Racial Preconception In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird

Résumé: The present research examines the Whites’ racial preconception that grew up strongly against the African-Americans in the county of Maycomb, the state of Alabama, during the Great Depression, through Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. In effect, this thesis endeavors at shedding light on the victimization of the mockingbirds that are innocent and harmless characters but they receive an unfair treatment in the prejudiced society of Maycomb. Actually, this society is full of wrong assumptions and gossip opinions that turn eventually to be the truth that everyone believes in. The dissertation, therefore aims at portraying the atmosphere of living in Maycomb community during the Great Depression; depicting the Whites’ preconceived treatment and victimization of the Blacks; insisting on the awfulness of killing mockingbirds and destroying their innocence; delving into the main causes of racial preconception and shedding light on their effects on the main characters; pointing out the basic morals and ethical lessons learnt from the novel.Besides, this research raises the following questions: who are the mockingbirds in the novel and why are they considered so? What are racial preconception aspects in the novel? What are the causes of racial preconception and their impact on the characters? To what extent did the novelist Harper Lee contribute in shaping the American reality in Alabama, the state of America, during the Great Depression through her novel? And, what are the models of moral and ethical behaviors in the novel? In addition, in this research the Critical Race Theory and Marxist Theory will be adopted. This study is divided into two main chapters. The first chapter tends to put the novel into its socoihistorical and literary contexts, as well as, providing a theoretical background for the theories will be applied in the next chapter. The second chapter puts the novel into practice.

Publié dans la revue: