To Kill a Mockingbird Essay

In the book to Kill a Mockingbird there are many different themes and messages throughout the book. One main theme that is shown throughout the story is the social inequalities that happen to characters. There are many different social inequalities that happen in Maycomb and show how you shouldn't judge someone on what they look like and their skin color.

One example of social inequalities in the book is how Jem described what Boo Radley looks like and how he acts. On page 16 Jem was telling Scout and Dill about Boo “he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch....There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time.” Jem is just assuming that Boo Radley is a creepy, scary guy when he never seen or meet him before. The kids thought about Boo changes by the end of the book when Bob Ewell was attacking the kids and was about to stab them, but Boo radley saved them. Scout and Jem realized that Boo wasn't actually a creepy guy and realized that he was more of a caring person.

Another example of social inequality that happened in the book is when Tom Robinson was found guilty by the jury. Page 282 “Judge Taylor was polling the jury: Guilty. . .guilty. . . guilty. . . guilty . .” The evidence that was shown proved that Tom Robinson was innocent. Since Mayella was punched on her left side and it would've been impossible for Tom to of punched her on the left side of her face because Tom’s right arm is 12 inches shorter than his left arm from an accident that he had from a cotton machine. So if he would of punched her it would've been on the right side of Mayella's face. But even though the evidence was shown Tom Robinson was still found guilty by the all white jury. This happened only because Tom was black and they all were prejudiced towards blacks.

“I heard her say it’s about time somebody taught ‘em a lesson, they were gettin’ way above themselves, an’ the next thing they think they can do is marry us.” page 331. Scout heard Miss Gates say this about the trial to Stephanie Crawford. The only reason why Miss Gates said this about the trial was because Tom Robinson is black. Miss Gates feels that blacks don’t deserve the same things that whites get. This was just another example of the social inequalities shown in the book.

A lot of social inequalities are shown in To Kill a Mockingbird. Some are from judging a person on how they look and act or by their skin color. The theme of social inequalities shows you how it is never okay to judge someone. Also to think about how you would feel if you were to be judged and to treat others the way you want to be treated.