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To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee: Literary Analysis

Decent Essays

In “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, the plot is based on what Harper Lee herself has seen in her childhood, her family, neighbors, and the event that occurred near her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama in 1936. Racial prejudice was a major issue during this period of time and Lee incorporated this matter by displaying white men as the authoritative figures in Maycomb County. African Americans were always put down and proven guilty even if they were innocent because it was a white person’s word against a black’s. For example, “The Sheriff hadn’t the heart to put him in jail alongside Negroes, so Boo was locked in the courthouse,” (Lee, 14). Clearly, Boo was guilty of breaking the law and committing a crime but because of the fact that …show more content…

The first fact I learned form reading this novel is the most obvious one, white people were seen as superior and African American’s were put down because of their race. The unequal treatment I read in this book taught me how much black people endured during this period of time and how helpless they really were since all the laws and regulations were set against them. Another fact I learned is that if a white person accused a black person of committing a crime when they don’t even have enough evidence to support their accusation, their word will still be taken against a black person even if they are in reality, innocent. This taught me how big of a role injustice played during the Great Depression. During Tom Robinson’s testimony, although it was clear that he did not rape the white girl; he was still proven guilty with barely enough evidence for the matter to even be taken to court. This just shows me how illogical the mentality of white people were during this time and makes me feel even more sympathetic to those African American’s that suffered this kind of inequality. I also learned that even though white people were seen as superior compared to black people; some whites still remained big hearted with integrity who could still distinguish right from wrong even when pressured

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