How Did Racism Impact Maycomb County?

Racism is one issue that is portrayed a few times throughout To Kill A Mockingbird. The

There are many racism problems in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus is a lawyer in the racist state of Alabama and he is trying to defend a man by the name of Tom Robinson after he got accused for raping a white woman. Atticus knows that nobody is going to believe Tom’s side of the story because he is black in the racist state of Alabama. Through Atticus’s morals the reader learns that he feels obligated to help this

the real case of Emmett Till, in which an innocent man was persecuted simply because the color of skin was not favored with the all white jury. A case very similar to this can be seen within To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel used to bring up the topic of racism. Harper Lee uses her book To Kill a Mockingbird to bring awareness to racism by demonstrating how it can bring despair to a community. Although, people who fight against racism can bring hope to those who have been effected.

An example that we can see of this theme is the conflict of the Tom Robinson case. Being black played a part in everyone thinking that he could have been the one who raped and hit Mayella. When the Town's people hear that Tom will be defended by Atticus they become infuriated “ Your father's no better than the niggers trash he works for !”(135) , this shows how the town has turned against Atticus because he will be defending Tom Robinson a black colored skin person. In addition to the adults dissing on the fact that Atticus will be defending a black the town's kids are also dissing about it when Cecil Jacobs tells Scout, “ My folks said your daddy was a disgrace an’ that nigger oughta hang from the water-tank!”(102). The town of Maycomb has turned against Atticus for defending Tom, who has been accused of raping and hitting a white

“I’m simply defending a negro--his name’s Tom Robinson...Scout, simply by the nature of work, every lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally. This one’s mine…”(100, Lee). In the town of Maycomb the people are racist to black people. They live next to the dump, they get no respect, and treated like crap. Atticus

The book To Kill a Mockingbird is about prejudice in the 1930’s. The book takes place in Maycomb, Alabama, during the Great Depression. This is significant because slavery ended but prejudice was common. Atticus Finch, a white character in the novel, defended a black man in court after he was accused of raping a white girl. The defendant, Tom Robinson, is a strong, black man.

In the book, Harper Lee illustrates several examples during Tom Robinson’s trial to display racism through a young person’s point of view. Lee uses Scout’s purity to prove that we are not born racist, it is a developed trait. When Atticus Finch, Scout’s father and attorney, displays all of the evidence that points to Tom Robinson’s innocence Scout believes they will win. That is due to her child like brain and not understanding that even the lowest class white person’s statement is believed more than a respected African American’s statement. On page 171, Atticus Finch used his closing statement and said “the state has not produced one iota of

The prejudices against African American discussed by Harper Lee in To Kill a Mockingbird are still present in modern society. Race is shown often in To Kill a Mockingbird and is used in many ways. Some ways race are shown is Jem and Scout are taken care of by a black housekeeper named Calpurnia. Another way race is shown is Atticus is a lawyer and he is representing Tom Robinson which is a black man accused of raping a white women. Tom Robinson goes to court and pleads guilty to rape because of his race and he gets killed by the sheriff because he didn’t listen. Many people in the town of Maycomb do not respect Atticus for standing up for Tom Robinson. Mr. Cunningham and company come to the jailhouse and tell Atticus that Tom Robinson is in

After being appointed to be Tom Robinson’s lawyer, Atticus received a lot of backlash from family, friends, and neighbors. People in Maycomb were used to white lawyers taking cases of black men and simply not trying to prove them innocent, as a result, when Atticus decided that he would attempt to prove that Tom was innocent, the entire town was caught by surprise. Rumors were spread about him and even little Scout had to deal with being called names by her classmates. Confused, Scout talked to Atticus one afternoon and asked him why he was defending a black man and Atticus

Atticus Finch is another victim of prejudice because of his outstanding attempt to defend a black person. He went through much hate and brutal comments and was referred to as a “nigger lover”. Mr. Ewell even managed to spit on Atticus’s face for defending a black man. When Atticus got assigned this case, Scout wondered why, “For a number of reasons…the main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town.

“Racism is taught in our society; it is not automatic. It is learned behaviour toward persons with dissimilar physical characteristics.” (Alex Haley) Racism is not a thing that you are born with, racism is learnt through the language of the society around you. Harper Lee in her book To Kill a Mockingbird explores the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. In this novel, it is seen that racism is taught, not inherited. Racism is a belief usually involving the fact of that one’s race is more superior and has the right to rule or dominate others. In the novel it showcases the treatment of negroes as immoral in comparison to the other race. Therefore, this kind of behaviour will be observed by the children leading them to follow in the footsteps of their parents. They further degrade the Negroes by calling them offensive names, which is considered normal in their society. Atticus is the only one who sands up for Tom Robinson and it is a strong held assumption in the society that he is guilty of raping Mayell Ewell, a white girl, even before there is a trial. Lee in her novel challenges the concept of an abundant explanation of racism which is taught by the behaviours of the people in your society.

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,

Atticus Finch defends Tom because he values equality and justice. He believes that everyone is equal, and, therefore, just because Tom Robinson is black, does not mean that he should not defend him. He says to Scout many times that if he did not defend this man, he could never tell Jem or her (Scout) not to do something. In this case, he is displaying that everyone deserves a chance and that everyone is equal. He is also trying to make the town of Maycomb more accepting of this idea since this is a town of great discrimination. This is the major problem — the town is of great discrimination.

Throughout the story of To Kill a Mockingbird we are able to see the story being told from the point of view of a young Scout Finch who lives in the close minded town of Maycomb County. Within the story Scout and her brother, Jem, begin to learn the ugly truth about the town they are living in. This is assisted throughout the story due to their father, Atticus Finch, representing an African American by the name of Tom Robinson. However, due to this Atticus is then viewed differently by the society he is living in. This ranged from being seen as more respected due to his stand on what he believed to being morally right to being differentiated due to him turning his back on his own race.

Harper Lee shows how Atticus Finch is judged by people and how that point connects to the main theme. Further into the book, there comes a time when Atticus is assigned to a court case where he is supposed to defend an African-American. According to the setting portrayed in To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus would be mocked and highly looked down upon due to him defending a black man. The author shows Atticus’s innocence by writing, “‘I’m simply defending a Negro—his name’s Tom Robinson.’” (page 77) This quote demonstrates that Atticus has no choice in defending an African-American and that it’s his obligation to do so. Lee shows that people have assumed him as a traitor when this is based on one court case out of many. Another scene in the book where we see Atticus getting judged is when Miss Caroline, Scout’s teacher, assumes that Atticus has taught Scout to read. Miss Caroline says to Scout, “‘Now you tell your father not to teach you any more. It’s best to begin reading with a fresh