To Kill a Mockingbird Essay

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English 10 Honors
5 December 2012
Racial Injustice in Southern Communities
The significant events during one’s life greatly impact their outlook on life.
In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the author mimics eminent points from her childhood and growing years. The novel took place in Maycomb, a small town in the South where racial conflicts were still prominent. Lee’s writing was impacted by the historical influences in her lifetime that reflected the Jim Crow era to show the reader the prejudice that was imposed on southern blacks, to prevent readers from partaking in racial injustices. This was represented by the Scottsboro Boys trial through the Tom Robinson case, and the battle between the racial classes by the fastidious nature of the southern communities.
Lee’s writing was influenced by the historical setting of her time to portray the unfair treatment of blacks, by using ideas from the Scottsboro trial to recreate it with the Tom Robinson case. The racist white community considered black members of the Southern states haughty, and the white jury was likely to disregard any arguments made by their side. Wormser states, “The issue at the trial was whether or not justice will be held in an Alabama rape trial” (Wormser 4). The rape was considered a higher level crime because a group of black men committed it in contrast to a group of white men. This unfair treatment during the trials is later shown in Lee’s writing. The injustice of the case made it harder for the defendant to win, and eventually the case was lost. Likewise, after Tom Robinson was sentenced guilty Atticus confessed the problem with defending a black man to a crying Jem. Atticus exclaims to comfort a crying Jem, “How could they do it, how could they? I don’t know, but they did it. They’ve done it before and they did it tonight and they’ll do it again and when they do it- seems that only children weep” (Lee 285). Atticus reflected that the jury would continuously serve injustice to a black man, whether he is innocent or guilty. Knowing that the jury would not fairly assess the case during the Scottsboro trials, Lee mimics the results of the case in the Tom Robinson case. Both case are lost due to racial discrimination. With this she is able to use the reactions of Jem and Atticus, to show the reaction of such discrimination. She hints that the reader must therefore learn the circumstances in the South well enough to never repeat it in the future. The reader is now aware of one circumstance in which biased treatment is used against the black population in the South, with Tom Robinson not given a just trial as the Scottsboro boys have been deprived of.
Justice is one neglected component of living in a discriminant world. Another issue of such a world is the unethical racial classes that often clashed and whose relationship remained unbalanced, which encouraged Harper Lee to include it in her novel. Racist whites of the southern states remained with an unjust and unfair view of blacks, forcing the blacks to reside far from the intolerant whites. Shields explains, “All the African Americans in the community lived together. The Southerners had a bond and were very selective” (Shields 22-23). The members of society rarely mixed. By living close to others facing similar racial affairs, the blacks felt protected from the outside negative influence from the whites. Similarly, when Calpurnia brought Jem and Scout to her Church everyone treated them respectfully, except a woman named Lula who became offended by their presence. Lula said, “You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here- they got their church, we got our’n. It is our church, ain’t it, Miss Cal?” (Lee 158). Lula was indignant that whites could attend her church but she could not attend whites’ church. The wavering affiliation between the whites and blacks during this time was tense, and Lee used this concept to write the scenes in her novel that dealt with secluded living. Once again the concept of racial difficultly throughout Lee’s lifetime arises. By writing about these living circumstances, it is clear that racist whites brutally segregated against the blacks. It is notable that Lee includes this in her novel to make the reader known of the harsh racial conditions the Southerners lived in. This demonstrates the aggressive differences between whites and blacks through the racial structure of southern communities, and their way of staying nearby those of the same racial class.
Harper Lee uses information from the historical ways of life in the Jim Crow age to write her novel and show the reader the harsh and unfair treatment of blacks during this time period. The Scottsboro boy’s case reflects the Tom Robinson case, which allows the understanding of the injustice southern blacks faced in legal matters. The members of Calpurnia’s black society being selective of their community enables one to reflect upon the unpleasant conditions that left them afraid, and uneasy to leave their local surroundings. The novel revolves around the biased and unethical views of the whites towards the black population in the South to encourage tolerance among the racist population. Lee’s purpose reflects the idea of spreading truth and understanding of the unjust south to keep society from committing similar racial crimes.

Works Cited
Lee, Harper. To Kill A Mockingbird. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1960. Print.
Shields, Charles J. Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee. New York: Henry Holt, 2006. Print.
Wormser, Richard. The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow. New York: Franklin Watts, 1999. Print.

Cited: Lee, Harper. To Kill A Mockingbird. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1960. Print. Shields, Charles J. Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee. New York: Henry Holt, 2006. Print. Wormser, Richard. The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow. New York: Franklin Watts, 1999. Print.