Examples Of Intolerance In To Kill A Mockingbird
Prejudice and intolerance towards people because they are of a different race has been notorious in America since the early 1900’s. In Harper Lee’s “ To Kill a Mockingbird”, in a town called Maycomb, intolerance is superabundant against black people and any affiliation with them. In the story Tom Robinson is being indicted of rape and Atticus Finch steps up to defend him. With this situation lingering in Maycomb,of course the town’s people express the intolerance they have towards an innocent black man and a white man helping him. Of course, when it’s revealed that Atticus is going to defend Tom for the rape of Mayella Ewell, the townspeople become infuriated. Predictably, the people don’t think for a second that Tom really didn't
rape Mayella. They don't imagine this possibility because she is a young white lady and he’s a black man. Their strong intolerance and prejudice blinds them to possibility. Comparatively, it weakens them to a point where they want to make cowardly decisions such as killing Tom. One night Atticus heads to the jail Tom is held in. He sits in the front until the Old Sarum Bunch arrive with their weapons in hand, ready to murder Tom. Without delay, the men face Atticus and one of them says “ You know what we want… Get aside from the door Mr. Finch.” [151]. If these men were not confronted by Atticus’s daughter, they would have hurt him and Tom. The men's hatred and intolerance could have possibly killed an innocent man and hurt a humble one. When the men leave Atticus tells Tom “ They’vs gone. Get some sleep, Tom.” Soon it's the day of Tom Robinson’s trial and when he shares his side of the story he overwhelms the courtroom.The crowd is so shocked that they seem to not believe his story. Atticus knows that the jury will be hard to win over and how biased they will be because of Tom's skin color. So he makes a speech starting off with saying “Thomas Jefferson once said that all men are created equal...There is a tendency ...for certain people to use this phrase out of context to satisfy all conditions.” [205] Atticus calls out his town about how narrow minded they are about equality. He tells people how ignorant they are towards equality. Additionally he says “...the evil assumption- that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings...an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber.” Atticus talks about how the town assumes all these negative things because a man is of a different shade. This proves moreover how intolerant Maycomb is and how it takes over their minds. Yet again people subconsciously, put an innocent man in a negative and life changing decision because he is black.
rape Mayella. They don't imagine this possibility because she is a young white lady and he’s a black man. Their strong intolerance and prejudice blinds them to possibility. Comparatively, it weakens them to a point where they want to make cowardly decisions such as killing Tom. One night Atticus heads to the jail Tom is held in. He sits in the front until the Old Sarum Bunch arrive with their weapons in hand, ready to murder Tom. Without delay, the men face Atticus and one of them says “ You know what we want… Get aside from the door Mr. Finch.” [151]. If these men were not confronted by Atticus’s daughter, they would have hurt him and Tom. The men's hatred and intolerance could have possibly killed an innocent man and hurt a humble one. When the men leave Atticus tells Tom “ They’vs gone. Get some sleep, Tom.” Soon it's the day of Tom Robinson’s trial and when he shares his side of the story he overwhelms the courtroom.The crowd is so shocked that they seem to not believe his story. Atticus knows that the jury will be hard to win over and how biased they will be because of Tom's skin color. So he makes a speech starting off with saying “Thomas Jefferson once said that all men are created equal...There is a tendency ...for certain people to use this phrase out of context to satisfy all conditions.” [205] Atticus calls out his town about how narrow minded they are about equality. He tells people how ignorant they are towards equality. Additionally he says “...the evil assumption- that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings...an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber.” Atticus talks about how the town assumes all these negative things because a man is of a different shade. This proves moreover how intolerant Maycomb is and how it takes over their minds. Yet again people subconsciously, put an innocent man in a negative and life changing decision because he is black.