Post 2 - We're Just As Bad As We Used To Be

Many things have changed over time, and many are pretty much the same. I found a quote that is an example of things that are still the same as they used to be. In chapter 18, Atticus asks Tom Robinson to stand up so Mayella Ewell can verify that Tom is the person she saw. Jem, Scout, Dill, and Reverend Sykes are watching, and Jem says, "Scout, look! Reverend, he's crippled!" He says this because Tom Robinson had an accident with a cotton gin when he was young and has a useless left arm, which is obvious to everyone when he stands up.

I think what Jem says is wrong because he is referring to Tom as "crippled" which today is an unkind term to use. I'm think that at the time (the Great Depression) people used that word because they didn't know any other words to use. Before and after the Great Depression there was a common stereotype that people with disabilities had mental problems because of their disability. Maybe part of the reason Tom was accused in the first place was because he was black AND crippled. By saying what he did, Jem was kind of bringing to light the unfair treatment that even he was a part of. Instead of saying that, Jem could say something kind or not even refer to the injury at all.

An example of something like this are the people we help at our own school. We have a program that is designed for students who have a "disability". To be truthful, I don't think of them as any less than anyone and neither should you. After all, they are living their life the best they can, just like we are. Everyone is an equal human being, and we should treat each other like it.

Another misconception in TKAM is demonstrated in chapter 1, when Dill, Scout, and Jem are thinking about how to get Boo Radley to come out of the house. Dill dares Jem to go out and touch the house. Jem says, "Don't blame me when he gouges your eyes out. You started it, remember." This is another thing some people don't understand. It is hard to keep ourselves from judging others from how they look or act. We also assume the worst about another's condition. It is an unkind thing to do and eventually we get embarrassed when we find out the truth. If we refrained from spreading rumors in the first place, none of these problems would arise.