The circumstantial context throughout history has manipulated composers’ texts and for which they have proposed texts as a response to the violation of human rights. Prejudice, when implanted within a community results in the negotiation of human rights. The novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee approaches the different forms of prejudices either imposed, resisted or perpetrated by the individuals of Maycomb as well as the poem ‘Acadia Ridge’ by Kath Walker, addressing the ill-treatment of the Aboriginals. These texts were composed in order to reassess and contradict the racial segregation of 1930’s America and Alabama. Individuals who obtain empathy and courage, stand up and resist these imposed prejudices and fight for equality in a biased community such as the character of Atticus and the persona of Walker. Furthermore, some individuals submit and succumb to these prejudices due to fear such as the character of Walter Cunningham, who faces great social prejudice. Comparatively, opposing this, figures such as Miss Caroline Fisher and the Anglo Australians from ‘Acadia Ridge’ execute unjust prejudices such as racial domination, gender discrimination and social hierarchy due to their bias views towards their community. These views aforementioned reveal the different responses each individual has towards the violation of human rights.
Prejudice due to social pressures and majority opinion can impact an individual’s way of responding such as with bravery and sympathy in order to destroy the stigmas and injustices surrounding them. Atticus Finch encounters social discrimination and threats of violence due to his choice of defending Tom Robinson, despite the prejudices he faces, Atticus advocates for Tom because of his biblical principles and morals. During the segregation in the 1930’s, African Americans were very much discriminated against and were considered lower class citizens while the whites were given dominance and power over them. Due to this, the whites, who did take a stand for the equality for the blacks were considered as ‘negro lovers’. When explaining to Jem and Scout of his decision for defending Tom he states, ‘if I didn’t I couldn’t hold my head up in town, I couldn’t represent this country in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again.’ The repetition of the phrase ‘I couldn’t’ emphasises Atticus’ correct ethical morals and beliefs and his attitude of dignifying everyone regardless of their colour or status which depicts his resistance towards prejudice. Atticus does not abide by the stereotypes and biases his society accepts and his biblical figure in the prejudiced society portrays his struggle for equality between the white Americans and the African Americans. Additionally, in the poem ‘Acadia Ridge’, Walker’s persona protests against the injustices of the society as she comments on the unjust racial discrimination experienced by the Indigenous people through the gruesome description of the massacre of their native land. The quote, ‘this is the justice brought to the black man there’, illustrates the technique of contradiction which embodies the notion that the demolition of the blacks’ land is the justice they receive although they truly have experienced injustice due to their Aboriginal society. The whites’ brutal actions have caused torment to the community and yet they have not received just repercussions which result in the negotiation of the rights of the Aboriginal entities.
Walter Cunningham endures enforced social prejudice due to his low social hierarchy and is unjustly demeaned due to his destitute status. In society’s views, the Cunningham’s are described as lower-class citizens, due to their poor background, who do not receive goods that they cannot repay. The Cunningham’s succumb to social prejudice because of the lack of authority they possess. During the 1930’s, lower class citizens of society did not have any order of power and due to this, they surrendered to the prejudices implanted upon them. When Jem invites Walter to have dinner with them ‘Walter’s face brightened, then darkened’. By the utilisation of an oxymoron, Walter’s timid nature is represented and his sense of insecurity is highlighted. Due to his opinionated community, Walter has ingrained his societal class permanently into his consciousness and therefore before accepting any offer he has to consider it twice. Due to a very biased community, even the youngest of children have prejudice inflicted upon them which makes them realise their social grounding and causes them to suffer detriments. The Aboriginals in ‘Acadia Ridge’ also perish the aversion imposed upon them due to their racial background. The theme of prejudice and injustice the indigenous Australians have faced because of the undeserved superiority of the whites can be emphasised through the repetition of the phrase, ‘white men, turn quickly the earth of Acacia Ridge’. Using repetition, Walker portrays the dominance of the whites, displaying them destroying the Indigenous’ valued homes and land, in which the whites exert their unjust authority over the blacks. The words ‘turn quickly’ emphasise the reckless pernicious actions of the whites in which they merely see the Indigenous’ land as a vacant real estate that can be exploited and utilised by them at will which results in the helpless blacks being bystanders and victims of the cruel event.
The perpetration of prejudice in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird is illustrated through the character of Miss Caroline Fisher. Miss Caroline discriminates the character of Scout due to her unladylike behaviours and possesses very strict rules regarding gender and social stereotypes each individual should accept and abide by. During the decade of the 1930’s, Alabama women were portrayed as lower class members and required to follow the authoritarian labels set by America, with the only principal motive to accomplish the domestic household duties while the men undertook the responsibility to earn. Inequality of a right to education between the two genders is apparent through the ill-treatment of Scout for being an educated female, can be seen in the phrase, ‘You tell him I’ll take over from here and try to undo the damage’. By this Miss Caroline accuses Atticus and at the same makes Scout feel guilty for being an educated female which counteracts with her version of an ideal female stereotype. The technique of irony is present in this quote and emphasises the contradictory nature of the educator. Miss Caroline Fisher, an educator should be happy that a student has the knowledge to read and write but instead she opposes Scout for being literate and makes her feel embarrassed. Moreover, in the poem ‘Acadia Ridge’ the infliction of prejudice is described through the quote, ‘As bulldozers brutally drive, ruthless and sure’. The decisive tone exhibits the merciless attitude of the whites and their greed which causes ongoing pain and suffering for the Aboriginals. This represents the lack of emotion the whites possess with their only motive to destroy the whites land just to cause them anguish. The personified word ‘bulldozers’ compares the whites to a destructive machine which expresses the whites vindictive and prejudiced attitude towards the Aboriginals.
Conclusively, the inferential context of a composer’s life has influenced their text and to which some have written to contradict human rights violation. One such work was Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird and another was Kath Walker’s ‘Acadia Ridge’. Both texts are written to counter the discriminatory views of societies in 1930’s Alabama and in 1960’s Australia. Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird approaches the various responses towards prejudices through the characters of Atticus, who resists discrimination, Walter Cunningham, who succumbs to social bias and Miss Caroline Fisher, who perpetrates gender bigotry. Furthermore, the poem ‘Acadia Ridge’, which addresses the exploitation of the Aboriginals also depicts the responses towards violations of human rights through her persona, the Aboriginals outlooks and the through narrow-minded Anglo-Australians. To conclude, a range of different opinions towards the subject of prejudice are exemplified through a variety of texts composed throughout similar historical contexts.