Peter Colwell

3/16/17
Period 6
Ignorance leads to prejudice or destruction

Much of what people tell others under the pretense of fact is truly just their own
opinion. Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird more than proves this. It demonstrates how
integral both assumption and trust really go in humans. In adults, this can be dangerous,
but to put false ideas in childrens heads can ruin someones life or severely impact an
entire race. The people of Maycomb tend to have little knowledge of others, and choose
to make up any facts to go along with what they see, spreading those falsehoods to
others.

Boo Radley is a clear example of the danger that assumption can have on
children. In the beginning of the book, both Scout and Jem truly fear Boo Radley. The
reasoning behind their mislead fears was very clear. Miss Stephanie said and we
believed her. (Harper Lee 12) This in itself proves how trusting, and therefore
susceptible to lies, children really are. As the kids had no real evidence or facts to prove
otherwise, they believed an adult who likely didnt have any more knowledge on the
subject then they do. This could be particularly dangerous for us in the real world, as real
children are no better than false ones, and can heed drastic results.

The entire African American population was affected badly by assumption. In the
1930s, almost twelve million African Americans lived in America. As they were different,
whites felt as if they were the enemy and were cruel and evil. The evil assumption-that
all negroes lie, that all negroes are immoral beings. (Harper Lee 204) For a lie to
become big enough to affect a courtroom is dangerous in itself, especially when it
somehow proves an innocent guilty.

It is true that in some cases, assumption can turn out to be true, and help others
in the end, such as when some people assumed Arthur could still be alive. One cannot
deny that sometimes assumption can aid others.At the same time, there is a large risk
involved in doing so. At many points in the book and in history, previous assumptions
lead to very bad events, such as Boo being different. While sometimes assuming is
good, it all too often leads to worse situations. Like when people feared to go out at night
because they thought Arthur Radley would murder them.

Many of the beliefs in Maycomb County are truly just made up fantasies by one
of its residents. Many times, this hurts someone else. Boo was constantly shunned and
feared based on the stories of his own neighbors, but he was still regarded as an equal.
African Americans were made out to be evil and liars for years until that became the
truth for everyone. Making up or assuming things about someone might seem harmless,
but can have some extremely horrific consequences.