Examples Of Equality In To Kill A Mockingbird

Cooper Catania

Mrs. Bowman

English I

10 March 2023

Progress

Ever since this country has been discovered racism and equality have been an issue, however much progress has been made. In To Kill A Mockingbird there have been many times when racism and inequality are apparent. During the time era of the 1940s in which the novel is placed, many things plague society. Looking at rights today compared to the era in which the novel is placed much has changed. Racism is much less apparent, women's rights are greater and noticed more, and the legal system has made many improvements. Many people are discriminated against in To Kill a Mockingbird, especially minorities and women of society. White men are presented as better in this era, and black men

Many times this occurs throughout the story but one very noticeable example is when Lula explained to Scout and Jem “You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here–they got their church, we got our’n. It is our church, ain't it Miss Cal.”(120). A statement like this is an extremely big issue. This statement from Lula shows everyone that racism and prejudice are very apparent throughout daily life in To Kill a Mockingbird. Lula is explaining to Calpurnia, Scout, and Jem that there are separate churches for white and black people and that they aren’t accepted at the church they were at. Another very obvious appearance of this is when Atticus stated “She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man” (207). Although Atticus Finch is a very influential lawyer throughout the community of Maycomb. He represented exactly what the society of this time portrays. Atticus was trying to tell the others how Mayella had broken the “rules” and kissed a black man known as Tom Robinson. During this era, a white woman kissing a black man or a black woman kissing a white man was extremely against the rules of society. The time in which the novel is placed in the 1940s, segregation is an ongoing social issue that has yet to be solved, when people of both colors come together people see it as a crime especially the residents of Maycomb. Racism and segregation caused many issues

There have been many instances in this novel that prove and show off this problem. One instance of this is when Atticus told scout “Don’t pay attention to her, just hold your head high and be a gentleman”(103). The meaning of a statement like this is clearly stating to be the better person and ignore the other person, in this case, a woman. Due to this story being placed in the early 1940s women's rights had been neglected for a while. Although women were allowed to vote, and many other rights, they did not have equal opportunities as men did. However many during this time that women could not hold the roles of men in society as well as men did. Society claimed that men did all the hard work, while women believed they deserved the role of a man. This quote heavily proves that women were held to a lower standard than men. Many people represented women's issues throughout the story but one of them was Scout, scout heavily highlighted the issues of women in this era with his awareness of society around him. For example, scout exclaimed “She seemed glad to see me when I appeared in the kitchen, and by watching her I began to think there was some skill involved in being a girl”(117). Scout had been referring to Calpurnia in this quote, the finch family’s cook and partial caretaker. Scout was saying that in the past he had thought