Examples Of Subjugation In To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird Racism Essay

Throughout history, society has proven to mankind that racism accompanied by ethnocentrism brings negative effects followed by some form of tragedy. Harper Lee applies the plot in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird to display the fact that racism only brings unwanted subjugation and through such subjugation, the balance of society is destroyed. This thesis can be displayed to see that racism brings tragedy, imbalance of society and unnecessary tragedy due to racial subjugation. The event of Bob Ewell’s death reflects on how subjugation created from racism leads into tragedy. “Bob Ewell’s lyin’ on the ground under that tree down yonder with a kitchen knife stuck up under his ribs. He’s dead Mr. Finch.” (Lee, 359) Bob Ewell’s tragic fate was a direct result of his racist actions, as he was killed while trying to murder Atticus’s children for siding with the African Americans. His fate could have been avoided if he did not choose to falsely accuse Tom Robinson in the first place. Therefore Bob Ewell’s death is a clear example of how racism leads to tragedy.
“You know what we want”. “Get aside from the door Mr. Finch.” (Lee, 202) The townspeople turned aggressive against Atticus whom they usually respected because of their racist mindset of wanting to kill Tom Robinson. This is a good example of how racist attitudes and actions lead to an imbalance of society, such as a formation of a mob for the sheer purpose of killing