Brendan Cregan
Mr. Li
English 9 Honors
31 March 2017
The People of Maycomb and Their Prejudices
After reading To Kill a Mockingbird, one might ask if the people of maycomb are truly “bad” people. While a jury composed of purely Maycombians decided that Tom Robinson was guilty of a crime that he unmistakably did not commit, I do not believe that the general public of Maycomb is a foul or hateful group.
The reason that I would argue this is that while their actions have lead to a social injustice, they are unable to retrospect and recognise their own faults and prejudice. As an example, Miss Gates said the following, “‘...persecution comes from people who are prejudiced. Prejudice,’ she said carefully’” This quote shows how oblivious Maycomb is to their hypocrisy. Even so, how did nearly the entire population get indoctrinated with the idea that blacks are less
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To start off, the finest definition of racism that I have come across is this; racism is the act of knowingly and intentionally oppressing a certain ethnic group by way of either laws or societal stigmas. Using this definition to move forward with, I believe that it is fair to say that not everyone who is racist is a bad person. While this may be a completely abstract idea in our current social situation, not everyone lives in the same social climate and most are surrounded by incredibly polar ideals to that of our own. In this this tender subject, you have to think of any and every situation before you can generalise that absolutely all people who have carried out racially prejudiced actions. For example, if someone is raised with perfect morals, accept that from birth, they have been told that they are superior to another race in every way, and they believe what they are told because that's all the input they have ever had does that make them a bad person? I don't think it
The interactions between those of a different race in Maycomb is looked down upon. Therefore, many african americans are wrongly punished and treated as though they are less than human. African-Americans are often seen as inferior to caucasians.
This image shows how the people in Maycomb based their beliefs, about Thomas Robinson, by his skin color. Most whites who were at the trial, didn’t want to hear anything that Mr. Robinson has to say, because he was black. Since he was black, the whites automatically assumed Mr. Robinson was guilty. Mr. Robinson says he didn’t mean any harm toward Miss. Mayella. “Mr. Finch, I tried.
The prejudice in Maycomb is so strong that a clear line has been
Taking certain words from the quote such as, “My folks”, implies that racism is being taught generation after generation. The quote shows a direct link to the prejudice most of Maycomb's community has towards people of color. Cecil Jacobs furthermore states how white people discriminated against black people during the 1930’s. Bob Ewell, a witness in the testimony, and the father of Mayella Ewell, is a very racist person. In one instance, Bob describes Tom Robinson as a black, nigger, raping his Mayella.
Bernadet Yaghoubzadeh Mrs Jeans English 21 March 2023 Maycomb’s Purpose Oftentimes a traditional town is considered to be one that is older and abides to its original customs and values of daily life. Harper Lees novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, shows the main character, Scout’s, perspective as the daughter of the attorney Atticus, who is defending Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman, in Maycomb Alabama. Lee establishes the setting of Maycomb through the use of an “old fashioned” mood of the outdated town, ultimately this illustrates the purpose of a simple life and habitual racism that the people of Maycomb adhere to. The people in Maycomb stick to their normal daily routines and old beliefs, this displays the simple lives that they are living.
Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced” (Lee 248). This is symbolic because people who live in Maycomb have no problem pointing out other peoples flaws, but refuse to recognize that they inhabit those same flaws as
In this novel, there are some parts that show racism. Atticus is the best lawyer in Maycomb. In chapter 9, he started to defends Tom Robinson. All the people in Maycomb disagree about defending Tom, Negro men. However, he believes Tom Robinson and Atticus work hard to defend him.
That’s one part I didn’t like about the book. The stereotypes of the black families of Maycomb. As soon as Bob Ewell turned Tom Robinson in for “raping” his daughter the whole white community believed it because he was black. He was a kind, loving father and husband. But no one bothered to get to know the real him or see past the color of his skin to really know that.
In Maycomb, Alabama, deeply rooted prejudice thrived and influenced citizens to be
Stereotypical Mockingbirds Mrs.Dubose told Jem, “‘ Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for.’” (Lee 117). In every small town the people there are stereotyped into different groups. Maycomb county is no different. They are set apart based on skin color, gender, and how poor or rich they are.
(Pg 276) A person that has control on the outcome didn’t even stand up to help the trial of Tom Robinson. This unjust area is completely dependent to the racial thoughts in Maycomb. Not only that but black people aren’t welcomed into this area due to the possible punishment that could happen to them. They could be held accountable for something they didn’t even do.
“Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man…” (Lee 179). This quote from Reverend Sykes in To Kill a Mockingbird is a sort of summary of how and why Tom Robinson was wrongly convicted guilty. It also gives a lot of insight on race relations in this time period. Unfortunately, racism has yet to leave society.
In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the entire town of Maycomb accepts and contributes to maintaining the racial status quo. The narrator, Scout, tries to make it seem as though Maycomb, Alabama is a better place than other southern states in the United States. Although, they tolerate racism just as much as any other southern state. Some characters are aware of this, like Atticus Finch and Dolphus Raymond and others are not. Dolphus Raymond even states “Things haven’t caught up to that one’s instinct yet.
Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced” (Lee 329). While this may seem like a useful life lesson, Scout realizes the clear hypocrisy in her lesson. Like every other citizen of Maycomb, she is prejudiced against black people. Even though she is teaching her students that prejudice and persecution is wrong, she is participating in those very activities at home. She heard her third grade teacher after Tom Robinson’s trial, she thought “it’s time somebody taught ‘em a lesson, they were gettin’ way above themselves, an’ the next thing they think they can do is marry us” (Lee 331).
The black and white communities of Maycomb hardly ever come across one another, and in the rare occasion of such occurrence, the black individual most likely will get punished. Maycomb County is filled with so called “laws” that punish the black individual with