Theme Of Disease In To Kill A Mockingbird

“A man’s skin color has no more significance as his eye color” (Haile Selassie I). Every town has a disease, whether it 's racism, poverty or crime. In “To Kill A Mockingbird” their disease is racism. Racism consumes and blinds the people of Maycomb. In Harper Lee 's novel “To Kill A Mockingbird”, the readers follow Scout Finch, a nine year old girl that has not been infected by the disease but is heavily influenced. The disease can be eliminated by the people of Maycomb but they let it consume their lives because they are to stuck in their ways and too cowardly to rebel. In the book, the reader sees the effects of their views when an innocent black man named Tom Robinson is put on trial for allegedly raping a white girl.

In a very extreme and powerful

The verdict of the trial was unjust and heartbreaking. Although all the evidence against Tom Robinson was false, the jury still sided with Mayella and her father. The trial truly shows that Maycomb is infested and plagued with their racist views. After the guilty verdict that ignores Tom 's own version of himself in favor of Maycomb 's nightmare vision of him, Tom loses hope. In chapter 24, Scout quotes “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men 's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed."

Racism is a cruel disease that corrupts the mind and judgement of people. Although much of the town is infected there are a few brave people that came out and fought for what they believed in. Although the reader would like to think that Atticus Finch and Tom had a chance of winning, the town of Maycomb is too infected with the disease of racism."There 's something in our world that makes men lose their heads --they couldn 't be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it 's a white man 's word against a black man 's, the white man always wins. They 're ugly, but those are the facts