In the novel, "In the Heat of the Night", a murder is investigated by a negro detective, Virgil Tibs, and a team of white officers. "In the Heat of the Night" is a detective novel written by John Ball to show racial attitudes that happened in a small town in the southern part of the United States. Discrimination not only affects the main character Virgil Tibs, but also affects everyone involved in the story. Lastly, discrimination, is a negative and degrading action that clouds a person's judgement and affects everyone negatively. The following essay is about how discrimination affects a negro detective and southern whites negatively when they investigate a murder.
Discrimination is racial attitude that affects people negatively. The main character, Virgil Tibs, is a strong person who finds himself in with many racial situations. The first racial example in the novel is when Sam Woods, a police officer, arrest Virgil Tibs for no reason at all as he waits for a train. "On your feet, black boy he ordered...make one false move and I'll drop you …show more content…
These racist people, the police department, makes mistakes because they have no proof, no evidence and they judge Virgil based on his colour. Gilliespie, the new chief of police, did not believe that Virgil was a police officer and checked that he was, he was surprised with what he found. "Confirm Virgil Tibs member Pasadena Police Department..reputation excellent"(23). They found out that Virgil was a very important officer in homicide who had an excellent reputation and yet, they arrested and brought him to the police station to question him without any evidence. The southern whites found out that they had made a mistake and they could be in trouble for arresting him with no evidence. Everyone has rights and everyone should follow the rules or else people will be treated