Effects Of Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

How does racism affect a story? As a kid in the 1930s, Harper Lee grew up when there was hardly any equality for African Americans. Harper Lee’s only novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is heavily based off of prejudice and racism from her childhood. In her book, she writes about racial discrimination through the eyes of a six year-old girl, named Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch, during the Great Depression. Her and her family are deeply tied into racism and prejudice involved throughout this story. Racism in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is ever apparent as the story is located in a small southern town in Alabama; it is reflected upon three of the main characters: Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch, Jem Finch and their father, Atticus Finch.

“The scars and stains of racism are still deeply embedded in the American society.” US Representative, John Lewis said this in his return to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial he spoke on 54 years ago, during the March on Washington. Racism has been around since the beginning of time, but it is not human nature. Racism is something that is taught, and given the amount of time that has passed since To Kill A Mockingbird and the March on Washington, one would think that racism wouldn’t be a serious issue any more. Although race relations have improved along with other social issues from the time of To Kill Mockingbird, racism and discrimination are major problems in today’s society.

Maycomb, Alabama was a town of racism and discrimination against everyone. They discriminated everyone from being black, white, poor, and even just for being a bit strange. But what they didn’t realize is “…there's just one kind of folks. Folks."(Lee 259) The courtroom in Maycomb was still separated by the color of skin, the economic structure and even by gender. This was considered a normal thing in Alabama; everyone knew that the only people with power were the white men. They were the only ones who could do anything and led to much hatred all around just because of the supremacy of certain

First of all, Tom Robinson’s family has been greatly affected by the case. After being convicted, in addition to being sent away to jail, his wife Helen also faces discrimination. Jem asks Calpurnia, “I know Tom Robinson’s in jail an’ he’s done somethin’ awful, but why won’t folks hire Helen?” She responds with “It’s because of what folks say Tom’s done,[...]Folks aren’t anxious to—to have anything to do with any of his family”(chap.12). Racism being the reason that Tom goes to jail, and also the reason that no one will hire Helen anymore, proving how despair to the community through racism. Because of this prejudice, an innocent family becomes social outcasts within the town, which would be detrimental because in a small town like Maycomb, people need to stick together to be able to live a good life. Another way in which racism victimizes someone, when Bob Ewell spits on Atticus. He was leaving the post office: “Mr. Ewell approached him, cursed him, spat

Racism causes people to lose all compassion and sympathy for their fellows. Being a southern town during the Great Depression, Maycomb is a society where racism against African-Americans is still goes on. Atticus proves this when he says, “Why people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don’t pretend to understand” (117). The citizens of Maycomb shocked by this behavior when Atticus is asked to defend Tom Robinson, an African-American who has been accused of raping a white girl. Unfortunately, there is only one possible solution for this trial, and Tom Robinson is convicted. Even though the prosecution has no credible evidence, Robinson’s race is enough for the jury to convict him, because he is an African American and they lie. Atticus even states that a colored man’s word is useless against the word of a white man (295). To make matters even worse, Tom attempts to escape from prison because he can’t keep this guilt inside of him of raping a white girl; unfortunately, the decision ends up taking his

Imagine being in a society where people are judged because of the color of their skin. Tom Robinson was accused of raping Mayella Ewell. As much as, Atticus wanted to help Tom Robinson with his case. Unfortunately, Atticus lost the case to Mayella Ewell and her father Bob Ewell. It was very difficult to help an African American man with a case like his because many white people at the time disliked African Americans. Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird uses the theme of racism, which is shown through segregation, events in the school, and has situations of racism that compare to racism in the modern world.

Racism was a big issue in the town of maycomb. One big way racism represents itself is with Tom Robinson, a maycomb black man. He was convicted of raping a young female. She had proclaimed that Tom had went into her house, raped her, and beat her. Her dad states he heard screaming, ran to the house and tom was running away while his daughter was on the floor. Everyone believes her because well, he's black. No one cared about his side of the story, except for Atticus. He

A lack of knowledge about a group of people leads to racism and discrimination. The white people of Maycomb seldom interact with black members of the community, leading to a rift between the two groups.

The concept of racism has presented itself in multiple different forms throughout the town of Maycomb. While some were more flagrant and obvious, others were presented in a more sly and concealed manner. But regardless in which form it was presented in racism still had a variety of both its positive and negative effects on the society of Maycomb. Mainly, the society of Maycomb was affected in an emotional, social and or standpoint/manner, with mostly negative effects.

Racism in Maycomb is an example of an injustice that manifests itself in the example of Tom Robinson’s court case. Racism founds itself on the thought that black people are inferior to white people. It causes people to disregard every ounce of common sense and judge based on preconceived notions that the place a person is from dictates who they are. This is exactly what happens in the courts of Maycomb; the jury decides that Tom is guilty despite a large amount of evidence to the contrary. Tom says in court that he was scared that he would “hafta face up to what I didn't do” (198).

The racism in Maycomb are not stemmed from misfits of society, but rather from the ordinary people of Maycomb. This is dangerous as it regularizes racism,

names’s Tom Robinson”. Discuss the effects of racism on Maycomb citizens such as Tom and Helen Robinson,

During the 1930s in “To Kill a MOckingbird” by Harper Leek, racism was known and present. The first example is when a Maycomb citizen talks about Atticus defending Tom's life, “..yeah, but Atticus aims to defend him. Thats what I don't like about it”(163). White people in Maycomb look down on African Americans and they were disgusted that Atticus want to help a black man. The second example is when Atticus explains about unequal treatment of blacks to scout, “...when it's a white man's word against a black man's word, the white always wins. they’re ugly, but these are the facts of life”(252). No matter how right a black man is, the whites will prevail because to whites they see themselves as civilized people and not inferior beings. The final

In order to completely understand the historical context of racism and discrimination in the 1930s, the time at which To Kill a Mockingbird takes place, a clear and specific definition of racism is needed to prevent potential confusion. In the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, racism is defined as, “A belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.” (Merriam-Webster). This means that some people have the notion that another race -specifically blacks, in this point in time- is socially inferior to that of white people simply because they look different and may act different. They associate negative things to that specific race and belittle every person of that race no matter who they are as individuals. Most of the characters in Lee’s novel take on this racism as a

In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, racism is presented in various different characters and situations. As a prevalent theme today,both in real life and in literature, it is important for the reader to understand and recognize racism and it's impact on society. One specific example of racism, and it's effect on family situations such as Tom robinson’s, is after the trial from which tom was falsely accused and sentenced to jail, he tried to escape and got killed, people all over maycomb were gossiping over his death, one woman said:”Did you hear about?...No? Well, they say he was runnin’ fit to beat lightnin’....’ …… Just shows you, that Robinson boy was legally married, they say he kept himself clean, went to church and all that,