quotations to analyse Flashcards
“I wants to know why you bringin white chillun to a nigger church…they got their church, we got our’n”
Lula to Cal. Shows racial prejudice from black people to white people. The use of the opposite pronouns “their” and “our’n” shows that Lula believes the races should be kept entirely separate and not share anything.
“Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed”
Scout. Shows racial prejudice. The hyperbole emphasises that Tom would never be found innocent, regardless of the evidence, as a jury would never take a black person’s word over a white person’s.
“Miss Maudie can’t serve on a jury because she’s a woman…I guess it’s to protect our frail ladies from sordid cases like Tom’s”
Atticus. Shows gender prejudice. Miss Maudie is intelligent and fair yet she cannot have a place in the legal system purely because of her gender.
“I felt the starched walls of a pink cotton penitentiary closing in on me”
Scout. Shows gender prejudice/creates sympathy. Scout is beginning to realise that she will be limited and constricted by her gender as she grows. The metaphor of “penitentiary” (jail) conveys that she feels restricted, trapped and punished.
“Because – he – is – trash”
Aunt Alexandra on Walter Cunningham. Shows class prejudice. Walter Cunningham is a respectful and well behaved boy but she won’t have him in the house because he is poor and of a lower class. The dashes are used to emphasise each word to show she really means it. “Trash” suggests worthless.
“Inside the house lived a malevolent phantom”
Scout on Boo. Shows prejudice to outsiders. Because he does not conform Boo is deemed dangerous and is a target for gossip. “malevolent” suggest he is evil and “phantom” suggests he is not even human.
“You’ve got everything to lose from this, Atticus. I mean, everything”
Aunt Alexandra to Atticus. Shows his lack of prejudice. he willingly tries to defend Tom even though he knows he will suffer for it. The repetition of “everything” emphasises the risk he is taking.
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it”
Atticus to Scout. Shows his lack of prejudice. The metaphor shows that he is determined not to judge people, and instead try to understand the reasons for their actions.
“He’s not company, Cal, he’s just a Cunningham”
Scout on Walter Cunningham. Shows class prejudice. Although she likes Walter, she does not see him as her social equal. The word “just” suggests he is inferior. As Scout is only 6 here, this shows how soon people internalised the prejudiced attitudes around them
“boys don’t cook”
Scout to cousin Francis. Shows that gender prejudice can limit males, too. The short statement is blunt and so emphasises Scout’s certainty of this ‘fact’.
