Racial Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Harper Lee represents racial prejudice, social prejudice and fear of the unknown in To Kill A Mockingbird. Lee demonstrates racial prejudice during the Tom Robinson trial, as well as social prejudice and fear of the unknown. She does this by describing the types of people in Maycomb and their fear of Boo Radley, which the children later witness in the story. To Kill A Mockingbird illustrates racial prejudice in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. Harper Lee demonstrated racial prejudice throughout the Thomas Robinson case. Atticus made the case clear that Tom was innocent, indicating that the only way Mayella could get beaten in the right eye was with a left arm and that it would be impossible for Tom to have beaten Mayella’s right eye, when initially, Tom had a disabled left arm. ‘If her right eye…show more content…
Jem was furious to hear the verdict because he knew that it wasn’t made according to the law , but by Tom’s color. ‘It was Jem’s turn to cry. His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd.’(284) Racial prejudice was again emphasized when Calpurnia brought Jem and Scout to First Purchase and was confronted by Lula. ‘I wants to know why you bringin’ white chillun to nigger church’(158). There was racism that was directed towards the whites when Jem and Scout were brought to First Purchase and were not welcomed by Lula. Negroes didn’t want to be near whites and vise versa. This affected the children of Maycomb County, going back to when Jem cries because he was aware that the jury knew Robinson was innocent and wasn’t given justice. Therefore, there was a time where racial prejudice was to blacks and as well as whites. Social prejudice was also a big topic in To Kill A Mockingbird. Social prejudice was taking place in To Kill A Mockingbird’s Maycomb County during the 1930’s. In one part of the book Jem explains the types of people there are in Maycomb,
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