He is almost completely shunned from the town because he is trying to help a black man accused of rape. Mayella had told Tom, “I said come here, nigger, and bust up this chiffarobe for me, I gotta nickel for you.” (p.241) She had tricked him to coming over to her. Then that’s about the time when she accuses him of rape. He had felt sorry for her, which is why he was falsely accused in the first place. Courthouse segregation was one of the biggest bits of racism I found in this book.
In Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ the town of Maycomb has been shaken with scandal. Tom Robinson, a black man, has been trialed and wrongly found guilty of raping a white woman. The fact that Maycomb town jury had convicted Tom on such little evidence has left Jem dumbfounded and asking just one question; ‘how could they do it, how could they? The answer; because Tom Robinson is black, the jury had ‘done it before…and they’ll do it again’. Tom’s case was never going to be a hard one evidence wise, but Atticus sets out to prove something more to the town and Jem especially, that they are all equals, ‘in their courts all men are created equal’.
In the book To Kill a Mockingbird the rape trail of Tom Robinson vs Mayella Ewell, an African American man accused of raping a white teenage girl was held in a bias court room of Maycomb County. Tom Robinson was proven innocent but the end verdict did not match the proof, because no jury would chose to listen to a black man over a white girl due to the state of prejudice Maycomb was under. Racism this town got to the point where when Atticus Finch, a white lawyer chose to represent Tom in the case he was a disgrace and an outcast to the white community. Not only Atticus but his children all suffered from the judgement they were receiving from the whole community for Atticus representing an innocent man. Since children were exposed to this behavior the racism has been passed down to generation to generation.
Another thing portrayed prejudice in the novel, is the way whites talk to blacks. "I said come here nigger, and bust up this chiffarobe for me, I gotta nickel for you”(Lee241). Referring to an African American as a "nigger" is completely disrespectful and making them seem like they are lower than the whites are, which is not the case. No person wants to be spoken to in that manner, white or black. This word is used immensely throughout the novel, especially during the trial.
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.
However, the central issue the town is grappling with at the time of Scout’s youth is the rape of a young white woman by a black man. This southern town is stereotypically racist. Atticus, however, is defending this black man. The inhabitants of Maycomb believe the same thing their white
The main concern and issue in TKAM is the concept of prejudice. In the text, prejudice is represented mainly through the racial inequality in the town of Maycomb . In the text, we see Atticus' belief in treating and respecting everyone as an individual contrasted with a number of other wold views. The aspect of racism is shown when the people of Maycomb accept the testimony of an obviously corrupt white man. “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.”.
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
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.
The children soon become obsessed with their mysterious, reclusive neighbor, Boo Radley. While they unsuccessfully try to get Boo out of his house, Boo has a series of anonymous encounters with Jem and Scout. Meanwhile, Atticus, a distinguished lawyer, agrees to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell. This decision turns his children into targets of abuse from their friends and relatives. Despite Atticus’s powerful arguments for Tom’s innocence, the all-white jury convicts the black man.