Do you think there was racism at the time of the Great Depression? The answer to that question is yes there was racism at that time. During the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there’s a wide display of racism to show that it was set during the Great Depression in a small town called Maycomb in the 1930’s. Racism is present everywhere throughout this book, from the beginning to the end. This is developed by all the people in the town of Maycomb being racist towards African Americans, and some African Americans are being racist towards white people. Harper Lee has made Maycomb townspeople racist to show that this book was set during the Great Depression. We can tell it’s during this time period because of the way people lived and …show more content…
The townspeople were against Atticus for defending Tom because he was an African American. Atticus didn’t care what anyone said about him and continued to defend Tom. For example, in the book, Atticus states “The jury couldn’t possibly be expected to take Tom Robinson’s word against the Ewells...”(Lee, 88). What Atticus means by this is no matter how innocent Tom is the jury will still find him guilty and take Mr. Ewell's word instead of Tom’s because Tom is black. Atticus had tried the best he could to prove Tom was innocent because he isn’t racist and thinks everyone deserves the same amount of respect as everyone else no matter the color of their skin. Even when Tom was declared guilty Atticus still tried to see if he could get another trial to prove that he was innocent. (Lee). It doesn’t just stop here in the book for racism there is more all throughout the …show more content…
An example of her racism is when she states, “You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here - they got their church, we got ours.”(Lee, 119). Lula was talking to Calpurnia in front of the kids when they all walked into the church, named The First Purchase. Lula is expressing her racism towards white people because she thinks that they are all racist towards African Americans and doesn’t care if Atticus is helping Tom. She believes that since Scout and Jem are white they shouldn’t be in an African American church and should just leave and go back to their own
Discrimination and prejudice were very common acts in the early and middle 1900’s. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck prejudice is displayed by the acts of hate towards someone’s color of skin. People of color were the majority, that were treated unfairly. During this time in the southern states, black people had to use separate drinking fountains, bathrooms, churches, and even go to separate schools. Even though much of discrimination was driven towards blacks, there were plenty of accounts towards poor families by those that had money.
In the novel, there are many racist statements made, there are many points made throughout the novel that we can all learn from. Even though Atticus knows that he will lose the Tom Robinson case, he tries anyway. He doesn’t know that Jem and Scout sneak in to watch the trial, but as they watched the trial happen, they’re being taught very valuable lessons. One of those lessons being that you should try no matter what. But on the other side of things, there are characters in the book who show extreme amounts of racism and lack moral values, characters like Bob Ewell and Lula. When Calpurina brought the children to her church, “Lula stopped, but she said, “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?” Without even noticing it, Jem and Scout had just encountered a racist statement. Harper Lee has given us two types of characters, one type being the type with good morals, and true value, the other kind being the racist and the
Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird is set in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. Racism is ever present toward blacks and the trial of Tom Robinson, an African American, clearly displays this. Tom Robinson was accused of raping a white woman. The huge detail in this is that it was a white woman. Racial issues are really brought about because of that detail. People during this time would easily take a white man’s word over that of a black man, so nobody would ever trust Tom Robinson, especially since he was a black man being accused of a crime against a white woman. Tom Robinson really can’t do anything to help his case. The only person that can help him is Atticus. While Atticus does not believe that he will win the case, he knows that it is right to do everything he can to help Tom. He knows right from wrong and he will do everything in his power to help people see that, and to help Tom survive this case. Tom Robinson could also be described as a Mockingbird in this story. If proven innocent, he would be
In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there is a trial regarding Tom Robinson. Tom, has been accused of raping Ms. Mayella Ewell. Atticus, a white man, is told to defend Tom, who is black, as a defense attorney. This is not a problem for Atticus, as he is not racist, however, others dislike him because of the situation with the case. Atticus, loses the case, because of the jury disliking him, and black people.
Prejudice in the 1930’s destroyed many African-Americans chances at a normal life, how does Harper Lee show that in “To Kill a Mockingbird”? Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” is a story depicting a family (Atticus, Scout, and Jem) living in the fictional town of Maycomb county, and a world of racism. Harper Lee shows in To Kill A Mockingbird how biases of skin color won over jurys and policemen, the hard living conditions that the African-Americans had to go through, and the outcomes of whites who were against the prejudice. First of all, the living conditions after African-Americans were freed weren’t the best, houses were often shacks with walls made out of scrap.
Atticus defending Tom Robinson makes sense because of Atticus’s belief in racial equality and justice. He has told scout many times that the color of Tom’s skin, is not a good reason for Atticus not to defend him. Atticus also doesn't know why everyone
Through 1933-1935, Maycomb County has shown that people show jealousy towards others because of their appearance. The Jim Crow Era was a period between the 1880s-1960s, where local and state laws enforced racial segregation in all public facilities disenfranchised the majority of the black population. Additionally,The Great Depression was a period of severe economic depression from 1929-1939. These time periods related to the book show the Jem Crow Era by segregating the black to secluded part of the town and the Great Depression by farmers being really poor and getting hit bad by the Great Depression. Both of these events relate to the book within racism and money situations.
Atticus asks Tom why he ran away from Mayella’s home and Tom responded with “Mr. Finch, if you was a nigger like me, you’d be scared, too,” (195). Atticus feels as if it must be self-evident that a black man living at the time would rather not find themselves in any situation with a white person. The unspoken truth is that if Tom Robinson had not run, he would have most likely been killed. Dill began to cry as he watched Tom Robinson being disrespected but Mr. Raymond reminds him to “Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they’re people too,” (201). Mr. Raymond claims that people become less sensitive as time passes. Innocent children like Dill are still able to recognize the injustices between white and black people. Atticus explains to the people in the courtroom that“[...] the truth is: some negroes lie, some negroes are immoral, some negro men are not to be trusted around women-black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race in men,” (204). Atticus tries to justify the mindset of the people in the courtroom to implicate that everybody's the same. Atticus argues that if Tom Robinson was convicted, it would be because he is a human being. In that day and age, black people were already labeled with bad characteristics which made them guilty by
Firstly, Tom Robinson is just one character that is prejudged in the novel. He is accused of raping a white girl named Mayella and it is a problem to the jury that a black man is trying to defend himself in court. Atticus realizes how Tom is being treated unfairly and that it is uncommon for African Americans and white people to associate with each other. During Atticus’s speech, Mayella is accused of lying in her testimony when “she kissed a black man [which is] something that in our society is unspeakable” (Lee 272). The black man who Atticus refers to is Tom. He is ridiculed and judged by several people in the book and he gets all this
During the Great Depression, racism was a common practice in the southern states of the US. Negros and those who opposed the intolerance were often discriminated by the rest of the bias and ignorant society, who believed in white supremacy and superiority over the other races. Maycomb, a racist town, exemplify this discrimination, imperiously judging others they view as being dissimilar from themselves. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee, the author, weaves a brilliant story of prejudice, discrimination, and racism shown through the novel’s several characters and events, producing a mirror reflection of America’s racist society in the 1930’s.
In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee this book is mainly about a story about a girl named Scout, her brother Jem, and her father Atticus who deal with a case given to Atticus about a black man raping a white women while dealing with this case Atticus loses the case and has to deal with the consequences of Mr. Ewell. Yes, it does make sense for Atticus to defend Tom Robinson because this case will show that Maycomb county is full of racist people, This will also show that Tom Robinson and the black community is just like everyone else, and finally Atticus should defend Tom Robinson because Atticus is not like other people and he didn’t just give half effort for this case, he tried his hardest to help Tom Robinson. Yes, Atticus
They are treated unfairly. In this case, Tom Robinson is treated unfairly simply because of his race. And, Atticus emphasizes this with, ‘“Link, that boy might go to the chair, but, he’s not going till the truth’s told”’ (195). This strongly portrays Atticus’ belief towards Tom’s innocence. He doesn’t care that he is black. He wants the absolute truth. He wants the guilty to be declared guilty and the innocent to be declared innocent. Not the other way around. But, sometimes people don’t realize who is innocent and who is not. For example, Mr. Tate questions, ‘“Mr. Finch, do you think Jem killed Bob Ewell?”’ (365). This is just absurd. It is almost impossible picturing Jem stab a man. To think that someone would even consider that almost seems like a joke to me. Think about
However, Atticus knows since Tom is a black man he will not get a fair trail since the jury is all white and since people back then didn’t favor or teach color people this is why Atticus had to defend Tom which was a man who was wrongly accused for raping a white woman which her name was Mayella Ewell ; she was a very poor white woman the oldest of many children which was in her family .
In the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, by Harper Lee, was set in the 1930’s when racism was at a peak. The main characters are very opinionated and were “born in the wrong generation” because they don't have Maycomb's usual disease. Maycomb’s disease was racism, everyone was racist so it wasn't the best place to be someone of color. As the Finch’s grew up they began to realize that everyone is the same on the inside and color
During the 1930’s depression, there was a great divide between black and white America. There were many communities and groups who had been exposed to the same treatment and persecution as the Negroes in To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee has used a small town setting, such as that in To Kill a Mockingbird, to illustrate America’s views on white supremacy and the inferiority of the black race. The author has illustrated view that are expressed world-wide through her characters in Maycomb county.