Although bigotry and segregation were pointed in majority towards blacks, other accounts towards whites were also heard of, though not as commonly. Anyone that is out of the ordinary from society is treated differently because of their dissimilarities. The most obvious example in the novel would be Tom Robinson. An innocent, hard working, warm-hearted black man who went out of his way to help Mayella only to end up with seventeen bullet holes in his body. Tom was charged with rape and death penalty based on, and only on the colour of his skin. This shows the racial intolerance the white people in Maycomb have towards African-Americans. .
During this time in history racism was acceptable, not only those who were black, but also those who affiliated with blacks, were also considered inferior. Atticus and Mr. Dolphus Raymond were both treated unfairly because of their non-segregation believes. Mr. Dolphus Raymond pretended to be a drunk so he didn't have to explain the fact that he was simply in love with a black woman. The alcohol, he said, "gave the people an excuse to say he didn't know what he was doing". Atticus defended Tom Robinson because it was what he strongly believed in. For this he was mocked, according to Mrs. Dubose, Atticus was "no better than the niggers and trash he works for!" .
Aunt Alexandra introduced Jem and Scout to social prejudice by not letting them play with Walter Cunningham. It's because the Cunninghams were farmers that lived out of town, Aunt Alexandra regarded Walter to be socially inferior, and said she would only let him in the house on business. "Because he's trash, that's why you can't play with him." This is the prejudice based entirely on class in society. .
Education is also a main theme in the novel. It can come in two forms, school and life education. School education is what is learnt through school. Whilst life education is what is learnt about life through personal experiences.