “One night he working late at the Scanlon-Taylor Mill, lugging two-by-fours, splinters slicing all the way through the glove. He too small for that kind of work, too skinny, but he needed that job.” Because of his color when he was injured he was not treated with the same urgency that a white person would have been shown. Aibileen, Treelore’s mother, explains her son as a quiet, thoughtful twenty-four-year-old man. A person who was about to start his life with his fiance. Aibileen recounts what he was doing and how it happened. “He was tired. It was raining. He slip off the loading dock, fell down on the drive. Tractor trailer didn't see him and crushed his lungs fore he could move. By the time I found out, he was dead.” This shows the working conditions that African Americans had no choice but to work in.
A similarity between To Kill A Mockingbird is how alike the contrasted characters from both books are. For example, in The Help, Skeeter often compares herself to Boo Radley. On page 101 she says. "I've become one of those people who prowl around at night in their cars. God, I am the town's Boo Radley, just like in To Kill a Mockingbird." Common traits that they share are that they are both seen as outcasts, people who do not fit in with the social norm.
Skeeter is an independent, awkward young woman who does not believe in relying on a man and living your life quietly as a housewife. She has aspirations and wants to reach them and feels that people are equal, and for this reason, she is seen as a stain in her bloodline and not a proper lady. For example, when Skeeter is born her older brother Carlton explains. "It's not a baby it's a skeeter!" Thus showing that she is not your average, pretty young woman. Skeeter is almost 6 feet tall and has incurable “kinky” hair and was teased by boys for her looks during middle school. She turned to her maid, Constantine, who told her a life lesson she never forgot. “[You] gotta ask yourself this question. Am I really gonna believe all them bad things them fools say about me today?” This helps Skeeter to remember that she is not what other people say she is. Boo Radley is seen as a murderous and dangerous person by many citizens of Maycomb, adults included while in reality he is actually an awkward but kind-hearted man who wants nothing more than to fit into society. This lesson applies to Boo as well. He is not the rumors about him, but his own person.
The treatment meted out to Boo Radley, Scout’s tormented next door neighbor is another metaphor for the racial prejudice prevalent in society. He is a person who only ever wanted to contribute to society but was ridiculed by his neighbors, ostracized by his community and demonized by children. Everything that was not right in Maycomb was traced back to Boo. For example, when azaleas freeze in a cold snap, it was Boo who did it. “The Maycomb school grounds adjoined the back of the Radley lot; from the Radley chickenyard tall pecan trees shook their fruit into the schoolyard, but the nuts lay untouched by the children: Radley pecans would kill you. A baseball hit into the Radley yard was a lost ball and no questions asked.” Even adults would partake in the rumors, egging on the children and feeding them with lies about how Boo Radley was a bad person who went to prison.
This is very comparable to the treatment that Skeeter is given. As The Help carries on, Hilly Holbrook decides that Skeeter is no longer welcome in the Jackson Junior League and tries her hardest to turn everyone against her. Given that Hilly has a powerful command over one of the major social events and network in Jackson, her influence is enormous. Facing the prospect of losing their social status by upsetting Hilly, even Skeeter’s closest friends turn away from her. Much like Boo Radley, Skeeter quickly becomes ostracized by the other ladies. This goes to show that even though Boo and Skeeter are both white, they are still treated as divergents thus showing that you are still not safe even if you look the same as your enemy.
The vibe that Skeeter and Boo receive for being different really makes us question how our society functions. Just because we are different means that we are not allowed to be accepted? This lesson that was taught years ago has translated into our society today, and people are paying the price for it. Skeeter’s actions highlight the poor treatment given to African American domestic workers and because of the discomfort that causes, Skeeter is ostracized by her friends. It is easier to ignore the inequalities and bad behavior of a certain race when it is your own than to go against society’s prevailing norms.
Inferring from the text, it is explicit that some of the citizens of Jackson, Mississippi know that the way they treat others is wrong, that it is unfair to put yourself as a race above another and that to act like you are better is completely unjust. However, they do it anyways, and why? Because people feel it is easier to root for the “winning” side, it’s easier to go with the flow and not cause a ripple in the water. Skeeter and Scout prove otherwise, that even though things will be harder than just sticking to the norm, the results are more awarding.
The Help and To Kill A Mockingbird are stories that make you think about the impact that our behavior has on society. Lee and Stockett have both written stories that put racism into words. These books help us to understand why people feel the need to show dominance and the way that they assert their power, through fear, judgment and strong yet misplaced beliefs. This helps us understand why in today’s society we still have to deal with racist and sexists beliefs, and the reason is because of our past. These two novels show that in a world of hate and prejudice it only takes one person to start a movement, but that the challenges facing anyone who does so remain enormous.
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