To Kill A Mockingbird Race Quotes

He is accused of raping a girl by the name of Mayella Ewell and Atticus is appointed as his lawyer. Mayella accused Tom because she needed him to disappear after what she’d done “She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man” (Lee, Pg. 204) Atticus said this to Jem after losing the trial. If people of color weren’t viewed as negatively none of this would’ve been an issue.

A couple of relatives were visiting and talking to Scout when one said, “‘[Francis:] Grandma says it’s bad enough he lets you all run wild, but now he’s turned out to be a n-lover we’ll never be able to walk the streets of Maycomb agin. He’s ruinin’ the family, that’s what he’s doin’.’” (110). It is clear that Atticus being the defendant of an African-American man during a racial time in the world had discontented everyone in the town, his own family other than Scout and Jem clearly expresses their dislike. Atticus knows that taking this case would mean losing, yet because he believes in the equality of the people, he still decided to take on the case.

“In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins.” In the historical fiction, To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee writes about a small town known as Maycomb, Alabama in the late 1930’s. The novel revolves upon the case of Mayella and Tom and the effects of racial discriminations during the trial. In the story, Mayella, a nineteen year old, constantly undergoes abuse from her drunken father, Mr. Bob Ewell.

Birds singing the lovely tune of a mockingbird will wake in the morn as children play. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird plays out events in a small county residing in Alabama called Maycomb. It is described as a “Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square.” (Lee, 6).

23, P.295) In this quote, Atticus saying that there's just something about race that makes white people crazy. He also acknowledges, in case it wasn't already clear, that law is not pure realm free of the racial prejudices that plague everyday in life, it's subject to the same problems as society at large. Usually Atticus is a voice of hope for change the idea of racism, but here he flatly says that racism is a "fact of life," suggesting that losing Tom's case severely reduced his hopefulness concerning human nature, or else that, having sat through the

*quote* *backup info* Maycomb’s mask threatens the equality between people, genders, and races; most of the characters know

“Grandma says it’s bad enough he lets you all run wild, but now he’s turned out a nigger-lover we’ll never be able to walk the streets of Maycomb again. He’s ruinin’ the family, that’s what he’s doin’” (94), even Atticus’ family does not support his decision on taking the case. Atticus’ family shames him because they believe his case will cripple the family’s reputation and taint the family name. This reveals how racist people get when it involves black people, that if a white person has anything to do with a black person, they receive the nickname “nigger-lover”. Atticus and his family struggles with the racism as everyone talks about how personally involved Atticus is.

That’s one part I didn’t like about the book. The stereotypes of the black families of Maycomb. As soon as Bob Ewell turned Tom Robinson in for “raping” his daughter the whole white community believed it because he was black. He was a kind, loving father and husband. But no one bothered to get to know the real him or see past the color of his skin to really know that.

Race is a divisive factor in many populations. It is a concept to categorize people based on their physical traits, such as skin color, and genetics. Race can be used as a mechanism for social division. As the novel unfolds, Huckleberry Finn’s perspective on race changes as he sees the importance for equality in Mark Twain’s, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

In To Kill a Mockingbird prejudice in Maycomb is terrible. There are two major people in To Kill A Mockingbird that are prejudged severely. Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are the two main people who are prejudged. There is also one other man who prejudged, Atticus Finch. All three of these men are mockingbirds.

Mrs. Merriweather made these remarks when talking about Mrs. Roosevelt, “At least we don’t have the deceit to say to ‘em yes, you’re as good as we are but stay away from us. Down here we say you live your way and we’ll live ours (313).” She also claims that people in Maycomb treat black people better than the people “up there” do. This is not an accurate statement because later Tom Robinson is convicted, only because of his skin color and all evidence points to him being innocent. Aunt Alexandra also shows hypocrisy in a totally different

Tom Robinson is a young African-American who's been accused of raping and abusing Mayella Ewell, a young and closeted white woman. Racial discrimination is hinted throughout Tom’s trial as Atticus Finch explains to Jem that a white man’s word will always win over that of a black man’s - "... 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 of life" (220). Atticus explains to Jem that in the courts of Maycomb, a black man’s state of innocence or guilt is truly determined by a white man’s testimony.

The person speaking is Atticus because he is giving his final statement in his trial with Tom Robinson,”’She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man. Not an old Uncle, but a strong young negro man. No code mattered to her before she broke it, but it came crashing down on her afterwards.’” (272)

In Maycomb, both white people and people of color hold animosity to each other. So the children in the town with both a white and black parent are treated differently because society can’t put them in a box “‘ They don 't belong anywhere. Colored folks won’t have 'em because they’re half white; white folks won’t have ‘em ‘cause they’re colored, so they’re in-betweens, don 't belong anywhere. ’”(Lee 161)

The testimonies reveal how deep-rooted the racism within Maycomb runs, as it is present even in court rulings and how casually present it is. The court is taking place, and the order of prosecutor’s witnesses who are: Mr. Heck Tate, the sheriff; Mr. Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father; and Mayella Ewell, the one who is accusing Tom Robinson of raping her. When it’s Mr. Ewell’s turn to speak, he does so with many racial slurs and slang embedded in his accusations. When relaying what he saw to the jury, he points at Tom and yells “―I seen that black n*gger yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella!” Mr. Ewell, who, although, has never been a part of a court case or viewed one, doesn’t truly care, or notice, that so far into the formal case, not one person has used racial slang to talk about Tom, and uses the term n*gger quite casually.