In To Kill A Mockingbird, there are many chapters that involve racism, poverty, and or violence. This book takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. The Finches, Jem, Scout, and Atticus which are the rich white people, the Cunninghams, the poor humble people, the Ewells, the dirt poor white trash people, and the colored folks all are involved in either racism, poverty, and or violence. Many examples of poverty are stated in To Kill A Mockingbird. An example of poverty is the Ewells because the Ewells have nearly nothing. In chapter 17, it states “Maycomb's Ewells lived behind the town garbage dump in what was once a Negro cabin” (Lee 227). The Ewells are very poor and don't take very good care of their stuff. Another example of poverty …show more content…
An example of racism can be found in chapter 12 is when Lula is making fun of Jem and scout because they are white people in a black church. “‘I wants to know why you bringin’ white chillun to a nigger church.’” (Lee 158). Lula doesn’t like white people an obviously doesn’t want them at the black church. Lula is racist and doesn’t white people and is racist to them just like they are to blacks. Another example is when Mrs. Dubose was saying mean thing about negroes and Atticus. “‘Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for!’” (Lee 135). Although there are more examples of racism, these are just some of them. Violence is stated many times in To Kill A Mockingbird. One example of violence is when Scout beat up Francis for calling her dad a negro lover. “This time, I split my knuckle to the bone on his front teeth. My left impaired, I sailed in with my right, nut not for long” (Lee 112). Another example of violence is when Scout beat up Walter Cunningham because she thinks that he got her in trouble. “‘He made me start off on the wrong foot.’… ‘He didn’t have any lunch,’” (Lee 30). Scout can be very violent if people make her mad or
In Harper Lee's novel "To Kill A Mockingbird", the characters face adversity that develop controversial themes. Lee's application of racism is immensely represented. Especially through the actions and words of characters Atticus Finch and Aunt Alexandra. To begin, I will be discussing character Atticus Finch and how he represents racism. Father and lawyer, he lives in Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s.
Some excellent examples of this are discrimination, bravery, and family. Lee introduces discrimination into the story by showing the different social structures of the people in Maycomb. For instance, even though the Robison’s, and other black families, are more courteous than the Ewells, they are put below them on the social scale because of the fact that they aren’t white; the only people that are put below blacks are mixed people because they are unwanted. When it came to the trial, it was the word of a white man against the word of a black. As a result, Tom was still convicted, even though he was telling the truth and the evidence showed it wasn’t him, because Mr. Ewell was a white man.
Inverse Racism is also present when Atticus, (a white man) defends a black man. All three are introduced to the prejudice against people who are different. First, Scout is made fun of and discriminated because she’s a tomboy. For example, in chapter 4 it says, “ I was not so sure, but Jem told me I was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, that’s why other people hated them so, and if I started behaving like one I could just go off and find someone to play with.” In other words, Scout is being discriminated by females for being a tomboy and being threatened by males, including Jem and Dill for just being a girl.
To Kill A Mockingbird is a bildungsroman that takes place during the great depression. The main characters, Jem, Scout and Atticus are loosely based off of the author, Harper Lee’s childhood. The town of Maycomb is the setting, a poor town in Alabama. Jem, Scout, and Atticus are a family in this town. Atticus, the father, a lawyer.
Another example of the Jim Crow laws in To Kill a Mockingbird is when Atticus makes his closing statement in Tom’s court case. Atticus wants everyone to have a fair trial and that all men are created equal in the court (Lee 273-275). These examples show how the Jim Crow laws were seen in everyday life in the story. Additionally, Harper Lee uses mob mentality in her book.
In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, in Maycomb County, there are unfair events that happen to people because of wrong things that others believe in. Since people in Maycomb County believe in those preconceived ideas, some of the characters like Walter Cunningham, the negroes, and Scout don’t get equal rights. Even if it’s the early 1930s, inequality still exists to this day: social, gender, and race/color. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, readers can see that prejudice and bias creates inequality. One reason why inequality is a central problem in To Kill A Mockingbird is where you stand in the economy.
Some may think that racism and prejudice are things of the past. They believe that since a couple people gave a few speeches, and because it is no longer socially acceptable to refer to an African- American as n*!@$%, that prejudice people no longer remain. However, this is not true. Discrimination happens in different forms everyday. Overtime it has improved, and this is shown in the books To Kill a Mockingbird and The Help.
Poverty plays an important role in To Kill a Mockingbird because it brings the novel to life. It gives real life situations some poor people today may be going through. Scout never complains about being poor; she is grateful with what she has already. This compares to when you donate something to the needy. There are people all around the world today living in the streets and are grateful even when you donate a dollar.
“ In the courts when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins” (295). During the time Harper Lee wrote this novel, courts were run this way. This is an example of racism towards the black men of this time. When the courts took on a case with a white man and a black
Another example of racism would be Tom Robinson and his whole court case; despite all the clear evidence that Atticus, a lawyer, provided, the jury, which is made up of all white prejudice men, were in favor of Mr. Ewell, a nasty white man, instead of Tom, who was not only black but crippled. Regardless of the fact that the jury was well aware of the fact that the Ewell family is known for being nasty, lying, no-gooders, An example of this is when Atticus states his views on the Ewell family as, “the disgrace of Maycomb.” The fact that they were white, is what aided them in winning the case. Causing the jury to send a blind eye to the fact that Mayella and possibly the rest of her siblings are being abused and manipulated. Thus, resulting in Tom’s arrest for a crime he didn 't commit.
To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, takes place in the fictional town of Maycomb Alabama during the Great Depression. All of the story is an allusion to the Scottsboro Trial where 9 black kids were wrongfully accused of rape only off of the word of a few white girls. The story centers around Atticus who is a lawyer, and his children Scout, and Jem. They are a poor white family who has it better off than most during the depression. Scout is the narrator and her brother Jem is the one whom she hangs out with most throughout the book.
Tom Robinson is likely the most substantial example of racial discrimination within the novel. Atticus comments, “In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is set in the small fictional town Maycomb of Alabama during the Great Depression. Due to the location of this town, most of the townspeople are related in a way and have become familiar with one another. This provokes a social hierarchy to be developed based on wealth, race, and history and multiple forms of prejudice emerges. As we see Jem and Scout mature, they witness the injustice that is brought upon the Cunninghams, Tom Robinson, and Arthur “Boo” Radley. As social division continues to prevail, prejudice remains unresolved because discrimination has become a part of the social mores deeply embedded in Maycomb.
“You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here-they got their church, we got our’n” (p. 119) Lula, a colored woman is a prime example of the two way road of racism. When Scout and Jem hear this they are completely astonished by the fact that the white race is looked down upon by other races. Racism is a problem that affects everyone; even the “master” race. “Now don’t you be so confident Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a
In the novel, racism is most prevalent when Atticus takes up a case where a African-American man has been accused of raping a white girl, and Atticus is fighting for Tom Robinson who is the accused rapist. Tom Robinson, the kindly, meek and physically disabled black accused of the rape, is the target of innumerable racial taunts and is regularly referred to by angry white town folks as a “nigger.” Later, in scenes involving Tom Robinson and the angry white mobs that aim to lynch him that reveal