Racism in Maycomb
In Maycomb County racism is a major custom, how does one survive it? Racism is one of the main ideas in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Every character in this novel is affected by it one way or another. A look back into the 1930s shows just how prevalent racism actually was, also how it can be connected similarly to racism we still face today. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, we take a look at how racism affects Tom Robinson, Atticus, and Scout, in vastly different ways. Tom Robinson, as a black man in Maycomb, he unfortunately has to deal with the worst of racism. Many people, just after hearing that Atticus is defending a black man, already wish death upon Tom. “My folks said your daddy was an disgrace an’ that
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At Scout's young age, she is yet to know how to be racist, or what racism even is. So when she says “Calpurnia says that's ****** talk”(49), she isn't sure why her brother Jem scowls at her. This quote is given to us as the scout's first reaction to racism. She understands the fact that she said something wrong by the way Jem scowled at her, but because of her youthfulness she is yet to know why. As Scout grows a little bit older she starts to understand more about equality, during a conversation with her brother she says “I think there's just one kind of folks.Folks.”(304). Hearing Scout say this in chapter 23 proves that she doesn’t live life through a racist eye, and that she sees everyone as equal. As the trial finished Scout fully realised the amount racism can actually affect other people's lives. “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed”(323). In this quote, we can see that Scout realises how much racism is actually embedded in Maycomb, and that even though her father made it clear to the jury that Tom was innocent, he was still found guilty only because of his skin
Atticus knew the consequences of supporting tom because of his skin and how bad segregation was in his town. He knew the community of Maycomb would dislike his actions and call him and his family names like “negro lover”. Scout asks Atticus why he was defending Tom he says“ The main one is if I didn’t I couldn't hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this county in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again”(Lee 86). Atticus could not live to know that he did not serve justice in his county, and that even though he would be called names or looked at differently, Atticus would still be doing the right thing.
Tom Robinson is caught kissing a white woman from Maycomb named Mayella Ewell. To prevent being frowned upon by the local citizens, she instead said that Tom Robinson raped her even though that was far from the truth. He’s taken into trial with the help of Atticus, and the case is unarguably one of the factors that help further the theme of innocence in Scout’s view. Atticus is determined to help Tom, even if it means that the citizens will turn against his own family because “killing a mockingbird is a sin.” As events progress, Scout is taught that discrimination solely because someone is “different” is
Girls are expected to dress and act lady-like, and men are perceived as the breadwinners. Another problem is that racism plays a part of the division in Maycomb. Black people are valued as lesser people, and they are treated unfairly. Tom Robinson was mistreated during his unjust trial, and because of the stereotypes and racism he was sent to jail for a crime he did not commit. Scout also finds herself stereotyping Arthur “Boo” Radley.
In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout, a six year old girl, grows up in the racially divided town of Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930’s. Scout is a curious and intelligent child who is confronted with a harsh reality of discrimination and injustice in her small town. Atticus Finch, Scout's father, is a well respected lawyer in Maycomb. Atticus took on the case of defending Tom Robinson, a Black man who was accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a young White woman. Atticus is aware that there is a lot of racial tension and prejudice in the town, and he knows that his decision to defend Tom Robinson will not be well received by many members of the community.
“Cry about the simple hell people give other people— without even thinking. Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think they’re people, too” (Lee). Prejudicism is demonstrated through the people of Maycomb in this quote because it shows how people already have a biased opinion on Negroes without knowing them just because of their appearance. “Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for” (Lee). The quote above shows how people in Maycomb are prejudiced because they are judging Atticus simply of the fact that he works for a “kind” of people they don’t accept.
Jem tries to explain to Scout that there are many different people in the world he explains: “There’s four kinds of folks in the world. There’s the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there’s the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods. The kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes,” (Lee 226). One learns just what Scout does. Everyone is different no matter who you are you will be looked at, for better or for worse, and judged for who you are and where you come from.
He urges Scout to refrain from saying those words, yet she fails to grasp his reasoning. Subsequently, Atticus clarifies that he’s defending a black man named Tom Robinson. “Scout, you aren’t old enough to understand some things yet, but there has been some high talk around town to the effect that I shouldn’t do much about defending this man” (100). He knows it’s frowned upon to defend a black man in the South, especially in Maycomb, Alabama. Nevertheless, he stands firm in his commitment to righteousness and remains unburdened by racial prejudices.
Atticus believes words can't hurt him, because he is following his morals., which would be to defend who is right. Although, Atticus thinks that it won't hurt him, Scout knows that everyone in the town hates Atticus, for defending a Negro, and realizes how hard it is for Atticus to defend a black man. Scout learns more about the racism in Maycomb during the trial. Atticus knows why he lost and explains it to Scout how "people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box"(220). The opinions of the white men in the jury box, are hateful for black people, and jurors won't listen to Tom Robinson's story one bit.
While Scout is reading Mr. Underwood's editorial she finally understands that, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed” (275-276). Prejudice is very difficult to overcome, and what Scout realizes is that there is nothing that her father, a very talented lawyer, can do to help a black man who is suspected of a crime. The mere fact that society was prejudiced against black men to begin with, is the verdict. Tom was guilty not because he committed a crime; Tom’s crime was that he was black.
When Atticus’ daughter, Scout, asks him why he decided to take the case, Atticus tells her that even though “we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win,” (Lee 87). Atticus knows that racism is prominent throughout Maycomb which doesn’t help Tom’s case. But to Atticus, that doesn’t matter. He believes in equality both in and out of the courtroom. In the end, Atticus wants Tom to have a fair trial that shows the truth.
“Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.” (276) After Scout reads the Maycomb Tribune that Mr Underwood published after Tom was killed in prison she notices that the point Mr Underwood was trying to explain was that it was a sin to kill cripples. Scout thinks about what Mr Underwood published in the Maycomb Tribune and it finally hits her that she realizes that no matter how good of a lawyer Atticus was and no matter how much evidence there was to prove that Tom was innocent. Tom had no chance of winning the case because it was a white woman accusing a black man of
In this novel, there are some parts that show racism. Atticus is the best lawyer in Maycomb. In chapter 9, he started to defends Tom Robinson. All the people in Maycomb disagree about defending Tom, Negro men. However, he believes Tom Robinson and Atticus work hard to defend him.
It is our church, ain't it, Miss Cal?" (Lee,12) What Lula said to Calpurnia was racist because Calpurnia was trying to bring Scout and Jem to church but Lula stopped them and wouldn't let them in because Calpurnia is trying to take them to church instead of a white person. Racism is all over the book but this shows what it was like back then in the 1930s, Scout's life was affected by racism realizing that people aren't treated the same.
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.
For instance, Tom Robinson, a black man wrongly accused of assaulting a white woman, faces a pivotal moment that will determine his fate. A prejudiced jury, already biased against him due to his skin color, holds the power to decide the outcome. Mayella Ewell, a lonely girl from a troubled family, falsely accuses Tom to escape the punishment of her own actions. As they present their versions of events, it becomes increasingly apparent that as a black man in Maycomb, Tom's chances of receiving a fair trial seem slim. Atticus passionately states to the jury, "In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins.