Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird

In this book “to kill a mockingbird” the book is place in 1900’s the kind of racism that takes place in the book doesn't happen today But was very common in those Times.Now African American are accepted like any other person.

In Harper Lee’s book “To Kill a Mockingbird” Jem , Scout , and Dill live in Maycomb , Alabama around the time of the 1930’s they all were struggling through racism and poor family’s trying to get by. Harper Lee’s first and only novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” was published during the civil right movements. In this book Jem, Scout, and Dill tend to have courage and loyalty through life and in their relationship toward one another . Jem and Scout are brother and sister, Dill is a friend of the family but they accept him as a brother. Although, Jem and Dill have the most exceptional relationship out of them all. “ To Kill A Mockingbird” the impact racism had on society shows through the setting , characters , and town of Maycomb , Alabama .

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

In the story “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, the main character Scout realizes the town she lives in is full of bias and prejudice toward negros. Scout, the only daughter of lawyer Atticus Finch, is faced with the activism that follows this prejudice when her father decides to defend a negro, Tom Robinson, in the court of law. She is constantly harassed and tormented by the residence of their small town, Maycom. What Lee is trying to show through these events is that people are always going to have prejudices, and sometimes these prejudices come from the people you least expect it form. In the story, neighbors, friends, and family all show their prejudices about the defendant Tom Robinson to Scout, who finally realize the world isn’t perfect but is, in fact, full of flaws and prejudices.

Racism has been a part of our country since the early ages. Historically, racism and equality have been central issues that have divided our country. Many actions from the past such as the decision in the Plessy versus Ferguson case, and present day actions like The Mississippi school system case have been the ongoing battle in today 's society. The struggle to achieve equality was made even more difficult by the legislation that is now considered racist in the Plessy versus Ferguson case.

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb inside his skin and walk around in it.”-Harper Lee. Racism and segregation were issues that tore at the fabric of our country for many years. 1881-1900 was a time when blacks had limited freedoms and were faced with segregation. However, they didn’t just sit and wait for things to change, they faced them head on. The Tuskegee institute, the Civil Rights Act, and Plessy v. Ferguson are examples of blacks inequality and how they took matters into their own hands.

According to a report from dosomething.org, in 2009, "2/3 of the criminals receiving life sentences were non-whites." This shows that racism is still going on today and in Harper Lee's book, To Kill A Mockingbird. Her book takes place in Maycomb County, Alabama during the depression. The story is told by Jean Louise Finch, who goes by Scout. She lives with her brother named Jeremy Finch, or Jem, and their father named Atticus. He is an attorney and not afraid to stand up for what he believes in, even if he gets looked down upon. Atticus takes the case of Tom Robinson, who is a black person. He is accused of having raped a white woman, Mayella Ewell. Although the evidence makes the reader believe that Robinson is innocent, the jury finds

You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women,” establishes the false racial stereotypes society believed and juries made assumptions based on the color of a person’s skin. (Lee 172) In addition, African Americans in the South frequently faced false allegations and juries wrongfully convicted men who were innocent because of biases. Furthermore, this quote, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed,” proves the court was unfair to Tom even with the evidence that verified his innocence, a white woman’s word was put over a black man’s word.

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.

Although it is said that slavery ended on 1865, there is still racial inequity in the system that was designed to protect the people and that system is known as the criminal justice system. After the end of slavery, prison became the new path to provide cheap labor not only for big businesses, but also for plantations and the United States government. It is clear that our problems we face today are from a racial and prejudice perception. We must also look at the history of racism, which can be linked to crime, race, and location. When most think of incarceration, we believe it to be thought of as a positive form of punishment and negative form of punishment. In the play all of the male characters have encountered an experience with being incarcerated.

Thirteen years later, in 1896, a new case appeared that would set a precedent for racial discrimination for years to come, and ultimately, drive a nigh irremovable wedge between the blacks and the whites in the south. The case in question arose when a seven-eigths caucasian man, Homer Adolph Plessy, broke a Lousiana law barring black people from sitting in certain train cars. Upon refusing to move, Plessy was arrested and brought to court where the case made its way up through district and appellate courts and all the way to the Supreme Court. The question, posed by this case was: is the Louisiana law mandating racial segregation on trains unconstitutional under the fourteenth amendment? The court decided, in a seven to one decision written by Justice Brown, that the different train cars for blacks and whites weren’t a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. In his conclusion, Justice Brown wrote that the Fourteenth Amendment was intended to provide complete equality for all races before the law. However, he said, it is not intended to eradicate racial distinctions, and enforce social equality, nor is it an attempt to force a collusion of races. This conclusion gave rise to the infamous Separate but Equal Doctrine, a precedent that is a direct cause of Brown vs Board of Education. Though it was not stated in Brown’s conclusion, this doctrine insinuated that so

In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the trial with Tom Robinson a black man convicted of a crime elucidates racism. The trial evidences that even some of the political leaders can be biased towards one side. In the trial, the jury is one example of those biased leaders. Harper Lee establishes the existence of racism in the novel through many illustrations throughout the story showing that the jury is against Tom for being a black man, and the community is also attacking Atticus for defending Tom.

names’s Tom Robinson”. Discuss the effects of racism on Maycomb citizens such as Tom and Helen Robinson,

In the circular case of Plessy vs. Ferguson in 1896, race was deemed to be both biological and social. Plessy viewed himself as a white man due to his genetical DNA attributes of his 7/8 Caucasian and 1/8 African. Unfornately to the white society he was viewed as black because he wasn’t a pure breed. He was arrested for sitting in the white area on the Railroad in the State of Louisiana. Plessy felt that his 13th and 14th amendments were violated. At the time of the Plessy decision the Supreme Court set the precedent that “separate” facilities for blacks and whites were constitutional as long as they were “equal”, and he was fined for $25.00. This decision became known as the separate but equal doctrine, which led to the Jim Crow’s Law which was then stroked down by the Brown vs. Board of Education.