Examples Of Racial Tension In To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird took place during the 1930s, a period shortly after the American civil war in Maycomb County, Alabama, the deep south where black people suffered from racism and discrimination. In this book, Tom Robinson was accused of raping a white woman, which was something that he’s never done, even though all the evidence proved that he did not violate that white woman, Tom was judged guilty because he was a black man. Racism is presented throughout the entire book especially when Scout got teased by her family about Atticus taking Tom’s case, and the townspeople's perception about Atticus, as well as during the trial of Tom Robinson.

Harper Lee wrote To Kill A Mockingbird during a time where racism was prevalent. The book highlights many different ways racism occurred. It also shows what growing up as a child, in this case specifically a young girl, is like in the south during the time of the great depression.

In the 1962 novel, To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee, shows how racism can impact a society in a negative way through character construction because it is a reoccurring problem. In chapter 15; while Tom Robinson awaits his trial, he is transferred to the Maycomb jail. At ten o’clock pm, Atticus is on his way to the jailhouse; Scout, Jem, and Dill follow secretively. When Atticus got to the jail, he sat outside the doors and read; meanwhile the kids are hiding and spying on him. In the middle of Atticus is reading, four cars pull up, a group of men get out of the cars and tell Atticus to move away from the jailhouse doors. The men want Tom Robinson to get released; so that they can severely beat him and possibly murder him, simply because of the color of his skin.  The characters in To Kill a Mockingbird are all constructed differently. Some characters are constructed to be extremely closed-mindedly prejudice, while others are constructed to be open-minded and accepting of differences. Although the book is set in an earlier generation, concepts of the book are extremely relevant today.

The article Racial Segregation is making America Sick, published by The Atlantic magazine, discussed racial segregation in the Unites States of America and the many effects it has on the quality of life of civilians. The topic of the article related to one of the major themes in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird: Racism. Lee used racism as a major theme throughout the novel and as the main reason for the false accusation and persecution of one of the characters, Tom Robinson. This case heavily affected the Finch family and Tom Robinson's widow Helen. The man defending Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch, was affected by this case because it altered his reputation in the town and put his children's safety at risk. After agreeing to take on the case,

The southern United States in 1930’s was filled with segregation, racism, and prejudice. This brings back to mind what a wise man once said “Those who want to live, let them fight, and those who do not want to fight in this world of eternal struggle do not deserve to live” (Adolf Hitler). Today’s society is not pleased with the idea of hate against specific groups of people. However, everyone judges someone solely on their appearance every once in awhile. To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, focuses on these judgements and points them out to everyone in an exaggerated way. The main theme of To Kill A Mockingbird is about how people are quick to judge others because of their appearance. While this isn’t necessarily

How would you react if you were falsely accused of a crime when all of your life you had been a good man. However, the catch was you were African American.  A white man’s word against your own. What would be running through your mind? This is exactly the kind of question that was running through Tom Robinson’s mind in this novel. During the 1930s, discrimination against targeted groups of society was prevalent, but small victories occurred to combat this issue in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. From Tom Robinson’s trial, to various stereotypes being broken, and the incidents that took place in Calpurnia’s church for colored people. All of these factors contribute to the purpose behind this novel’s meaning.

The slave mindset of white families and slaveowners continued after the abolishment of slavery in 1865 in the form of segregation which was enforced by state and local governments through the use of Jim Crow laws. The levels of racism in the 1930s versus the lower levels of racism in the present correspond with the decline of Jim Crow laws beginning in the mid-20th century, which affected the societal status of black people, their economic status, and their continued effect on today’s laws.

“Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.” – Rosa Parks

Racism is the belief that characteristics and abilities can be attributed to people simply based on their race and that some racial groups are superior to others. This has been a problem in our world forever. In to Kill a Mockingbird there are so many racist events and it reflects on the society as a whole till this day. The book setting was the 1930’s in a small county of Maycomb, where most people were racist and discriminatory. People think racism has died off, but it is still a huge problem. People choose to raise their children and teach them that racism is okay and that is how there is still racism today. There are so many statistics out there based on skin color that right there is even racist if everyone is equal why are there polls being taken separating people by the color of their skin?

“The boy worked for me for 8 years and he hasn’t done any trouble.” This is what Link Deas shouted out in court in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This trial took place in the 1930s in Maycomb county Alabama. This trial was about a girl that claimed she was rapped Mayella Ewell by a black man named Tom Robinson. Atticus was his lawyer that fought hard to win this trial. He has two kids Jem and Scout and their friend Dill came and watched the trial with them up on the balcony with the black people. Although most citizens of Maycomb lived with racists beliefs, there were people in town, other than the Finches, who supported equality for all people, white or black.

There are different ways of destructive behavior in the world and humanity by ruining our beliefs, and morals. There is also jealousy, anger, ignorance, judgement, equality rights and most of all racism. Being racist is the most horrific kind of prejudice in society, and in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird the author uses many literary devices to emphasize the theme of racism through the eyes of little children. For instance, what happened to Bob Ewell, Tom and Helen Robinson, can negatively affect people’s lives. Racial prejudice clouds one’s ability to make sound decisions.

How different people in Maycomb view the issue of race affects how those people treat others.

Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”. However, throughout history, many people, particularly women, minorities, and the poor, were not treated as equals. This injustice was especially prevalent in the Southern United States. Throughout most of its history, the American South was a place where women weren't allowed to pursue their dreams and aspirations. It was a place where African Americans were once kept as slaves, and until as recently as 1964, African Americans had to use separate water fountains, sit in the back of the bus, and send their children to segregated schools. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird encompasses the deep-seated racial prejudice, classism, and sexism in the 1930s Southern United States.

Rosa Parks, civil rights activist said “Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome”. Racism is a real issue and it's not going away. We may not be able to change it now but it is our jobs as a society to prepare our future generations to face this issue. Racism is the brutal and unkind treatment of blacks like Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird he was unfairly convicted of a crime because he was a black man accused of raping a white woman.

The racial concerns that Harper Lee addresses in To Kill a Mockingbird began long before her story starts and continued long after. In order to sift through the many layers of prejudice that Lee exposes in her novel, the reader needs to understand the complex history of race relations in the South.