The central idea of To Kill a Mockingbird is discrimination. Throughout the novel, many of the residents of Maycomb held prejudices against others based on their social status or race. For example, Mrs. Dubose judged Scout and her father negatively. Additionally, the townspeople spread exaggerated stories about the mysterious Radley family and feared Boo Radley without truly knowing him. Prejudice and ignorance also led to misunderstandings between black and white characters, such as assumptions about Mr. Dolphus Raymond. In the novel, discrimination takes many forms including prejudice, hatred, and ignorance.

1. To Kill A Mockingbird Prejudice
The central idea that develops throughout the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is
discrimination. Throughout the book many people had prejudice, hatred, and ignorance towards
others who lived in Maycomb. To Kill a Mockingbird showed what living with discrimination was
like back then and it also tells the reader that you shouldn't always judge a book by its cover.
Prejudice is something almost everyone had during the time period To Kill a Mockingbird's setting
takes place in, and is still a common subject that individuals see every day. In the novel, Jean Louis
Finch or also known as Scout and her father get judged by their neighbor Mrs. Dubose. For
example, Mrs. Dubose says, "Not only a Finch waiting tables, but one in the courthouse...show more
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An example of some of the novel's characters having ignorance is the townspeople. Many of
Maycomb's children were afraid of the Radley's, mainly Boo Radley because of the stories that
are told were most likely exaggerated. "As MR. Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his
parent's leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants and resumed his activities" (pg.13). This
information given to Jem by Stephanie Crawford, who always spreads the word before knowing
what really happened. With this information Jem is now starting to get scared of the Radley's.
Additionally, this is some of the same reasons why black and white people misjudge each other.
Furthermore, Mr. Radley is not the only one who nobody seems to understand. Jem says, "Mr.
Dolphus Raymond seemed to be so doing: two yellow drugstore straws ran from his mouth to the
depths of a brown paper bag" (pg.214). Here Jem and Dill assume that Mr. Raymond is drinking
because his wedding got ruined when his bride died, but Mr. Raymond isn't actually drinking it is
an act so people won't be mad about him having kids with a black–women. Ignorance plays a big
part in the novel because it will lead people to not understand each other.
In conclusion, the central idea of To Kill a Mockingbird isdiscrimination, in multiple ways
discrimination is revealed, such as prejudice, hatred, and ignorance. In Scout's childhood,
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