Atticus Finch Racism Quotes

Leading up to the Civil Rights Movement, the black community was in a constant battle against law enforcement treating them unfair compared to the white community. The Scottsboro Boys and Emmett Till’s cases were one of the many times that the legal system showed to be unfair to blacks. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, the law enforcement and community were very racist against blacks and believed all blacks were criminals. In the story, Atticus Finch, who is a lawyer gets put into a very difficult situation and decides to defend a black man, who went by the name of Tom Robinson.

Though people are fond of Atticus himself, his decision to aim for Tom Robinson’s justice causes discomfort, “ ‘Lemme tell you somethin’ now, Billy’ a third said, ‘you know the court appointed him to defend this nigger.’ ‘Yeah, but Atticus aims to defend him. That’s what I don’t like about it” (186). The quote exposes that everyone understand the fact that he is assigned to the case but do not understand as to why he is so intent on proving a black man’s innocence. Since Atticus exceedingly expresses his thought on Tim’s innocence and involves so much of himself in the case with a black person, he obtains negative feedback and gets called a nigger-lover.

Atticus knows there will be a lot criticism from people all around the town of Maycomb; a heavily white populated area. Nevertheless, Atticus does not care and tries everything he can possibly do, to save Tom Robinson’s life. Thus shows, that not all people of white color are prejudice and racist, because there are beings like Atticus who have chosen to fight against the crowd and bring society an inch closer towards equality. Throughout the story, not only does Atticus have to suffer from hateful people around the town, but his two children also have to deal with boat loads of mischief, that comes with having a white father as lawyer, that is defending a

In the story To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus Finch has completely different views from the rest of Maycomb, who are heavily influenced by rumors and racism. He takes on a huge role in defending a black man, Tom Robinson, and faces many issues from other people by doing so. Atticus knows his client,

Due to the attitude throughout the United States in the 1930s, Tom Robinson could not get a fair trial because of the racism, discrimination and prejudice in Maycomb. "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 ever forget it - whenever a white man does that to a black man, doesnt matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash. " Racism is shown through Tom Robinson's trial, and his falsely determined verdict. Discrimination is shown through Tom himself and his word over a white woman's. And finally, prejudice is shown with Boo Radley and the horrible things the people of Maycomb have to say about him.

There is a disease that can change the way you behave and can spread from any person to you. This disease is racism. The novel To Kill A Mockingbird shows how racism is like a disease spreading and infecting people, changing how they behave and act, but just like a disease is curable. Using information and evidence from the novel I will show you how the novel does this. The disease is described below.

He is accused of raping a girl by the name of Mayella Ewell and Atticus is appointed as his lawyer. Mayella accused Tom because she needed him to disappear after what she’d done “She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man” (Lee, Pg. 204) Atticus said this to Jem after losing the trial. If people of color weren’t viewed as negatively none of this would’ve been an issue.

Social class and sexism take a major part in the lives of the people of Maycomb and affect the way they treat each other. Tom Robinson, a young man accused of a crime because of his race, is a main example of the blindness to prejudice in this novel. Throughout the novel the author discusses the issue of racism and its effects on people. When Atticus Finch took on defending Tom in court, people told him that he would lose the case because of Tom's race. Atticus was upset over the fact that the courts were biased, no matter how much evidence shows that they were innocent.

“Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it.” Harper Lee had used the tragic situation of Tom Robinsons trial to explore many themes including, racism and differences in privilege. “To kill a mockingbird” written by Harper Lee explores many situations linked to the broad idea of racism throughout the systems of Maycomb and differences in privilege in many different ways. The quote that Atticus argues with explains that in Maycomb, all men and things are equal.

Atticus fears that "There's something in our world that makes men lose their heads—they couldn't be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins” (Page 224) Atticus confirmed that Maycomb won’t have a just system due to white men’s words to black men. This would only make Maycomb welcoming to white people and unwelcoming for black people. Maycomb is unwelcoming and unjust for the prejudice view for black

Atticus Finch becomes a victim of prejudice when he helps defend a innocent black man in court; Tom Robinson. Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are prejudged; do to the fact that prejudice is so inclusive, the people who help the "mockingbirds", like Atticus,easily become victims of prejudice. Many of the people who live in Maycomb gossip and spread rumors about Boo Radley because he chooses to always stay in his domicile, while Tom Robinson is stereotyped by

The novel " How To Kill a Mockingbird" takes place in the fictional town of Maycomb, a racially divided Alabama town, set in the early 1930s. Atticus Finch, a lawyer, that agrees to defend a young black man,Tom Johnson, who is accused of raping a white woman. Many of the townspeople try to get Atticus to pull out of the trail, but he decides to go with his conscience. Depending on how the trail turns out, this could effect any change in racial attitudes in Maycomb. Throughout the novel the author shows countless examples of hasty generalization.

Tom Robinson is a young African-American who's been accused of raping and abusing Mayella Ewell, a young and closeted white woman. Racial discrimination is hinted throughout Tom’s trial as Atticus Finch explains to Jem that a white man’s word will always win over that of a black man’s - "... In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins. They're ugly, but those are the facts of life" (220). Atticus explains to Jem that in the courts of Maycomb, a black man’s state of innocence or guilt is truly determined by a white man’s testimony.

After the prosecutor’s witnesses have spoken and testified, the defense attorney, in the case, Atticus’s witness, Tom Robinson, goes up to the witness chair to testify. Atticus asks him a number of questions, and when Tom gets asked “Why were you scared?” his reply is “Mr. Finch, if you was a n*gger like me, you’d be scared, too.” Tom’s reason to be scared was simply that he’s black, which proves that the racism runs more than a layer thin, as a few words here or there would not make a person fear for their life simply because of the color of their skin. The racism threatens the lives of the blacks every day and every action that they make, for fear that they will be killed for stepping outside the line.

Though most of the town Maycomb feels negatively and discriminates the African-Americans, characters like Atticus show us how one person can impact his surroundings if he has high morals. Although he couldn’t change the mindset of the other town residents , he made sure that his own children didn’t discriminate people, purely on the basis of their skin colour. Racism can be seen even in the first few chapters of the book. These racist comments by nonracist children typify the culture in which they were growing up.