Examples Of What Makes A First Impression In To Kill A Mockingbird

What makes a first impression of a person? Is it their accent, personality, height, skin color? All of these things together make up a first impression of a person. Throughout time however, the first impression of a person has been made largely based on the race of that person. Asian people will react differently to white people differently than they will other Asian colored people. This is the generally the same for any people group, some however are trying to be in acceptance of all people, regardless of color. This was not the case in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. Racism plays a major role in To Kill A Mockingbird, and can be seen through the all white jury, Tom Robinson’s unfair trial, and Mayella’s loneliness.

Our story is set in the 1930’s, a time where racism was simply a part of life, not a decision. This can be seen through the fact that the jury in the court was comprised completely of white men. There wasn’t even the thought of allowing colored people, or women onto the jury. The juries in this court were also mostly farmers, showing that there was not a very wide variety in profession in Maycomb.

For some people it means getting in with the wrong crowd, as longs as it means they are accepted. For Mayella Ewell that meant trying to be loved by a man she didn’t love. “She was as sad, I thought, as what Jem called a mixed child: white people wouldn’t have anything to do with her because she lived among pigs; Negros wouldn’t have anything to do with her because she was white” (To Kill A Mockingbird pg 256). Mayella seems to be an outcast to everyone, including her own family. Tom testifies that her father shouted profanities at her as he made an escape. Loneliness drove her to come on to Tom and then later trying to hide this, she blamed hi for raping her. Loneliness is a devastating problem and makes people do things that they wish they