Examples Of Intolerance In To Kill A Mockingbird

In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, has many themes but none more evident than the losses and suffering of innocent people. For example, Mayella Ewell expiriences this theme as she is forced by her father to go along with the false accusation of rape comitted by Tom Robinson. As stated by Atticus Finch it wasn’t Tom but Mayella who committed this, "She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man.” (271). Mayella jumped on Tom and Tom couldn’t defend himself because he could hurt her.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch, a widower and a lawyer, lives in small county Maycomb, Alabama during the Great American Depression. Atticus defends Tom Robinson, a black man, from false capital charges of sexual assault, which Bob Ewell claims, likewise, antediluvian Atticus must protect himself and his children from Maycomb’s racist views. Even so, the town accidently kills Tom when he attempts breakout, nonetheless, Bob Ewell is bitter towards Atticus for revealing his lies in court. Although, Bob Ewell pursues to kill Atticus’ children for revenge, Boo Radley, Scout’s neighbor adjourns Bob Ewell’s ambush. The controversy of the trial influences Maycomb’s white children and neighbors to mistreat Atticus’ children, Jem and Scout, through abusive language.

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird demonstrates how racial injustice has a lasting impact on an individual and his loved ones when Tom Robinson gets convicted of a heinous crime that he did not commit. Racial injustice had an impact on Tom Robinson because he was stripped of his life and his freedom due to a racist group of individuals deciding his fate. Tom Robinson was walking home from town one day when Mayella Ewell, a troubled white girl, called him into her yard to offer him a nickel to complete a chore. Robinson complies and begins working. Ewell, who is desperate for attention, tries to lure Robinson into sexual behavior.

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. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee teaches her audience about stereotypes using three groups of people: the Finches, Negroes, and white trash.

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch employs pathos and diction in his closing argument to the jury and the people of Maycomb in order to persuade them to see beyond their prejudice and free Tom Robinson. Atticus informs the jury about the evil assumptions that society makes about Negroes. Pathos is used to persuade the jury when Atticus says, “Some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men” (Lee 273). In saying this, Atticus tries to convince the audience and jury that everyone is capable of making mistakes, and differences in appearance does not mean that groups of people are superior to others.

The coexistence of good and evil is found deeply embedded in every great story. Complex themes are born from this relationship and many can be found scattered in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel takes place in the 1930s and it revolves around the Finch siblings, Jem and Scout, as they grow up in the south and start to discover the truth about their society with their father, Atticus Finch, who is a talented lawyer, and the people of Maycomb County. During this era of hate, Atticus is charged with the task of defending Tom Robinson, a black man wrongly accused of rape. As Jem and Scout start to grow up and realize the racism of their community, people like Miss Maudie, Dill, and many others that reside in Maycomb County, encounters many events that start to shape the siblings for better or worse.

A very similar thing happens in To Kill a Mockingbird, when Bob Ewell accuses Tom Robinson of raping his daughter Mayella, but Atticus proves that it was most likely Bob who did it. Bob Ewell, Mayella’s dad, the person who should be protecting her at all costs. The most common injustice in the novel appears when the kids find the case between Tom Robinson and the Ewell family to be unfair, highly illogical, and racist. When the verdict of guilty is revealed to the town, Jem becomes upset and says, “You just can’t convict a man on evidence like that- you can’t”

Perhaps your reputation is destroyed or maybe a lifetime of utter loneliness has taken its toll on you, is it any excuse for murder? In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Mayella Ewell’s isolation leads her to fall for and advance on Tom Robinson, which results in her father, Bob Ewell seeing this as an opportunity to accuse Tom of raping his daughter and forcing her to lie in court. This false accusation can lead to a death penalty and Tom who is at a clear disadvantage due to his race doesn’t stand a chance. In the article written by Studs Terkel, American Dreams: Lost and Found, it reiterates the idea that our life experiences take part of who we are and partly shape us, but it is mainly up to ourselves to choose who we are. Three prominent themes in To Kill a Mockingbird are lost honor, loneliness as destruction, and will to survive.

Tom is disconnected from the people of the court because of the skin color, and make him have less advantage of power of the the court.Tom is sentenced to prison for being accused of raping Mayella.He is sentenced for a period of time and tries to escape by jumping over the fence but gets shot 17 times and dies.Tom is connected to loneliness because of the way he feels about being in jail.”Enfield Prison Farm, seventy miles away in Chester County. I asked Atticus if Tom's wife and children were allowed to visit him, but Atticus said no”.The quote describes how lonely and isolated Tom feels because his own family can’t even see him. (Jem 217) Tom is a very good man and is involved with his community but gets accused of a rape case and serves time and dies for something he simply didn't

From To Kill A Mockingbird, After getting home from the court case, Jem is upset “What, son? Said, Atticus “ “How could they do it?” Atticus responds by saying “I don’t know, but they did it. They’ve done it before and they did it tonight and they’ll do it again when they do- it seems only children weep. Good night.”(213) Jem is clearly conflicted over Tom being guilty. Jem unlike the other Maycomb residents realizes the crudeness and unfairness of the case.