Intolerance in to Kill a Mockingbird
In Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, one of the most prominent themes used in the novel is the action of intolerance and the affect it has on all people. The theme of intolerance is fully explored in the case of Tom Robinson and the underlying racism shown in the treatment of him. Intolerance is met by all three main characters, Scout, Atticus and Jem but is experience by many of the other supporting characters. There was no one kind of intolerant person; they all came from different background, which is testimony to the point of the book ‘You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of views.’ This quote shows that you have no idea why a person does what they do until you experience things from their point of view. This idea is why the trial happened, and explains why Tom was accused of raping Mayella.
The racism shown in Maycomb has been a part of the town for a long time and is ingrained in the society’s mindset. ‘…I hope and pray I can get Jem and Scout through it without bitterness, and most of all, without catching Maycomb’s usual disease.’ When Atticus says usual disease he is referring to his experiences in Maycomb ‘Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don 't pretend to understand’. This shows that from what Atticus can see no matter what happens if something goes wrong with a black person in Maycomb the people will go crazy until they get their way with them whether that be in trial or attack. And due to what is said earlier we assume it has always been this way which would explain why in the novel we see how a person’s race can turn another person against them for no good reason but that they had grown up that way and believing they are superior.
In the novel we see how an innocent man is used as an object of elevation to propel an insecure man forward in the judgemental society he lives in. This is done with Bob Ewell and Mayella accusing Tom Robinson of
The racism shown in Maycomb has been a part of the town for a long time and is ingrained in the society’s mindset. ‘…I hope and pray I can get Jem and Scout through it without bitterness, and most of all, without catching Maycomb’s usual disease.’ When Atticus says usual disease he is referring to his experiences in Maycomb ‘Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don 't pretend to understand’. This shows that from what Atticus can see no matter what happens if something goes wrong with a black person in Maycomb the people will go crazy until they get their way with them whether that be in trial or attack. And due to what is said earlier we assume it has always been this way which would explain why in the novel we see how a person’s race can turn another person against them for no good reason but that they had grown up that way and believing they are superior.
In the novel we see how an innocent man is used as an object of elevation to propel an insecure man forward in the judgemental society he lives in. This is done with Bob Ewell and Mayella accusing Tom Robinson of