Slavery may have been temporary, but the effects it left behind are ingrained in our culture and influences the notion that blacks are less than whites. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee reveals the adverse effects of racial prejudice. This story takes place during the Great Depression in a small Alabama town named Maycomb. In this town, one’s skin color determines his social status. One of the main protagonists, Atticus Finch, is against racism in the South and tries to correct the ways of the community by defending a black man named Tom Robinson in court. The theme that racial prejudice is the root of several wrongdoings is supported by character interactions, the culture of the time period, and numerous conflicts throughout the plot. Instances of character interactions in To Kill a Mockingbird support the idea of wrongdoings originating from racial prejudice. On pages 265 and 266, after seeing how Mr. Gilmer, the prosecuting attorney, was being so condescending and insulting to Tom Robinson in the trial, Dill began to cry from the injustice. “I don’t care one speck. It ain’t right, somehow it ain’t right to do ‘em that way. Hasn’t anybody got any business talkin’ like that - it just makes me sick.” Dill developed a conscience of how blacks were treated as less than whites and how racial prejudice was the cause for that. Atticus’s interaction with the jury also supports the theme. He provided a strong case for the jury and exposed the accuser and accusing witnesses’ of their lies, administering reasonable doubt. In most cases, they would not be able to convict the suspect if there was even a miniscule amount of doubt. However, the jury preferred Tom’s skin color over his attorney’s closing statement - they took advantage of h... ... middle of paper ... ...criticizing Atticus. Mrs. Dubose’s insults directed towards Atticus as well as blacks had caused Jem to demolish her property. Various conflicts in the plot are commonly caused by racial prejudice. Use of character interactions, Maycomb’s culture, and numerous conflicts reinforce the notion that racial prejudice is the cause of certain wrongdoings. Jem, Scout, and Dill interact with other people in the community which ultimately results in them finding out about the evils of racial segregation. The culture in Maycomb supported the theme in various manners. Numerous conflicts are encountered throughout the plot that point towards unnecessary segregation. Atticus taught his children not to interpret a person by his skin color but rather based on his actions and his viewpoint. Everyone is equal, and as Scout said: “I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.” (304).
Racial prejudice is shown greatly in this novel in Maycomb County. In the court scene in To Kill a Mockingbird there is a black section and a white section, which are segregated. The colored balcony ran along three walls of the courtroom like a second story veranda, and from it we could see everything (Lee 219). That shows an unfair segregation for the blacks because they have to sit in the balcony but the whites don’t. If a white man had committed the crime that Tom Robinson was accused of, the investigation would’ve been much more thorough. “Did you call a doctor, Sheriff?” asked Atticus. “No Sir,” said Mr. Tate (Lee 224). Just because he was a black man, they accused Tom of being guilty just because people said that he was. Although it isn’t directly related to the court scene, it is shown that there is racial prejudice when Tom runs from Mayella Ewell instead of staying so they thought him guilty for that. He would not have dared strike a white woman under any circumstances and expect to l...
...es that despite all the differences humans have, we are really more alike than not. Scout is constantly educated by her Aunt on Maycomb's different folks. She realizes that “there’s just one kind of folks. Folks” (304). Scout has finally become enlightened, a role model that everyone, even Atticus, can aspire to be like.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has become a mainstay in American high-schools. This is a classic novel that has inspired many people of all ages. It had a big impact on how people viewed and treated each other. This is a story that teaches everyone about the value of honesty, love, friendship and trust. Every word written in this book has a truly deep meaning to it. The time period that the book was written in was during the Great Depression in the 1930’s. This setting was in a small town in Maycomb, Alabama with people who did not get along. During this time there was a lot of segregation within America and different races. To Kill a Mockingbird is about a family who believes in doing the right thing and being honest. There was a court case that had gone viral about a black man who raped a white woman. A white lawyer named Atticus Finch gave his all to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. There was no evidence that showed that Tom raped Mayella Ewell and he was convicted guilty because of his color. When a black folk was accused of something they are immediately accused guilty. To Kill a Mockingbird should be taught in American high-schools because it teaches students about segregation/racism, right from wrong, and courage.
Jem and Scout had learned a lot over the years about racism, social inequality, and “the simple hell people give to each other” (269). Maycomb’s citizens are unaware of the actions they make and ignore the consequences. Certain people are judged just for their appearance such as a black man. They are judged just like the cover of a book, where Maycomb is unable to open the book and read it. Even the mockingbirds are judged unfairly due to the uncertainty of society to actually learn something about the person and understand. Ultimately, Mr. Dolphus Raymond, Mayella Ewell, and the Cunninghams are all innocent; but Maycomb’s citizens, contaminated with racism and prejudice, are unable to read and understand one another.
Abraham Joshua Heschel, a famous Jewish rabbi and philosopher, once said, “Racism is man’s gravest threat to man - the maximum hatred for a minimum reason.” This sentence said by Heschel directly reflects Harper Lee’s message about racism and hatred in her To Kill A Mockingbird. To Kill A Mockingbird revolves around an imaginary town, Maycomb, Alabama. The developing conflict is the problem of a trial against an innocent black man named Tom Robinson. His accuser, Bob Ewell is a low-class white man that wants to harm Tom to get himself a better reputation. From the story of the trial, we learn what effects racism can have on a community. Racism in communities is a leading cause of hatred against other shown by Atticus Finch and Bob Ewell in
“To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is a novel set in the 1930s in a racially prejudice town called Maycomb County. A black man is accused of raping a white girl, and although it’s clear that he did not do it, the all white jury refuse to take a black man’s word over a white girl’s. Through the innocent eyes of an eight year old girl, the theme of racial prejudice is developed throughout the novel, although at times she is oblivious to it. In this essay I am going to discuss how Lee develops the theme of racial prejudice in the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird”.
Racism is pervasive throughout the town of Maycomb, Alabama, with nearly the entire population practicing the injustice. These racist acts are apparent in To Kill a Mockingbird through the characters of Bob Ewell and Mrs. Dubose, as well as the jury for Tom Robinson’s case. They dehumanize the blacks arrogantly and ignorantly, believing they are superior due to their skin color, Even though it is an immoral act, the society separates by skin color and the population is forced between either agreeing or disagreeing with this prejudice. In conclusion, racism is a major factor intertwined in the novel, and it is executed excessively even though it is known to be wrong; however, it won’t be altered due to fear of being judged or segregated.
Author Harper Lee discusses the effects of ignorance and the toll it takes on people during the Great Depression in To Kill A Mockingbird. She portrays examples of sexism, prejudice, and racism, within the lives of the poverty-stricken citizens of Maycomb.
Tom Robinson is at the stand being questioned by Mr. Gilmer. Dill starts to feel sick because of how Mr. Gilmer is treating Tom. The narrator explains, “Well, Dill,after all he is just a negro” (Lee 266).This piece of evidence shows that prejudice is used as an antagonist in the novel by giving an unfair trial to Tom Robinson. The quote states “he is just a negro,” which shows that the trial is unfair just because of the towns racial views on people of color. The jury is all white and the case is black versus white. The jury is very biased towards the case. The prosecuting lawyers and defending lawyer are giving their closing statements. Atticus ends with a powerful speech that prove Tom is innocent and his views on race. The jury thinks over all the evidence for a long time and come to a verdict. The author of To Kill A Mockingbird quotes, “Guilty...Guilty...Guilty...Guilty…” (Lee 282). This quote shows the jury is very prejudice. There is more than enough evidence to prove Tom did not rape Mayella and that Bob Ewell beat her. Even though there is enough evidence to proves Tom’s innocence the jury’s verdict is guilty just because of their hate and their prejudice towards African Americans. Ultimately, prejudice is being used as an antagonist is very thoroughly shown throughout the entirety of the
Some readers believe that it is the focal point of the novel, however it is just another way that Lee criticises the act of stereotyping. Racism is the belief that an entire race has certain characteristics that makes it either inferior or superior to other races, it is an oversimplified image of a certain group of people. In other words, racism is a form of stereotyping. The black people in the novel are perceived as untrustworthy by the townspeople, they face the harsh stereotype that all blacks are deceitful and unsafe. African Americans were often treated as though they were of lesser value than whites. As a result, Tom Robinson was made a scapegoat only because he was an African American man that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Although Tom was not conforming to the prejudice standards society set for African Americans because he was being kind by helping Mayella Ewell with household chores, he was still accused of raping her because the town could not accept the fact that a black person was doing something selfless. Despite the amount of evidence that proves Tom’s innocence and Atticus’s plea to the jury to disregard Tom’s skin color when making their decisions, they still ruled that he was guilty only because he was black. The stereotype of black people being untrustworthy and immoral is so imbedded into the citizens’ heads that they chose to ignore evidence that proves Tom’s
The citizens of maycomb country show social prejudice by the unjustified attitude towards an individual based on the individual's membership in a family or group. When Jem observes scout on the bed she says, “There’s four kinds of folks in the world. There’s the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there’s the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes”(374). The statement that Jem says about the separation of herself and the neighbors with the Cunninghams, Ewells, and the Negroes, shows the social prejudice of the town of maycomb. The age that children think that shows that the social diversity of people in maycomb is awful. Lastly, when Atticus is speaking with a finch he states, “You, Miss Scout Finch, are the common folk. You must obey the law.” He said that the Ewells were members of an exclusive society made up of Ewell's. In certain circumstances the common folk judiciously allowed them certain privileges by the simple method of becoming blind to some of the Ewells’
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.
During the 1930’s in Maycomb, the mentality of many southern people reflected that of the nation. Harper Lee explores the idea that most people were racist and discriminatory through Jem and Scout Finch. The story writes, “Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen a Jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man”. This was said by the character Reverend Sykes and it outlines a major event in court. This was the first time, Scout and Jem got a real glimpse of the racial inequality, in Maycomb. The author, expresses the extent of this social issue, using the setting of the courtroom. Throughout the intense trial, we get to go on a journey with Jem and Scout, feeling the hope and faith that they have in their father. However, this quote creates another angle for readers consider. Jem and Scout grew up pure of heart and were taught by Atticus and Calpurnia. Calpurnia is a lovely black woman, and every day she helps the Finch family. She is a mother figure in the household, which suggests to readers that respecting a colored person is completely normal in the children’s lives. Growing up in an environment where it is normal to perceive Negroes as equals and respect them as you would a white person, separates Jem and Scout from the unjust and the provincialism world around
The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, tells the story of a nice, kind man named Atticus Finch who has to defend a black man wrongly prosecuted for this crime. The main characters are scout who you see the whole story through her eyes and Atticus who the whole conflict of the story is base around. The book takes place in Alabama in the 1930’s during the Great Depression. The story is really about the life of the Finch’s when they are put up with the conflict of Atticus having to a black man, which in the time period was not socially acceptable to anyone in the town. In the book Lee reveals the injustice of racism through the Tom Robinson case. This theme appears in the novel when Atticus is giving is closing statements, when Scout
An analysis of The Great Depression shows connections to the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird” and today’s society through prejudice, poverty, and racism shown throughout the novel.