According to writer Joseph Conrad, "The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness." In other words we don "t need unnatural things to represent evil because the men of this world is already able do it. I absolutely agree with this quote. This critical lens applies to the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird ,by Harper Lee because we the "evil" is being represents as the prejudice of the town. Harper Lee uses theme for the purpose of represent the "evil". This critical lens also applies to the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, Here we the "evil" is being represents through the savagery of the children. Harper Lee uses characterization for the purpose of represent the "evil". .
Conrad's quote, "The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness." applies to the novel , To Kill a Mockingbird in many ways. One of them being, through the prejudice that is seen throughout the book. Theme is used to show this more clearly. The most important theme of Mockingbird remains the notion of prejudice in all of its forms. Clearly, with the Tom Robinson case, Lee's characters deal with racial prejudice head on. References to black men as "niggers" and "boys" persist throughout the book. . The fact that Atticus realizes that he has no chance to win his case defending Tom because Tom is black offers the most explicit indicator of deep-rooted racial discrimination, also known as the prejudice of other people. The reason why Atticus lost his case is because of the narrow-mindedness of the people of Maycomb. However, Lee also shows us prejudice as it pertains to gender and social class. Scout suffers acutely from the stereotypes forced upon her because of the rigid bigotry and gender rules that govern southern life. Scout hates to wear dresses and the find the accusation that she "acts like a girl" highly offensive, which is ironic because she is a girl.