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.
“Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it.” Harper Lee had used the tragic situation of Tom Robinsons trial to explore many themes including, racism and differences in privilege. “To kill a mockingbird” written by Harper Lee explores many situations linked to the broad idea of racism throughout the systems of Maycomb and differences in privilege in many different ways.
In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee teaches us about the town of Maycomb County during the late 1930s, where the characters live in isolation and victimization. Through the perspective of a young Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, readers will witness the prejudice that Maycomb produces during times where people face judgement through age, gender, skin colour, and class, their whole lives. Different types of prejudice are present throughout the story and each contribute to how events play out in the small town of Maycomb. Consequently, socially disabling the people who fall victim from living their life comfortably in peace. Boo Radley and his isolation from Maycomb County, the racial aspects of Tom Robinson, and the decision Atticus Finch makes as a lawyer, to defend a black man has all made them fall in the hands of Maycomb’s prejudice ways.
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird was a pretty good book that took place in the 1930s in the town of Maycomb. The story is told through the eyes of the main character, Jean Louise Finch, and the story introduces many other characters. To kill a mockingbird has many big themes that played a part in the plot of the story, some of them being Courage, Cruelty, Honor, Hatred, Ignorance, Justice, Kindness, Prejudice, Tolerance and Maturation, but one of the most important themes in the story was Racism. People in the town of Maycomb display their racist attitudes by convicting Tom Robinson for a crime they know he didn't commit, by treating the African Americans and people who associate with African Americans with no respect, and by trying to
In the novel, ‘To kill a mockingbird’, Harper Lee conveys the theme of racism and social inequality by setting up the story in Maycomb, a small community in Alabama, the U.S back in 1930s. Lee presents some of the social issues of 1930s such as segregation and poverty in the novel. These issues are observed and examined through the innocent eyes of a young girl, Scout, the narrator. Lee contrasts the reality of 1930s, stained by racism, prejudice, and social inequality, to the innocent view of the narrator through various characters such as Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Mayella Ewell. Harper Lee skillfully crafts the victims of racism and social prejudice by the use of descriptive language devices.
If not for the major characters, the minor characters have played an equally important role in Maycomb with their contrasting views. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is mainly about Jem and Scout growing up under the difficult situations created in Alabama during The Great Depression. Stereotypes and discrimination are major problems in Maycomb. Scout and Jem Finch are raised by Atticus, with the help of Calpurnia, their maid. In the first part of the book, Scout, Jem and Dill are fascinated by Boo Radley because of the rumors they hear about him, and they try everything to make him come out of his house. In the second part of the book, Scout and Jem find out that their father is going to help Tom Robinson, an African-American,
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.
Set in the rural southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, To Kill A Mockingbird is seen through the eyes of Scout Finch and her older brother Jem, Maycomb appears to be friendly and peaceful. However the children are exposed to the dangers and the truth of their community. As they mature and learn important lessons from others, they’re exposed to prejudice, inequality, racism, social class and injustice.
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee takes place in the town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. The author Lee demonstrates some major themes such as social inequality, intolerance, education, legal justice and bravery through this character. The title To Kill a Mockingbird symbolises innocence where Lee explores this through the eyes of Jem and Scout who are kids of Atticus Finch. He is one of the most honest, patient, kind, fair, respected and admired men in Maycomb during the Great Depression. Atticus is known for his moral character throughout the book. He is a talented man, he is good at a variety of things from being the best checker player in the town to being an honest and fair lawyer, and he can even play the Jew’s harp. Atticus is seen as a great father even though the odds are against him he does not give up therefore he is admired and respected for his courage. His attitude and personality does not change. For instance Miss Maudie says, “Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets”
¨Inequality is the root of social evil¨ (Pope Francis). In the book To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee shows that social inequality affects everyone. As the book goes on, Lee proves that racial inequality was one of the greater stresses in the 1930’s. Social inequality does not just exist only with race; it interferes with wealth, family backgrounds, age, and even your beliefs. Racism, family background, and wealth are the three main forms of social inequality that appear multiple times in To Kill a Mockingbird.
The book "To Kill a Mockingbird" describes different classes of people as been rich and poor. People classify themselves differently because some people are in poverty, while some are wealthy. Most wealthy people help the poor, but the main people they help are the Cunningham 's family. They help the Cunningham 's family because they are willing to work and they are hard working. People never help the Ewell 's family because they are rude, lazy, and they waste their money on alcohol. The Finch 's family help the African American because racism occur during that time. The people treated the African American as low self esteem people. The poor people are in poverty because of the Great Depression and they couldn 't have enough money to provide
“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.
Literature is a precious art form to many and important for various reasons. Literacy helps improve grammar, provides entertainment, educates people and provides inspiration. It is specifically useful for educating people on racial discrimination as many classic works contain racism. Both To Kill a Mockingbird and The Butler are great at expanding people’s knowledge on racism. Although they have two entirely different plots, they both depict how little people value an African-American’s opinion, characters challenging racism and the acceptance of blatant racism.
In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee presents a large social atmosphere that includes many different cultures and extremes. The story takes place in the southern town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. This novel illustrates how the southerners perceived different ideas about each other and social norms. It is told through the eyes of a young girl, Scout Finch, as she is growing up and becoming influenced by societal attitudes. Throughout the course of this book Scout learns many lessons including: how a society functions, why there is conflict between different cultures, and what makes cultures different from each other. Harper Lee utilizes functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism to convey how
In the novel, ‘To kill a mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates the small, imaginary town, the Maycomb County, as a place where racism and social inequality happens in the background of 1930s America. Not only the segregation between whites and blacks, but also the poor lived in a harsh state of living. As Scout, the young narrator, tells the story, Lee introduces and highlights the effects of racism and social inequality on the citizens of Maycomb County by using various characters such as Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Mayella Ewell.