2014
Throughout the book "To Kill a Mockingbird," it is brought to the readers attention that the characters are living in a time of much racial discrimination. In many areas of the book, the children experience the harsh reality that man does not treat even their own brothers fairly. Scout and Jem have a housekeeper named Calpurnia, that has in ways of discipline has played the role of a mother to the children after the passing of their real mother. Calpurnia is indeed black, but the children don't think of her as any lower than them because of her color. The children's father, Atticus, has raised them to respect those around them, and to not judge people just because they are of a different race. Atticus is a lawyer, and in the story, takes on a black client who has been accused of harassing a white girl. The defendant, Tom Robinson, is being accused by the girl father, who claims to have seen the incident. Tom is proven innocent, yet the jury decides to proclaim him guilty. It was easier for them to blame a black man then a white man. Why is this? Man judges by outward appearances, God looks at the heart. Because Tom was black, it was easy for the jury to accuse him of crime, it would be expected that a black man would commit a crime before a white man. And if they accused the girls father, it would make him look bad. Racial discrimination is an injustice that is not only found in the courtroom, but also in the church. Racism goes both ways, it is not only the white people who judge, but the black in return do as well. In the story, Calpurnia takes Jem and Scout to her church, it is a "black church," and when she brings in two white children, particular church members who are opposed to this idea. They are stopped by a woman named Lula. She is offended that Calpurnia would bring the children to an African-American church, and insists they leave. For a minute it appears that things might get ugly, but the crowd drives Lula off and