Have you ever experienced a situation that involved racism? Maybe someone of a different race was treated unfairly or made fun of because they were of a different color. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, racism is a recurring theme because it dominates most of the events that take place in the novel. The book is a view of life in the town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930's. To Kill A Mockingbird is told through the eyes of Scout Finch. Scout is a young girl who is growing up with the argument that surrounds her father's court case. Atticus Finch, her father, is a lawyer who is defending a black man named Tom Robinson. Tom was charged with raping a white girl. The lives of the characters are changed by Maycomb’s worst disease which is racism and this is shown throughout the book, but in chapter 12 we see the side of reverse discrimination involving the blacks to the whites. …show more content…
To judge before getting to know the person or group and forming an opinion of them based solely on how they look or their skin color, is what prejudice means. Scout has been respectful to the black people in her society and she shows this with her maid, Calpurnia. Other children her age have learned their parent’s way of racially prejudiced views, causing Scout many problems. “My fists were clenched I was to make fly. Cecil Jacob had announced the day before that Scout Finch’s daddy defended niggers.”(Lee 99) Though the novel mainly focuses on the prejudice and superior attitudes that exist in the white people, chapter 12 reveals that sometimes the prejudice went the other
To kill a mockingbird In the book “ To kill a mockingbird” Harper Lee shows that prejudice is used to towards Tom Robinson and Boo Radley in the book. In the book Tom Robinson’s trial is decided by the jury's prejudice towards black people . “Judge Taylor was polling the jury: Guilty… guilty… guilty… guilty pg 211” The case was decided by Tom’s race he was clearly innocent but he was still guilty because the jury thinks that just because he is black he is guilty.
The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is placed in Maycomb County, Alabama, in the era of the Great Depression. The novel stars Scout, a girl who is trying to grow up in the Great Depression era, Scout’s father, Atticus, is acting as a defense attorney for a falsely accused black man, Scout also has to deal with growing up next to a scary, and mysterious neighbor. To Kill a Mockingbird contains many types of prejudice including: Racial Prejudice, Prejudice against Atticus, and prejudice against lower class citizens. To Kill a Mockingbird contains many types of prejudice, including Racial prejudice. Some examples are, the Tom Robinson Trial, which showed the true colours of the men and women inside Maycomb County, Alabama, people just started assuming that Tom is instantly guilty just because he is black, Lynch mobs tried to kill Tom because they took a white man’s word over a black man’s word, people disrespected the black community during the trial, and Whites were unable to be around black churches/communities
Novelist Harper Lee, in her book To Kill a Mockingbird, depicts the racism and inequalities in the town of Maycomb by having a white man, Atticus Finch, defend Tom Robinson who was black. Lee’s purpose is to show the world is unfair between races and we need to have compassion for others. She adopts a serious tone to appeal to people’s morals to do the right the thing by those seeking changes for equality. Throughout his closing argument, Atticus ensures credibility, mentioning God, and by presenting evidence that Tom Robinson is not guilty but someone in the courtroom is, to explain Mayella’s reasoning to lie.
Many of the concerns found in the novel of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee are to do with judging and descrimination, as Tom Robinson gets convicted of a crime he didn't commit. Judging without understanding and people being quick to judge are very prominent throughout the novel, as well as prejudice needs to be overcome. The prompt is Atticus talking about judging others and prejudice, which is why all these concerns link to it. Many people judge others without understand what they may be going through or what struggles they may be facing. This is why Atticus tells Scout that "you will never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view".
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, is about a family that lives in Maycomb, Alabama. The people in the family are Atticus Finch, Jem (son), Scout (daughter), and their maid Calpurnia. The novel takes a twist when Atticus, who is a lawyer, is appointed to be Tom’s(who is a black man) attorney. Atticus defends Tom against sexual assault charges, but they do not win the case against the Ewells, even though everything the Ewells said was a lie. The novel explicitly shows that there are many examples of people being prejudice against one another.
In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the racist people of the town are the antagonists. In part one of the novel, Scout and her family get ridiculed for Atticus taking on a case to defend a man of another race. Scout hears from many townspeople, both children and adults, that Atticus is unethical for defending a black person as well has he defends a white person. The prejudice townspeople are opposing Scout by ridiculing her father and the beliefs of Scout's family. Cecil Jones, a girl that attends school with Scout, offends the narrator by telling her, "My folks said your daddy was a disgrace an' that [Tom Robinson] oughta hang from the water tank."
Arguably the main theme of to kill a mockingbird is social prejudice and its detrimental effects. The author Harper Lee explores all types of social prejudice, most dramatically in the form of racism with Tom Robinson's trial. However, racism is only one aspect of the issue. Prejudice is shown to be pervasive and wide-ranging, certainly in a cramped, conservative little town like Maycomb. Society in this town is rigidly divided along lines of race, class and gender.
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. Aunt Alexandra and Francis are characters that think they are more worthy because they are white.
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee contains various examples of racism and prejudice throughout the novel. The story takes place in the 1930's, a period when racism was a part of everyday life. Prejudice and racism in this book are represented by acts of hate towards others because of the color of their skin. In this novel, prejudice and racism was dominantly pointed towards blacks. Acts of racism can be discreet to the point that you can easily miss them.
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee conveys the message of overcoming inequality and discrimination against people of color during the 1900s through the eyes of a white, six year old girl nicknamed Scout. Scout lives with her father Atticus, her brother Jem, and their housekeeper Calpurnia in a small town fictionally located in Maycomb Alabama. Growing up with a lawyer for a father, Scout is able to learn things that were beyond her age and thus making her mature faster, in a sense. Her involvement in the case exposes her to the bigotry views of those in her time, yet her young and uninfluenced mind helps her outgrow these ‘views’.
Alissa Grisler 6/4/14 English Period 6 Mr. Mahan Loss of Innocence in To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, provides a coming-of-age story in which Scout and Jem Finch experience a loss of innocence as they grow up in the deeply prejudiced Southern Alabama. This loss of innocence stems from their exposure to discrimination, their increasing knowledge of justice versus corruption, and their awareness of social stratification. Throughout the story, their father, Atticus, serves as their guide and rigid advocate for morality. Harper Lee shows racism in Maycomb through dialogue and character’s actions. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout and Jem are robbed of their childlike innocence during the trial of Tom Robinson, a black
In Maycomb County, the Negroes are viewed as inferior, and in addition, the Jim Crow laws are enforced to ensure segregation. As a result, they do not have equal rights as the other citizens. When Atticus is asked to defend Tom Robinson, a Negro man accused of raping a white girl, he accepts. To the community this was improper. The community’s disgust at Atticus’ decision is expressed when Scout is irked by Cecil Jacobs, a boy in her class, when he announces that, “Scout Finch’s daddy defended niggers.”
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.
Discrimination is shown throughout To Kill A Mockingbird in numerous ways. Racism and prejudice are shown when the jury makes the ruling to convict Tom Robinson as guilty, despite all of the evidence to prove his innocence; Scout is known for being a tomboy. The lessons about discrimination that Scout learns throughout the novel are applicable to all types of prejudice, Atticus Finch, the father of Scout and Jem Finch, is judged for defending Tom Robinson, an innocent man accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a low class teenage girl. Since most of the community is racist, Tom Robinson’s case is very hard for Atticus to defend. They do not believe a white man should be defending a black man.
“The roots of racism lie deep in a man’s nature, wounded and bruised by original sin” Sargent Shriver. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has been read by thousands, and it teaches lessons that everyone can apply to their life. One of the most apparent themes of the story is humanity. The main characters Jem, Scout, and their lawyer father Atticus are followed throughout the story, as he tries to raise them with respect for all people in the small prejudice town of Maycomb. Atticus has been appointed to defend a black man accused of raping a white woman in the racist town.