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.
Dispersed throughout To Kill A Mockingbird are numerous illustrations of racism. Statements such as "Your father's no better than the niggers and trash he works for" (Lee 108) are common throughout the entire novel. The use of racist statements such as these seemed to bother many people who were then driven to ban Lee's book from their schools. If we look back to the times when the book was written, we can understand the use of the word "nigger." During the early twentieth century, the word "nigger" was used as commonly as many people today use the word "black." The general public either didn't realize or didn't care about how demeaning the word "nigger" was. Eventually, some African-Americans became so used to hearing it that they no longer paid any attention to it. Atticus Finch, Scout's father, however, had a different way of thinking. Although Atticus was Caucasian, he realized that the word "nigger" was wrong to say. He did not use that word and he instructed his children not to use that word either. This courtesy did not catch on. People continued to refer to African-Americans as "niggers" and called anyone who was kind to "niggers" a "nigger-lover." Scout realized this and, as she matured, she came to understand how wrong the use of the word "nigger" actually was.
In the 1930’s many African American men were wrongly accused of rape and murder. The issue of racism is brought up in the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” when Scout overhears her teacher saying that it's a great thing that this is happening to Tom Robinson because the black men are getting too comfortable thinking that they’re mighty. Racism didn’t only affect Tom Robinson, but it also affected those who supported him. The lives of Scout and her family are changed when Scouts father who is a lawyer, steps in and defends Tom Robinson. Atticus’ lawsuit affects Scout and his children in several ways. As kids who were raised to respect everyone, and not judge people by their race they seem to be the outcast in school because of this. The children in Scouts, school are not accustomed to people respecting African-Americans and as a result they taunt and harass Atticus’ children. As a result of the violence towards Scout, Scout responds to violence with violence. However, Atticus is not happy with the way Scout is handling her problems. Racism is a reoccurring theme throughout the course of the story and affects all of the main characters in several ways. Maycomb as a whole is affected because of racism and many become outcasts such as in Mrs.Dolphus Raymond's
Jean Louise Finch, known to Maycomb as Scout, is affected by racial discrimination in many ways throughout To Kill a Mockingbird. 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). By writing this event into the story, Harper Lee shows how racial discrimination can affect anyone of any race. “The society that imprisons Tom Robinson is the same one that imprisons Scout…” (Durst Johnson 301). Although their reasons for being confined are different, the same society caused it.
Irony is the opposite of what is and what seems to be. Harper Lee uses irony in
In the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, the prejudice and segregation that the African Americans were facing was very present throughout the book. We see those types of moments, where African Americans are found guilty before the trial even begun, or how African American had to change how they were to fit in to the society. African Americans changed the way they talked, the way they acted, even they way they looked, to make sure that it wouldn’t lead them to their death, and in a lot of cases it ended in just that. In a moment in the book the main character Scout and her
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.
group in his society. In the quote ." . . If I didn't take this case
The actions the black characters in the novel To kill a Mockingbird perfectly demonstrates how to act justly. Calpurnia was one of the characters who acted justly. When Calpurnia brings Jem Finch and Scout Finch to her church, Lula, another member of the First Purchase Church congregation tells Calpurnia, the housekeeper of Atticus Finch that she "ain’t got not business bringin’ white chillum here… it’s our church ain’t it Miss Cal?" (Lee,) Lula is saying that the First Purchase Church is a church for black people only, meaning the white people are not allowed. When Calpurnia brings Jem and Scout to "their" church, Lula is upset because Jem and Scout are white, so she was not pleased to see them there. However, when Calpurnia hears her prejudice comment against her kids, she defends herself by saying "It's the same God, ain't it?" (Lee,) Calpurnia is acting justly because she is defending white folks.
Mood helps in creating an atmosphere in a literary work by means of setting, theme, diction and tone. Throughout the book To kill a mockingbird the author wanted the mood to be sorrowful or vexed or just fret about how the people are acting because seeing how things were being treated or how people acted would be enough to make you feel angry or sad or worried for the people who were in the book. You always wanted to know what was going to come next or how something would end. Vex was a very prominent mood in this story and is definitely the most relevant.
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!
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.
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.
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
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
The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee contain a very engaging family who are the Cunninghams. The Cunninghams are very poor; they are people who live in the woods. They are a family who depend highly on crops. Walter Cunningham, the 'father' of the family has to work hard on the cultivation of crops because crops is the only form of wages for them. The Cunninghams have no money. Their only way to survive is through paying others with their crops. The Cunninghams are not main characters in the book, but they are characters who 'brought out' other characters' personality. Harper Lee displays that there is a lot of prejudice going on in Maycomb by putting the Cunninghams in the book. "The Cunninghams [were] country folks, farmers"(21) who are very honest people in Maycomb, they "never took anything they [could not] pay back"(23), but they are unfairly mistreated by part of the society in Maycomb.