Justice Is Colorblind

Justice is colorblind. All people are subject to the impartiality of the law; however, the backward attitude of Southern society can allow racism to take precedence to the law. In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee portrays how racism prevails in Southern society as white people view blacks as being inferior to them. She depicts how a white-dominated society views Tom Robinson as instantly being guilty of the crime of raping a white woman. She focuses on how racism prevents society from taking progressive steps forward as it keeps society enchained to the backward ways of the Southern past. Atticus aims to demonstrate that justice is about facts rather than racial biases, and that everyone is equal before the law. The title of the
novel is based on the idea that killing a mockingbird is a crime as it is innocent. Tom Robinson is similar to a mockingbird as he becomes a target of irrational hatred and violence. Atticus desires for the jury to look at Tom objectively in order to allow the law to prevail over racism. The novel demonstrates that Atticus is the voice of reason and morality as he aims to acquit him and thereby liberate society from its racial views through the law. Lee delves into the way that racism is a major obstacle that Southern society must overcome as it prevents whites and blacks from existing in harmony.
Atticus takes on Tom's case as he believes that equality is fundamental to society. He views Tom as an equal that he must fight for in order to save society from racism. He faces rejection as whites attack him for defending a black man. When someone reproaches him for defending Tom, he expresses how he believes in equality: "You aren't really a nigger-lover, then, are you?" "I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody... I'm hard put, sometimes—baby, it's never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn't hurt you” (Lee 34). Atticus stands out from the rest of Southern society as he believes in the shared humanity of all people. He refuses to back down in the face of public anger as he believes that defending an innocent man is the right thing to do regardless of his race. Atticus hears people talking about how a black man sleeping with a white woman implies that he imposed his will on her. He is aware of how white people imply that a white woman would never want to be with a black man. He believes that the law can save society from racial hatred, which he acknowledges as influencing every aspect of society. He views the courtroom as a place where equality can rise above the hatred of society in order to proclaim the humanity of all people. Atticus
tells Scout and Jem that morality is part of treating people justly: “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view” (Lee 22). Laurie Champion refers to Atticus' view that killing a mockingbird is a sin as she argues that people should see the best in others rather than judge them based on their race: “Atticus teaches his children to be compassionate and kind and relates cruelty to the shooting of a mockingbird” (Champion 3). Atticus acknowledges that even the courtroom is subject to the pervasive influence of racism, and that it can even determine the outcome of a trial. Atticus' belief in the law is founded on how all people are equal before the law, and that Tom is innocent until proven guilty as he shares the same humanity as whites. Atticus is aware of how the members of a jury are the same people who live in a racist society. He believes in the justice system, but he fears that racism may prevent the jury from viewing the law as colorblind: "The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box” (Lee 52). Atticus attempts to convince the courtroom that racism only leads to miscarriage of justice. When he speaks to the jury, Atticus aims to demonstrate that the law is colorblind as it is separate from people's personal views. In the following passage, Atticus expresses how equality is fundamental to the law as people must look at the facts of a case rather than their own misinformed opinions: “Gentlemen, a court is no better than each man of you sitting before me on this jury. A court is only as sound as its jury, and a jury is only as sound as the men who make it up. I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence you have heard, come to a decision, and restore this defendant to his family. In the name of God, do your duty” (Lee 82). Atticus combats the racial views of society as he tells the jury to do their duty. He believes that the jury should look at Tom as though he were a white man. He tells the jury to look at the evidence without hatred in order for them to arrive a rational conclusion. The novel focuses on how Tom is a victim of a society that refuses to change. Claudia Durst Johnson expresses how the historical context of the novel involved a court case in which nine black men were arrested for raping a white woman (Johnson 2). The court case is similar to the novel as racism influenced the legal case against the men. The novel portrays how race is the deciding factor in the case as society judges Tom on the basis of his race. Tom's death reflects how racism triumphs regardless of how he is innocent, and how he was doomed from the beginning as racism decided the outcome before the trial even began.
Lee depicts how society judged Tom and sentenced him before he even stepped inside the courtroom. Racism prevents people from acknowledging that Tom should be treated fairly (Constantakis 1). Tom's death is the outcome of a society that refuses to change its backward ways and take steps forward. The novel focuses on how the humanity that people share allow them to treat each other with dignity and respect. Racism makes Tom's death inevitable as society prefers to punish an innocent man rather than consider the possibility that it has become backward: “Senseless killing—Tom had been given due process of law to the day of his death; he had been tried openly and convicted by twelve good men and true; my father had fought for him all the way. Then Mr. Underwood's meaning became clear: Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case” (Lee 114). The novel delves into the way that Atticus' children remain hopeful about the future regardless of how racism dominates. Rachel Watson argues that “identifying with a particular other” is central to the story (Watson
1). In her novel, Lee portrays how justice comes into conflict with the one-sided views of racism. Racism causes white people to judge and sentence Tom Robinson for a crime he did not do. Atticus fight to acquit Tom and thereby liberate society from its racial preconceptions. He believes that punishing an innocent man is no different than killing a mockingbird. He aims to convince the jury that reason must prevail over racial hatred. His view of the law is based on how morality is superior to racism as it allows people to live justly and in harmony.

Works Cited

Champion, Laurie. Literary Contexts in Novels: Harper Lee's “To Kill a Mockingbird” Understanding Literature—Literary Contexts in Novels.

Johnson, Claudia Durst. Racial Climate in the Deep South. To Kill a Mockingbird: Threatening Boundaries. Twayne's Masterwork Studies 139. New York; Twayne Publishers, 1994. p.3-12.

Lee, Harper. “To Kill a Mockingbird”

Overview: “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Novels for Students, edited by Sarah Constantakis. Vol. 32, Gale 2010.

Watson, Rachel. The View From the Porch: Race and the Limits of Empathy in the Film To Kill A Mockingbird. The Mississippi Quarterly, Summer 2010, Vol. 63. pg. 419.