Prejudice and Bigotry

A dominant theme in the novel is the cruelty that people inflict upon others by the holding of preformed ideas, 'the simple hell people give other people', as Dolphus Raymond puts it. It is not just the matter of the deep racial prejudice which is present in Maycomb but the intolerant, narrow, rigid codes of behaviour that most townspeople wish to impose on others. This bigotry is made all the more menacing by being depicted as 'normal' behaviour by many characters in the book. Against the background of this small town such people as Boo Radley, Dolphus Raymond and, to some extent, Maudie Atkinson, are persecuted because they do not conform. Tom Robinson is found guilty, in the face of very strong suspicion that his accusers are lying, because he went against the accepted position of a Negro and dared to feel sorry for a white person.

The bigotry of some fundamentalist religious sects is touched on in the introduction of the foot washing Baptists who criticize Miss Maudie Atkinson. Her conversation with Scout on this subject leads Scout to think about what is implied by a good and a reasonable life.

Scout also ponders over the lip service paid to the ideal of democracy ('equal rights for all, special privileges for none') when contrasted with the realities of intolerance and prejudice: for example, the horror expressed by Miss Gates at Hitler's persecution of the Jews and her own intolerance of Blacks. This is one of many instances in the novel of the contrast between reason (represented by the character of Atticus) and prejudice, which is born of ignorance and fear.

At different points in the story we find many characters who are misunderstood through ignorance and fear; often this has been the result of gossip. Subsequently, these characters are not what they truly seem to be. Most would write off Boo Radley as a reclusive madman, Miss Dubose as a mean spirited old woman, and Dolphous Raymond as a social deviant. These people are reviled by most, but these are not fair judgments. Once we get beyond the gossip surrounding these people, we get a clear view of some very strong human beings. The major problem with gossip, Lee is saying, is that people rarely stop to check whether they've got their facts right. They often pass on false, misleading and potentially hurtful information that can harm a person's reputation and character.