Nicole Matonis
English 10 H
Synthesis Essay
June 14, 2017
How does Racism Influence Victor’s and Jem’s Moral Growth?
There are many things that can affect somebody’s moral growth. In To Kill a
Mockingbird (Harper Lee) and “Indian Education” (Sherman Alexie) racism plays a huge role on
the character’s moral growths. To Kill a Mocking Bird takes place in the small town of
Maycomb in Alabama, 1930’s. Jem is a white male child who experiences racism as an outsider.
“Indian Education” is about life on a reserve. As Victor grows up he decides to attend a junior
high school off the reserve. Victor is a First Nations boy who experiences racism up close and
personal. The moral growth of Jem in To Kill a Mockingbird and Victor in “Indian Education”
is affected by racism. However, Victor dealt with racism first hand, whereas Jem was an
outside observer looking in on the injustices on the African- American community. This
affected their moral growths in different ways. Victor experienced racism first hand, which
affected him by building strength: he was able to overcome racism. In contrast, Jem wasn’t
affected personally, he was less open about his feelings and just bottled them away. but soon
came to the realization that his town is racist; thus deciding he didn’t want to continue this
ideal. Regardless of these differences, the impacts of racism play a large role on their moral
growth.
Growing up on a reserve then being one of the only “Indians” in a high school off the
reserve, can have a lot of racist opinions come your way. How one chooses to deal with those
opinions is how the outcomes of these opinions will play a role in your moral growth. Victor’s
Nicole Matonis
English 10 H
Synthesis Essay
June 14, 2017
experiences with racism will change him as a person. Ever since he was in 1st grade he was put
down by his teachers. This can result in someone (like Victor) thinking less of themselves. For
Victor it was different. He knew he was smart and capable and didn’t let his teachers’ opinions
affect him, which made him stronger. When Victor says, “Once she gave the class a spelling
test, but set me aside and gave me a test designed for junior high students. When I spelled all
the words right, she crumpled up the paper and made me eat it,” he is trying to show that his
teachers were not always supportive because of who he was. (Sherman 106) Victors’ educators
talk down on him for being smart, because they don’t expect a Native to be intelligent. Victors’
moral growth was impacted on due to the white people’s disbelief in him as a result this made
him stronger. Furthermore, First Nations were taken away from their parents, at a very young
age, forced onto horrific reserves. So they could be drained of their culture. When they were
released or ran away from these reserves they had to deal with many problems. Such as not
being able to understand their family members, alcoholism, culture loss, drug addiction…
Sherman Alexie writes, “I could hear the white girls’ forced vomiting, a sound so familiar and
natural to me after years of listening to my fathers’ hangovers” (108). His father’s alcoholism is
a result of the reservation schools/ the racism he faced in his youth. The affect this had on
Victor is to understand better than his father did. He learned there is more out there then just
hating what you were put through when you were young. So he took a chance and left the
reserve to attend a high school in a farm town. Growing up on a reserve and dealing with
racism up close affects one’s moral growth hugely. Victors moral growth was impacted by
Nicole Matonis
English 10 H
Synthesis Essay
June 14, 2017
racism, positively. He learned to overcome it by leaving the reserve and believed that he was
more capable than what his teachers thought. Growing up on a reserve shaped who Victor was
in all the right ways.
Being a white, privileged, male child doesn’t sound like someone who would face racism
in their everyday lives. That is not the case for Jem from To Kill a Mocking Bird. If Jem hadn’t
experienced racism the way he did his moral growth would have been impacted on differently.
With Jem being an outsider of racism, he is not used to it up close. Especially in the 1930’s Jem
had no worries because he was white. He never faced racism personally, “You aint got no
business bringin white chillen here – they got their church we got our’n…” (Lee, 158) This was
Jem’s first experience with racism. How he chooses to deal with it will affect his moral growth.
Jem lives in a very racist town. Being around all these people can affect how someone chooses
their values, someone like Jem. When Tom Robinson died Jem took it personally. He finally
came to the realization that his town is racist and imperfect! He was angry and upset, but
never spoke about his feelings, he just thought the way things turn out are unfair. “I aint ever
seen any jury in favour of a colored man over a white man” (Lee, 179). When Sykes said this
Jem’s whole moral universe changed. He opened his eyes to how racist Maycomb is, or any
town in the 1930’s. Court is supposed to be equal for all, yet the whites still had more authority
than the “colored people”. When Jem was enlightened to this information he decided that
Nicole Matonis
English 10 H
Synthesis Essay
June 14, 2017
even though he was a white privileged male, he did not want to be racist. Which has shaped
him as a person and helped develop his moral growth.
Jem and Victors’ experiences with racism differ, in that Victor faced it on a personal
level, whereas Jem was more of an outsider. Never the less, the racism they experienced
shaped their moral growths. Victor had once passed out due to having a disease that causes
seizures. When his teachers found out they believed he was drunk. Most “Indians” become
alcoholics AFTER reservation schools, because of Europeans who drained their cultures. One of
Victors teachers spoke, “What’s that boy been drinking? I know all about these Indian kids.
They start drinking real young.” (Sherman, 109) Victor was not drunk; he was sick. With Victor’s
teachers assuming he’s been drinking makes him feel less than everyone else. Since his father
was an alcoholic a comment like that might’ve shook him on a personal level as well. Jem at
last realizing the racism in his town makes him not want to continue or encourage racist people.
when he is older he will make a change. He believes the system is unfair. Racism played an
immense role on Jem. His opinions about the subject are not proud, or good: “I never wanta
hear about that courthouse again, ever, ever, you hear me?” (Lee, 131) Jem was so amazed that
people are still able to be racist in a courthouse, where everyone is supposed to be equal. The
experiences are different between Jem and Victor, but still vastly impacted their moral growths.
Nicole Matonis
English 10 H
Synthesis Essay
June 14, 2017
To conclude, racism affects moral growth greatly. Whether it is experienced from an
outside perspective or personally. Both Jem and Victor changed as people due to their
encounters with racism. Victor’s experiences are up close and personal; he was discriminated
against. Essentially all this made him a stronger person. Jem wasn’t discriminated against for
his skin color or race, but he did start noticing the racism in his town and he was not okay with
it. Racism had a different influence on Jem and Victor, but without a doubt made a difference
in their moral growths. If Jem and victor switched their experiences with racism, would their
moral growths have been influenced differently?