Comparing The United States Of Lyncherdom And To Kill A Mockingbird

The ingenious Mark Twain once said, “For no mob has any sand in the presence of a man known to be splendidly brave” (Paragraph 9, “The United States of Lyncherdom”). Mark Twain expressed his thoughts and feelings regarding the 1901 lynching of three African American men that occurred in the southwest corner of Missouri. Mark Twain and Harper Lee articulated their views on racism in the south as well as lynching. Furthermore, Lee illustrates this in her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, a scene in which Atticus Finch, whom is a lawyer defending Tom Robinson, is obstinately standing outside of Tom Robinson’s prison cell. Tom Robinson is an African American man who is accused of raping a White woman, Atticus stands outside of Robinson’s prison cell

Both Lee and Twain have many comparabilities, for example, they both use sarcasm and humor to suggest possible “solutions” to resolve the issue of lynching and racism in the United States. Harper Lee states, “ ’Hmp, maybe we need a police force of children… you children last night made Walter Cunningham stand in my shoes for a minute. That was enough’” (P. 210 Chapter 16). Atticus said this to Scout, his eight-year-old daughter, in response to her intervening in the attempted foray. Twain first synthesizes, “Then perhaps the remedy for lynchings comes to this: station a brave man in each affected community to encourage, support, and bring light to the deep disapproval of lynching.” (Paragraph 10, ‘The United States of Lyncherdom). Twain first suggests to allot a“brave man” in each populace that is affected by lynchings and racism, but Twain has a revelation later one that entails that “there are not enough morally brave men in stock” to be able to disperse to each affected community. Twain then suggests,“In the meantime, there is another plan. Let us import American missionaries from china, and send them into the lynching field [Twain first mentioned American missionaries located in China in the first paragraph]” (“The United States of Lyncherdom,” paragraph