In the opening chapters of “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Harper Lee introduces several subtle instances of racism. However, when Jem and Scout are welcomed into Cal’s Church in chapter 12, the reader really gets to travel behind the false disguise of Maycomb County’s white society to see the harsh realities of the injustices suffered by the blacks. The black community is completely separate from the whites -- in fact, Cal lives in a totally different part of town!
Another example of total racial segregation is the fact that Jem and Scout have never been to “that part of town,” so they are unfamiliar with the Church’s way of singing hymns (“lining”), and they don’t understand “nigger talk.” Even Lula, one of the black church members, says, “they got their church, we got our’n.”
Poverty is another injustice suffered by the blacks. Their First Purchase Church is very old and worn out. The paint is cracked and peeling, it has no ceiling, there’s a rough oak pulpit, and cheap cardboard fans must be used to keep the congregation cool. There is no piano, organ or church program in sight, and the whole church has to share one hymnbook! The graveyard contains only a few expensive headstones, with most graves merely outlined by broken glass. A further degradation occurs during the rest of the week, when the church building is used by whites for gambling.
A majority of the black community is illiterate because there are no schools for blacks in Maycomb County. Their only way of learning is from their parents or another elder. For example, Mrs. Buford taught Cal, and Cal taught her son, Zeebo. Consequently, only four blacks in the whole church can read.
In Tom Robinson case, he has virtually no chance of winning strictly due to his race. During his trial, Bob Ewell accuses Tom of raping his girl. Even though the Ewells are considered to be the “white trash” of Maycomb County, nearly all of white community supports them because they are white and Tom is black.
Despite all of these injustices, Chapter 12 also creates a feeling of support and sympathy for the black community. For example, even though they’re oppressed, the black community still has a sense of pride. Their church is called First Purchase because it was paid for with the first earnings of freed slaves. This shows the black’s great devotion to their religion.
Montgomery, William. Under Their Own Vine and Fig Tree: The African-American Church in the South. Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press, 1993. Print.
He thinks he will win. The court case is based purely on the fact that he is white and Tom Robinson is a black man. The court case is the biggest white and black split in the novel. The case is based on witness statements. There are two statements.
Dr. Wimberly also spoke about how slavery caused tremendous pain in the black church. The word “wholeness,” he wrote, mea...
“Indeed, bribery, favoritism, and corruption in a great variety of forms were rampant not only in politics, but in all levels of society” (David McCullough). In her novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee enthralls us by demonstrating the racism, violence, and abuse evident in the American South during the era before World War II. She relates this through a semi-autobiographical narrative, recalling her coming of age amid the tension of social inequality. The protagonist, Scout, and her brother, Jem, realize the faults in their society for the first time, contrasting the ills of reality to what they wish to perceive. Through their innocence, they are able to perceive the existence of racism and gender inequality evident in their town, without being directly influenced by them yet.
The African Methodist Episcopal Church also known as the AME Church, represents a long history of people going from struggles to success, from embarrassment to pride, from slaves to free. It is my intention to prove that the name African Methodist Episcopal represents equality and freedom to worship God, no matter what color skin a person was blessed to be born with. The thesis is this: While both Whites and Africans believed in the worship of God, whites believed in the oppression of the Africans’ freedom to serve God in their own way, blacks defended their own right to worship by the development of their own church. According to Andrew White, a well- known author for the AME denomination, “The word African means that our church was organized by people of African descent Heritage, The word “Methodist” means that our church is a member of the family of Methodist Churches, The word “Episcopal refers to the form of government under which our church operates.”
Nelle Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird has been considered one of the classic works of American literature. To Kill A Mockingbird is the work ever published by Nelle Harper Lee, and it brought her great fame. However, Nelle Harper Lee has published several other articles in popular magazines. Nelle Harper Lee is not an individual who desires to be in the light and little is known about her personal life. At the time it is believed she is possible working on her memoirs. The fictional work of To Kill A Mockingbird plots many elements close to real events in America’s struggle over civil rights.
Harper Lee’s timeless classic To Kill A Mockingbird follows protagonist Scout Finch as she recollects several years of her childhood in the south during the 1930s. Set in the racially charged depression era town of Maycomb, Alabama, Scout tells of the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman, in which Scout’s father Atticus is the defence attorney. As the story opens, Scout mirrors the racist views of her community. However as time progresses, Scout is exposed to a plethora of characters from whom she gains wisdom. By the end of the story, Scouts views have evolved, and she has gained a widen view of the world and the injustices within it. One of the most prominent teachers in Scout’s life is Calpurnia, a black woman
...g goes crazy at this statement and accept the Ewell’s racism.The whole town takes the side of the Ewell family in the court case. The town favors the caucasian man over the African American man, even though there is more evidence against Mr. Ewell than that posed against Tom Robinson. No one wants to step up against racism because then they will be despised by the town.
Jem and Scout are going to Calpurnia’s First Purchase church for the first time. Jem and Scout are the children of Atticus, a prominent white lawyer in Maycomb, and Calpurnia is their African American cook and nanny. Scout, the narrator, is describing her less-than-flattering view
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee seems like a complete replica of the lives of people living in a small Southern U.S. town. The themes expressed in this novel are as relevant today as when this novel was written, and also the most significant literary devices used by Lee. The novel brings forward many important themes, such as the importance of education, recognition of inner courage, and the misfortunes of prejudice. This novel was written in the 1930s. This was the period of the “Great Depression” when it was very common to see people without jobs, homes and food. In those days, the rivalry between the whites and the blacks deepened even more due to the competition for the few available jobs. A very famous court case at that time was the Scottsboro trials. These trials were based on the accusation against nine black men for raping two white women. These trials began on March 25, 1931. The Scottsboro trials were very similar to Tom Robinson’s trial. The similarities include the time factor and also the fact that in both cases, white women accused black men.
Although most discrimination appears as white people against African American people, there is one case where the discrimination appears as African American people against white people. On a Sunday when Jem and Scout’s father, Atticus, is not home, Calpurnia, their cook, takes the two children to her church. Once there they were confronted by a woman named Lula. She is racist against white people, and shows it by saying, “‘I wants to know why you bringin’ white chillun to n***er church’” (Lee 158).
This book causes the reader to learn more about an otherwise relatively unknown woman in history, and the tenacity she showed in order to obtain rights that many Americans so often take for granted. Not only did Rebecca gain her freedom from slavery, rise in the religious ranks of the Moravian church, and achieve monumental religious status, as she was among the first women to be ordained as a deaconess, be administered Communion, and become ordained in western Christianity, she was also willing to face the consequences of sharing her beliefs knowing full well the extent of her decision. Sensbach also shares information about how the Protestant church developed as a result of Christianity being blended with African American religions and cultures. Although Sensbach does not make a direct connection between Rebecca and the development of the first black church, through Rebecca’s trials one is able to get a glimpse at what African Americans may have faced as a result of their faith. Additionally, her efforts and willingness to risk her freedom helps to show just how far people were willing to go for their religious liberty. Lastly, Rebecca set a precedent not only for African American women, but for African Americans and women in general as her efforts helped to inspire others and change the way that African Americans and women were viewed in the religious
Racism presents itself in many ways in the town of Maycomb. Some are blatant and open, but others are more insidious. One obvious way that racism presents itself is in the result of Tom Robinson’s trial. Another apparent example is the bullying Jem and Scout had to endure as a result of Atticus’s appointment as Tom Robinson’s defense attorney. A less easily discernible case is the persecution of Mr. Dolphus Raymond, who chose to live his life in close relation with the colored community.
Scout Finch is not the stereotypical girl from the 1930’s. Agents the wishes of everyone around her, she grows up in overalls instead of dresses. Scout plays in the dirt and sand, instead of in the kitchen. In the novel To Kill a Mocking Bird, by Harper Lee, Scout is the wild spirited narrator, growing up in the small town of Maycomb. As she gets older, she learns mostly from her father Atticus how to interact with people. Scout learns to show dignity and respect to everyone, under any circumstances.
As a result, this dramatic and deeply moving novel takes us into the world of Jem and Scout, in a journey that teaches both the characters and the readers about lessons in life that we witness everyday and learn from, growing and maturing, day by day. The main problems that were faced in the book were of: prejudice and hate, people judging others, and the inequality between the treatment of men and women. These are problems that are faced in places by people, everyday, even today, and together we must work to overcome these problems and unite, every person equal to any other.