By reading the principal’s speech, Richard was saying what the white power wanted him to say and to Richard this would be giving in to the very thing he hated so much. Richard was willing to leave school without a diploma instead of this. White people alienated Richard from his environment because he did not accept the way of life that other black people did. Richard’s relatives never understood Richard and because of this he was alienated from his family and his own people. Shorty is the young black boy who gets beat by the white people and jokes about it.
When the Hater Meets the Hated- Why is Tom Robinson Guilty? One may be punished for something he or she never did depending on the circumstances in their community. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows in Maycomb County, a society being controlled by racism, Tom Robinson is punished for assaulting Mayella Ewell even though he is the victim. If the majority of the inhabitants of a community are racist, the racist social values influence everything that takes place in the courts of the community. Thus the racist social values of Maycomb County are responsible for the failure of Atticus Finch’s defense for Tom Robinson.
Therefore, the black community in Maycomb was crippled with fear. A fear that they will get lynched for a crime they did not commit. Stereotyping is a human instinct. We will always stereotype people's race, class and families. When Aunt Alexandra lived with the Finches, she said this to Scout about the Cunninghams, "Because he is trash, that's why you cant play with him.
Discrimination based on socioeconomic status involves judging someone by the “individual’s or group's position within a hierarchical social structure. Socioeconomic status depends on a combination of variables, including occupation, education, income, wealth, and place of residence.” To Kill a Mockingbird demonstrates how discrimination has always been here, and always will be. Racism is the most obvious form of discrimination represented in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. The main character is a six year old girl named Scout Finch. Her father, Atticus, is a lawyer for Maycomb County, Alabama.
To Kill A Mockingbird Analysis Social commentary is one of the driving forces of fiction writers. All have opinions of the society from in which they were reared causing many of their story driving characters to come from similar situations. One southern born woman, Harper Lee, followed this formula when writing her staunchly moral yet surprisingly youthful novel To Kill a Mockingbird. To Kill A Mockingbird is set in Alabama before civil rights cases flooded the benches of justices and cases against African-Americans were considered open and closed. Through To Kill A Mockingbird, the reader puts on the shoes of a little girl, Scout, and traipses through this familiar town and learns of social injustice by seeing it affect not only a member of the town, but her own father.
So far, one of the major plots seems to be about his choice to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, in court. During this era, the residents of Maycomb county and the world in general were still extremely racist towards African Americans. They were considered slaves and not on the same level as normal people. The people who were poorer than the black people (for example: the Erwells) were even respected more. Because of this racism and prejudice, the decision of Atticus’ to defend this man (who would certainly be killed without a lawyer because he is black and the accuser is white) is widely discussed in the town.
The events they witness shape their moral character and beliefs for the rest of their lives. The themes of racism and injustice are prevalent throughout the story. Scout and Jem’s father is a well-known lawyer in Maycomb, named Atticus Finch. He is delegated by the court to represent a black man named Tom Robinson who has been accused of raping a white woman. Scout’s innocence and immaturity is exposed when she is teased in her schoolyard by a boy named Cecil Jacobs.
Implying Negroes perceive the ability to strive yet, diminish due to the lack of formal education. On the other hand Miss Tate’s counterpart Lula, devalues the black community by confirming stereotypes. The fact Lula is out-spoken doesn’t necessarily mean she is well-spoken. Her aggressive behavior puts her loved ones at risk. Drowning in her own pool of ignorance, Lula criticizes Jem and Scout’s presence at the black church despite their relation to Atticus Finch, the one lawyer in America self-righteous enough to defend a black man.
It is a recount of her childhood in the 1930’s represented through the character Scout and is centered on the conviction of a black man stating that he has raped a girl. Representation of the loss of innocence is shown through the topic of the ‘mockingbird’ aspect, prejudice and the experiences of the families and children. They all have specific parts in the novel that make us lose certain pieces of innocence in our lives. Our loss of innocence through reading this text is because of certain people perspectives and experiences and the growing up is a part of becoming an adult. The aspect of the ‘mockingbird’ in the text occurs frequently.
This is a pretty racist stereotype that Jean is giving off, she immediately fears the black men believing that they are criminals for no other reason than that they are black. However, Jeans racist thoughts are almost rationalized when the black men do indeed car jack the Cabots’. This incident, where the black men live up to the portrayed stereotype that Jean gives them is why people like Jean exist. Jean also is prejudice towards the Hispanic lock smith that comes to their house. Jean judges him strictly off his ethnicity, clothing, and hairstyle.