“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”. This quote reveals that Atticus is mainly focusing on the racial aspect of prejudice as it is the most dominant form of prejudice in TKAM. As well as showing that he understands the ethic of empathy and understanding, that he preaches to Scout and Jem. Atticus also proves how the people of Maycomb do not understand Negros as they have not experienced the abuse that comes with the colour of your skin. In the novel there is also the aspect of classism in prejudice with the hierarchy of families being instilled into the society of Maycomb.
If a jury fails or refuses to convict a defendant in a criminal trial even though there if proof of guilt, jury nullification takes place. This is because the jury believes the law is being biased or unjust. If jury nullification is used in an honest and appropriate manner, it is likely to favor minorities in the courtroom in terms of sentencing for the crime committed as opposed to it being based on race. Most people that are picked to be on a jury do not know about jury nullification. A jury, juror, or judge can nullify a case in almost any
This is “the practice by law enforcement of considering race as an indicator of the likelihood of criminal behavior” (Robinson 530). The issue of using race to identify people is disputable because minorities feel that it is an act of inequality and also humiliating. However, the Supreme Court supports its legality as long as ethnicity is seen as an important factor that determines the detainment of an individual. Therefore, there are many pros and cons about the legality of this law enforcement technique. During times of war, racial
Racial discrimination was very prevalent during the 1930's especially in the South. There are many examples of racial discrimination in this book. One example of this is when Jem is talking to Scout and Dill about Mr. Raymond's children. “They don't belong anywhere. Colored folks won't have 'em because they're half white; White folks won't have 'em cause they're colored so they're just just in-betweens, don't belong anywhere” (161).
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. Atticus seems to take all the criticism and name-calling well and sticks to his belief. Atticus also seems to want to influence his children’s thoughts and attitudes towards colored people by hiring an African-American maid, Calpurina. He pays her a normal wage, one that a white maid would receive, and treats her with the same respect he
Although each of them had their own perspectives, their main objective was the same. Reparations in this society can be defined by stating that the U.S. government needs to make a formal apology to blacks for the damage caused by the transatlantic slave trade due to social and economic consequences in the United States. Advocates also feel the U.S. government owes the black people. Blacks remain behind due to many things, the most important being slavery. The Constitution, until recently, did not apply to blacks; blacks feel they deserve payments from 310 years of slavery, destruction to their minds and culture.
So it decided to identify the problems and sort them out some of the problems identified were that even though lynching was illegal in America at this time whites still did it to any blacks they saw fit. Plus the report finally stated that whites and blacks were definitely not equal showing how the ‘separate but equal act’ was all one big façade. Therefore, the American government took action to try and make the blacks equal, even though the current president, Truman, was known as a bit of a racist himself he still agreed that something needed to be done to help the African Americans. They decided to enforce reforms such as all lynching cases to be seen by state law enforcement officers to make sure all cases were given the correct punishment as they won’t be seen by all white local courts that would always let the whites get away with it, along with this reform they enforced federal anti-lynching laws to prosecute all who failed to
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee incorporates the theme, prejudice, to portray the feelings and thoughts that people had during the time period of the Great Depression; this was described in the Trial where Tom Robinson fought for his life. throughout the 1930's, most people were raised with prejudice beliefs in the South. Whites were taught from generations before them that african americans do not deserve respect. Therefore, it should not be brought to them. Most whites believed that African Americans were to do what they were told, by them.
As the reader begins to see the unfairness of the actions against black people, mostly because of Atticus’ speech, the theme of discrimination is developed through the motive of ‘walking around in their shoes.’ The title, To Kill A Mockingbird is very symbolic and meaningful. The quote which corresponds with the title is also said by Atticus and is, ‘Shoot all the blue jays you want if you can’t hit ‘em, but it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’ There are two characters in the text which are metaphorical to the mockingbird. One is the obvious one, Tom Robinson, a black man accused of the rape of a white girl, whom Atticus defends, and the other is Boo Radley. Just like a mockingbird, Tom Robinson only did good and in the end was accused of a crime he didn’t commit. He helped Mayella Ewell every time she asked, for free, and for it he was accused of raping her.
It is quite obvious that Robinson was not guilty, but he is still convicted anyway. Many racist actions lead up to the trial, actually encompass the trial, and these same actions are seen after the trial. She is racist enough to think that because Atticus is defending an African American, someone that he thinks is not guilty; it will harm her deep southern roots. This skirmish