Types of Prejudice in To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird depicts several different kinds of prejudice.

In a well-developed essay, identify at least three types of prejudice in your thesis. Support your thesis with well-chosen, meaningful, specific examples from the text and carefully cite direct quotes.

The Use of Metaphor in To Kill a Mockingbird

A dominant motif, or recurring thematic idea, in Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is the symbolic importance of the mockingbird. In the story, Atticus tells his children that "it is a sin to kill a mockingbird."

In a well-developed essay, explain how Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley are metaphorically portrayed as mockingbirds. Give specific details and quotes to support these characterizations.

Provide meaning to the essay-

Provide meaning to the essay by explaining how prejudice affected the town.

At the end, you may also provide an instance in which some characters resisted the prejudice of the town. For example, you can include Atticus who taught Jem, Scout, by actions and words and they are unaffected by prejudice around them, at school, church members, neighbors, and even family members.

Introduction

Start the first paragraph by introducing the book: the title, author, setting, and a quick summary that introduce the Finch family.

Introduce the topic of prejudice in the story. End the paragraph with the thesis. Thesis formula: central idea from the prompt +

three main points Example: To Kill a Mockingbird depicts

several different kinds of prejudice, including prejudice against race, class, and gender.

Quote

Introduce Point

Reason for quote

Sandwich your quotations

In-text citation continued

Short quotes of a few words may be incorporated within your sentence; put the citation at the end of the sentence before the period. Use single quotes for dialogue within your quotation. Example:

Once Aunt Alexandra refused to let Scout bring Walter Cunningham home to play, not because they were not “good people” but because, as she said,

“ ‘they’re not our kind of folks’ ” (299).

In-text citation continued

If your quote is more than 4 lines, make it a block quote.

Indent the entire quote 10 spaces (2 tabs) .

No quotation marks around a block quote.

Period goes before parenthetical citation.

In-text citation continued Example of Quote Longer than 4

lines

Jem explains to Scout the social classes in Maycomb:

"There are four kinds of folks in the world. There’s the

ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there’s the kind

like the Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the

Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes. […] Our kind of

folks don’t like the Cunninghams, the Cunninghams don’t like

the Ewells, and the Ewells hate and despise the colored folks.”

(302-303) The four social classes are based largely on race, wealth, and

education.

Avoiding Hanging Quotes

Connect your quote to a sentence. Use author’s name. I.E. ‘According to Smith, “the best

way to move forward. . . ”’ (citation) Use your own words with the sentence. I. E ‘Looking

back at the course society has taken, I find that “the best way to move forward. . . ” (citation).

Do NOT start or end a paragraph with a quote.

Modify Quotes to fit within your sentence. Use [brackets] to add information. Use . . . ellipses to remove information.

In-text Citations

Put direct quotes in quotation marks. Period goes after the parenthetical citation.

According to Steven Johnson, “A channel surfer hops back and forth between different channels because she’s bored. A Web surfer clicks on a link because she’s interested” (109).

If you mention the author’s name in the quote introduction, only put the page number in the parenthetical citation.

If you do not mention the author’s name, the parenthetical citation looks like this: (Johnson 109).

If you do not have an author, use the title (or whatever is first on your works cited page.

If you are citing a website, use the ¶ symbol and what paragraph from the website the quote came from.

Draft Requirements

MLA format for heading and citationsDouble space6 quotations (narrative or dialogue) from the

book (2 per main point)At least five paragraphs: (Introduction ending

in a one sentence thesis, at least three paragraphs in body, conclusion)

Underline thesis – which should let me know what your central idea and organization will be.

When you are done, turn it in to me for review and then enter it in MyAccess.

Plagiarism

Using the words or ideas of others without giving them credit.

When paraphrasing or summarizing, read the passage, and then write your paraphrase or summary without looking at the original. Then check your work with the original to make sure they are different.

Changing just one or two words in plagiarism. Keeping the same sentence and just finding synonyms for some words is also plagiarism.

When in doubt, cite.

Paraphrasing and Summarizing

A paraphrase is a representation (in your words) of the main idea of the source around the same length as the original.

A summary is a representation (in your words) of the idea in an entire source (or paragraph) in a one or two sentences.

Both a summary and a paraphrase need in-text citations.

Make sure you do not use the words OR structure of the author – that is plagiarism.

Quote

Introduce Point

Reason for quote

Sandwich your quotations

Example

Introduce Point: The difference between web surfing and channel surfing is important when trying to figure out which medium has more surfing.

Quote: According to Steven Johnson, “Web surfing and channel surfing are genuinely difference pursuits; to imagine them as equivalents is to ignore the defining characteristics of each medium” (107).

Reason for quote: Understanding the differences between web and channel surfing and their mediums, allows researchers other characteristics to keep in mind when comparing the two mediums.