Boo Radley is another major victim of prejudice. He is the
subject of the gossip of the town, with claims such as that he wanders the town at night and
dines on cats and squirrels. Boo has been under house arrest (by his father) since he was a teen
when he allegedly stabbed his father with a pair of scissors. The town views him as a monster,
someone so different as to be feared (like Tom). Of course, it turns out that, like Tom, Boo is
an innocent person who has only looked for ways to help people; Tom was trying to help Mayella
and Boo helped Jem and Scout.
There is also prejudice against the
poor. Calpurnia scolds Scout for making fun of Walter. Prejudice against the poor includes the
Ewells. There is nothing redeeming about Bob and judgments against him are justified. But like
Boo, Mayella is the product of an abusive father. This is not to say that Mayella’s lying in
court is justified as it leads to Tom’s imprisonment and death. But Mayella, the Ewells and the
Cunninghams are subject to prejudice. Atticus makes this point. With Mayella, it is more
complicated because she is the product of a bad situation, but doesn’t rise above it as Boo does.
You are correct that racism is the prominent form of prejudice. The court takes Mayella’s word
and Bob Ewell’s word over Tom’s. The jury’s conditioned racism trumped the clear evidence and the
obviously dubious and devious testimony from Bob. It may be difficult to see the Ewells as
victims of prejudice since they are always referred to in malicious tones. But this is mostly a
reflection of Bob Ewell himself. Beyond that, condescending attitudes towards the Ewells have
something to do with their behavior (which I would also blame mostly on Bob) but also a general
prejudice against the poor.
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