Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird

Back in the painfully segregated deep South of America, many blacks suffered from an actionless crime, that was the color of their skin. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch is a lawyer that defends everyone, including blacks and whites, in Maycomb County, Alabama. Situated on a case in which he defends Tom Robinson, a Negro accused of rape by a white woman, Atticus is able to display his leadership by teaching his two children, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch and Jeremy “Jem” Finch, that a community with prejudice and racism towards anybody is shameful, and therefore should not exist. In addition, the article, “The Scottsboro Boys”, written by Douglas O. Linder, and Martin Luther King Jr's “I Have a Dream” speech show audiences a point of view through the eyes of a Black American of the harsh reality of racial discrimination. During the early 1900’s, segregation and racial prejudice against blacks were both big issues that a majority of society failed to see as problems, but brave leaders were able to notice the fault in them, and help the reshape society for the good of both blacks and whites.

Imagine being a white lawyer in the 1930s and being asked to defend a black man who has been accused of raping a white woman. This is exactly what occurs in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, when Atticus Finch, a white lawyer, chooses to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell, in 1935. Many people may believe Atticus Finch was wrong to have defended Tom Robinson because it put him and his family in harm’s way. However, Atticus was right to have defended Tom Robinson because Atticus knows very well that all people must be treated equally. and Atticus has to set a good example for his children.

In a world where the color of your skin determines whether or not you are guilty of a horrible crime, a white man tries to defend an innocent black man from being convicted. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch adamantly defends a black man named Tom Robinson from being wrongfully convicted of raping a white woman, an unspeakable crime in that time. The racism embedded in many of the citizens of Maycomb makes Atticus’ job of convincing the jurors of Robinson’s innocence almost impossible but through the challenges, he makes an impressive closing statement. Atticus Finch effectively uses ethos, logos, and pathos to create an exceedingly convincing argument and final statement that Tom Robinson was wrongly accused of an awful

I am reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The previous chapters talk about Atticus taking a black man’s case. The rumor was that a black man named Tom Robinson raped Mr. Ewell’s oldest daughter, Mayella. Everybody from Maycomb county knows for a fact that a negro has not nor will ever win a case. On the other hand, Tom said that Mayela told him to come into her house and then all of a sudden kissed him; however, who is going to believe him. Atticus is trying to walk in Mr. Robinson’s shoes. Mr. Finch does not care what color Mr. Robinson is, all that matters is that he is an innocent man who is loyal to others. In this journal I will be characterizing Tom Robinson and evaluating the reasons why Mayella Ewell lied in court.

Harper Lee, through her book, also denotes the repercussions of a power-based societal structure, in order to highlight the same flaws in her own contemporary society. Tom Robinson’s trial is an incident in which several characters’ craving for power becomes known. One such character is Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father. Lee portrays Bob Ewell as the personification of the hunger for power. Ewell serves to reveal the ironic nature of the town’s social hierarchy. Ewell covets power, his actions and words are all stemmed from his thirst for power and dominance. Ironically, Ewell does not actually acquire supremacy from those above him, but instead targets and attacks those below him, like Tom Robinson and his own daughter. During his questioning, Bob accuses: “That black nigger yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella! [Page 175]” In just one sentence, Bob

In this book “to kill a mockingbird” the book is place in 1900’s the kind of racism that takes place in the book doesn't happen today But was very common in those Times.Now African American are accepted like any other person.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch states: “The evil assumption- that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women… Which, gentlemen, we know is in itself a lie as black as Tom Robinson’s skin” (pg.232). To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is the story of a lawyer’s two children growing up in Maycomb, Alabama to a world that seems more and more corrupt to them. The side plot of the Tom Robinson v. Ewell family case highlights some of the more corrupt and wicked elements of the general Maycomb views. Thus, Tom Robinson and Bob Ewell show the prejudice between whites and blacks.

In Harper Lee’s book “To Kill a Mockingbird” Jem , Scout , and Dill live in Maycomb , Alabama around the time of the 1930’s they all were struggling through racism and poor family’s trying to get by. Harper Lee’s first and only novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” was published during the civil right movements. In this book Jem, Scout, and Dill tend to have courage and loyalty through life and in their relationship toward one another . Jem and Scout are brother and sister, Dill is a friend of the family but they accept him as a brother. Although, Jem and Dill have the most exceptional relationship out of them all. “ To Kill A Mockingbird” the impact racism had on society shows through the setting , characters , and town of Maycomb , Alabama .

As the United States “progresses” in economic, educational and technological advancements we still are fighting for racial equality. With more than 50 years since the brown vs. board of education case there is still incidents like Ferguson, Baton Rouge, and Phiando Castile where many questions are still unanswered. However, Harper Lee dealt with these same problems in 1960 when she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee created an emotionally confronting story. Lee writes through the eyes of “Scout” a lawyer’s daughter in a small sleepy town of Maycomb in Alabama during the great depression. Throughout the book “Scout” learns coming of age lessons from Atticus and her own experiences. But when Atticus takes on a case defending a black man (Tom Robinson) convicted for rapping a white woman (Mayella Ewell) and is found guilty. “Scout” her brother Jem begin to understand the effects of the prejudices in society. Therefore, Lee applies the literary concepts of diction and tone to revel the truth that prejudices in society negatively affect the way people treat each other in To Kill a Mocking Bird.

According to a report from dosomething.org, in 2009, "2/3 of the criminals receiving life sentences were non-whites." This shows that racism is still going on today and in Harper Lee's book, To Kill A Mockingbird. Her book takes place in Maycomb County, Alabama during the depression. The story is told by Jean Louise Finch, who goes by Scout. She lives with her brother named Jeremy Finch, or Jem, and their father named Atticus. He is an attorney and not afraid to stand up for what he believes in, even if he gets looked down upon. Atticus takes the case of Tom Robinson, who is a black person. He is accused of having raped a white woman, Mayella Ewell. Although the evidence makes the reader believe that Robinson is innocent, the jury finds

Rumors regarding others’ flaws or secrets are constantly spread throughout all societies, but when are they ever true? This is an insightful question that the characters Jem and Scout may be asking themselves following their experiences of racial prejudice and unfair judgement of others in the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. Racial issues are still a problem in society today, as are many of the other morals taught throughout the story. For example, the discrimination of the character Tom Robinson leads the children, Jem and Scout, to come to the conclusion that society creates opinions about others based on prejudice, rather than the truth. The author includes many important literary devices that develop the novel and teaches

This quote has helped me realize that even though racism tends to take part in our daily lives, it causes us to lose our humanity because it is neglected where we aren’t able to view the main picture. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, racism

names’s Tom Robinson”. Discuss the effects of racism on Maycomb citizens such as Tom and Helen Robinson,

Racism is “any action or attitude, conscious or unconscious that subordinates an individual or group based on skin colour or race. It can be enacted individually or institutionally,” (US Civil Rights Commission). In other words, any act, thought, or relation to treating someone as if they are below you based on the color of their skin or ethnic group is the effect of racism. Racism and prejudice is presented in To Kill a Mockingbird on various occasions similar to ones in our past and present. These unfortunate acts are no novel, on the contrary, they have been an issue as far back as the 1600s, when slavery began to take a rise.

Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa, once said, “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” Mandela was an anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician, and philanthropist. His life experiences and the quote he left us with show a direct reflection to the lives in many characters in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. In this novel, one of the main characters was Atticus Finch. Mr. Finch’s life was very similar to Mr. Mandela’s, as he was appointed to represent Tom Robinson for the charge of rape against a white woman in Maycomb, Alabama. Deep inside, the reader can feel Atticus’ internal fear, but his courage to teach his family and community right from wrong before, during, and after the trial proved that he conquered that fear. In today’s society, diversity is welcomed. Thanks to many important events in our history people of all races and colors are treated equally. There is much more acceptance than there was in the setting of this novel. This story took place in the deep south in the 1930’s. The conflict centers around a white family with a black housekeeper who is directly involved in a court case between a white woman and a black man. A relationship was involved. This hearing raised the race issue to the people of Maycomb when the facts were pretty obvious that the black man was innocent. In those days, interacial relationships and blacks