Racism has been a societal issue for many years in the past, and although we are taking steps in the right direction, there will probably be racism for the rest of the human race’s existence. This is represented in the town of Maycomb in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, which took place in a heightened time of racial division and discrimination. Racism is a huge issue that influences many aspects of society, such as work, family, and class. Harper Lee portrays the theme of racism in To Kill a Mockingbird through the speech and actions of her characters and imaginative symbolism.
How is the racial problem of the southern states of USA in the 1930s portrayed in To Kill a Mockingbird?
Discrimination can happen to anyone, anywhere and anytime. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird demonstrates a variety of different kinds of discrimination. A person can be discriminated against because of who they are. Someone may be discriminated against because of what they do. Others may be discriminated because of what they look like. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch, Arthur (Boo) Radley, and Tom Robinson were all discriminated against, but for very different reasons.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a great book that sets examples of racism, gender, and socioeconomic discrimination, and many others, these are just the big ones that are shown constantly in the book. Scout and Jem live in Maycomb, Alabama, Maycomb is a place where not everyone gets along; however, there are some people who would like to see all races coming together and getting along, such as Atticus Finch, father to Scout and Jem Finch. Some of the main characters are Atticus Finch, Jem and Scout Finch, Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, Calpurnia, and Dill. The book 's plot mainly focuses on Tom Robinson and the case, it is that he was accused of raping a little girl, which would be Bob Ewell 's daughter He, however, was falsely accused of the rape. The trial is in the summer and Atticus knows bad things will happen then because he constantly hints at it. It will be harder for the kids to go through everything that will happen as well. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird Scout and Jem live with their father Atticus and their maid Calpurnia. Racism is shown in the book constantly as well as, gender, and socioeconomic discrimination.
The novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” was written in 1960 by Harper Lee in the point of view of a young innocent girl named Scout. One of the main messages that Lee has (need a new word than – indicated or set out) is racism, it plays an important role which strongly impacts many character’s lives unfairly and changes the relationship between two. Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” shows that it is wrong to hurt someone who does no harm to you, for example, black people are innocent but no way did they have as many rights as white people did. Black people lived hard lives because society was judgemental, irrational and most importantly, racist. As Scout and Jem grow older they learn to cope, take responsibility and are introduced to new aspects of life, one of which is racism. People of the town including children refer to black people as “Niggers”, and raised to think of black people as lower class individuals.
To Kill a Mockingbird highlights that racism is unjust. Providing that, they treated people wrongly just because they thought their race was superior to the others. Racism is stereotypical, destructive and more importantly unhair. Overall, racism is hurting our world and has been for a long time.
Have you ever witnessed a case of racial and social inequality? In a perfect world, there would be true racial, social equality, where everyone would be respected as a person, no matter their gender, race, or social class. However, this perfect world does not exist. America, or any other country in this world, will never truly achieve racial and social equality. There is too much hate and too vast of a difference, for people to accept each other. There is a cultural difference that can spark conflict, and be offensive for different people. Many judgements take place on what people have heard about, on the radio. Even today, all the terrorist attacks that sliver of people blinded by prejudice for so long, it is normal for thinking for them.
Imagine living during a time where you would be discriminated against and divided just because the color of your skin. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, a black man named Tom Robinson was falsely accused of having raped a white woman and was not given a fair trial. The towns hatred towards black people have caused a prejudice to occur against him. The jury was made up of only white males who are biased against black people due to this prejudice. Tom has good morals, is noble, and a good-hearted human being. In fact, he would help with chores for a woman named Mayella Ewell, who just so happens to be the person he was accused of raping. Her father, Bob Ewell, is abusive towards Mayella and is an awful person. He claims to have
Race has always been a part of history, from slavery to MLK, to Barack Obama. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee defines race in the south during the 1930’s. Jean “Scout” Finch, is the narrator of the story. Her brother Jeremy “Jem” and her dad, Atticus, are both main characters. Calpurnia is their house cook and helper, she is also black. Tom Robinson is a black man who is wrongfully convicted of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell. This novel goes through Scout's life from when she was 6, till she is 9. She lives in the town of Maycomb Alabama, and lives an innocent life until about halfway through the story, where she begins to ask questions. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout shows the readers that racial inequality creates an unjust society through the African American community, through the people surrounding colored folks, and through Tom Robinson’s Case.
Social prejudice is shown throughout Harper Lee’s award winning book, To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee powerfully analyses the theme social prejudice, and its effect on people. Such as how the
In society today there are those that are pushed out of the crowd because of what they look like, how they act, and what others say to be true about them. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows that unselfish, kind hearted people can experience prejudice from others.
“Racism is taught in our society, it is not automatic. It is learned behavior toward persons with dissimilar physical characteristics.”-Alex Haley To Kill A Mockingbird is a novel that is greatly affected by the way others see the world. Scout, a young girl, growing up in Maycomb a place where racism is accepted. She is constantly learning how racism affects the community through different altercations in Maycomb. She realizes that racism shouldn’t exist due to the side effects. In To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee conveys that racism causes inequality between people, isolation, and injustice.
In the novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee, there are many important messages shown throughout the book. However the primary focus was set on racial prejudice that existed in the 1930s-1940’s in the fictional town of Maycomb County.The racism in the novel was very much a reality in 1930s-1940s America. A very good example of the racial prejudice that existed was in the courtroom during Tom Robinson’s trial, an innocent Negro man held against his will for a crime he did not commit.
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it”(Lee 30). These are the words of Atticus Finch, the wisest character in the famous novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. He is a fictional man that embodies human traits that all people should strive to emulate. In the novel; narrated by Atticus’ daughter Jean Louise Finch, more often referred to as Scout; Atticus defends a black man, Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping a white female, Mayella Ewell. The main message of the text is the prominence of racial injustice, specifically in the 1930’s, the era the novel takes place in. Since the publication of the text there has been a lot of controversy about whether or not students should read the text in middle school or high school.
What if the world was still the same as it was back during the great depression. What if this was the truth. In To Kill a Mockingbird readers can see how prejudice affected people of color back then, and how it’s not so different from today. In the novel readers will find unfairness in court, hate crimes, and segregation. Today readers can still find these same issues, but in different forms. Prejudice towards race has changed very little from back then to now.