The word "discrimination" is not used in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary describes "discrimination" as being "prejudiced or prejudicial outlook, action, or treatment." The word "prejudice" is used in the novel on four occasions. The following quote displays one of those four occasions:
"Over here we don't believe in persecuting anybody. Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced."
This quote is from Miss Gate's, one of Scout's teachers. This quote is full of irony when read in context.
The class is having a discussion on Adolf Hitler and how he is persecuting the Jews in Germany. Miss Gates tells her class that in the United States, persecution is not acceptable. She also notes that persecution is caused by prejudiced people. This is ironic because of widespread prejudice against black people in Maycomb, as well as in the American Southeast in the 1930s. Scout notices the hypocrisy because she had once overheard Miss Gates making racist comments.
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