After examining the books To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne it is clear that they have many similarities when it comes to the theme of discrimination. In both books theme of discrimination is emphasized by aspects of the plot. This theme helps us to learn that society is not always a fair place and that we cannot judge people based on their religion or race and this is why John Boyne and Harper Lee chose to write about this theme.
In To Kill a Mockingbird and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas the theme of discrimination is emphasized by different aspects of the plot. In To Kill a Mockingbird Ms. Dubose says “Your father’s no better than the n*****s and trash he works for! “. Ms. Dubose says this when Atticus agrees to defend Tom Robinson, an African American, who is accused of raping a white woman. The aspect of the plot where Atticus defends an African American ,and is looked down upon by other people in the town, shows discrimination because people disapproved of treating people of a different race equally and respectfully.
In the Boy in the Striped Pajamas one aspect of the plot that Bruno’s father, who has a respected position in the army, runs a concentration camp and keepsthe Jewish people there because they look and believe different things so they have to be kept apart from the rest of society. “They can’t mix with us. ” is how Gretel responds to Bruno asking why the Jews needed to be on the other side of the fence and this shows that the perception of Jews was that they were so different that they could mix with the rest of society and were labeled as pariahs who needed to e reprimanded. In both books people of a different race and religion are not treated equally to everyone else and are given substantially less respect, they are pariahs of their towns and countries. The authors of To Kill a Mockingbird and of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas both write stories with the theme of discrimination. In to Kill a Mockingbird the main issue of discrimination is between the African Americans and the white people in the South. Harper Lee writes “There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads- they couldn’t be fair if they tried .
In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s word, the white always wins. They’re ugly, but these are the facts of life”. This quote shows the discrimination in To Kill a Mockingbird because when Atticus tells this to Scout and Jem he is explaining to them that, even though it might not be fair, the white people are considered superior to African Americans and that they are treated less respectfully than white people. Which is also the case in the Boy in the Striped Pajamas when it comes to Europe discriminating the Jewish population. In the book Boyne writes “Those people … ell, they’re not people at all, Bruno. ” This quote shows the readers that being a Jew is the equivalent of not being a human being that deserves respect and equal treatment to all other people. When the commandant says this he is telling Bruno that the Jewish people are so different from them, whether it be beliefs or the way the look or live, they shouldn’t be considered human because they’re abnormal. In both books the Jews and African Americans are discriminated because they are assumed to be less than the white people or protestant Europeans, so they are treated poorly.
Also in both stories segregation plays a part because the Jews were separated from the rest of Europe by the concentration camps and in the South African Americans were separated from white people in public places, like the court house. The theme of discrimination in To Kill a Mockingbird and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas helps the readers to learn about society. The theme of discriminatorios in To Kill a Mockingbird teaches us that in society people can be treated unfairly based on the color of their skin.
It also teaches us that it is easy for people to classify each other as a certain way based on the color of their skin, basically going against the saying “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover” because they assume what kind of person they are. The same discrimination goes on in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas when people classify the Jewish people as unacceptable to society because their beliefs. In the same way they are assumed to be dirty and unworthy of life simply for what they believe.
In both books the discrimination teaches us that society can be unfair when judging people by their religion or race and it is always import to adhere to the saying “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”. I think the authors chose to write their stories with the theme of discrimination because it’s helps society to realize the degrading feeling that people who are being discriminated might be feeling and also helping to people to realize that society can be unfair and you should not assume that the personality of a person is determined by their religion or color of skin.
I think Harper Lee wrote about discrimination to shed a light on After examining the books To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne it is clear that they have many similarities when it comes to the theme of discrimination. In both books theme of discrimination is emphasized by aspects of the plot. This theme helps us to learn that society is not always a fair place and that we cannot judge people based on their religion or race and this is why John Boyne and Harper Lee chose to write about this theme.
In To Kill a Mockingbird and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas the theme of discrimination is emphasized by different aspects of the plot. In To Kill a Mockingbird Ms. Dubose says “Your father’s no better than the n*****s and trash he works for! “. Ms. Dubose says this when Atticus agrees to defend Tom Robinson, an African American, who is accused of raping a white woman. The aspect of the plot where Atticus defends an African American ,and is looked down upon by other people in the town, shows discrimination because people disapproved of treating people of a different race equally and respectfully.
In the Boy in the Striped Pajamas one aspect of the plot that Bruno’s father, who has a respected position in the army, runs a concentration camp and keeps the Jewish people there because they look and believe different things so they have to be kept apart from the rest of society. “They can’t mix with us. ” is how Gretel responds to Bruno asking why the Jews needed to be on the other side of the fence and this shows that the perception of Jews was that they were so different that they could mix with the rest of society and were labeled as pariahs who needed to be reprimanded.
In both books people of a different race and religion are not treated equally to everyone else and are given substantially less respect, they are pariahs of their towns and countries. The authors of To Kill a Mockingbird and of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas both write stories with the theme of discrimination. In to Kill a Mockingbird the main issue of discrimination is between the African Americans and the white people in the South. Harper Lee writes “There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads- they couldn’t be fair if they tried .
In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s word, the white always wins. They’re ugly, but these are the facts of life”. This quote shows the discrimination in To Kill a Mockingbird because when Atticus tells this to Scout and Jem he is explaining to them that, even though it might not be fair, the white people are considered superior to African Americans and that they are treated less respectfully than white people. Which is also the case in the Boy in the Striped Pajamas when it comes to Europe discriminating the Jewish population. In the book Boyne writes “Those people …
Well, they’re not people at all, Bruno. ” This quote shows the readers that being a Jew is the equivalent of not being a human being that deserves respect and equal treatment to all other people. When the commandant says this he is telling Bruno that the Jewish people are so different from them, whether it be beliefs or the way the look or live, they shouldn’t be considered human because they’re abnormal. In both books the Jews and African Americans are discriminated because they are assumed to be less than the white people or protestant Europeans, so they are treated poorly.
Also in both stories segregation plays a part because the Jews were separated from the rest of Europe by the concentration camps and in the South African Americans were separated from white people in public places, like the court house. The theme of discrimination in To Kill a Mockingbird and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas helps the readers to learn about society. The theme of discriminatorios in To Kill a Mockingbird teaches us that in society people can be treated unfairly based on the color of their skin.
It also teaches us that it is easy for people to classify each other as a certain way based on the color of their skin, basically going against the saying “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover” because they assume what kind of person they are. The same discrimination goes on in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas when people classify the Jewish people as unacceptable to society because their beliefs. In the same way they are assumed to be dirty and unworthy of life simply for what they believe.
In both books the discrimination teaches us that society can be unfair when judging people by their religion or race and it is always import to adhere to the saying “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”. I think the authors chose to write their stories with the theme of discrimination because it’s helps society to realize the degrading feeling that people who are being discriminated might be feeling and also helping to people to realize that society can be unfair and you should not assume that the personality of a person is determined by their religion or color of skin.
I think Harper Lee wrote about discrimination to shed a light on the discrimination that African Americans faced in the south and to show how society is a place where there is a certain order and anyone who looks different is an outcast. Lee shows that since African Americans have a different color skin they are different from the rest of the white society becoming these outcasts that have to be separated from the “normal” people and be treated as less than. In The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Boyne writes around the relatively same reasons, to show the suffering of persecuted people and he shows what having an open mind can do.
Boyne writes about how poorly the Jewish people were treated and shows, through Bruno, is you have an open mind you can be friends with anyone. After reading to Kill a Mockingbird and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas I have realized there are many similarities when it comes to the theme of discrimination. After reading these books I discovered why John Boyne and Harper Lee wrote about discrimination and learned that you can’t judge people based on race or religion. To Kill a Mockingbird and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas have the theme of discrimination that teaches the readers important lessons of society through aspects of the plot.
