He was obviously (due to the evidence) innocent, but racist southerners of the jury ruled him guilty anyways. ii. Due to the support of Tom Robinson, the common person hated the finch family. 1. Both examples show how prejudiced the city in the South actually was.
When she drew it away, it trailed a long silver thread of saliva. “Your fathers no better than the ******* and trash he works for!” (Lee 117) 1. (analysis)This quote said by Mrs. Dubose towards Jem and Scout shows how racists she is. Mrs. Dubose and most of the towns people dislike the Finches because Atticus is a white man defending a black man. Jem and Scout stats to become aware that all this is caused by segregation.
How does the trial help to reveal attitudes within Maycomb? Maycomb lives on racial prejudice and Lee bases the trial in order on this to show the injustice of the racism which African American people went through in the nineteenth and twentieth century’s. Using Atticus as a white lawyer defending a Negro presents the attitudes of Maycomb from a perspective of their own, in which they believe is the superior race. However Lee uses Atticus’s character in order to reveal these attitudes that Maycomb have and similarly this reflects upon the attitudes that Southern America had also during the time of the Jim Crow Laws. It is hard to state in particular to why Maycomb holds such ideas towards Black people, but Lee blames this to the conditions of the country and how it influenced each and every citizen present at the time.
The reason they had agreed was because of the “usual disease of Maycomb”, as Atticus called it, which was prejudice and racism. The townspeople felt that it was important for African-American people to be kept in their place, because of their racist beliefs. Although, there were townspeople who disagreed with the outcome of the trial. Like Miss Maudie, for example, who supported Atticus and disagreed with the final verdict. She had told the children that Atticus had done a great service to the town.
The intolerance of the African-American race is shown a great deal from beginning to end in these two novels. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird and in Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Scout and Huck endure prejudice, but are able to overcome it through their desire not to side with society, and the positive influences in their lives. Scout and Huck both live in societies that are virtually intolerant of the African-American race. Their societies are driven by this segregation, making them become extremely out of control. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus defends Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman, in a court trial.
In the 1930’s, black people are still “below” white people in the world. So when a black man feels sympathy for a white person, no matter her situation, it is taken as disrespect and the black people suffer consequences. The white people are not the only people who dislike different races. Although some are very kind to white people and wish for equality, others are just as disrespectful as the white people. Jem and Scout experienced a black person lashing out on them when they go with Calpurnia to First Purchase Church.
If it were a white man, he would have been shot at once, or not at all. The guards of the jail were racist, and thought it would be okay to shoot at a black man more than needed. When two groups of people don’t like each other, they are generally rude to each other. My third example of equality is when the blacks didn’t treat the whites well. The situation occurred when Calpurnia
The Ewells were poor, dirty, and very rude people, whose family is known all throughout Maycomb. What is interesting is that, when Tom is being questioned, they ask him why he helped Mayella when she asked him. His answer was that he felt bad for her. Even though both classes, black and poor are discriminated against, it is still unjust for a black person to feel bad for anyone, because blacks were the lowest in class at the time. The Cunninghams were people that were not necessarily discriminated against, just misunderstood.
Although it seems so simple, Atticus redressing Scout about using this contemptuous term is a big step in helping her understand that African Americans are human beings. Some of the best examples of racial prejudice are revealed in the trial of Tom Robinson. During his trial, Tom Robinson is misjudged mainly because he is black. Mr. Gilmer, Tom's prosecutor, calls Tom "boy" to make him seem as though he is of lesser equality than others in the court room. Another example of racial prejudice in Tom Robinson’s trial is the verdict.
Sometimes it seems that all men are created equal but in Maycomb, Alabama the people beg to differ.To kill a mockingbird is basically remembered of in the event of the trial of Tom Robinson and its racist outcome. The most obvious part of prejudice in the novel is racism, which causes otherwise upstanding white people of Maycomb to accept the testimony of an evil white man over the evidence supporting the testimony from a black man. Yet prejudice is also visible in the racially condescending Mrs. Grace Merriweather; in Aunt Alexandra’s and many other character’s belief in the importance of social class; in the gender stereotypes that people try to force on Scout; and even in the way the town views Boo Radley as a monster because he acts