How is the racial problem of the southern states of USA in the 1930s portrayed in To Kill a Mockingbird?
INTRO
In the 1930s the Southern states of America suffered from a strong discrimination and racial hatred towards colored people. They had no rights, no respect and were not allowed to go places white people went. In other words they were segregated from the rest of the society. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel that show the life of a southern state od Alabama during the “black racism” time period, where majority of the people had the mentality that (quote) with the exception of a few.
To chosen to portray it from the eyes of Scout Finch, from a child’s point of view. Living in Maycomb, in the midst of a conservative society of the 1930’s and 20’s Southern America Scout Finch is an extra ordinary child. She is in fact extraordinary from various perspectives .She differs from the rest of the children with her brother because of the way that they are being brought up. Scout and Jem’s father, Atticus Finch is a modern viewed broad perspective lawyer who believes in integration, democracy and equality.
Judge Taylor appoints Atticus to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who has been accused of raping a young white woman, Mayella Ewell. Although many of Maycomb 's citizens disapprove, Atticus agrees to defend Tom to the best of his ability. Other children taunt Jem and Scout for Atticus 's actions, calling him a "nigger-lover". Although the book is fictional,
This was a time where prejudice was around and how white´s were ignorant to others. How white´s were racist and rude, especially to colored people. Black´s were scared of white people because of all the criticizing and crucialness. Even though white people were ranked higher than everyone else, both white and black people had hard times trying to maintain their families. Civil rights was also a part of the 1930´s like how colored people tried to gain equal rights for everyone.
"Do all lawyers defend n-Negroes, Atticus?" she had said, trying hard to follow her father's words. She had never used the word in bad context again, and showed her maturity by showing respect to the black people, instead of acting like her fellow schoolmates. Her brother Jem also changed his views on Maycomb as he grew up. When Scout opposed his theory of "family background", Jem replied, "That's what I thought too, when I was your age. If there's just one kind of folks, why can't they get along with each other?
To Kill a Mockingbird is a story revolving around Atticus Finch and his kid’s Jem and Scout, narrated by a much older Scout. This story was written 1960 but was set in the 1930’s. Since it took place in such a time, The story had a lot of racial inequality and prejudice during that time. The story was fictional but took after the real life occurrences of Harper Lee.
To Kill a Mockingbird is an important text worthy of all the recognition it received in the time following its original publication. A prime piece of fine American literature based in a period of extreme racial segregation and inequality. Set in a southern town of Maycomb Alabama during the depression, Lee follows three years of the life of eight-year-old Scout (Jean Louise) Finch and her older brother Jem (Jeremy) Finch as their father is, for three years, a fundamental figure in a case that had punctured the town as a result of the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man. As the years commence/continue, Scout and Jem, alongside the audience grow increasingly aware of prejudice throughout society as they learn the importance of perspective and being courageous when faced with adversity. By illustrating the influence of prejudice on society, Harper Lee challenges the perspectives of society, criticizing the nature of humankind to stereotype and be prejudice towards one another and in doing so, she successfully convinces the author to look beyond the facade society creates and locate the humanity that is concealed within everybody.
To Kill A Mockingbird a novel written by Harper Lee, general setting in Maycomb Alabama 1930’s. The Author uses language techniques throughout the book portraying social inequality. This was mainly focused on the character Tom Robinson , there was talk about other black characters like calpurnia. However wasn’t involved intentionally in the book , but however was treated unfairly by a certain person. Aunt Alexandra a considered high class citizen of maycomb treats calpurnia like she is their maid.
Racism, a hatred or intolerance of another race or other races. Based on this core foundation, is the book To Kill a Mockingbird. The story of Scout and her exploration of racism in her life is what makes the book a show of what racism is in its purest form. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the theme that racism is a negatively influential factor in everyday life is shown through Scout and the events that take place in Maycomb.
Several times in the book Scout gets into fights, and Atticus gently rebukes her. While Atticus shows many positive traits throughout the book his most noteworthy are wisdom, kindness, and patience he demonstrates toward his children. It does not take long to see how wise Atticus is. When Atticus and his two children, Jem and Scout, go to their relative’s house for Christmas, Scout’s cousin, Francis, calls Atticus a nigger lover because he is defending the black man, Tom Robinson.
Discrimination can happen to anyone, anywhere and anytime. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird demonstrates a variety of different kinds of discrimination. A person can be discriminated against because of who they are. Someone may be discriminated against because of what they do. Others may be discriminated because of what they look like.
Racism is a curse where abnormal people becomes tormented by the accepted race of the community. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout notices during her exposure to racism that it does not give the oppressed a voice or opportunities of their own rights. A few days after the brutal trial, Aunt Alexandra hosted a gathering with her missionary circle and invited Scout to come and join them for refreshments. Mrs. Grace Merriweather, a faithful Methodist under duress, conversed about the poverty and immorality of the poor black Mrunas living in Africa, and then contrarily switched the topic to the circumstances of her own black community, “‘the cooks and field hands are just dissatisfied…they grumbled all next day after that trial…Just ruins your day to have one of ‘em in the kitchen…if my Sophy’d kept it up another day I’d have let her go. It’s never entered that wool of hers that the only reason I keep her is because this depression’s on and she needs her dollar and quarter every week she can get it’”
Further in depth, with Jim Crow Laws it was said that blacks were separate but equal. It was very obvious that within the novel blacks were not equal like they should have been. Most of the bad things for blacks in the town of Maycomb, or anywhere in the south were not only part about being separate but also it was that they were not treated equally like they should have been. For example the way that Tom Robinson was treated while he was in jail waiting for his court session, when the Cunningham’s mob came after him for his crime. That most likely would not have happened had he been white.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is an amazing book with an abundant of surprises. Set back in the 1930’s in Maycomb, Alabama, when the Great Depression was happening and racism from the civil war still rages on in this southern city. All the quotes and themes in the novel can still be associated to life today. As the book was narrating in the past by Jean Louise Finch (Scout), there is one man that guides her and her brother, Jem Finch. It is their father, Atticus Finch.
People of the town including children refer to black people as “Niggers”, and raised to think of black people as lower class individuals. “To Kill A Mockingbird” has a strong message towards racism, this is learned from Scout & Jem as they mature throughout the novel and are constantly being exposed to demeaning segregation in Maycomb County. In giving Scout a lesson about racism, Atticus also does the same for the readers of the novel. This happens when Scout asks Atticus what the term ‘Nigger-lover” meant, after being insulted several of times and not knowing if it is an offensive word or not, but had a slight feeling it was when Atticus was being called at. A quote from the novel: "nigger-lover is
The kids spend much of their time playing with their gregarious neighbor, Dill, and spying on their reclusive and mysterious neighbor Boo Radley. When their father, Atticus, who is a widowed man and a respected lawyer, defends a black man named Tom Robinson against fabricated rape charges against a white girl, he is a detriment. The trial, events following and the people they have interactions with, expose Jem and Scout to racism and stereotyping. This completely
Racial Injustices Racism in the 1930’s served as an injustice to blacks that were convicted of crimes. In the time periods of the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and The Scottsboro Boys trial, discrimination in Alabama was atrocious, and racial injustice was seen throughout this time period. The Scottsboro trial shows how discrimination played a large role in Alabama during the 1930’s. This influenced Harper Lee’s to write about the Tom Robinson case. In many ways, the Scottsboro trials were more similar to the Tom Robinson case, but at some points had differences.
In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee teaches us about the town of Maycomb County during the late 1930s, where the characters live in isolation and victimization. Through the perspective of a young Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, readers will witness the prejudice that Maycomb produces during times where people face judgement through age, gender, skin colour, and class, their whole lives. Different types of prejudice are present throughout the story and each contribute to how events play out in the small town of Maycomb. Consequently, socially disabling the people who fall victim from living their life comfortably in peace. Boo Radley and his isolation from Maycomb County, the racial aspects of Tom Robinson, and the decision Atticus Finch makes as a lawyer, to defend a black man has all made them fall in the hands of Maycomb’s prejudice ways.