Discrimination is the one of the, if not the biggest themes portrayed in the novel To kill A Mockingbird written by Harper Lee. As we already know the biggest form of discrimination in the novel is racism.However, there are many forms of other discrimination such as Jem being put down for being who she loves to be, a classic Tomboy. Another example would be Boo Radley being hated by almost every citizen in Maycomb for no reason at all, none of these mean citizens even know Boo personally. There is however some good to this evil. Atticus and others were different from the norm and stood up for people.
The author’s description of the court’s ruling was definite and expected because as Atticus explained, society is biased, therefore the court of all white men were always partisan towards voting in favor of a white man without allowing any arguments against him to sway them. Even though Tom Robinson was not guilty and Atticus had strongly proven him as an innocent who was falsely accused of rape, but because discrimination was a factor in the final judgement, the consequences in society’s prejudice consequently led to the suffering of innocent individuals like Tom Robinson who received discriminatory treatment and trial due to their race. Descriptions of southern beliefs during the time period throughout the book develop and clarify the major theme of the
So even when he knows he would be punished for hiding a black slave, he still lies to the people who go after the running away slaves that Jim is his father with chickenpox. Another example is that in the group of Huck, Tom and Jim, Tom to some extent serves as the authority. When Huck and Tom are planning to save Jim, Tom acts like a leader or the authority. Since Tom take the romance as their authority of how to save Jim, the plan that Tom puts forward has so much unnecessary troubles in it like the troubles in the romance. But Huck is an independent human being and has his own thinking.
When a black man named Tom Robinson is accused by Bob Ewell of beating and raping his daughter Mayella, Scout and Jem’s dad Atticus, who is a lawyer, defends him. Because of this, the kids deal with a lot of hate from the townsfolk but pull through it. In Tom’s trial, we meet Mayella and Bob Ewell. Bob was the one who beat his daughter Mayella, not Tom. Tom is accused anyway, however, because of his race.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Atticus believes Maycomb is unjust because the town is inconsiderate of other people’s view, which is shown when Atticus gets targeted for defending a black man, worries that his kids will become bitter and catch Maycomb’s disease, and Aunt Alexandra advising Atticus that he is raising his kids wrong. To begin with, Mrs Dubose addresses to Scout and her family about how Atticus is disgracing his race and his color by defending Tom Robinson on the alleged rape case. Mrs Dubose says, “Your father’s no better than the ni**ers and trash he works for” (135). Atticus views Maycomb as an injustice town because during this time period black people were seen as a lower class. Atticus is mark as an overall victim because in the trial the county is shocked that Atticus is
Not all the Same Equality is a term that is defined as “the state of being equal; correspondence in quantity, degree, value, rank, or ability” (Dictionary.com). In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, equality dictates how several characters are portrayed in the town of Maycomb, Alabama, at a time of racism, hate, and prejudice. Because of these topics being such an everyday obstacle for characters like Walter Cunningham Jr. and Burris Ewell, two students at the school, Boo Radley, a scared neighbor that saves a life, and Tom Robinson, a black man wrongly convicted of a crime, the idea of equality has a different effect on each character’s life. For instance, there are numerous times that equality plays a big role throughout this novel. The first time that equality plays a big part in this novel is right off the bat in Chapter 2 involving Walter Cunningham Junior.
Like how Martin Luther King peacefully started the movement to end segregation, characters Walter Cunningham, who convinces an angry mob to leave Tom Robinson alone and tries to convince the rest of the jury that Tom is innocent, and Atticus, who does not care what the town whispers about him and knows going into the trial that Tom will be convicted guilty, both character's make statements in a racist town to begin the movement toward equality. Through dauntless acts, Walter Cunningham Sr. represents courage in To Kill a Mockingbird because he changes his mind on whether Tom Robinson is guilty or not and he tries to change other people’s minds. Walter Cunningham arrives at the Maycomb jail with an angry mob to kill Tom Robinson, when Scout, Atticus’ daughter, starts speaking to him like it was just the two of them, she helps him come back down to earth and say, “‘I’ll tell him you said hey, little lady,’ he said. Then he straightened up and waved a big paw. ‘Let's clear out,’ he called.
The Right Thing “Sometimes it is better to lose and do the right thing than to win and do the wrong thing.”-Tony Blair. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch realized this very truth. When someone approached Atticus about defending a black man named Tom Robinson, Atticus had a serious decision to make. MayElla Ewell recently accused Tom of raping her, and Atticus would have to prove otherwise. In this time, white people thought of black people as lower than them and did not treat them fairly.
Why would Tom Robinson be labeled as a rapist right away without strong proofs of his innocence? The reason why he is accused of rape and considered guilty is because he is an African-American and that instantly labels him as a criminal or a murderer. The people in Maycomb also labels Atticus Finch as a threat to Maycomb town and they call him a “nigger-lover” just because he is defending Tom Robinson and for being his lawyer on the court. Judging people by just seeing them for the first time without knowing the person is just not the right way to criticize a person. It could also be referred to rating a book by judging its cover without reading the inside of a book.
She is taught this by her father, Atticus, who risks everything as a lawyer to defend a black man who is accused for a crime that he did not commit. As the novel progresses, it is necessary to change perspective on those accused of crimes in order to deteriorate racial prejudice. By examining the characters in Maycomb, it becomes clear that closed-minded people are the source of prejudice because their opinion is incapable of expanding and understanding the purpose of an individual’s true personality. Early in the story, Atticus teaches Scout about having consideration of a person’s reason behind their actions. He explains that she will only be able to get along with other people “‘-until [she climbs] into [their] skin and walk around in it”(33).