How Does Lee Use Discrimination In To Kill A Mockingbird
The start of the Jim Crow Laws began in 1877 and ended in 1954, the time the Civil Rights Movement started, but racial bias and discrimination still continue in the present day after the fall of the JIm Crow Laws. Several resources that support this information come from different time periods. Harper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird, Brent Staples, author of Black Men and Public Space, and Kasai Rex, author of Why I Fear the Police More Than Terrorists - illustrate their experience of discrimination and reveal the process of racial bias since the Jim Crow Laws. In modern America, racial bias and discrimination has not enormously improved, but has changed a bit during the time from the 1900’s to present.
The novel, To Kill A Mockingbird …show more content…
Staples explains his experiences when dealing with racial bias and discrimination, leading him to “reflect on issues of race, gender, and class in the United States” (Staples).
In one quotation he explains that “he discovered that his mere presence on the street late at night was enough to frighten a young white woman” (Staples). The quotation explains how by just a black man’s presence, it can startle a woman giving her the urge of fear and danger due to his image. White women see African Americans as dangerous, labeling one man’s action to all, categorizing all as the same. White people automatically judge African Americans as a bad person or criminal due to their skin color and false speculation such as stereotypes. In one of Staples’ experiences, himself and a woman had a ‘discreet, uninflammatory distance’ between each other. Through the quotation, “ She cast back a worried look. To her, the youngish black man-a broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair, both hands shoved into his pockets of a bulky military jacket- seemed menacingly close” (Staples). The woman found herself in danger when the young black man was ‘menacingly close’, as described in the essay.
The novel, To Kill A Mockingbird …show more content…
Staples explains his experiences when dealing with racial bias and discrimination, leading him to “reflect on issues of race, gender, and class in the United States” (Staples).
In one quotation he explains that “he discovered that his mere presence on the street late at night was enough to frighten a young white woman” (Staples). The quotation explains how by just a black man’s presence, it can startle a woman giving her the urge of fear and danger due to his image. White women see African Americans as dangerous, labeling one man’s action to all, categorizing all as the same. White people automatically judge African Americans as a bad person or criminal due to their skin color and false speculation such as stereotypes. In one of Staples’ experiences, himself and a woman had a ‘discreet, uninflammatory distance’ between each other. Through the quotation, “ She cast back a worried look. To her, the youngish black man-a broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair, both hands shoved into his pockets of a bulky military jacket- seemed menacingly close” (Staples). The woman found herself in danger when the young black man was ‘menacingly close’, as described in the essay.