Examples Of Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird

The book To Kill a Mockingbird is about a small town called Maycomb in Alabama in the early 1900’s from the perspective of a young girl. This book reveals the predominance of racism in the southern United States during his time. Whites believed blacks were subordinate to themselves, treating them like trash. Although almost everyone in town went to church, they denied that an African could be equal to a white person. Only a small group of whites in Maycomb would stand up for them. Some examples of racism in To Kill a Mockingbird are Tom Robinson’s case, school, and church.

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?

Racism was a normal thing in Maycomb County, but out of the entire county Bob Ewell was the worst. “I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella.” (Lee 231) Bob Ewell refers to Tom Robinson as (a) “black nigger” on the witness stand in front of everyone. Clearly, he doesn’t care about discriminating Tom Robinson right in front of his face and also in front of the people that are in the courtroom. “As you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life…” (Lee 295). If Bob Ewell had put himself in Tom’s shoes, he would have seen how hard of a life it is for African Americans. He is one who will “cheat black men everyday of (his) life”, because of his ignorance. (Lee 295) Being racist not only hurts the victim, but ruins your reputation and your life.

Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” is set in a small Southern United States community called Maycomb during the Great Depression era. The whole book primarily revolves around segregation and racism and how it relates to Maycomb’s history. It eventually leads to the trial of Tom Robinson where he is accused of beating up and raping Mayella Ewell. Even though it was clear that Tom Robinson did not do anything wrong he was convicted by an all white jury simply because he was black. The trial of Tom Robinson and its verdict shows an example of how segregation in the court system prevents fair trials from occurring.

In “To Kill a Mockingbird” Tom Robinson (African American) was accused of raping Mayella Ewell (Caucasian female) and was sentenced guilty. “No I don’t recollect if he hit me. I mean yes I do, he hit me.” (Harper pg. 248) Mayella was testifying that Tom was guilty when she stumbled and said the truth by accident and giving Atticus (Tom’s lawyer for the case) evidence to prove that Tom was not guilty. Sadly the jury had decided not to take any of the evidence into consideration and sentencing Tom Robinson to jail. This is because Tom is African American and at the time people were very racist and think that all African Americans are all bad. This happened in the “Scottsboro Trial” as well. There were 9 guys “Scottsboro Boys”(African American) on a train

The historical Scottsboro Trial and the fictional trial of Tom Robinson in the book To Kill a Mockingbird have striking similarities that may or may not be coincidence. Both trials took place in Alabama during the same era of relentless prejudice and bias, which is a major factor in each of these cases. In both cases, the accusers were white women and the persecutors were black men; therefore the black men were immediately considered liars and “wrongdoers”, unlike the word of the white women, which was essentially the truth above the word of someone who was black. Even when the persecutors in these cases had a possible chance of being declared innocent, mobs of citizens formed to threaten them, many of whom were simply racist against

Racism played a big role in both Tom Robinson and the Scottsboro Boys trial. Racism led both cases to end with the same conclusion. Despite Atticus and Samuel tenaciously proving that the men were not guilty, for instance, Tom Robinson had a bad arm, which he could not have possibly hit Mayella with and many of the Scottsboro boys had their own physical weak points, the men were still wrongly convicted. Since the beginning when Tom Robinson and the Scottsboro boys first stepped foot into the courtroom their fates had already been sealed. They would be trialed unfairly because they were African American men being accused of raping white women "they couldn’t be fair if they tried. In our courts when it’s a white man's word against a black mans,

One of the biggest themes in To Kill A Mockingbird is racism. The story takes place during 1963 in Maycomb, Alabama. At that time slavery was legal and many people in the South had slaves and treated them badly. The theme of racism is very significant to the story because Scout is a kid and doesn’t really understand why people are racist, she thinks everyone should be treated the same. The trial scene was very important because it was one of the first times Scout experienced major racism especially when they took a white man’s word over a black man just because he is white, there was undeniable evidence proving that Tom was innocent, and how it took the jury 5 hours to come to a consensus.

The most common prejudice people encounter is that of race. During Tom Robinson’s trial this type of prejudice is shown. Tom was a black man accused of raping a white woman, a crime that is punishable by the death penalty. Even though all of the evidence should prove him innocent, the jury still found him guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt. The justice system didn’t allow this man to have a fair trial because of racial prejudice. The character Jem was heartbroken by consequence of racism “His face was streaked with angry tears, ‘it ain’t right’ he muttered.” (212). The jurors had disregarded Tom’s credibility or that of the other witnesses. All they could focus on was his race because they could not see though the frost in that window.

How would you feel if you lived in a town where everyone discriminates you because of your color and treats you different only because your different and do you think that it would be fair to you and those around you? People these days believe that they have more power than others because they look different if they were put in there shoes they wouldn’t think the same and you wouldn’t too. Some people thinks that black man doesn’t compare with white men and they think they shouldn’t have any power when the truth is there is nothing truly different between them. The characters in TKAM live in a diverse community where blacks are different from whites in not the best ways. In that community they experience racism towards the people around them and sometimes to themselves as well. People in TKAM treat other people differently based on there color no matter what the situation is the white man always has more power than colored.

In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the trial with Tom Robinson a black man convicted of a crime elucidates racism. The trial evidences that even some of the political leaders can be biased towards one side. In the trial, the jury is one example of those biased leaders. Harper Lee establishes the existence of racism in the novel through many illustrations throughout the story showing that the jury is against Tom for being a black man, and the community is also attacking Atticus for defending Tom.

Racism has been a huge issue for hundreds of years. Especially in the setting that the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, takes place in. In the south during the 1930s, racism was a major problem. It was so common that children were raised to be racists, however Jem and Scout were raised differently. Atticus, their father, was a great man and did not follow the other community members in acting racist.

For example, Tom Robinson, an African American man, is convicted of raping and beating Mayella Ewell, a young white woman. While in court Atticus Finch, Toms lawyer,

“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

Imagine what it would be like to be black in the time of change in the United States. People are always thinking that you came to steal their jobs just because you need to make a living in order to live. Harper Lee used historical references to write her book. The Great Depression was a time of great change for Americans. People were moving places and finding jobs in order to live and make it through the time period. Times were hard for blacks because the whites were totally unwilling to let them join society. Riots, mobs and conflicts were happening all over because people could not help but get the fact that other people needed jobs besides themselves. They just could not take the change that was happening and that is when racism