Life is like an emotional journey; you never know what will be in store for them. Many characters in Harper Lee's story To Kill a Mockingbird feel the same way about life, having experienced many surprising and unexpected events. This story is about a sleepy, prejudiced Southern town and the quest of a lawyer, along with his children Scout and Jem, to take steps to rid the town of its prejudiced mentality. Atticus, the lawyer, defends an innocent black man, Tom Robinson, accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell, despite being a white man. However, everything doesn't go as planned and society's prejudiced mentality wins out over Atticus' impartial arguments. A society full of prejudices leads to blindness, which can be countered through courageous and compassionate actions. The prejudiced mentality of Maycomb society shows how prejudice can lead to blindness. For example, in the scout class, Miss Gates talks about the persecution of innocent people in a society after a student brings up the topic of Hitler and the ongoing massacre in Germany. “We don't believe in persecuting anyone. The persecution comes from people who have prejudices." (329) Miss Gates is so prejudiced against blacks in her own society, that she does not recognize the atrocities happening around her, similar to those happening in Germany. This quote uses irony to show how, even though there is a huge amount of prejudice surrounding her, Miss Gates is blind to it due to the incredible amount of prejudice she holds; is excessively prejudiced against blacks and believes they should be treated as inferior to whites. This shows how a strongly prejudiced mentality, similar to that of Miss Gates, ... at the center of the article ... is the idea that blindness can be caused by a society full of prejudices and that this mentality can be solved through courageous and compassionate actions. This has been personified throughout history by nearly every race and group in the world; even those who seem the most serene and sophisticated commit this atrocity. For example, during the American colonial era, white men from Europe who settled in the Americas discriminated against Native Americans. They decided that they were superior to the Native Americans and that they had every right to ravage their homelands and claim them as their own. This has happened since the beginning of time and will continue until the end of civilization, but through courage and compassion it is possible to control the destructive course of prejudice. Works Cited Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Warner Books, 1982.