Despite his clear innocence, a black man is tried unjustly and decreed guilty because of his different skin color. The townspeople blame the causes of bad incidents on a blameless recluse because of his different lifestyle. A teacher mistreats her student because she is different from other students. All of these problems and conflicts share a common root: close-mindedness. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee condemns this close-mindedness, the intolerance of differences within others, in a Southern society because it is destructive and debilitating.
Close-mindedness shows itself in vario…
