To Kill A Mockingbird Essay

Despite his clear innocence, a black man is tried unjustly and decreed guilty because of his different skin color. The townspeople blame the causes of bad incidents on a blameless recluse because of his different lifestyle. A teacher mistreats her student because she is different from other students. All of these problems and conflicts share a common root: close-mindedness. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee condemns this close-mindedness, the intolerance of differences within others, in a Southern society because it is destructive and debilitating.
Close-mindedness shows itself in various forms among the members of a Southern society, Maycomb. First, it stems from rejection of people who have different skin colors. In Maycomb, the white people repress and discriminate against the black people. For example, despite his eloquent speech and cogent arguments that clearly prove Tom Robinson¡¯s innocence, Atticus fails to persuade the racist juries to decree Tom Robinson¡¯ acqui...