Arguably the main theme of to kill a mockingbird is social prejudice and its detrimental effects. The author Harper Lee explores all types of social prejudice, most dramatically in the form of racism with Tom Robinson's trial. However, racism is only one aspect of the issue. Prejudice is shown to be pervasive and wide-ranging, certainly in a cramped, conservative little town like Maycomb. Society in this town is rigidly divided along lines of race, class and gender.
Characters Racism “I’m simply defending a negro; his name is Tom Robinson.” Atticus informs Scout and Jem’s life of alternating task of standing up to the prejudice and racism in the town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. Prejudice in this novel is expressed or represented by disgust and misinterpretation because of the difference of people skin color. Racism is made known by the whites in the town of Maycomb in opposition to the African Americans. The case of Tom Robinson, a black man serve as a crucial and greatly expected moment in the story.
The essay also talks of lynching and “vigilante justice”, which can be very easily connected to “To Kill a Mockingbird”. In “To Kill a Mockingbird”, there is an attempted lynching of Tom Robinson, on the sole basis of his race. The essay also discussed law enforcement branding black men as rapist, much like the brute stereotype in “Ethnic Notions”, and our need to protect white women from black men. I found this extremely hypocritical, as most interracial relationships were between a white man, and a black woman, and were not consensual. Kelley also discusses the systematic racism, and political corruptness within law enforcement, which shows how bad racism is.
In the 1930’s many African-American people were constantly dealing with the racism of that time. People were getting lynched with no involvement of the government and segregation was common throughout the country. America was in one of it’s darkest times. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper lee, the case of Tom Robinson was unjust and a representation of many flaws in the system of justice. In Maycomb, Alabama its judicial system is flawed, due to the way it was constructed.
Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird has many examples of prejudice. The prejudice presented is against people such as Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch, and Boo Radley. Each is discriminated against either because of the color of their skin, who they represent in court, or just how much they isolate themselves from the town. Harper Lee’s stance on racial prejudice is that it is a foolish practice, no matter who does it. Prejudice is a very large part of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Braxton Underwood was one of the many who despised the Negroes. According to Atticus, “‘ Braxton... despises Negroes, won’t have one near him’” (Lee 178). This disease, racism, is spreading through Maycomb. During, the trial Atticus said a very powerful speech about the evil assumption about Negroes.
The Effects of Racism in To Kill a Mocking Bird As illustrated in the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee, racism effects the way that people treat others and victimizes them depending on their skin color that can lead to false accusations, irrationality, and poverties. As the town of Maycomb already has hardships, racism makes it harder for the people there to live and function correctly. Three main characters in this writing that are negatively affected by racism are Tom Robinson, Atticus, and Lula.
Common sense seems to dictate that black people are discriminated and unfairly judged. When it comes to the topic of black people’s rights, most of us will readily agree that black people have significantly lower social status and they are experiencing unreasonable accusations. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of judicial organizations’ behaviors. Both To Kill the Mocking Bird and Black Lives Matter agree that inequality and prejudices among black people is serious enough and needs to be reduced.
There is a significantly higher amount of ethnic, or non-white, children that need to be adopted. This creates a win-win situation for both the parents and the child because the child can be placed with their new family much faster. Whites who understand the significance of race, and who are otherwise qualified, should be permitted to adopt black children (Maxwell). If a white family is willing to learn and understand what it means to be a certain race, then they should be allowed to adopt black children. If whites could just adopt black children, then the interracially adoption will be quick and black children will have homes quicker.
Lincoln also brings to surface the most natural difference mankind has ever known: race. It's a hard thing to deny especially when we learn about slavery based on skin color, and use words that negatively describe a person of a certain race. The sickening, but true fact is that people are judged, and receive unequal treatment based on what color they see when they look into the mirror. Even though we have no control over what color we see, America has faced this racist mind set since its existence. From slavery, to African American segregation in the and 60’s, skin color has caused people to be treated unfairly, all because of the choices nature has made for us.
Argumentative Essay The book To Kill a Mockingbird is based out of the town of Maycomb, Alabama. The residents in Maycomb are extremely racist and see minor inequalities as major differences and reasons to segregate. The families of Maycomb have their own hereditary social classes and are pretty much stuck in their class based on occupation and race`. People in Maycomb are born into significance or are born into less fortunate situations. Many of the characters use these social classes to boost their self esteem.
In the novel To Kill a MockingBird, written by Harper Lee, one of the recurring themes involves Scout struggling to determine her own view on racism as she encounters prejudices towards African Americans in public school and becomes more acquainted with other biases in her community. Similarly, in Keith Beauchamps documentary that portrays the murder of Emmett Till, many people living in the deep south demonstrated racist cruelty towards the African Americans. Prejudice clearly affects the lives of the African Americans in Beauchamps documentary and plays a key role in the murder of Emmett Till. Scout encounters prejudice in her community towards African Americans and against groups of individuals that vary from the accepted majority.
Usually the truth became distorted and was in favor of whites over blacks. In “To Kill a Mockingbird”, the truth versus reality is distorted through three main themes, the three ways are, Tom Robinson being accused of rape, Tom Robinson feeling bad for Mayella Ewell, and Tom Robinson being convicted of the rape of Mayella Ewell. In “To Kill a Mockingbird” a black hardworking man named Tom Robinson, is accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell. The truth of this matter is Tom Robinson, is Mayella threw herself at Tom.
He lost a case because of a racist jury and lost his freedom and life along with it. To begin with, Tom Robinson is affected by racism because he is black and in society black men are not to be trusted near woman and since he was accused for raping Mayella Ewell, jury and Maycomb citizens believed that Tom Robinson was guilty. For instance, “[…] the evil assumption- that all Negro men are basically immoral beings, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women […]” (Lee 273). This shows us that many white individuals believe that black men are immoral beings and should not be trusted around woman, this instantly clicks into the jury’s mind leading a head start for the Ewell to win the case and even the jury already jumping to conclusions with their final decision with racial judgements.
This applies to the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee where she paints a picture of the life of those in the 1900s. She explains how racism is integrated into the community through many of her characters. Some examples of the theme, racism, has effected the lives of people in the story like Tom Robinson, Scout, and Mr. Raymond. Racism had an effect on Tom Robinson because of his skin color. People living in Maycomb looked down on black people even