What Is The Role Of 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 .

How does racism affect a story? As a kid in the 1930s, Harper Lee grew up when there was hardly any equality for African Americans. Harper Lee’s only novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is heavily based off of prejudice and racism from her childhood. In her book, she writes about racial discrimination through the eyes of a six year-old girl, named Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch, during the Great Depression. Her and her family are deeply tied into racism and prejudice involved throughout this story. Racism in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is ever apparent as the story is located in a small southern town in Alabama; it is reflected upon three of the main characters: Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch, Jem Finch and their father, Atticus Finch.

Tom Robinson is another mockingbird figure. He was a genuinely caring person who is destroyed by his willingness to help Mayella Ewell. Just like a mockingbird, Robinson never hurt anyone. Yet, he was also persecuted by society for his kindness and his race. Tom Robinson was killed because of his kindness and the color of his skin; “ a harmless songbird that was shot down by a senseless hunter.” Lee uses the character of Tom as a mockingbird figure to express the innocence of the mockingbird and exhibit the narrow-mindedness and biased opinions of the towns folk.

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

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.

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.

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.

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, a little girl named Jean Louise Finch, commonly referred to as Scout, tells the story of how an African American man, named Tom Robinson, is charged for the accusation of rape and how Scout’s father, Atticus, proves Tom’s innocence. Atticus uses the reference about mockingbirds stating that it’s a sin to kill an innocent creature that just makes beautiful music. Tom is a perfect example of this metaphor since he was convicted guilty of rape only because the racism in the town overcame what the proven evidence was stating, not guilty. Tom Robinson was a man that grew up with slavery, and understands that racism is still a growing issue especially in Maycomb County, Alabama. He adjusts his life to what he

The theme of racial injustice plays out primarily in the court during the trial of Tom Robinson, a black cripple, when Atticus thoroughly proves that Tom is completely innocent, even with the judge agreeing with their case, a jury consisting of racists deems Tom guilty, sentencing him to death. Atticus explains to Jem and Scout, “In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s word, the white always wins. They’re ugly, but these are the facts of life,” showing how racism is prevalent in not just their community, but in the court systems as well. Aside from the trial, racial injustice is woven throughout the story; much of Maycomb treats the black population scornfully, people use often use racial slurs, and black people either work for much less than a white man, or do dirty or unsafe work that their society feels whites shouldn’t do. In short, being exposed to these events help Scout understand the racial injustices surrounding

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

In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the recurring theme of racial injustice plays a major role in how the narrorator, Scout and her brother Jem mature, and how the story unfolds. When a white woman is raped, the townspeople of Maycomb are quick to blame an innocent black man Tom Robinson. An accusation solely based on the color of his skin. The evidence is so compelling in Robinson’s favor, that race,unquestionably, is the defining component in the jury's conclusion. When Scout and Jem's father, Atticus, who is a lawyer, agrees to defend Tom Robinson, he exposes his family to the threats of the racist residents of Maycomb.

Sins are part of certain religions, however, no matter what your religion is, if you have one, you still have morals, everyone does. It helps you determine what’s right and what is wrong. Harper Lee writes about a very serious issue that we still deal with today, and that is racism. In To Kill a Mockingbird less gives many examples of racism that takes place back in the 1930’s. Three main examples are when Atticus is explaining why the trial shouldn’t have happened, the fact Mr. Raymond pretends to be constantly drunk just to give people a reason why he’s married to a black woman, and the third is when Tom Robertson makes the mistake of feeling sorry for Mayella Ewell. Today we still deal with racism, but not as bad as it was in the 1930’s.

It is no coincidence that the novel To Kill a Mockingbird has sold over 30 million copies and is being read throughout most of high school still today. While some critics like Allen Barra believe the novel does not teach anything more than the obvious, To Kill a Mockingbird depicts much more than general themes of racism; there are moral values taught that stand as testaments of the time. Although students are reading the novel over fifty years after the publication, it perfectly epitomizes the time period of the 1930’s. Secondly, “timeless classic” novels have broad themes which cause wide appeal.

Tom Robinson is the most easily identifiable mockingbird in this story. Although he is a peaceful, respectful man who helps Mayella Ewell without asking for anything in return, he is falsely accused and dies tragically as a result. Mr. Underwood, Maycomb’s newspaper editor, likens Tom’s death to the “senseless slaughter of innocent songbirds by hunters and children” in the editorial he writes immediately after the Negro’s death. As shooting a mockingbird results in the loss of a sweet song-maker, the death of Tom brings no good fruit—it only satisfies the destructive racial prejudice of the South. Tom is also targeted for the same reasons that mockingbirds are targeted