To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

1431 Words3 Pages

What would you do if you were African American and someone called you a “nigger”, what would you do? How would you react? In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, black and white people are segregated due to crucial situations between both races. In the novel, the message is: ”you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it" (Lee 39). In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the discrimination towards black people, which limits and destroys who they are include the everlasting racial segregation in black society, the bitterness and cruelty towards the Finch family and black community from Bob Ewell and Mrs. Dubose view because both want to reproduce racial segregation in society, and how black people, including Tom Robinson were treated during the trial.

First of All, discrimination toward black people, which limits and destroys who they are include the excruciating racial segregation in black society include the discrimination at Calpurnia’s church, where the black people have to sit during the trial and where black people live in Maycomb because of racial segregation. The racial segregation at Calpurina's church, against white people is astonishing. Lulu, one of the black lady's at Calpurnia's church was discriminating Scout and Jem because they are white folks. In the novel, Lulu asks Calpurnia, “I want to know why you bringin' white chillum to nigger church?" (158). Lulu is asking this question because since the black people are not allowed to attend white church, why should white people be allowed to attend black church? Therefore, the discrimination toward black people, which limits and destroys who they are is one of three exam...

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...iscrimination towards black people, which limits and destroys who they are include the everlasting racial segregation in black society, the bitterness and cruelty towards the Finch family and black community from Bob Ewell and Mrs. Dubose view because both want to reproduce racial segregation in society, and how black people, including Tom Robinson were treated during the trial. In the 1930’s, discrimination all around the United States was occurring. If I were to be living in this era, I would be like Atticus and be open to socialize with everyone. I would like to be like him because although everyone is not the same on the outside, they are the same on the inside. So, if you were African American and someone called you a “nigger”, What would you do? how would you react?

Works Cited

Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York, NY: Grand Central, 1982. Print.

Character Analysis Of Tom Robinson In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee
734 Words | 2 Pages
Racism spread like a disease through the town and children walked around easily calling blacks derogatory terms. One day after school Scout came home and explained to her father how her day went. She said that the children were calling Atticus a nigger lover. Scout addressed, “You aren’t actually a nigger lover are you?” (Lee, 124). Her father, shocked at first, replied informatively, “I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody" (Lee, 124). What Atticus meant, was that he tries to be kind to everybody no matter their skin color. Scout does not realize that calling blacks “niggers” is bad, and that you have to call them “negroes”. A reader of this novel could infer that Scout did not know that she cannot use that word because she hears kids at schools say it all the time. All of this indirectly relates to Tom and how he was a black man that was constantly being taunted by hateful terms because he was just there, like a mockingbird. He never fought back, instead he stayed
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To Kill A Mockingbird Condescending Analysis
916 Words | 2 Pages
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, the attitude towards black people can be seen as quite sympathetic from those who defend Tom Robinson and yet at the same time it was condescending. Throughout the entirety of the text, many examples display this theory. Although it is not actually stated how the attitude towards black people in the text is meant to be intended. Many people debate that although the characters in the novel were sympathetic; they were also still condescending on many occasions. The attitude was condescending in the way that there was an expectation that the “white people” needed to help them. A sympathetic approach is then also shown in that some characters of the text were willing to assist against racism. It is unclear whether Lee intended the novel to be sympathetic or condescending and this can be seen through many themes and
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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
630 Words | 2 Pages
Harper Lee has incorporated the representation of her most meaningful statement in the title of her novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. The many points of discussion which surface in Lee's book would certainly have partially submerged the parallel she created between Tom Robinson and the mockingbird.
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Racism in American Schools
778 Words | 2 Pages
Atticus Finch does not let anyone else's opinion affect what his beliefs are. In chapter eleven of "To Kill a Mockingbird," Atticus explains to Scout what a "nigger-lover" is. He tells Scout, "It's hard to explain-ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody's favoring Negroes over and above themselves. It slipped into usage with some people like ourselves, when they want to use a common, ugly term to label somebody" (Lee 113). Obviously, Atticus doesn't believe the term is funny or clever. The southern town of Maycomb, Alabama had adopted this term as a racial slur. All throughout the trial of Tom Robinson, racist white people judged Atticus for defending a black man. This racism has now been transferred into schools across the country.
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Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird
1363 Words | 3 Pages
The novel’s narrator is a young girl by the name of Scout. Her father, Atticus Finch, is assigned by the Alabama town’s judge to defend Tom Robinson. This stirs up much trouble around the county, as people begin to take sides on the case before it has even come to trial. Scout comes to encounter trouble around school when fellow schoolmates begin to give her grief. In the school yard, Cecil Jacobs announced to the class “that Scout Finch’s daddy defended niggers” (Lee 74). Scout gets into a fight over this because an announcement like that is considered an insult. Later in the novel, Scout even finds hostility within her family. Her cousin Frances said that Atticus is “nothing [sic] but a nigger-lover” (Lee 83). This action is representative of the respo...
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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
1073 Words | 3 Pages
Often times, literature reflects the problems within a society. An author finds their character’s struggles and triumphs in the people of each era. Inspirations from real life events fuel not only great literature but also books that become remarkable social pieces. A perfect example is Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. This novel is reflective of the 1930’s era. In the story racism runs rampant through society with only a noble few trying to stop it. The racism that is apparent and a focal point for the novel is, although fiction, closely matched to that of a racist era in America. Racism represents fear of the unknown in many themes in the book as well as in the daily aspect of life.
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Scout's Path To Maturity
699 Words | 2 Pages
The differences in social class and distaste between the blacks and the whites are clear in the small town of Maycomb. So clear that most of the town’s children are quickly catching on. This racial discrimination is also known as ‘Maycomb’s disease.’ When the news had gone around town about Atticus fighting for Tom Robinson, the disease got even worse. Children at school were taunting Scout telling her Atticus is a “nigger lover”. It wasn’t until Atticus said “It's never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn't hurt you.” (Lee, 108) that Scout realized how discriminatory those people were. She also experiences this at Calpurnia’s church when Lula tells Calpurnia "You ain't got no business bringin' white chillun here—they got their church, we got our'n. It is our church, ain't it, Miss Cal?" (119) This is where Scout’s shift of view begins as an adult problem begins disrupting her little happy world and she realizes she can’t do much about it.
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To Kill A Mockingbird Racism Examples
782 Words | 2 Pages
In “To Kill a Mockingbird” there are many examples of racism. During the 1960s when the book was published, racism was acceptable and Black people were constantly dominated and ridiculed by Caucasian people. This novel written by Harper Lee is based on racism against Black people and the refusal of people to treat everyone equally.
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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
628 Words | 2 Pages
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!
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Racism: The Reaction of a Southern Population
703 Words | 2 Pages
Think back to a time when you have felt utterly powerless. That was the same feeling that many African Americans felt in the first half of the twentieth century. The time period was filled with hate and ignorance towards minorities, especially in the American South. This is the setting of Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Characters like Tom Robinson are subjected to the community’s hate and arrogance and end up in situations with little or no control of their fate. The central theme, racism, in To Kill a Mockingbird shows that African Americans were not accepted as equals in Maycomb County, the geographical location the story occurs, children like Jem and Scout Finch who were left perplexed by inequality and prejudice, and the citizens of the county who accepted racism and did nothing to better the situation for African Americans.
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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
2185 Words | 5 Pages
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.
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Racial Slurs In To Kill A Mockingbird Essay
920 Words | 2 Pages
In the book, Atticus Finch individually defends a black man because he realizes it’s the right thing to do. However, in the grand scheme of things, Atticus actually putting in an effort to defend a black man didn’t make a very large dent in the town’s overall attitude towards black people because he is, no matter what others thought of him, just one man. Practically every student receiving a public education in the United States today reads that book. They realize where racism started and grow compassionate for Tom because of the social injustice he faced throughout the book. It’s important for kids to keep reading these kinds of books, so we don’t go backwards in our efforts to stop racism.
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Theme Of Civil Disobedience In To Kill A Mockingbird
560 Words | 2 Pages
was Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. In this novel Atticus is defending Tom Robinson in his case. He was called a, “Nigger-lover is just one of those terms that don't mean anything—like snot-nose. It's hard to explain—ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody's favoring Negroes over and above themselves…. I certainly am [a nigger-lover]. I do my best to love everybody” (Lee 144). This quote illustrate how Atticus has nothing against colored people and treats them as how he would treat his normal clients. During his court trial, the white people kept on questioning why he defends Tom Robinson. “’If you shouldn't be defendin' him, then why are you doin' it?’ ‘For a number of reasons,’ said Atticus” (Lee 100). Atticus knows that society wouldn’t accept his actions and thus, he is practicing civil disobedience. Like King, Finch also practice civil disobedience in the name of
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Examples Of Discrimination In To Kill A Mockingbird
1302 Words | 3 Pages
First of all, Bob Ewell shows discrimination against Tom Robinson through the claim of his daughter’s rape committed by Tom, which was proven to not have happened, and the use of the derogatory term “nigger”. Secondly, Miss Maudie shows racism to the African American population by referring to an African-American in Nathan Radley’s collard patch as a “negro”, a derogatory term. Thirdly, Nathan Radley shows discriminatory racism toward the same African-American in his collard patch mentioned in the previous sentence by shooting at him, which was a failed attempt, and referring to him as a “nigger”, an offensive insult directed at African-American people. Finally, Aunt Alexandra shows sexism toward Scout by implying that she isn’t a “proper lady” unless she wears and does whatever Aunt Alexandra perceives as ladylike. In conclusion, there are many, many examples of discrimination towards people of all walks of life in To Kill A Mockingbird, the most prominent of them being racism and sexism. Discrimination is a horrible thing to be inflicted with and the human race should all work together to exterminate it from its source: us. We must keep an open mind to accept people of all races, religions, genders, sexualities, cultures, and personalities to make the world a more welcoming and friendly place for
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To Kill A Mockingbird Essays: Discrimination and Prejudice
1388 Words | 3 Pages
The novel TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee has numerous accounts of racism and prejudice throughout the entire piece. The novel is set in the 1930's, a time when racism was very prevalent. Although bigotry and segregation were pointed in majority towards blacks, other accounts towards whites were also heard of, though not as commonly. There are acts that are so discreet that you almost don't catch them, but along with those, there are blatant acts of bigotry that would never occur in our time. Lee addresses many of these feelings in her novel.
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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Character Analysis Of Tom Robinson In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

To Kill A Mockingbird Condescending Analysis