The Problem Of Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

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 book To Kill a Mockingbird is historical novel that takes place in the 1930’s. In the book the author, Harper Lee, uses three characters to show how many hateful and racist people are in the town of Maycomb, Alabama. These three characters show how the town is racist and hateful towards them or their way of life. Tom Robinson is one of the three characters that was treated hatefully because he was african american.

Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird is set in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. Racism is ever present toward blacks and the trial of Tom Robinson, an African American, clearly displays this. Tom Robinson was accused of raping a white woman. The huge detail in this is that it was a white woman. Racial issues are really brought about because of that detail. People during this time would easily take a white man’s word over that of a black man, so nobody would ever trust Tom Robinson, especially since he was a black man being accused of a crime against a white woman. Tom Robinson really can’t do anything to help his case. The only person that can help him is Atticus. While Atticus does not believe that he will win the case, he knows that it is right to do everything he can to help Tom. He knows right from wrong and he will do everything in his power to help people see that, and to help Tom survive this case. Tom Robinson could also be described as a Mockingbird in this story. If proven innocent, he would be

When they were standing at a distance just observing the situation, Scout decides to go up, but because she’s a child she’s completely oblivious of how serious this situation is. When she’s standing in the centre of the mob of people, looking up at the adults she notices a familiar face, Mr. Cunningham. “Don’t you remember me, Mr. Cunningham?”, “I go to school with Walter, he’s your boy ain’t he, sir?” (Lee, 205) This not only scares him because he realizes the fact that someone knows his identity, but knowing that a presence of innocence is in a situation with such danger, and darkness. Seeing Scout made him remember that he was too a father, and even though it would probably never be revealed, to kill a man solely based on the color of his skin, would be something he’d never want his children to know exists in the world. Before this situation occurred, Walter Cunningham was completely onboard with lynching Tom Robinson, his hatred towards African-Americans was so great because it was encouraged in town, it’s what he was told to believe growing up. Because of this he never really payed attention to what his authentic feelings

The character’s lives change throughout the event by social racism which develops conflicts with Scout and her family. In “To Kill a Mockingbird,”

To Kill a Mockingbird Essay In To Kill a Mockingbird Lee shows many good examples of racism, one great example of this is when Tom Robinson was in jail and was about to be lynched. During this scene Dill, Jem, and Scout snuck out of their houses and followed Atticus to the jail, when a mob showed up Scout defused the situation. The mob consisted of Bob Ewell and some of his friends, they intended to lynch and kill Tom robinson.

Prejudice within the white community is another theme that is explored in the novel. In the novel the member of the white community being singled out is Boo Radley. Boo Radley is singled out by almost everyone in the white community including Scout. Scout singling out Boo is important because it is part of the novels narrative which is that the events are seen from the innocent, non biased point of view (Scout). The innocence of scout is made apparent when she says “I think there’s just one kind of folks” which is her unknowingly occurring the values that Atticus has installed in her. This links to the characterisation of racial divide which is an important feature of the novel. Also as aforementioned this is an example of Scout subconsciously portraying her innocent personality. The quote “when they finally saw him, why he hadn’t done any of those things...” , “Atticus he was real nice” Is again an example of Scouts innocence.

Folks." Scout was trying to say that all people are created equal. No one, by nature, is superior to anybody else. This is a very contrary view to what most people believed at that time, especially in the South. There was prejudice between races and prejudice between families. The most obvious theme of the book is racism. Staged in the early 1930’s in southern Alabama, racism was still undeniably present. Even though the amendments which freed slaves and gave them rights were passed more than sixty years prior, the culture of the south intertwined with racism. Interracial marriages were illegal. Different races could not attend the same schools. It was the law that whites and blacks could not even be put together in the same jail cells. Looking at these things, one can only imagine the upheaval when a Negro was accused of raping a white woman: but did this stop Atticus from standing up for justice? No, it didn’t. He knew perfectly well how criticizing eyes would view the case; no matter how glaring the evidence was, the people wouldn’t accept an African American’s word over a white man’s. Atticus saw all people as equal, regardless of their skin color and he knew what was the right thing to do. He was a friend and ally to the African American community and they respected them for it. Another example is the Cunningham family. When Walter comes over for lunch, Scout criticizes him but

In today’s world we are very well aware of racial discrimination which remains an issue in our country. Racial discrimination is present everywhere we see it in our everyday lives, yet we choose to ignore. The book To Kill A Mockingbird presents a topic of racial discrimination depicting it in a character called Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson reminds us of the dark past of racial discrimination which shows us the power of simply being a different color. Race dictates the way you live, act, and are treated upon.

Racism was very “popular” as you should say back in the 1930’s . Whites had all the power while blacks and other minorities were suppose to fear them. In Maycomb , Alabama racism was around and had effects on citizens. Segregating whites from blacks is a horrid thing. It’s inhuman to say you're better than someone else because of their skin color. We as humans are equal some may be more wealthy than others but when it all comes down to it we will all go in the same box in the same ground. Racism was and still is a horrible thing and it affected a lot people.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a book written by Harper Lee that is focused around the same time as the 1930’s Great Depression and also the same time when racism was very evident. The book is about a rape case of a black man’s word over a white woman’s word. The setting of both of the book comes from a small town that is away from any major transportation. Since the town is so small, people see each other often and tend to start drama, this drama results in a major split of social class and race. This separation causes problems and ends up grouping people together because of biased opinions and expectations. Racism is a strong topic that is shown to have a big impact on people and that is clearly shown in this book. Tom, the defendant, is killed by the hate and disgust that is caused by racism.

How would you react if you were falsely accused of a crime when all of your life you had been a good man. However, the catch was you were African American.  A white man’s word against your own. What would be running through your mind? This is exactly the kind of question that was running through Tom Robinson’s mind in this novel. During the 1930s, discrimination against targeted groups of society was prevalent, but small victories occurred to combat this issue in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. From Tom Robinson’s trial, to various stereotypes being broken, and the incidents that took place in Calpurnia’s church for colored people. All of these factors contribute to the purpose behind this novel’s meaning.

Racism was a very large part of society in the south during the 1930’s. Many colored people were thought of as less than their peers. Whites were considered better than African Americans were, and almost every white person accepted the unjust judgment. Racial discrimination hit hard in the south. Many of the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird were impacted by racial discrimination, including Calpurnia, Scout, and Tom Robinson and his family.

Radley placed it over her shoulders. We were so upset that was our chance to see him but we blew it. After the fire was out everybody went back to bed. Shockingly when we saw Miss. Maudie in the morning she was very happy even though her house just burnt down. She told Scout and I that she hated her old house and she was planning on building a smaller house with a bigger garden anyways. At school next day Scout almost got into a fight with a classmate named Cecil Jacobs. There are not many things that will set Scout off but Cecil said that Atticus defended niggers. This was because Atticus was asked to defend Tom Robinson, he was a black man that was accused of raping a white women. Atticus explained to Scout that she has to hold her head up high and ignore the people that are going to say things about him. He tells us both that it is going to be an issue with classmates for a little while and we just have to be strong. He explained that there was no way he could win because a white women is going to win over a black man every single time even if it is false. I understand that he has to do it in order to uphold his sense of justice and self respect. I just hope that Scout can understand and stay out of

Even the title itself lends to the theme of racism. The title “To Kill a Mockingbird” is explained in the movie, that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird because they only do good. This translates not only to Boo Radley, who is apart of the main plot, but also to poor Tom Robinson.