Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird And The Black Eyed Peas

Racism is something that most people would claim they do not believe in or support; however, as clearly shown in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, racism is a disease that spreads through a region and worsens as time goes on. Racism is an issue that is still prevalent in the American society today, and Harper Lee’s timeless novel continues to teach the lesson that one needs to look beyond the color of another man’s skin and see them for who they truly are. Mr. Raymond’s conversation with Dill after Tom Robinson’s testimony initially shows that racism is better comprehended with age. He says, “Let him get a little older and he won’t get sick and cry… Cry about the hell white people give to colored folks, without even stopping to think that they’re people too” (Lee, 1960, p. 269). Here, it becomes clear that children can be naive to racism and the evil in the world, but as they continue to grow up in an area that feels so strongly about white supremacy, they become immune to the injustice and prejudice. Further, Mr. Raymond’s words allow the reader to better understand the severity of the racism in Maycomb and the entirety of the country. It also unveils a crucial theme in the novel, namely that one must consider a person of color to be no different from oneself, as all humans are equal. Additionally, racism is repeatedly referred to as a disease in the novel, which is explained when Atticus is talking to Uncle Jack about the trial and he says “‘... I hope and pray I can get

Racism is both an ideology and a system of domination. To be racist is not just a misuse of derogatory slurs and whatnot. Only certain communities have the power and the privilege to be racist. In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird racism was one of the most recurring themes. Communities as well as specific characters were impacted by racism. Tom Robinson, Calpurnia, Bob Ewell and Dolphus Raymond were characters that suffered from Racism.

People in Maycomb are stereotyped and discriminated against based on their race. When Jem, Scout and Dill are in Nathan Radley’s backyard, they see a shadow, the shadow scares them so they run out of the backyard which drew Nathan Radley’s attention. Nathan Radley shoots his shotgun in the air. The sound of the shotgun attracts Nathan’s neighbours, they all gather up in front of his house to find out what is going on then Miss Maudie says “Mr.Radley shot at a negro in his collard patch”(72). Miss Maudie was not even there when the shot was fired, neither does she have any other information about the situation nor does she see anyone run away yet she thinks the person who Nathan Radley shot at is black and no one even questions her statement about Nathan shooting a black person, everyone believes her. This shows that

The setting of the book To Kill A Mockingbird has a huge role on the conflicts, outcome of the trial, and Jem and Scout’s development. The book takes place in Maycomb county Alabama, in the 1930’s during the Great Depression. Since Alabama is in the south, and was before the Civil Rights Movement, most of the white residents in the town were racist. In the book, the town of Maycomb is almost like a character on its own. It is a small town that had lots of farmers who were struck hard by the Great Depression. Scout, who is the narrator of the book describes it by saying, “Maycomb was a tired old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square”(Lee 6). Scout even goes on to say, “People moved slowly then. They ambled across the square, shuffled in and out of the stores around it, took their time about everything”(Lee 6). In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the conflict of racism is shown through the trial, Atticus, and Jem and Scout’s uprising in a non-racist home but in a prejudice town.

Imagine being persecuted your entire life. Having to constantly respect someone even though they were rude to you. This is what many African-Americans had to go through during the 1930’s. Racism is a major aspect in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The main character, Scout, has to deal with this problem everyday. Bob Ewell, Mr. Cunningham, and other characters are very racist, and don’t approve of Atticus defending a “Negroe”. This causes Scout to be bullied in school and even attacked by Mr. Ewell. Also, characters such as Tom Robinson are negatively affected by racism in Maycomb. Tom is killed just because of his skin color. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee’s use of point-of-view, irony, and symbolism help to develop

Racism has the power to change anybody’s life. Jem Finch is a young teen character from To Kill a Mockingbird who longed for the warm summer days when he could just play on the lawn and not care about the future. However, as the novel progresses, it becomes clear that he cannot just play around when he knows what is going on around him and what is happening to the black community of Maycomb, Alabama. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a success in the world of literature. Set in the 1930’s down south where racism was rampant, Harper Lee shows us the challenges of growing up in a community of inequality through the characters Jem and Scout Finch. Jem is older than Scout by 3 years so he understands how serious the nature of racism is and

Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird occurs during the Great Depression. Despite the setting taking place fifty years after slavery had officially ended, Maycomb County is depicted as an immensely segregated and prejudiced town. As a result, many of the townspeople assume the characteristics of other residents through town gossip and rumors. Because having a strong opinion on controversial issues in the town could lead to cruel consequences, many of the residents’ opinions and ideas are greatly influenced by others. The fear of being judged and rejected from society causes many of Maycomb County’s people to conceal the truth about the false gossip which hoodwinks the others into misinterpreting and believing the gossip. Miss Maudie Atkinson, a young widow, is one of the few characters in the novel that displays her own individuality and protests against what she does not believe to be true. Miss Maudie's positive trait of bravery makes her an asset to the Maycomb community because through her distinctiveness, she becomes a role model for individuals such as Scout Finch.

As the United States “progresses” in economic, educational and technological advancements we still are fighting for racial equality. With more than 50 years since the brown vs. board of education case there is still incidents like Ferguson, Baton Rouge, and Phiando Castile where many questions are still unanswered. However, Harper Lee dealt with these same problems in 1960 when she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee created an emotionally confronting story. Lee writes through the eyes of “Scout” a lawyer’s daughter in a small sleepy town of Maycomb in Alabama during the great depression. Throughout the book “Scout” learns coming of age lessons from Atticus and her own experiences. But when Atticus takes on a case defending a black man (Tom Robinson) convicted for rapping a white woman (Mayella Ewell) and is found guilty. “Scout” her brother Jem begin to understand the effects of the prejudices in society. Therefore, Lee applies the literary concepts of diction and tone to revel the truth that prejudices in society negatively affect the way people treat each other in To Kill a Mocking Bird.

Scout witnessed and in a way, was a part of the shaming of Walter Cunningham. Walter Cunningham is a classmate of Scout. In the book to Kill a Mockingbird in chapter 2 Miss Caroline is Scout's teacher she is seeing what kids brought for lunch, she stopped at Walter because he didn't have any lunch. Miss Caroline then asked where his lunch is and he just said he didn’t have any, Miss Caroline then tried to give him quarters so he could go out and get food. Jean Louise said “Miss Caroline, he's a Cunningham.” Miss Caroline didn't get it at first why everyone was shaming him. Miss Caroline then realized he would never be able to repay her the quarters. Walter doesn't show up to school except on the first day because he always gets shamed for not having money like everyone else does in school and also for not having shoes. The book to Kill a Mockingbird is during the 1930’s the same time the Great Depression is going on. During the Great Depression many people lived in poverty and needed food, clothing and shelter. There weren't enough jobs for everyone to make enough money for their family’s so kids started to find jobs to help out, In the article A Case of Unemployment it states that “one in four Americans who wanted to work was unable to find a job.” The ones that were trying to find jobs couldn’t and then couldn’t support their family’s anymore. With Walter when he did go to school on the first day he got shamed for not

In the Novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, The Narrator Scout Finch relays her experiences of Racism and Prejudice. Children are new to the world, they haven’t experienced the real world yet. They have unbiased opinions, they don’t know the stereotypes until they figure it out themselves. Scout Finch is just a little girl during the great depression. In Maycomb county where she lives, Black people were frowned upon by most families. People even shunned others if they were married to a black man or women if they were white. If a Black person was convicted of a crime they would most likely be found guilty.

We, as people, are influenced by each other and have an influence on each other when it comes to important issues. For many years, and still today, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has influenced our views on the matters of the world like racism, freedom, and so on. The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill may be a newer novel, but it is equally as important as it also touches on these topics - from a different perspective. To Kill a Mockingbird and The Book of Negroes have different effects on our opinions about inequality, freedom and racism, and can change how we deal with these issues because of the contrasting points-of-view of Aminata and Scout.

Maycomb, is a segregated, urban area located in Southern Alabama. The small town is filled with black citizens, that are victims of racial discrimination and have their rights stripped from away them because of their skin colour. To Kill A Mockingbird (TKAM), takes place throughout the Great Depression and unveils many secrets, untold truths about the life of citizens and explores the struggles dark skin people faced during the Great Depression.The novel is a simplistic view of life in the Deep South of America in the 1930s, which reflects racial and social prejudice, discrimination between blacks and whites. The book is narrated by a young girl named Scout who matures throughout the novel, from an innocent child to a morally conscience young adult. Harper Lee develops concepts by using language forms and features to highlight dominant themes of the novel such as racism. Racism in TKAM has different effects on different characters, such as Tom Robinson, Jem and Scout. Dark skin people faced many hardships throughout the Great Depression, in this novel anyone who was coloured or had connections or relations to coloured people, struggled to have the right to life due to them being black, this had many effects on different characters.

The book ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ written by Harper Lee is known as a classic book that is extremely relevant in today’s society as it explores themes that are experienced today which, makes the novel timeless. This book is written through a child’s eye better known as Scout, however still keeping it in an adult’s perspective through the complex structure and storyline. ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ is a deep explanation of the conflict that occurred between different people in the small city of Alabama, Maycomb in the early 1930 's. This time was mainly known as the ‘depression era’ where the black people experienced inequality from the white people. There was a clear connection between this era to the main themes expressed in this book which is certainly still relevant today. In the novel, Harper Lee effectively analyses the themes of racism, which were mainly experienced by the black people as they were discriminated against for their skin colour. The theme of good and evil were also clearly portrayed through the innocence and the evilness of the characters. This novel can relate to many problems experienced in today’s world with the support of the themes conveyed throughout.

Classic texts have the ability to remain timeless and obtain an ongoing relevance due to the powerful messages and ideas that readers are able to relate to. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird {TKAMB} reflects Southern America in the 1930’s, the attitudes and perceptions of a small town called Maycomb, where Lee lives her young life through Scout who endures the negative implications that racial prejudice and class distinctions have on the environment as well as the importance of understanding and empathy. Throughout the novel, literary techniques effectively present important messages that resonate with audiences regardless of context, thus making this text classic.

In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” one of the multiple dilemmas brought to light in the novel and the film is the social inequality. Rather it be at the suffering of a person of color to a woman or child; todays society still suffers from from the social inequality pointed out in the novel based on the 1930s, 1933 specifically and can be compared to some cases from the novel. Social inequality can be forced on anybody but more specifically pushes onto people of a colored ethnic background (color), the gender a person is born with or chooses to identify as (sexuality), or the religion they choose to practice and so on, however this essay is going to focus mainly on the three social inequalities listed above.