QCE · Internal Assessment
Internal Assessment: Write a literary essay that…
QCE Internal Assessment essay scoring 80%: The Shaping of Young Minds “Prejudice is a learned trait. You're not born prejudiced; you're taught it.” ―…
The Shaping of Young Minds “Prejudice is a learned trait. You're not born prejudiced; you're taught it.” ― Charles R. Swindoll This directly links to Harper Lee’s 1960s novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” set in the 1930s during the Great Depression, exploring the oppression and segregation faced by African Americans in Maycomb, Alabama, through the journey of young Jem and Scout Finch. Lee successfully addresses prejudice across class, gender and race, highlighting how children were brought up to view prejudice as the social norm. This representation continues to remain relevant, shaping children’s attitudes, values and beliefs today, although shared more subtly. Lee successfully portrays multiple types of prejudice through the perspective of young individuals. Class prejudice plays a significant role in the novel demonstrating the strong beliefs in Maycomb from a young age. Jem drills Aunt Alexandra’s firm beliefs that those of higher social status must not be associated with people of the lower class into Scout. This is evident when Jem explains the individuals in Maycomb “…there’s the ordinary kind…, the kind like the Cunningham’s out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump and the N****.” (pg. 249). Lee deliberately repeats “the kind like” to emphasise the different classes. This is a clear example of prejudicial values in society categorising groups based on wealth, behaviour and race. By placing the ‘ordinary’ people first, Lee reinforces the belief that they are higher on the social hierarchy. Through Jem’s point of view, Lee draws attention to the heavily placed attitudes in society that influence children’s behaviour and the expectation for them to conform. As Jem matures, he starts to understand the prejudicial attitudes of the town because of how ingrained these ideas are in society, inadvertently passing these ideas to Scout. This encourages readers to question the morality of society and similar prejudices that occur in today’s community. It also highlights how easily prejudicial attitudes are passed on unintentionally and picked up by children. Class prejudice is often seen throughout the novel from a child's perspective to demonstrate the values at the time.
Score: 80%
Read the essay example