Preview

Racism in to Kill a Mockingbird

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
455 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Racism in to Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee uses racism in, To Kill a Mockingbird, to show readers the bad outcomes of racist thoughts and ideas. The sentence of life in prison to Tom Robinson, Atticus defending Tom Robinson, and Jem's thoughts on Black people's blood are all examples of Harper Lee's intentions. Racism is the hatred or intolerance of another race and is a theme that is ever present in Harper Lee's book, To Kill a Mockingbird.
Tom Robinson was being sentenced to life in prison for supposedly raping Mayella Ewell even though there is proof that he did not. The jury voted him guilty as charged. "In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's word the white man always wins. They're ugly, but those are the facts of life." Atticus tells Jem. This is a terrible outcome of Racism. Tom Robinsons life is now gone because of white man in the jury being prejudice against a black man.
When Atticus decides to a Tom Robinson he gets sworn at by getting called a "nigger-lover" by many even his own nephew. "'Francis, what the hell do you mean?'/ 'Just what I said. Grandma says it's bad enough he lets you run wild, but now he turned out to be a nigger lover.'" Those who are racist are very arrogant and proud but those who are affected by it are affected greatly. Tom Robinson and Atticus are just two of many that are affected by Racism. Even Atticus, a white man, is affected by the patronizing on slaughter of racist remarks.
Jem, slightly brainwashed by his town and community, has racist thoughts and ideas about Negroes. Jem tells scout outside of the courthouse "Once you have a drop of Negro blood, that makes you all black." This example of racism shows how even children, at best, are showing signs of racism in a country where there should not be any. Harper Lee is showing the older community is doing to Maycomb's children. Basically they are brainwashing the kids without even knowing it. Their children just go by what their parents do and say. Thought Jem said a racist

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    As of today, we still have problem with prejudice and racism towards blacks. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel illustrating the struggles of a racist town in Alabama. Characters are at a struggle to comprehend the way people act. Knowing this, they have to learn what is right and act accordingly. Throughout Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, characters discover and begin to emphasize each other’s lives in large portions and in doing so, many characters develop and mature to understand the world they live in.…

    • 1086 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    "To Kill A MockingBird''

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “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” (Lee). In the Maycomb County there is a lot of whites, blacks and even some mixed. There are some that are wealthy and some that are not. Some get along and others do not. Even in a small town, they all live so differently. Throughout Harper lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, hypocrisy, injustice and evil is envisioned in an adult society. Miss Gates and Lula contradict themselves. Atticus is harassed, Tom Robinson gets accused for a crime he did not commit. Bob Ewell tries to kill Scout and Jem and Maycomb is loaded with rumours of Boo Radley,…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Racism in To Kill A Mockingbird was very common, and it is an important part of the story. Racism is shown by the Caucasians in Maycomb against the African-Americans in many different ways. The only reason Tom was killed was because he was colored and he didn't have the freedom the caucasian have. The white society was racist against Africans-Americans call them by a different word. The judge was very racist even after Atticus giving so many proofs that Tom was not the one who did it, the judge already made his mind because the jury was black he had done it. They have not trusted blacks in jails or any other job. In the end, the one main focus of the author was how racism affected black lives, and how it was present at all…

    • 927 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.” (Rosa Parks) This quote is a very accurate representation of what life for people is like today. Yes, you heard that right. Today's society is not truly equal like it is portrayed to be. There are several authors that have written about what their life has been like, such as, How to Kill a Mockingbird, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian are all good examples of stories that portray how the world today is different, but still similar in many ways.…

    • 914 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, narrates an unbiased, non-filtered, and innocent viewpoint from that of Scout Finch. If the novel were to be rewritten from another’s perspective (such as Jem’s or Atticus’), the main concept of the book would be altered. The narrative of Atticus Finch would influence less of an impact; his knowledge and experience with the town of Maycomb would weaken the depth of Tom Robinson’s case. Just like Scout’s—Jem’s outlook would also call attention to the problematic practice of racism. However, his sense of understanding the immorality of it is more mature than her. His narrative would seem biased; which insinuates that Harper Lee would have written To Kill a Mockingbird to discriminate against racists.…

    • 261 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The most glaringly obvious example of racial prejudice is the trial and conviction of Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman. Although Atticus proved to the jury that Tom was innocent, there was no chance of a fair trial “in the secret courts of men’s hearts” (Lee 323; ch. 25). Tom was unanimously deemed guilty by the completely white jury. It was a black man’s word against a white woman’s, and the jury made their decision based solely off this fact. This disgraceful act of injustice happened because racist beliefs were acted upon. Racial prejudice not only destroyed the life of an innocent man, but put a stain on…

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The events you hear about racism around the world has gotten to the point where the controversies have gone to a further extent. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, racism has show up upon the trial of Tom Robinson when he was convicted of an act of violence that never happened. Characters in the book like Aunt Alexandra followed the racism tradition in her town but soon believes that blacks are just as equal as whites. Even though Aunt Alexandra is initially a racist person, once she hears about the gruesome death of Tom Robinson, she begins to realize the graciousness of the blacks in Maycomb County, and becomes more benevolent towards those who are persecuted.…

    • 118 Words
    • 1 Page
    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
  • Satisfactory Essays

    15. 98% of the cases heard in the Supreme Court are based on what type of jurisdiction?…

    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    As a result of being of the black race, Lee reveals through the characterization of a key character in the novel-Tom Robinson- that people are treated unjustly in many ways. Characters like Mr Gilmer are shown to symbolize the tension between the black and the whites. To Kill a Mockingbird clearly proves that race can affect the way that people are treated and viewed in society . This is shown by the actions and words chosen by multiple characters in this novel. Even now in the future, racism continues to be a big part of our lives and has caused many political debates and arguments. A quote said by our president, Barack Obama states, “Racism. We are not cured of it. And it's not just a matter of it not being polite to say 'nigger' in public. That's not the measure of whether racism still exists or not. It's not just a matter of overt discrimination. Societies don't overnight completely erase everything that happened 200-300 years…

    • 1367 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Have you ever been prejudiced to others, or ever been looked at differently because you were a different race or of a different religion? Being different is always unacceptable to some people, but to others it is the best way to go throughout life. Prejudice goes in and out of our country affecting different people and distinguishing out a large extent of them. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates prejudice through numerous accounts of race, gender, and rich/poor with numerous accounts.…

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Scottsboro Trial

    • 1444 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Racism is part of everyday human society and it is human nature to judge other by their skins color, race, or the way they look. The novel, To Kill A Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, talks about perspective of a young girl named Jean Louise or Scout on series of events that happen in the town Maycomb, Alabama. Her father and a widower, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer with high moral standards and with the help of Calpurnia, a black cook, Scout and Jem discover the extent of racism in their home community while witness many events such as snow in Maycomb, neighbor house burning down and rape trial between a white woman and a black man and these events significantly change her at the end of the book. The two consequences of racial discrimination…

    • 1444 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Injustice everywhere, is a threat to justice anywhere.” –Martin Luther King. When reading this quote what comes to your mind? It tells an obvious point which many people fail to recognize. When injustice is done to one person, another has to consider what would it take for him, or her to have the same injustice happen to them. People may say that injustice towards someone is a shame, but they don’t generally ponder on the possibility that it could happen to them at any given time. We see racial injustice happening frequently in courts. A man might get convicted of something he is not guilty for just because of his race, which is very unjust and inhumane. We see many ways of injustice in our world, like economic injustice, but one of the main examples of injustice is political and racial, especially in court rulings.…

    • 942 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Harper Lee tackles an extremely sensitive issue in this book, which is Racism. She conveys an impending statement about how prejudice can really extract a person’s self-integrity and respect from society, but if equality and justice was to exist, prejudice is just a mere imagination in a bad dream. “Lemme tell you somethin now, Billy,” a third said, “you know the court appointed him to defend this Negro” and Jem says “Yeah, but Atticus aims to defend him. That’s what I don’t like about it (pg 157).””. Harper lee was very clever to include Atticus’s personality during this conversation. Lee conveys subtly to the reader about how prejudice is that Tom Robinson was immorally declared of raping Mayella, and equality and justice is that Atticus takes up the case of defending Tom voluntarily. “Atticus sighed. “I’m simply defending a Negro - his name’s Tom Robinson.” (P81). Lee tries to convey that, Atticus identifies Tom by name to emphasize his humanity instead of his race/ skin-color. She explains that no matter what race or skin color everyone should be treated equal. Lee developed this idea to make us realize that your race and skin color doesn’t matter, if you are really innocent then nothing is to be feared…

    • 862 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    From a very young age, I have always held a strong sense of what is right and what is wrong. Being able to sense when something throws off my moral compass is something that I pride myself on, which is how I relate deeply with Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, from To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman. In Watchman, Scout is now in her twenties, and trying to wrap her head around the rapidly changing times of the 1950s, when the entire country is on the brink of major social change on the racial front. Traveling from progressive New York City to her childhood home of Maycomb, Alabama, only deepens her confusion on racial issues. Scout is forced to formulate her own opinions when discovering the deepening troubles concerning race in her hometown……

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays