Theme Of Social Injustice In To Kill A Mockingbird

Harper Lee’s novel, “To Kill A Mockingbird” takes place during the 1930’s in the fictitious town Maycomb, Alabama. Lee portrays the divided society and lasting prejudice of the south through the eyes of the young protagonist, Scout Finch. She narrates the story of discrimination with an innocent tone.She witnessed the racism and discrimination going on in the Great-Depression era. The black community is categorized into the bottom of the social hierarchy while the whites are at the top. Blacks were viewed as unsanitary and unworthy. As a result, the town easily believes Tom Robinson, an African American, raped a white woman, Mayella Violet Ewell. Scout’s father, a lawyer, is assigned to defend Tom but even he knows that he won’t be able to
He stuck up for Tom Robinson when no one else would and shows that there was no way that Tom could have raped Mayella. Given all the proof, Tom was still ruled as guilty. Atticus explained to his children that “In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins.” This adds to the social injustice going on at the time that no matter how much evidence is given or how innocent the black person is, they won’t be worthy of significance compared to the white man. He also adds “As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it—whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.” This shows that your actions make up who you are, but your race or gender does not define you or your worth in society. The popular quote "Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" is an allegory that explains you shouldn’t kill something who has not caused any harm and is innocent. In this case, you would consider Tom Robinson the
The stock market had crashed and as a result, the prices on food and other necessities increased and families were focused on finding jobs and supporting themselves. The social disparities between blacks and whites were pushed off to the side. In the novel, Scout talks about racism but as if it was just a part of her life, showing that the thought of ending racism wasn’t the main priority. “To Kill A Mockingbird” talks about the discrimination going on around the time of the Great Depression through the eyes of a young girl, Scout. Her views may not be as mature or understanding of all the events going on at the time and take on a more innocent perspective. She may be ignorant to the events occurring around her. The novel would have a better perspective if it were to be told through the eyes of her father, Atticus Finch. Overall, the novel was able to show that there will be disparities within society, especially between the minorities and the