To Kill A Mockingbird is a universally beloved book that perfectly encapsulates being a child and growing up in the south. Though the times have changed, many of the experiences that Scout and Jem have are shared by children today, from an overactive imagination to playing with the neighborhood kids during the summer to a universal dislike of school shared by most young children. Not everything in TKAM is pretty; though Maycomb might seem like a sweet innocent town from the outside, on the inside however, anger, hatred, and racism run rampant. The town where everyone goes to church sunday is the same town that formed a lynch mob and would have killed Tom Robinson had it not been for Atticus and Scout. Race relations and social justice take …show more content…
To start, even the Finch family turns on Atticus and his kids when they found out the nature of Atticus’ new client: Tom Robinson. When the kids are off with their cousin, the cousin irritates Scout and disrespects Atticus by taunting “‘I guess it ain’t your fault if Uncle Atticus is a n***er-lover besides, but I’m here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family—’” (Lee, 85). Atticus is defending a black man an the whole family is mortified, which makes evident the fact that the Finch family does not view people of a different race as equal and worthy of a white person’s time, and furthermore are racist. The casual use of the n-word as well, even by a child, was completely normal in the time period, which is another sign of racism in the south, and specifically in the town of maycomb. These poor race relations contributed to the wrongful conviction and execution of Tom robinson. Racism was very prevalent in Scout’s childhood, as well as Harper Lee’s, but Scout grew up differently than most of the children, she had exposure to the black community by was of Calpurnia. In an article by Kathryn Lee Seidel, it is stated that “This African American housekeeper is the novel’s female parental figure for Scout. It is Calpurnia who teaches Scout to write, it is she who admonishes Scout to treat little Walter with respect at …show more content…
Racism wasn’t just an opinion in the US at the time, it was law. Segregation and Jim Crow laws were in full effect throughout the nation, and the United states was in the midst of The Great Depression, which hurt everyone, but especially blacks. An article from the library of congress states that “In some Northern cities, whites called for blacks to be fired from any jobs as long as there were whites out of work” (Race During the Great Depression). The whites did this, because they had a sense of entitlement and superiority to blacks, meaning that they believed that they should be put first, which is the very essence of racism. This helped to continue the overwhelming percentage of black poverty from the thirties to even fairly recently. The book Freedom Riders by Raymond Arsenault, describes a scene in which a black pregnant woman refuses to give up her seat to a white person, so the sheriff comes and with the help of his officer, dragged her off the bus (Arsenault, 8). This is a notable example of race relations and social injustice in the 60’s, 30 years after to kill a mockingbird was published. Though this incident didn’t take place in the thirties, it still reflects the attitude shared by most of the united states toward african americans, and is by extension a reflection of Maycomb county, where blacks and whites couldn’t
The novel “To Kill a Mocking Bird” is based in the fictional small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. When slavery and the Civil War were still present in the people’s way of living and the civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s are far from close. The novel focuses on the Finches: Scout, her brother Jem, and their father Atticus, and the trial of Tom Robinson and how it affected them and the town. Witnessing the injustice of Tom Robinson’s trial changed Scout Finch in many ways. Scout learns that there is more than one type of courage, she learns about race and its complexity, and she also changes how she views the people around her by putting herself
Being at the top of the social hierarchy has been a must for every American of past generations, but can lead to fatal damages for some trying to obtain that goal and a cause to ruin people’s lives. In a remarkably triumphant story on compassion, Harper Lee explored the horrors of racial prejudice in the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Set in the 1930’s, the poor town of Maycomb, Alabama has been hit by the depression hard, which created a vast, complex social pyramid, with distinct families and lifestyles. At the Finch household, composed of a little nine year old girl, Scout, a twelve year old boy Jem, and their father Atticus, proceed through a whirlwind of events throughout the next few years. Atticus, a lawyer who is a hardworking, honest man at the top of the social hierarchy of Maycomb, has to defend a colored man by the name of Tom Robinson. This happened to be very unusual for the time period, as the family has to transcend through the struggles in a racial prejudice town and learn the raw nature of the worst in humans, thus trying to overcome these events through compassion. The author utilizes metaphor, characterization, and mood to describe the situation of Maycomb, it soon then becomes very clear that the dangers of ruining innocence can lead to a vast road of horrors and evils.
Many ideas change with time. Including, how races interact with each other. Race relations changed between the 20th and 21st century. A couple of prime examples of change are The Scottsboro Trials, Emmett Till Murder Trial, Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird, and The George Zimmerman Trial. Now as the thought of how race interactions happened have changed. The world today and it events prior to it have shaped how people interact. In history, we have always had a problem with race. Race may be a small thing to think of ,but it always can be found right in front of our eyes.
“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is an exceedingly powerful novel. It includes many significant minor themes such as racism and hatred which leave the reader to have grown more attentive to the past once they complete the book. The book takes place in Maycomb County Alabama during the great depression. During this period there was a great deal of hate and prejudice towards people of color, in addition to a great regard to social class. The novels protagonists, Atticus Finch a well-respected lawyer and his children Jeremy “Jem” Finch and Jean Louise “Scout” Finch are a few of the towns occupants who respect others regardless of social class or race. For this reason, Atticus has no objections
To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel written by Harper Lee, tells the story of a little girl named Scout. Set in Alabama in the 1930s, Maycomb county, Scout’s home, is a sleepy place, that hides a dark streak of racism. Maycomb gets pulled into a whirlwind court case of sexual assault consisting of an African American man getting accused of beating and raping a white girl. Scout, whose father defended the African American, learns of the deep problems in society. Still in the mindset of constant racism, the jury ruled against the black man, even though the evidence clearly proved that the girl’s father beat her. Unfortunately, this racism survives today, and one only has to take a peek at the news, or a glance outside to notice it. Racism still exists today, as seen through brutality against
Though Calpurnia and the people involved in Calpurnia’s life are greatly impacted, Jean Louise Finch, a.k.a. Scout, deals with more confusion and frustration brought on by racial discrimination. During a day at school, Scout encountered Cecil Jacobs and his ignorant mind. “Atticus had promised me he would wear me out if he ever heard of me fighting any more… I soon forgot. Cecil Jacobs made me forget. He had announced in the schoolyard the day before that Scout Finch’s daddy defends niggers”(Lee 99). Scout did not realize what this meant, but she was hurt by it any way. Scout is affected by a copious amount of racism, she just has no clue what is zipping around her. When she confronted Atticus about him defending Negroes, he said of course he does, and to not use
The insightful novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, gives a window into the past of cruel race relations. The novel uses Tom Robinson’s court case, the most prominent example, along with others. Atticus, Scout’s father and lawyer, is defending an African American in court against the charge of rape of a white woman (Lee 100). He makes a cogent case demonstrating his innocence. The single reason Atticus loses his case and Tom goes to jail is due to the terrible tension between whites and blacks. In this setting of white supremacy, blacks are wrong in every aspect of life, and are always put less than second. When the character Aunt Alexandra pays visitation to Scout, Atticus and Jem she aims to dismiss Calpurnia, the black maid; the only motherly figure the two children have and love because Alexandra seems it be best to have them to be raised by a white woman. Atticus shoots down her intentions by saying she’s an integral member of their family and
The novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is historically accurate because the African Americans were considered to be below the white man during the 1930’s. An African American life was lived with especial difficulty since they were only offered the low paying jobs and neighborhoods that nobody cared. In comparison, white men were offered a good education and high paying jobs. A black man once said, “The American white man has been superior so long, he can’t figure out why he should come down” (Burke). African Americans were always treated like they had a lower status than the white man, even when they first came to America. Although slavery had been abolished in 1865, the white Americans did everything in its power
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Atticus and Aunt Alexandra influence the kids by teaching them and making them feel how others do. They go through tough experiences which causes them to grow. Also, by looking at other’s action and the explanations that Atticus gives Jem and Scout. Alike outside of the book, people go through hard moments and learn from them. For example, on page 294 of the novel TKAM Atticus says “There’s something in our world that makes men lose their head- they couldn’t be fair if they tried.” He is explaining to Jem why the trial went like that. Because of racism. After the explanation of his dad, Jem started to realize that maybe Boo Radley didn’t want to go out because people don’t get along and he didn’t
Harper Lee continually utilizes topics of classism and racism to frame the way the children are being taught from many influential interactions in this novel. Aunt Alexandra reinforces classism as the ideal world when she disapproves of Scout’s convening with Walter. Referencing the Cunninghams, Aunt Alexandra replies, “Because he is trash… I’ll not have you around him, picking up his habits and learning Lord knows what…there is no doubt in my mind that they’re good folks, but they’re not our kind of folks.” (299-301) Scout is faced with a moral dilemma when these conflicting perspectives arise as she begins to realize that judging someone as good or bad is an incomplete assessment as shades of grey exist. This idea of separation is also held by Lula, a black woman, which is made apparent when Calpurnia brings Scout and Jem to her church. Calpurnia defends the children’s right to worship in the African church when Lula approaches them, “You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillum here—they got their church. We got our’n…” This showed the kids that black people, whom carried most of the weight of discrimination, could also encourage and uphold this division.
To Kill a Mockingbird (TKAMB), written by Harper Lee, is a conflicting novel that sheds light on the prejudice, racism, and inequalities that govern our nation’s past and present. Taking place in Maycomb County during the 1930’s and at the heart of the Great Depression, TKAMB reveals the systems of segregation that was enforced in Southern states, the disparities that existed in Maycomb County among the citizens, and the ways in which the status quo was maintained to marginalize Negros, normalize abuse and gender relations, and preserve whiteness. The novel poses Atticus Finch as one who embodies justice and his children, Jem and Scout, as characters who represent innocence and ignorance to the prejudice and racist society. Upon further analysis,
To Kill a Mockingbird, a southern-gothic story, shows the view of life in the 1930’s. This story is told in the eyes of Jem and Scout and how their views changed as they grew up in the town of Maycomb. Scout is a young girl who is growing up surrounding the contentions of her father’s lawsuit. Her father, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer who is defending a black man in charge of a white girl’s rape. This essay will show how the lives of the people in Maycomb are affected by discrimination and prejudice in Tom Robinson’s case, Calpurnia’s church and the Verdict.
“To kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is an exploration of human morality, Atticus father of Jem and Scout demonstrates the role of a teacher to his children and to his town. Atticus believes that people poses aspects of both good and evil but that good will usually prevail. Atticus teaches his children and his town when he defends Tom Robinson, who is an innocent black man accused of raping a white woman. To kill a mocking bird takes place in Maycomb, a racist town in the deep south of the United States during the Great Depression, this is a tough task for Atticus because he must overcome the ingrained racism and try to change people’s social perspectives
In the novel to kill a mockingbird written by Harper Lee the theme of discrimination and mistreatment based off race was portrayed through several characters throughout the novel, Scout and Jem , are cared for by Calpurnia, their black housekeeper. Although Scout shares her differences with Calpurnia, Calpurnia acts as a mother-figure to jem and scout. She is respected by Atticus, who recognises that Calpurnia has an education. it is the way of speaking that creates a boundary between the black community and the white. When jem and scout go to calpurnia 's church service, Scout notes that Calpurnia embraces a different way of speaking when she is communicating with other churchgoers: “ Calpurnia led a modest double life never dawned on me. The idea that she had a separate existence outside our household was a novel one, to say nothing of her having command of two languages”. Although Scout and Jem find the concept that Calpurnia speaks two different “languages” difficult to understand, Scout has a great admiration and respect for Calpurnia for grasping both languages.The trial of Tom Robinson demonstrates many counts of racism. Tom is prosocuted for raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell. The Ewell family lack education and financial stability, voicing the lower class. As the oldest of eight children , Mayella becomes a mother figure and role model for her younger siblings.
While one of the main themes of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird is understanding another human’s perspective, it is also important to look at how people treat each other. The story’s protagonist, Scout, is a young girl from Alabama whose father, Atticus Finch, is asked to defend an African-American man who is charged with rape. The southern way of life during The Great Depression will not allow Tom Robinson a fair trial, and Scout and her brother Jem are forced to deal with a county’s ignorance and racist attitudes. Atticus and a compassionate neighbor, Miss Maudie, try to teach the children not to hurt mockingbirds as they do not harm anything and “... don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy”(90). While the comparison of a mockingbird to Tom Robinson illustrates the sin of hurting the innocent, it is also used to show the goodness of an unknown neighbor, Boo Radley.