Preview

Examples Of Jim Crow Laws In To Kill A Mockingbird

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
942 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Examples Of Jim Crow Laws In To Kill A Mockingbird
Tori Palfey
3/31/14
Eng.9H/Cummings/p.4
Essay #3

“You know if we were to look back and how we were in 1955 living in Jim Crow, living in segregation, living in segregated schools, it 's hard to believe that it was America, but it really was.” -Anna Deavere Smith. This quote was referring to the ghastly Jim Crow laws. The Jim Crow laws arose in the south in 1890 and restricted the way African Americans could participate in society (cliffnotes.com p.1). These laws had a vast influence on the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee being that this novel took place in 1930’s Alabama. Specially, these laws influence the novel with examples of segregation, Dolphus Raymond, the outcome of trial and Tom’s death, and people’s views on Atticus. Allow me to further elaborate on these ideas.
…show more content…
An example of this is the novel, is how the blacks and whites have different churches. During the time of the Jim Crow laws, churches fell into fixed segregation almost instantly (press.princton.edu p.1). Another example of this in the novel is how in the courtroom there is a section for blacks and a section for whites. In addition to this, when Jem and Scout go and sit in the black section, they are frowned upon. According to the Jim Crow laws, there must be separation between blacks and whites at government facilities, such as in courtrooms (christanpost.com p.1). In To Kill A Mockingbird, there is a separate community for the blacks and whites. The Jim Crow laws state that blacks and whites are not allowed to live on the same block (herritagecenter.com

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    An example, is that Atticus’s children are bullied by townsfolk, because their father is a known lawyer for the black community. “Your father is no better than the niggers and trash he works for,” said Mrs.Dubose. (Lee 135) This shows that even associating and/or working with black people in Maycomb county makes you “trash” and is frowned upon. This example plus many others throughout the book proves Maycomb experiences racial prejudice in “To Kill A Mockingbird.”…

    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jim Crow Laws, everyone knows that they had a disastrous effect on African Americans during the 1960s, however white folks were also desegregated around that time period as well. An example of this is in the book “To kill A Mockingbird”, on page 112, it says, “Francis looked at me carefully, concluded that I had been sufficiently subdued, and crooned softly, ‘Nigger-lover…’” This chapter in the novels concerns about people mocking Scout due to the fact that her father was defending a Negro man. This supports the claim because Scout was white, nonetheless still provoked as a result of Jim Crow Laws. Alternatively, assuming that Jim Crow Laws never existed, there would be no prejudice against African Americans, causing scout not to get pestered…

    • 178 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, characters resist the status quo many of their family and friends believe in to take a stand against racial injustice. For example, Atticus takes the case to defend Tom against his family’s wishes, because if he didn't, “.... [he] couldn't hold [his] head up in town, [he] couldn't represent this county in the legislature..” (100). Scout was asking Atticus why he would defend Negroes if he wasn't supposed to, and Atticus told Scout he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't accept the case.…

    • 353 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Jim Crow laws were related to the thought of how Blacks were treated and the rules of society in the setting of To Kill A Mockingbird. The laws stated that Blacks were inferior to Whites and were not allowed any freedoms that white people received. They could not show any greater knowledge and would always have to respect White’s opinions (Pilgrim). Jim Crow laws were very harsh and cruel toward black people. In the novel the black and white people could not interact equally. If someone were to talk to or have feelings for someone of a different race they would be thought poorly of (Lee). An example of the laws in the book was when Tom Robinson is being put on trial, the black people and white people are separated into different areas of the courtroom. Also, the execution of Tom Robinson from being accused of rape of a white female relates to the lynching of Blacks. The Jim Crow laws were a way of life from 1877-1960’s. In To Kill A Mockingbird it shows how these laws were used in their society.…

    • 743 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”(39) In this quote Atticus is trying to give Scout, the main character in To Kill a Mockingbird, that some advice about having a general code of moral ethics. This novel is the recollection of events that happened when the author was a young girl. It tells the story of how she grew up in a town called Maycomb with her older brother Jem and her father Atticus. It’s main event is the trial of Tom Robinson, in which he is falsely accused of “carnal knowledge of a woman without consent,” as Atticus’ definition of rape states. In, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee introduces the theme of racism through the characters of Bob Ewell, Scout’s Aunt Alexandra, and Calpurnia. She shows how the theme of racism can shape someones views on things majorly through the trial of Tom Robinson.…

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    How to Kill a Mockingbird is a very good example of how equality was in the past. This book was written in the time period of 1830-1840’s. During this time in history, blacks weren’t really accepted in the world. Scout is a white girl, her father Atticus is a lawyer. Atticus takes a big step in his world and puts himself, and his family in danger. Atticus decides to defend…

    • 914 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Racism and injustice and violence sweep our world, bringing a tragic harvest of heartache and death,” Billy Graham once said. In Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill A Mockingbird Atticus is a father and a lawyer, who lives with his children, Jem and Scout, and their cook, Calpurnia, in a town of Maycomb, Alabama. Maycomb is a town populated with black and white people, where racism is apparent. White people feel they are superior than the black people and treat them poorly. Racism is evident when Tom Robinson lost the trial to Bob Ewell, because he was black, even though he is innocent. People were also being judged on appearance, or being treated improperly, like how people see the kind of person Boo Radley is in the beginning of the story. Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” is about injustice.…

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imagine how hard life was for colored people back then. How one couldn’t even receive a fair trial because of someone’s color or ethnicity. How is was virtually impossible for them to receive a fair trial without people using stereotypes to structure their judgment. To Kill a Mockingbird demonstrates many conflicts, one being the beating and rape of a white woman by a black man, which back then was punishable by death. With this case, a man by the name of Atticus accepts to defend the man who is accused : Tom Robinson. Atticus has to endure what the society throws at him, along with his two children : Jem and Scout. To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee reveals, by using characters and characters’ actions and choices, it is morally correct to stand up and do the right thing. Without someone pointing out what is wrong with the society, things will never change for the better.…

    • 617 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Did you ever wonder why someone thought to separate blacks from whites, then wonder why someone decided to join them together again? In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, many uncomfortable situations were addressed that many people today preferably don’t like to discuss. This is why Atticus Finch encourages his children, Jem and Scout, to be aware of segregation. Within the novel, there is a rape case that discusses a black man being accused of the crime. This case afflicts many emotions and actions of multiple characters, but specifically Atticus, the lawyer on the black man’s side. The emotions from him are about how his life revolves around social disrespect and racial dishonesty which causes Atticus to act effectively and…

    • 898 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the book ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee, racism and social inequality are two central themes. Many different forms of social inequality coexist in the society depicted in the book, as the people of Maycomb are very rigid in their ways. This is because the book takes place in a time at which there was much racism and social inequality. In Maycomb, firstly there is discrimination between rich and poor white people, who do not often interact with each other. There is also racism against blacks by all white people in society, both rich and poor. Black people are denied basic rights and discriminated against in this town. Lastly, there is racism between the lowest classes of the community: poor white people and black people. In a small bigoted town like Maycomb, social inequality is highly prevalent.…

    • 993 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word ( ~Martin Luther King, Jr.)." The novel "To kill a mockingbird" was written by Harper Lee in the 1960s about Two kids Jem and Scout who live in Maycomb county with their dad Atticus Finch and their maid Calpurnia. In this town many things happen, for example, there was a trial About how A black man named Tom Robinson rapes a girl named Mayella Ewell (A white girl). Out of everyone in the town, Atticus was asked to defend Tom and he accepted causing everyone to call Atticus names…

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Racism In Tkam

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, tells the story of Two kids, Scout and Jem, who live in Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930’s. They are very adventurous and curious. Scout and Jem's dad, Atticus, is a lawyer who is given a tough case of defending a black man who was accused of rape. During this time in Maycomb there is a lot of racism going around. This theme appears in the novel when Cecil jacobs announced that Scout's dad Atticus defends black people and started to make fun of her it, when Tom Robinson was accused of rape when he didn't do anything and they know that he is innocent but was still found guilty and sentenced to death, and when Tom Robinson was shot 17 time and killed.…

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the first examples of American history influencing To Kill a Mockingbird is that of the Jim Crow Laws. The Jim Crow Laws were laws that prevented black people from being treated equally to Whites. The Jim Crow Laws mostly operated in southern and border states, from 1877 to the mid-1960’s (Pilgrim). White people in these states believed that they needed these laws, because Blacks were inferior to Whites in every way (Pilgrim). They also believed that “integration would mongrelize the White race” (Pilgrim). One punishment for not obeying these wrongful laws was that the black person would be lynched (Pilgrim). Punishments for not abiding by Jim Crow Laws almost always ended with the black person in question losing their lives (Pilgrim). In To Kill a Mockingbird, one…

    • 970 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tom Robinson Symbolism

    • 658 Words
    • 3 Pages

    To Kill a Mockingbird is set during the early parts of the Great Depression, which was going on throughout the 1930’s. Jim Crows Laws were predominant during this time period, breaking them would mean “serious danger of being killed by segregation fanatics,” whether a person’s white or black. With such laws as, “ No person or corporation shall require any white female nurse to nurse in wards or rooms in hospitals, either public or private, in which negro men are placed” in Alabama, any personal relations between a white woman and a black man was forbidden. Atticus calls these Laws “code’ as he explains how and why the codes are “broken”. Tom Robinson is “Guilty,” because the girl allegedly raped has done the ‘unspeakable’ in the ‘society of Maycomb’, and kissed a ‘strong’, ‘young,’ ‘black…

    • 658 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Scout in the book To Kill a Mockingbird is the main character. But she is also a little kid, so she has problems understanding a lot of stuff. One thing that she has problems understanding is the Jim Crow Laws. The Jim Crow Laws are sets of rules that separate the blacks and whites.…

    • 419 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays