How Does Harper Lee Use Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird

Effects of Racism “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.

The writer, Harper Lee, in chapter 9 of her novel To Kill a Mockingbird conveys social racism. For example, when Atticus tells Scout how lawyers have black clients but not all lawyers try to do a good job at defending the black person. The writer, Harper Lee, in chapter 10 of her novel To Kill a Mockingbird demonstrates resistance. For example, when all of Scouts classmates are being rude to her because her dad is on the Tom Robinson rape case Scout ignores them because she had promised her dad that shw wouldn’t get into anymore fights with other kids.

Racism can be defined as “a particular form of prejudice defined by preconceived erroneous beliefs about race and members of racial groups” (Shouhayib). One race will develop an intolerance and misconceptions about other races and ethnicity, making their own opinions and stereotypes based on the differences in culture, appearance, knowledge, religion, ways of living and viewing the world, etc. Racism has been around for most of mankind’s history and it is still a major issue in today’s society. There are plenty examples of the effects of racism throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which shows racism through the eyes of children.

“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.” This quote comes from Martin Luther King Jr., who spoke during the Civil Rights Movement. He says that he refuses to accept that people with different skin think they are better than others with different color, but believes that even with racism, truth and unconditional love will prevail in the end.

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.

Racism is a curse where abnormal people becomes tormented by the accepted race of the community. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout notices during her exposure to racism that it does not give the oppressed a voice or opportunities of their own rights. A few days after the brutal trial, Aunt Alexandra hosted a gathering with her missionary circle and invited Scout to come and join them for refreshments. Mrs. Grace Merriweather, a faithful Methodist under duress, conversed about the poverty and immorality of the poor black Mrunas living in Africa, and then contrarily switched the topic to the circumstances of her own black community, “‘the cooks and field hands are just dissatisfied…they grumbled all next day after that trial…Just ruins your day to have one of ‘em in the kitchen…if my Sophy’d kept it up another day I’d have let her go. It’s never entered that wool of hers that the only reason I keep her is because this depression’s on and she needs her dollar and quarter every week she can get it’”

The 1930s were a time of controversy, housing the great depression and after the civil war, it was a breeding ground for racism. Set in the town of Maycomb, Alabama, Jem and Scout, children of Atticus Finch become enthralled by the mysteries and horrors that surround Boo Radley. Atticus, a lawyer then begins to defend a black man named Tom Robinson who was accused of raping a white woman. It is through this that Jem and Scout begin to learn the true atrocities that mankind commits. However with Atticus's guidance they also learn the meanings of empathy and compassion.

To kill a Mocking Bird is a book that shows you problems seen through the eyes of a little girl. One of these problems is racial prejudice. That is what caused the Great Migration. The Great Migration was when all the freed black slaves moved to the north.

In 1960, the late Harper Lee published what soon became a classic of modern American literature by the name of To Kill a Mockingbird. This story follows Scout, an innocuous yet tough young girl as she grows up in small town Maycomb, Alabama through 1933 to 1935. Many themes present themselves throughout this novel such as classism, courage, gender roles, loss of innocence; but the most apparent theme is racial injustice. To include a storyline delving into the racism that thrived both during the Great Depression era as well as the 1960s when this story was written was revolutionary for its time. Sadly, these racial themes found in To Kill a Mockingbird are still heavily prevalent in today’s society.

In Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Scout, who is the protagonist, is six years old and lives in Maycomb County, Alabama. She has the talent of reading when most people her age still can't and that is thanks to her father, Atticus who is a lawyer and her cook who In addition, the historical novel has a lot of gender inequality, injustice, and racial discrimination. Scout is a young girl, who is not like other girls, for she is like a tomboy who likes to play outside, play with her brother, and get dirty. Furthermore, she knows the laws that only a lawyer would know because of her father Atticus. On the other hand, she lost her mother, and her father is hardly around, so she doesn't have a parental figure around.