This is how much I've done so far, not finished yet but could you see if I'm on the right track?
I'm following the structure of Introduction, 3 Main Body Paragraphs and a Conclusion.
Explain how the themes of prejudice and tolerance are explored in the novel.
The book To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel and has sold over thirty million copies worldwide. It is set in the 1930’s, a time where racism was very prominent. Harper Lee emphasises the themes of prejudice and tolerance in her novel through the use of her characters. The narrator of the story, Scout, comes across many people and situations with prejudice and tolerance as her father defends a black man.
Racial prejudice is widespread in the county of Maycomb, and a prime example of that is the Tom Robinson case. Tom, a black man, was accused of raping Mayella, a white woman. Atticus puts forward all evidence from his the witnesses that clearly proves Tom was innocent, Jem even says
‘and we’re gonna win Scout. I don’t see how we can’t’ (pg 206)
but Tom still received a ‘Guilty’ verdict. Atticus tried to convince the jury that all of god’s children are created equal and eliminate the prejudice thoughts of the jurors by saying
‘the assumption - the evil assumption - that all Negroes lie, that all
Negroes are basically immoral beings…’. (pg 208)
To the jury the only important thing was that Tom was black and the accuser was white; he never stood a chance under those conditions. These racial tensions between blacks and whites have made their way into the courtroom, a place where everyone receives a fair trial no matter what race or colour, but an unjust verdict was reached. The prejudice that was felt towards Tom made him loose all hope of freedom, and as a result, died upon an escape attempt. Tom was victim of racial prejudice.
The novel not only explores racial prejudice, but also prejudice against gender and social status. Miss Maudie is a victim of prejudice against gender as she is a female. When Jem asks about Miss Maudie being on the jury, Atticus replies
‘Miss Maudie can’t serve on a jury because she's a woman’ (pg 225)
shows that women and men did not have equal rights in this period of time. The people of Maycomb believed that cases such as the Tom Robinson’s would be too intense for a woman and would only be fit for a man, as mention by Atticus
‘I guess it’s to protect our frail ladies from sordid cases like Tom’s’ (pg 225)
When Scout wanted to invite Walter Cunningham over for dinner, Aunt Alexandra showed her disapproval and this was a form a prejudice against people of a different social status. When Aunt Alexandra said
‘ “I’ll tell you why” she said. “Because he is trash, that’s why you can’t play with him”’
she had aggravated Scout because she was being unfair towards Walter. Aunt Alexandra always thought that her heritage gave her the right to think that she and her family was better than everyone else, so she always tried to make Scout into a lady, so when she grows up she would not bring shame to family.
The 3rd paragraph is going to explain how the novel explores tolerance and the conclusion to do.
PS, I Italic'd the quotes, but I just have included it here because our teacher tells us to use quotes of no more than 7 - 10 words
4 answers
The book To Kill a Mockingbird written (DELETE "WRITTEN." UNNECESSARY.) by Harper Lee is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel and has sold over thirty million copies worldwide. It is set in the 1930’s, (DELETE ') a time where ("WHEN" DEALING WITH TIME.) racism was very prominent. Harper Lee emphasises the (DELETE PREVIOUS PHRASE.) themes of prejudice and tolerance in her novel (DELETE PREVIOUS PHRASE AND INSERT "ARE INDICATED" FOR CONCISENESS.) through the use of her characters. The narrator of the story, Scout, comes across many people and situations with prejudice and tolerance (COMMA) as her father defends a black man.
Racial prejudice is widespread in the county of Maycomb, and a prime example of that (DELETE "OF THAT" TO BE MORE CONCISE.) is the Tom Robinson case. Tom, a black man, was accused of raping Mayella, a white woman. Atticus puts forward all evidence from his the (DELETE "THE.") witnesses that clearly proves Tom was innocent, Jem even says (COMMA)‘...and we’re gonna win Scout. I don’t see how we can’t’ (pg 206) (COMMA) but Tom still received a ‘Guilty’ verdict. Atticus tried to convince the jury that all of god’s (CAPITAL) children are created equal and "TRIES TO") eliminate the prejudice(D) thoughts of the jurors by saying ("WHO BELIEVE"?)(COMMA)
‘the (CAPITAL? DOES IT BEGIN A SENTENCE IN THE QUOTE?)) assumption - the evil assumption - that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings…’. (pg 208) To the jury (COMMA)the only important thing was that Tom was black and the accuser was white; he never stood a chance under those conditions. These racial tensions between blacks and whites have made their way into the courtroom, a place where everyone ("IS SUPPOSED TO RECEIVE"?) receives a fair trial no matter what race or colour, but an unjust verdict was reached. The prejudice that was felt towards Tom made him loose (SP) all hope of freedom, and as a result, ("HE") died upon an escape attempt. Tom was victim of racial prejudice.
The novel not only explores racial prejudice, but also prejudice against gender and social status. Miss Maudie is a victim of prejudice against gender as she is a female (DELETE PREVIOUS PHRASE. WITH "MISS" TITLE, WE ALREADY KNOW SHE IS FEMALE.). When Jem (SP?) asks about Miss Maudie being on the jury, Atticus replies (COMMA) ‘Miss Maudie can’t serve on a jury because she's a woman’ (pg 225). ("THIS") shows that women and men did not have equal rights in this period of time ("THEN" WOULD BE MORE CONCISE.). The people of Maycomb believed that cases such as the Tom Robinson’s would be too intense for a woman and would only be fit for a man, as mention(ED) by Atticus (COMMA)‘I guess it’s to protect our frail ladies from sordid cases like Tom’s’ (pg 225) (PERIOD)
When Scout wanted to invite Walter Cunningham over for dinner, Aunt Alexandra showed her disapproval (NEW SENTENCE.) this was a form a prejudice against people of a different social status. When Aunt Alexandra said (COMMA) “I’ll tell you why” (NEW SENTENCE.) she said.(COMMA) “Because he is trash, that’s why you can’t play with him." (NEW SENTENCE)she had aggravated Scout (COMMA) because she was being unfair towards Walter. Aunt Alexandra always thought that her heritage gave her the right to think that she and her family was ("WERE" PLURAL.)) better than everyone else, so (NEW SENTENCE) she always tried to make Scout into a lady, so when she grows up she would not bring shame to family.
REVIEW YOUR USE OF COMMAS.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_comma.html
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_commaproof.html
In the future, if nobody is available to proofread your work, you can do this yourself. After writing your material, put it aside for a day — at least several hours. (This breaks mental sets you might have that keep you from noticing problems.) Then read it aloud as if you were reading someone else's work. (Reading aloud slows down your reading, so you are less likely to skip over problems.)
If your reading goes smoothly, that is fine. However, wherever you "stumble" in your reading, other persons are likely to have a problem in reading your material. Those "stumbles" indicate areas that need revising.
Once you have made your revisions, repeat the process above. Good papers often require many drafts.
I hope this helps. Thanks for asking.