Examples Of Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird

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.

If you’re in high school, how many times do you hear the expression “Yo, what up nigga.” This is the word that travels through the hallways of many schools and on the streets in many cities. However, do people know what the word means? That’s the problem. They don’t know what it means yet they still say the word. What does it help them achieve? Does it help them be cool? Does it help them fit into a group of people? Now we all say this word to whites, Asians, Hispanics, and even blacks, but do we think how it makes them feel? Imagine if you were African American and had ancestors get whipped, have to use a separate bathroom, and much more, and still be called a nigger. This is a problem we had back then and that we still have today. We used one word to describe

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.

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 mentality of the town can wear off on the children. After learning that Scout’s father, Atticus is defending a black man, Cecil Jacobs gets annoyed. While at school Cecil Jacobs says to Scout “My folks said your daddy was a disgrace an’ that nigger oughta hang from the water tank” (Lee 102). This show how one of Scout’s classmates verbally attacked her. This quote gives you a look at how racist Maycomb is that even children portray it. Scout would not have gotten all this hate if the person her father defended was something other than black. Although it may look one sided both sides have racial views against each other.

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird tells of a town in Alabama, called Maycomb. In this deeply-rooted racist town, there is a trial against an African American man, accused of raping a white woman. One man, however, Atticus Finch, has the opportunity to help the the man on trial. Although he knows he will lose the trial, he takes the case anyway. Atticus is respected in Maycomb, and known for his wisdom and experience. He is a good-hearted, egalitarian man who is always there and willing to provide guidance to his children and to the town of Maycomb, with his years of practice and experience.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, and in the world today there is racial and social inequality going on all around us. I am sure that there will never be true racial and social equality, but I think that it will get dramatically better. Just like it has gotten better since the 1930’s, which is the time that To Kill a Mockingbird is set in.

The novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, tells the story of Atticus Finch, a white man defending a black man, Tom Robinson, who was accused of rape. Atticus, his children Jem and Scout, live in the small town Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. With this location and time setting, Lee reveals the racial injustice of the south through the characters Tom Robinson, Bob Ewell, and Calpurnia.

Discrimination: unjust treatment of a different group of people or things. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, discrimination is visible. The one most identify with is racism, with a great deal of the story revolving Tom Robinson’s, a black man, jury case. Left in the shadows, though, is the prejudice of other characters, whom the community of Maycomb may find to be a bit on the outs. Whether it is their way of life or how they act, someone always pick up on it and calls them out. Atticus Finch is old compared to the rest of the parents of students at Scouts school, keeping him from activities like the Methodists vs Baptists football game. Boo Radley, making poor decisions as a teenager, is confined to his house twentyfour-seven and

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

The society Scout grew up in was one of judgement and classification of people by things they can not control, such as race. A clear example of the way that the community would label an African American was stated by Atticus, “Scout, nigger-lover is just one of those terms that don’t mean anything- like

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, as in a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial difference produce an inherent superiority of a particular race as well as racial prejudice or discrimination is prevalent in our country . Racism in America is a societal monster of our past that is still haunting us in our modern society as revealed in media, societal stereotypes, societal misconceptions, and the legal system. “With the election of Barack Obama as President many believed we were entering into a post-racial America, a color-blind society where racism could begin to be healed if not totally dismissed. However, a recent Associated Press poll has shown that this is not the case (AP, 2012). In fact, racial prejudice has increased slightly since 2008”, (Ponds 3), Many Americans think that we as a whole are past racial prejudice however it is not the truth.

Racial Discrimination is the unrightful behavior or favoritism over someone based on their race. Many people are affected on a daily basis because of the race they are born. The story “To Kill A Mockingbird,” by Harper Lee is fictional and is based on a real life situation about a black man being mistakenly accused of raping a white woman because of his race. The non-fiction article “Justice on Trial: Racial Disparities in the American Criminal Justice System” by Wade Henderson, proves that police officers are too quick to judge black people and believe that they are criminals by their race. “Montgomery Boycott” by Coretta Scott King is another non-fictional article about black people being treated worse than animals and how white people think of them.