Don’t Follow the Crowd, Stand Out

Don’t Follow the Crowd, Stand Out

What do fashion statements, drugs and alcohol, and gay rights all have in common? Judgment is a huge component of all three. Certain judgments become so popular that people assume those opinions to be right, but that is not always the case. Harper Lees’ novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is based on the experiences she had as a child. The theme, not everything popular is right, is demonstrated in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird through the Jury’s decision on the case, making out Boo Radley to seem worse than he actually is, and through the opinion of Maycomb on Atticus taking the case.

        Never should a person judge people by their race, just like the town of Maycomb did to the colored. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, the jury of Maycomb is favoring the whites over the colored. As a result of  the case of Tom Robinson being accused of raping Mayella, Atticus expresses to his kids, “‘…In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins”’ (Lee 295). This shows how the jury is biased towards the Ewells. Even though the jury took their time in reaching a decision on whether or not to convict Tom Robinson of committing this crime, they pronounce him guilty because of the color of his skin. Despite all the facts and possibilities Atticus brings up, the jury still accuses Tom instead of the Ewells. The jury gives white people preferential treatment as they think whites can never do wrong. While the case was being discussed, Jem, Scout and Dill were watching in the colored people section. Once the final decision was announced, Dill expresses his powerful view by stating, “‘I don’t care one speck. It ain’t right, somehow it ain’t right to do ‘em that way. Hasn’t anybody got any business talkin’ like that it just makes me sick”’ (Lee 266). This quote shows that Dill, even as a white boy, carefully and fairly considers the facts and does not base his opinion on the race of the person on trial. Drawing a parallel to the 21st century community, many people judge each other by their style of clothing. Some people make presumptions about people solely based on their clothing style instead of getting to really know them. People judging others based on their clothing is similar to people judging others by race as shown in To Kill a Mockingbird. In both cases individuals develop unfair and sometimes incorrect opinions of others.

        Boo is first described as a tall and scary individual, but no one knows the truth about him. Even though he is described as intimidating, people should not believe the rumors they hear unless they know the facts. Scout, after hearing about what Dill had been trying to say to Boo, says, “‘you all’ve gone crazy, he’ll kill us!”’ (Lee 62). This quote shows how Scout, without even knowing the real Boo Radley, automatically assumes and believes that Boo is capable of such harsh and violent behavior. She makes a judgment about Boo based on the popularly held opinion about Boo rather than through her own experience with him. The theme, not everything popular is right, is evident in this situation as towards the end of the book, the real Boo is revealed. The real Boo Radley is not what the popular opinion holds him to be. The real Boo shows concern for others and helps the innocent when they have done no harm to others. After Boo saves Jem, Scout says to him, “‘you’d like to say good night to Jem, wouldn’t you, Mr. Arthur? Come right in”’ (Lee 371). Harper incorporates this quote to show the genuine concern Boo has for Jem even though the two men have never officially met; Boo wants to make sure Jem is alright after the incident in the woods. Boo shares a special bond with the Finch kids, because even after all the rumors they have heard about him, they still make an effort to befriend him. The Finch kids chose not to listen to the popular opinion of Boo Radley and instead discovered the real Boo for themselves. Once again this is evidence of how not everything popular is right; it is important for individuals to form their own views and to act accordingly based on their views instead of following the crowd and the popularly held opinion. Similarly, in the 21st century community individuals should develop their own opinions about drugs and alcohol without the influence of others.  Individuals may feel pressured to try drugs or consume alcohol, because they think it is the popular thing to do. Sometimes people equate what is popular with what is right, but that is not always the case.