Compare what To Kill a Mockingbird and McFarland USA suggest about the effect of prejudice

Synonyms: bias, intolerance, injustice, discrimination

Antonyms: tolerance, fairness

- The act of intolerance can be overcome through courage

- Intolerance can then lead to racial prejudice and stereotyping which can really damage an individual
or community
- Prejudice and intolerance arise from ignorance and a lack of understanding.
- Acts of prejudice leads to racial stereotyping and intolerance
- The act of prejudice can be systemic or generational
- Prejudice can cause destruction

Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird explores the idea of how prejudice can really divide and damage a
community. Likewise, McFarland USA demonstrates how prejudice can cause injustice within a community but
if you were able to overcome this barrier, you would find that things aren’t always what they seem to be.
However, whilst To Kill a Mockingbird demonstrate characters in a small quite town, plagued by stereotypical
beliefs and discrimination, McFarland USA instead demonstrates that although you can be exposed to
intolerance, that barrier can be overcome and the extent to which individuals are willing to go to, to overcome
this problem. Therefore, although To Kill a Mockingbird and McFarland USA both exhibit the ways in which
discrimination and prejudice arise form ignorance and lack of understanding, ultimately, they differ in the way
characters responded.

Prejudice can lead to racial intolerance and stereotyping which can really damage an individual or community.
In ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, racial prejudice is demonstrated through numerous characters choices. For example,
when Jem is dared to touch the house and is caught by Nathan Radley, Nathan comments “if anyone sees a
white nigger around that’s the one”, which implies he assumed that his intruder was black. This is a key
demonstration of racial prejudice. Nathans’s assumption was made on the stereotype that black people are
criminals, who would trespass on his property. He made an unfounded generalization which we know was
overly hasty and ultimately false. In addition, Tom Robinson’s trial also demonstrated racial prejudice through
the court case where despite all evidence pointing to Tom’s innocence, the jury’s still chose to believe that
Tom was guilty based on the colour of his skin. Similarly, in ‘McFarland USA’ when White took his family out to
dinner, he was faced with a group of Mexicans who he immediately assumed were ‘gangbangers’ due to their
appearance and race. However, after White got to know them, he realised that they were just a group of
Hispanic car enthusiasts. When he tried to apologise, Victor’s uncle replied that ‘we are used to it now.
Implying that they have lived their whole life putting up with biased beliefs which generalised all Mexicans to
be ‘gangbangers’. Thus, showing that biased beliefs lead to false assumptions and stereotyping which are
really damaging.

The act of prejudice can be overcome through courage. In both To Kill a Mockingbird and McFarland USA, main
characters such as Atticus and Jim White are driven by a sense of justice which ultimately lead them to make
decisions which greatly influenced and impacted their lives. The idea of courage was foregrounded in the
novel’s name To Kill a Mockingbird with the mockingbird symbolising the innocent, which require people to
stand up for and protect them such as Arthur Radley and Tom Robinson. One of the most notable events from
the novel was Atticus’s choice to not only accept the appointment to defend for Tom but also “aim[s] to
defend him.” Despite knowing how dangerous this decision is to himself and to his family because the town
would turn their anger from the case to Atticus. This doesn’t stop him from ensuring Tom receives a fair trial.
Likewise, this idea of using courage to overcome bias was also evident in McFarland USA. After Coach White
discovered the boys’ exceptional running abilities, he signed them up for a cross-country competition. This was
an extremely risky decision since the team didn’t trust Coach White because he was an “outsider” and at that
time cross-country was a sport “for the rich people”. But despite all odds of winning, Coach White saw it as his
initiative to provide the boys with the best opportunities to not only win the competition but also gain valuable
life lessons. Despite his decision was not favoured by majority of the team and families of the runners, Coach
White kept insisting for the runners to join which eventually convinced the parents of these runners. With the
Diaz family holding a massive fundraiser to buy better equipment for the runners, stating that “we only help
you because you’re a good man”. The runners eventually accepted Coach White as well, in the orange fields
when he was giving them their pep-talk by calling him “coach” for the first time. This all resulted in Coach
White, the cross-country team and ultimately the whole Mexican community coming together and melting
away the prejudicial divide between them. Furthermore, when Coach White was offered a better position at
Palo Alto with higher pay, he turned down the offer because he was already embraced within the culture of
McFarland. Where in times of danger the team put themselves out and “protected [Jim’s daughter] like she
was their family”. Therefore, both Atticus and Jim White believe that injustice and prejudice can be challenged
through bravery.

Prejudice and intolerance arise from ignorance and a lack of understanding. In To Kill a Mockingbird, majority
of the citizens of Maycomb County embrace the idea of segregation because they believed that African
Americans were “made by God to work for white” and that “white people were naturally superior”. The nature
of these restricted ideas prevents the citizens of Maycomb County from really getting to understand the
African American community. This racist ideology then causes the town to turn a blind eye to logic and instead
believe in everything a “white man has to say”, prompting Jem and Scout to realize that “Tom was a dead man
the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed”. Similarly, in McFarland USA, the idea of
ignorance and lack of understanding stems from events that have happened decades or even centuries earlier,
resulting in intolerance and bias. This was described through the characterization of Thomas Valles, who
acknowledged their life is “never going to change” because they were born into a Mexican family. However,
unlike To Kill a Mockingbird where they turned a blind eye, Coach White was supportive towards Thomas and
the rest of the cross-country team which resulted in a strong bond that brought the team together as well as
the community. While To Kill a Mockingbird and McFarland USA have different ways of dealing with the way
ignorance in subsequent fear and judgement, ultimately, they both condemn these ideas.

Whilst McFarland USA demonstrates how one can live in a place plagued by injustice and intolerance, it also
suggests that of bias and prejudice can be overcome by getting to know others before making an unfounded
generalisation about them. Similarly, To Kill a Mockingbird brings to light on how crucial it is to challenge
preconceived notions and take a stand for equality and fairness even when faced by adversity. Hence, both
texts are united in their depiction of standing up against intolerance and prejudice, and whilst their actions are
met with different responses, ultimately, they share a sense of optimism in the belief that prejudice can be
stopped.