Preview

Examples Of Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
428 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Examples Of Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird
Race related incidents are very prominent in To Kill a Mockingbird. Countless colored individuals are tormented throughout the book, even when many of the white characters say that America is a place without persecution. Through this constant racism however Scout, the main character, learns many lessons about sympathy and innocence. The people of Maycomb are involved in constant judgment based on the color of skin rather than the content of character. A perfect example of an act of racism in the book is the condemnation of Tom Robinson by an all-white jury. Tom pleaded innocent to charges of rape and battery and although his testimony completely opposed that of the victim, Mayella Ewell. Tom’s story told of a young girl who attempted to seduce

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In the story, To Kill A Mockingbird, there is a town called Maycomb, that experiences racial prejudice, I know this because of what some of the characters say or experience.…

    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Stereotypes are generalized traits that people assume about a group of people. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird stereotypes are used frequently with how different families act, and also how different races appear to others. In the book stereotypes are important when Harper Lee makes the Ewells portray the stereotype for “white trash”. During the trial for the raping of Mayella Ewell this becomes very clear when she writes, “ No truant officers could keep their numerous offspring in school; no public health officer could free them from congenital defects, various worms, and the diseases indigenous to filthy surroundings.”(Lee 227). Lee made this family the stereotypical “white trash” family because it shows the true…

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prejudice towards different people is a huge part of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird novel. Nearly every little mishap in the book has been somehow linked or caused by prejudice. Naturally, the town of Maycomb is affected by it, and the effect isn’t for the best. Prejudice is a destructive force in Maycomb, bringing nothing to the town. The cause of Maycomb being destroyed is prejudice spreading hatred throughout the town, separating the people, and excluding and enabling members of the town to fully get what they need.…

    • 966 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    To kill a mockingbird is an insightful novel that effectively educates its reader about the discrimination and prejudice against African Americans that was occurring at the time. Through the pity and intensity of Tom Robinson’s trial the reader learns how the rights of African Americans were very different than the white Americans at the time. To kill a mockingbird highlights the pure injustice that Tom Robinson faces, when accused of a crime that he didn’t commit. Due to these accusations Tom’s fate is put on the line and his dignity is robbed from him as the whole of Maycomb assumes that Mayella Ewell is right. Immediately the town people build a sense of hate and anger towards Tom Robinson and attempt to act on their thoughts and opinions. Throughout this text one will learn how not only Negro’s were affected by this prejudice and discrimination but how innocent white Americans, such as the finch family were too.…

    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory 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

    Imagine living in a rural town in Alabama back in the early nineteen hundreds; racism runs wild and social injustices occur frequently, unregulated by law enforcement. This is just what The Finch family in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, has to deal with. This is an appealing story about the Finch family and the problems that they face, especially regarding an instance of racial oppression involving a black man and a white lawyer, Atticus Finch. Besides Atticus Finch, other characters in the town of Maycomb such as Boo Radley, and Scout Finch are all known for their courageous and sometimes defying actions throughout the book.…

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Race relations have evolved over the course of the 20 and 21 century. It seen through the book, To Kill a Mockingbird. It is also shown through famous trials such as the Scottsboro trials, the Emmett Till murder trial, the Sacco and Vanzetti trial, and the Nuremberg trials. Although it is found a lot between African Americans, race relations have evolved between other races as well.…

    • 1385 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In most societies, there are standards that help protect the citizens. However, when the standards are set by people who are prejudiced and bigoted the outcome can potentially be harmful to those whom the society deems “unacceptable” or “different”. To Kill a Mockingbird by the famed author Harper Lee is a novel that allows the audience to reflect on significant social issues and values in our society. The poem by Abel Meeropol titled Strange Fruit also reflects on the tragedy of discrimination. The novel deals with many issues that involve racial injustice, the destruction of innocence and class in the American Deep South. The poem, in just three verses, powerfully deals with the outcome of the social issue of racism in its most extreme form. The prejudice and bigotry are embedded in the social values and laws of a society. It is not until individuals and groups rally against the prejudice that change occurs.…

    • 996 Words
    • 4 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
  • Good Essays

    Mr. Ewell is an example of the racism in the book. He accused an innocent black man of raping his daughter. Due to the negativity in society, everyone had considered he had done it, simply because of the color of his skin. In addition Atticus and Scout are being humiliated for liking black people. Mr. Dubose and Francis affected Atticus and Scout negatively because of how they like black people. Due to the racism in society, innocent black people live in fear of getting killed,beat up, or put in jail, just because the color of their skin, and or so they are affected negatively. Racism was negative towards Atticus, Scout, and African-Americans, because of how they react towards different skinned…

    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King once declared, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. “ This widely known quote shows that the color of a person should not limit the from doing anything. The topic of racism is frequently visited in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel that takes place during the Great Depression. It focuses on the life of Scout Finch, her brother and the neighborhood she has grown up in, Maycomb County. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee uses racism in the trial scene to show that some people are treated unjustly due to their status. This theme is used to represent characters in the novel to show how race creates tension between the people of Maycomb. The treatment of Tom Robinson during the trial scene reveals that people of the…

    • 1367 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imagine a world in which the tall people gave orders to short people. In this world, tall people got the best of everything and short people essentially got their rejects. Of course, short mates with short and tall mates with tall, creating a never ending cycle. Black people experienced this every day.…

    • 835 Words
    • 4 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

    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