Societal conflicts have been prevalent throughout history. Prejudice is a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. Discrimination is the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people of things, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex. Prejudice and discrimination influenced by peers and sometimes parents causes feelings of shame, anger and sadness. Several characters in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee faced prejudice and discrimination. Several characters in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen also faced prejudice and discrimination. Each character have felt anger, sadness, or shame.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem lost his temper and destroyed Mrs.Dubose’s camellia bushes with a baton because of her prejudice comments about his father, Atticus. Cecil Jacobs, Scout’s classmate, and Francis, Alexandra’s grandson, both made a prejudicial statement about Atticus. As a result, Scout lost her temper and attempted to beat them up. Atticus received a lot of prejudice comments because he defended Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman. In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth became upset because Caroline Bingley took Mr.Darcy’s side when discussing how untrustworthy Mr.Wickham …show more content…
Tom Robinson was considered guilty even before the trial because of his skin color. Most people in the 1930s believed a white man’s word over a black man’s word. Tom Robinson knew he was going to get convicted because of his skin color even though he was innocent. As a result, he lost all hope. In Pride and Prejudice, Mr.Darcy believed that the Bennett family appeared ill mannered and financially well below Mr.Bingley and because of that Mr.Bingley moved to London and avoided Jane. As a result, Jane became sad. These characters felt sadness toward