AJPugh

PreAPEnglish
TKAMEssay
17November2014
TheUnfairGameofInequality
TomRobinsonsacoloredman,Jem(Lee219).This,intodayssocietyisan
irrelevantstatementthatpeoplewouldn'tevenbothertobataneyeat.Unfortunately,in
the1930s,thiswasnotthecase.Inequalitywasatanextremehighthenandcontinued
tobeformanyyearsuntiltheintelligentandverytruewordswerespokenbytheone
andonly,MartinLutherKingJr..Ihaveadreamthatmyfourchildrenwillonedaylive
inanationwheretheywillnotbejudgedbythecoloroftheirskin,butbythecontentof
theircharacter.Thetruthis,notruerwordshaveeverbeenspoken,although,racismis
nottheonlyjudgementaltopicthatwasdiscussedthen.Itsterriblethatthingswerenot
doneaboutthis,butthenagain,whatreallycouldbedone?Thecitizenshadtheirhands
tiedandwerebasicallyforcedtoagreewiththegovernmentsstateofmind.
Differentialitydefineswhosomepeopleareasapersonshowshowtheyfeel,their
attitude,theirbeliefs.Scout,Tom,andBoo,allknowtoowellwhatitfeelsliketobe
different,tobenotnormal,tobetheoutcast,thereforeallowingthemtoshowquitea
varietyofdimensionsofsocialinequalityin
ToKillaMockingbird
.
ScoutFinch.Thenameofagirl,unafraidofshowinghertruecolors.Withno
mothertolookuptoasarolemodel,Scoutwasalmostforcedtoadaptherlifestyleand
learntoassociatewiththeboysratherthangirls.Beingtheonlygirlinafamilymaybe

toughforsome,buttoScoutitwasachallengethatshewouldgladlyacceptwith
determinationandopenarms.Thederogatoryremarksfromherpeersneverphased
her.Infact,theyjustseemedtobuildherstronger,daybyday.Shedidntwantto
becomeoneoftheboys,butshedidbecauseshewastoldshecouldnt.Themajority
ofthepeopleinMaycombdidntagreewithScoutsways.We[AtticusandAunt
Alexandra]decidedthatitwouldbebestforyoutohavesomefeminineinfluence,said
AuntAlexandra(Lee129).Itwasinevitable:Scoutwasnevergoingtoactlikealady,it
justwasnthercupoftea....itwouldbemanyyearsbeforeIwouldbeinterestedin
boys,Iwouldneverbeinterestedinclothes,Scoutthinkstoherself(Lee129).Being
differentisaqualitythatsomeoneshouldfeelblessedtohave.Scoutisherownperson,
withoutanyduplicates,allowingScouttobeherself.Onewaysheisdifferent,issheis
oneofthefewthatsupportedTomRobinson,nomatterthecolorofhisskin.Tomwas
anhonorablemanwithnorelevantreasontobehavebeentreatedthewayhewas.
Skincolordoesnotdefineonesmotives,becausesuchacharacteristicdoesnotmatter
today.Butthen,wasadifferentstory.ScoutandTomseemalltoomuchalike,fighting
fortheirrights,ignoringthevilifiedcommentsfromignorantpeers,pushingoneveryday
eventhoughtheyhavealmostnomotivationleft.
TomRobinson.Thenameofamanalltoofamiliarwithinequality.Imsimply
defendingaNegro,Atticussaid(Lee77).ItsashamethatTomwasntevenaddressed
properly.Instead,hewaslabeledasaNegro.Duringthe1930s,beingaNegrowas
unacceptableanddealtwithunfairlywithoutthesayfromtheNegroes.Shedid
somethingthatinoursocietyisunspeakable:shekissedablackman(Lee207).Itwas

anunjustformofgovernmentthen,whereasifsomeonewerewhite,theywereinstantly
giventheupperhand.Thegovernmentbelievedtheyweredoingsuchthingsforthe
greatergoodwhenactually,thisjustcausedmoretensionbetweenwhitesandblacks.
Beingblackwasanalmostinstantaneousfallinonessocialstatus.Withoutthesupport
fromverymanypeople,Tomfelttrappedinatwistedworldofpeopleagainsthim,just
becausehewasdifferent.Tomhadonlyobtainedthesupportfromveryfewpeople
suchasAtticusandScout.Scoutcared,nomattertheskincolororsocialstatus.Social
statusthen,wasratherimportantandunfortunatelyBooRadleyknowsjustasmuch
aboutbeingonthebottomofthetotempoleasTom.
BooRadley.Thenameofanantisocialmonsterwhosupposedlystabbedhis
fatherintheleg(Lee11).Fromthenon,Boohasbeenlabeledasamonsterandaforce
nottobereckonedwith.BooRadleyisaperfectexampleofwhyoneshouldnever
judgeabookbyitscoverbecause,inturn,theymightjustsurpriseyou.Boohadwent
fromakillertoalifesaverinamatterofcrucialseconds.Secondsthatjustsohappened
tosaveScoutandJemslives(Lee270).JustasBobEwellwasabouttoputhisblade
throughScout,herlifewassparedbythesupposedmonsterwhenheputtheblade
throughBobinstead.WithBoosrecordofsupposedlykillingsomeonealready,keeping
thisinformationfromthepublicwasextremelynecessaryinordertoprotectBoos
reputation.Itsironic,isntit?BooRadley.Theonewhodidntharmasoulthe
mockingbird
committedthemostgruesomecrimeimaginable.Now,thedifference
betweenBobandBoosmotivesareclear.BobsetouttokillbecauseAtticushad
defendedTom,ablackman,incourtagainsthim.Boowasntsetouttokillatall.Infact,

hewastherejusttomakesurethatScoutandJemmadeithomesafely.Scoutowes
Booherlife,butthesadpartis,shellneverspeaktohimagain.Maybeitsforthebest.
Maybeitswanthewants.TheleastScoutcandoforBooistolethimbedifferent,
alone.
Beingdifferentisaqualitythatonlysomepeoplehave,andwhentheydo,they
letitshow.Theydonthideitinsidebecauseiftheyweretodothat,wewouldnthave
peoplelikeLadyGagaorMichaelJackson,nowwouldwe?Differentialityisworthmore
thananything.Itdescribesyourself,andletsoutexactlywhoyouare.Although,some
peopledontalwaysagreewiththedifferencesbetweenyouandthem.Theirloss.You
justhavetopushthroughandshinebrighterthantherest.Somepeopleknowthevalue
ofinequalityalltoowell.PeoplelikeScout,Tom,andBooshowusvariouswaysof
dimensionsofinequalityin
ToKillaMockingbird.