One of the most controversial social issues in the world today that has continued to affect millions of people is racism. This concept can be defined as the discrimination of others based on their racial background; the belief that one race is superior to the other (Patten, 2016). Racism can also be based on different ethnic backgrounds, cultural values, and physical appearances. Throughout the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, the theme of racism is evident through the trial of Tom Robinson. Harper Lee’s themes of prejudice towards African Americans are still present today due to unfair trial convictions and racial wage gaps, despite the fact that there is workplace protection against racism. In today’s society racism is evident through unfair …show more content…
To begin with, racial wage gaps have increased drastically in the last 36 years. In fact, black men make 31 percent less than white men. According to Economic Policy Institute in 2015, black men made 22 percent less in hourly wages compared to white men with the same work experience, same education, and region of residence. In 2015, black men’s average hourly wages decreased by 31 percent than those of white men. Average hourly wages for black and Hispanic men were $14 to $15, however, white men earned $21 (Patten, 2016). Additionally, hourly wage gaps between women have also increased. In 2000, black women earned 4.1 percent less than young white women; in 2015 the gap has increased to 10.8 percent. (“Racial wage gap largest in 36 years,” 2016). Racial wage gaps are also illustrated through the Robinsons from To Kill A Mockingbird. The Robinsons are in the lowest social class of the economy. As stated in the book, “The congregation stirred. ‘You all know what it’s for—Helen can’t leave those children to work while Tom’s in jail. If everybody gives one more dime, we’ll have it—’” (124). Reverend Sykes announces that the church offerings this week will go to Helen Robinson since Tom Robinson is in jail and not able to make money for the family. Today, black men experience a wage gap when compared to white men while working the same job. This scenario depicts the act of racism and …show more content…
This is evident through the unfair sentences black men receive compared to white men and the alarming wage gaps between races. Although the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has decreased the amount of discriminating remarks, it is still present. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, racism was apparent through many characters including Tom Robinson. Similarly, Tom Robinson was involved in a rape case and was found guilty because of his skin color. Although racism has decreased in today’s world, it is still evident. Instead of clear and outright racism minorities suffered in the olden days, there is now sly racism that is prominent in schools, workplace, and trial convictions. The claws of racism are still grasping the modern world, however, it is possible to end this cycle by raising awareness of this social
The ever present distaste from whites in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, shows the issues that blacks had to deal with constantly. Lee was able to portray this hatred by putting and important character, Tom Robinson a black man, on an unjust trial for the alleged rape of a white woman, Mayella Ewell. This classic story reveals the awful conditions and intense racism during this time in the southern Unites States. Some of the many African Americans affected by southern white racists in court or otherwise include the Scottsboro
In Harper Lee's novel "To Kill A Mockingbird", the characters face adversity that develop controversial themes. Lee's application of racism is immensely represented. Especially through the actions and words of characters Atticus Finch and Aunt Alexandra. To begin, I will be discussing character Atticus Finch and how he represents racism. Father and lawyer, he lives in Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s.
Has one ever wondered if racism will ever end because it seems no matter how many years go by, it will live on forever? Luckily there are people in this world who are willing to fight for what is right just like Atticus Finch. In the To Kill a Mockingbird passage, in which Atticus ends the court case with a powerful statement where he is defending Tom Robinson, a black man in the southern state of Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930s, Author Harper Lee uses irony and imagery to help develop the theme that the color of people’s skin does not define them as a person and does not automatically make them an awful and guilty person. To commence, Lee uses irony to establish the theme that one can not automatically be guilty because of the color of their
In To Kill a Mockingbird, racism was a substantial cause of many problems throughout the story, including the main conflict. There were laws specifically designed to mistreat and persecute African-Americans. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, showed how racism affected society back then. Racism affected the way people lived in the 1930’s,
Institutional racism is inevitable in the United States. Institutional racism is constantly occurring, whether it be in the work force, schools, or the criminal justice system. The color of one’s skin is a determining factor for his success in a company, and whether or not he ends up in the court systems, and for how long. Although laws such as the Thirteenth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, and Fifteenth Amendment have been put in place to avoid racism in America and give black people equal rights, institutional racism is still holding African Americans back.
This can significantly limit a person’s potential who is facing ‘White Supremacy’. This topic is prominent within the public threw institutional racism in social media and the news. Also racialization is significant today as black people receive unequal treatment due to their different characteristics. Even though the Black Lives Matter movement is extremely important and helps in adapting society’s views on racism and how it is wrong, there is still much of it found today. Black people are a “racialized group that are singled out for unequal treatment on the basis of real or imagined physical characteristics”
In the workforce, there are wage gaps amongst different races. African americans earn seventy-three percent as much as whites and hispanics earn sixty-nine percent as much (Patten 9). Although the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the State and Federal powers to exploit an employee based upon their race, religion, and gender, there is still discrimination in how much a person earns based upon their race and gender. Even though there is an equal employment opportunity agency that protects an individual’s civil rights in a workplace, there is still racial bias in salary
If it was not for Tom Robinson being protected by Atticus, he would have died earlier than he did. One of the main reasons the mop tried to kill him was not only because of how he was accused of raping a white woman, but because he was black. Nevertheless, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird was a great book with a very interesting plot and lots of great themes that really improve the plot, consequently, one of them being racism. Racism was seen throughout the book from the trial, or from when the African Americans were treated with the least respect, or when the people tried to kill Tom Robinson before his
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses characterization, symbolism, and irony to express the cloud in judgment prejudice causes when examining the morals of others. Scout is able to understand more about the town folk in Maycomb County through studying her teacher’s ironic and corrupted views of life around her. Lee uses Miss Gates, Scout’s teacher, to allow Scout a chance to understand the complexity of the adult world. While teaching the class about the Holocaust, Gates expresses the injustice being done to the Jews. She teaches the children that the town does not “believe in persecuting anybody” (Lee 329) because of the U.S. democratic government.
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.
A review of recent news headlines reveals that innocent people are still sent to jail decades after “To Kill a Mockingbird” was written. Also, Dolphus Raymond was shunned by his community just because he is white and got married to a black woman, and has mixed children. He was judged as a person and could not be with the woman he loved just because of the color of her skin. In today's society, we see this discrimination everywhere. This has not stopped.
In To Kill a Mockingbord,Harper Lee Clearly shows how wide spread prejudice is, by using Atticus's standpoint ,Boo Radely, and mostly Tom Robinson's standpoint. Tom Robinson and Boo Radely are not once ever close to being given a chance. The whole reason Tom died because he was not given a chance, but because he had black skin, and also because he was prejudged by most of Maycomb. He was convicted guilty of murder, and ended upshot and killed by seventeen bullets because of his black
Besides white women being paid less than men, more culturally diverse people are being paid even less than them. A USA today article on the gap says “The numbers were even worse for women of color, with black women earning 68% of what was paid to white men and Hispanic women’s pay amounting to just 62% of their white male peers, according to the IWPR.” click here for link. That is crazy considering segregation has ended, at least so we thought. Not only culturally diverse women, but all women are being paid less than men.
As can be seen, Lee’s usage of Tom Robinson’s trial and the racial discrimination and prejudice seen throughout it helps reinforce the theme of social injustice throughout To Kill A Mockingbird. Another encounter that the
Essentially, the root of all problems stems from prejudiced situations, social inequality is created by religious, ethnic and many other forms of discrimination. Social inequality is defined as ‘the existence of unequal opportunities and rewards for different social positions or statuses within a group or society’. In To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, specifically, it is created by racism, classism and gender. Inequality factors into the course of the story in very evident ways ultimately causing extreme injustice. Harper Lee’s masterful novel exposes the dark underbelly of society, a society overflowing with hate, narrow mindedness and prejudice.