The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, explores a year told through the eyes of a ten old, in a town called Maycomb, it follows the story of an innocent African American man getting accused of raping a girl. This novel is both a story of hope and hopelessness, by showing the worst in the people from the town when they choose their sides in the court case of the raping. There are also good signs shown by some people in the novel, when citizens of the town believe that, the colour of one’s skin shouldn’t alter their view on things. Striving for a better community, the citizens that believe in change, teach the children of Maycomb so for later years they can have a better town.
As the story matures and the court case advances, it shows the darker sides of people. Most of the people in the town of Maycomb think that the colour of a person’s skin means they’re evil and if accused of a crime, guilty. When Atticus states that “Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don't pretend to understand.” (page 98) Atticus is showing that the people of Maycomb are racist towards black people. The view of “coloured people” (page 119) from the eyes of the people of Maycomb is very strong. “I saw that black nigger yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella!”(page 190) The word nigger is used repeatedly throughout the book; it shows the disrespect and contempt that the citizens of Maycomb have for these human beings and it is hopeless trying to change their views.
In the novel the Jem and Scouts father Atticus tries to teach the children of Maycomb that the colour of a person’s skin doesn’t determine whether they are a good or bad person. Scout and Jem are young, they are immature and they do not understand why Tom Robinson gets convicted, when he is clearly innocent. To teach the children about why Tom got convicted Atticus tells Jem "As you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men