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What Two Canonical Novels Tell Us About Linguistic Prejudice In United States Courts, Charlotte Van Voorhis
What Two Canonical Novels Tell Us About Linguistic Prejudice In United States Courts, Charlotte Van Voorhis
The Yale Undergraduate Research Journal
In this senior essay, I reflect on how African American English (AAE) is represented and perceived in our society. I establish that it is a regular and systematic variety of English. I investigate two novels, To Kill A Mockingbird and Their Eyes Were Watching God and whether their depictions of AAE accurately reflect its systematicity. I equate inaccurate representation in the novels with the disrespectful treatment of AAE and its speakers in the United States currently. I compare the treatment of AAE in the novels’ trials to its treatment in State of Florida vs. George Zimmerman (2013), in which Rachel …