Racial Discrimination In To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, published in July 11, 1960, shows the discrimination throughout the small town of Maycomb. Scout, the daughter of a white lawyer named Atticus, tells what she saw while she was growing up. Harper Lee uses foreshadowing throughout the entire story. When Atticus defends Tom Robinson in an alleged rape case. The people of Maycomb automatically start calling him, Scout, and Jem “nigger-lovers” for defending a black man.

Prejudice is embedded into society and is taught from generation to generation. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee the setting is 1930’s in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama. The people in this town look down on those different from them and have been taught prejudice for generations. Even though it was set so long ago the lessons are still applicable to many situations today. In this story a young girl named Scout is the narrator and her father is a lawyer who is representing a black man accused of raping a white girl. It is obvious what the fate of the man will be but the story highlights how and why an innocent man is sent to prison and later murdered.

Because of this prejudice, Tom’s ideas, actions, and life is affected. In Chapter 23, when Atticus and Jem talks about how the jury chose Tom’s sentence, Atticus explains why Tom had gotten such a harsh sentence and relates it to how Ewell used Robinson and knew how it would work in his favor. In addition, Lee writes, “ ...they couldn’t be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins. They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life” (295). In this quote, it is seen that Ewell knew the jury would see Robinson as inferior and subordinate compared to him because of this color, which means the jury send would send Tom Robinson to jail. This is unfair because Robinson has a better character and personality than Ewell, but society will prefer Ewell over Robinson because of his skin color. This prejudice against African Americans like Tom Robinson affects them in many ways and in Tom Robinson’s case, sends him to jail and death. The prejudice against Robinson makes him desperate to a point where he sees no future to himself and tries to escapes, but dies. This quote also shows how the white men in this story and this time period can be as fair as they can, but they can’t truly fair. This is because racism and its ideals are rooted into them from a young age and it can be hard, or even impossible to get rid of these ways. Next, in Chapter 6, Atticus explains in the same conversation to Jem that how white men cheat others out of things and that they are trash. To support this, Atticus says, “As you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don't you forget it—whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is

1. The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee shows many examples of prejudice behaviors. “Tom [Robinson] was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed’ (Lee, 323). Scout, the narrator, develops the statement by providing information about the trial. Tom Robinson was a black man living in Maycomb, he was convicted of raping Mayella Ewell, although there is no proof. Furthermore, the quote also illustrates prejudice by the automatic assumption that Tom Robinson committed the crime.

First off, in the book, prejudice is shown through the trial. The trial shows the race part of prejudice because Tom is found guilty because of his skin color. “Judge Taylor was polling the jury: Guilty... guilty…..guilty” (Lee 282). Tom Robinson is a black man living in Maycomb, Alabama. He is found guilty for raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. During the trial, Atticus Finch is trying to help Tom Robinson live his life, and be found not guilty. Tom Robinson is, unfortunately, found guilty. The color of his skin determines this decision of the jury. In this time period, black men and women were treated differently than white men or women. There were many facts that were shown in the trial that pointed away from Tom, like when Atticus said

Race is the dominant cause of inequality in To Kill A Mockingbird, thus Maycomb’s views on race heavily influence every aspect of life. Although racial inequality is clearly illustrated in the in the injustice, prejudice, discrimination and antagonism surrounding the Tom Robinson trial, it is also shown more subtly throughout the novel. In chapter 25 Atticus Finch is quoted disclosing that the corrupt justice system is a direct cause of a racist society. “In our courts, when it's a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins” (Pg 295). To emphasize, on the same occasion Atticus attempts to explain to his children how widely spread racism is, “As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men everyday of your life”

“Prejudices are the chains forged by ignorance to keep men apart.”(Marguerite Gardiner Blessington). Over the years, countless people have fallen in to the dark abyss of prejudice because they merely following the trend of society. Prejudice is exactly what it sounds like; its root words are firmly planted. Prejudice may be defined as the act of pre judging someone because of their race, religion, sex, ethnic background, or can be based solely on how they look. Prejudice is a flaw in society many have dealt with for centuries, but one race has suffered in the United States of America where “all men are equal”, more than any other race in history. If all men are created equal, how could we treat people of a different color so unjustly? It is a travesty that cannot be forgotten and that can not, must not, and shall not be repeated. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee states the truth behind a world with closed minds. She put the world into perspective through her commentary that is still relevant today. Through her writing, we see the compassion, sympathy, and tolerance, or the lack thereof, from all perspectives: a father, a racist man, a confused woman, children, negroes, and a dear lawyer named Atticus Finch.

Atticus exclaims in his speech that “all men are not created equal” in order to draw attention to the treatment blacks receive on a daily basis. Atticus argues that people claim that everyone is equal when they actually are not. He emphasizes that blacks are treated harshly because they look different compared to others. He shows that people are discriminated against merely because of their skin color. Atticus reveals that Robinson is only portrayed as guilty because the human race is too selfish to let others share the same rights due to their skin color. Atticus beats down the white’s perspective on African-Americans in order to make them feel remorseful about the way they treat others. He appeals to the jury’s morals to show that they must do the right thing and give everyone a chance to do good rather than imprisoning a man because they want to. Finch tries to convey to the audience that people are selfish beings who only attack others because they can. But Atticus also expresses that nobody is the same and that “some people have more [opportunities]… some men make more money… some ladies make better cakes… [and that] some people are born gifted” (Lee, 233). Atticus indicates that nobody has the same characteristics, genes, or personalities. He implies that by discriminating against people only because they are different, they are also discriminating against themselves. People do not have the right to shame others because they are different whenever everyone else is as well. Atticus shames individuals because they treat blacks poorly for the same concepts that white people have. Atticus tries to open the audience’s eyes about the crazy, psychotic world in order to allow them to realize that people

Discrimination and stereotypes are still involved in today's ever-growing society. People are judged by their race, gender, and, wealth; people are expected to act a certain way because of these things. In To Kill A Mockingbird it tells the readers about a small town, Maycomb, that faces many challenges because of how individuals are judged and treated. If someone were African American he/she would thought to be less of a person and were treated as if they were trash. If someone were to be a woman they were thought to be weak, emotional, and dramatic. If someone were poor he/she were thought to be dirty, rude and were treated like trash. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses stereotypes related to racism, gender, and wealth to teach her audience about how individuals were treated during the Great Depression.

“All men are created equal”, one of the most ignored statements that our founding fathers wrote in the Constitution. People exercise prejudice everywhere in the U.S. Prejudice is a topic that is constantly revisited in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Her novel focuses on Scout, the daughter of Atticus Finch, living her life in the 1930s of rural Maycomb, Alabama. Scout witnesses the injustice and prejudice against many people, not only Negroes. The heat of prejudice rises when Atticus decides to defend Tom Robinson, a black who is going under trial for allegedly raping a white girl. Despite the clear evidence that Robinson is innocent,

Prejudice is a very prominent motif throughout To Kill A Mockingbird. Harper Lee conveys the message that prejudice deprives us of understanding reality and the world around us. One of the most noticeable cases is the prejudice against Tom Robinson due to his skin color. In the trial, the jury had agreed Tom was guilty because of his race, even though there was no substantial evidence to prove so. Atticus knows the men on the jury are blinded by prejudice and racism, so he says to them, “The witnesses for the state...have presented themselves to you gentlemen...in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted...on the assumption that all Negroes lie” (273). Although the men of the jury understood that the Ewell’s testimonies

Racism portrayed in the novel can also draw out the worst in many, while it can also bring out the darkness in people’s hearts. As Atticus states: “a place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any colour of the rainbow. People have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box.” The quote clearly explains that even the justice system was influenced by racial discrimination in the 1930s even if it was breaking the law. The concept of racism is further explored when part of the town acts unfriendly towards Atticus, because he defended Tom. Atticus is seen as a “nigger – lovin’ bastard” by the

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

An endless hate that still remains standing in our society: racism. Despite laws being passed to make life equal for blacks in 1954, there were still major problems by the time To Kill a Mockingbird was published. Even though racial discrimination has incredibly decreased, we still experience huge problems with racism today. Firstly, during the time To Kill a Mockingbird took place, people who were associated with black people, hanging out with them, being nice to them or helping them out, were despised.

Lee shows racism in the south during the early twentieth century. She not only shows racism but discrimination in general. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee shows racial discrimination in the 1930s. She shows how blacks are discriminated against but how they are truly not different from society.