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.
Describe at least one important setting in the text. Explain how the setting helped you to understand one or more important ideas in the text. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, both the time and place in which it was set help the reader to understand the important ideas of racial prejudice and classism which are present in the text. The novel takes place in Maycomb County, a fictional district in the south of Alabama, during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The town is portrayed through the words of Scout Finch as a small, sleepy town, in which “a day was twenty-four hours long but seemed longer.” Due to the Great Depression, the people of Maycomb, even the well-off citizens like Atticus Finch, are all very poor and the exaggerated length of the days appears to owe to the fact that “there was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb County.” The poorer citizens have to rely on trading with farming supplies and livestock as they, already indigent, were so further crippled by the depression that they have no real money to spend.
Race Relations after the Civil War 3 The way white Southerners made it difficult on former slaves in the South was to create what was called “Black Codes”. These codes were laws made by southern states to try to ensure their way of life could not be infringed on in the wake of the passing of the 13th amendment which outlawed slavery. Examples of such codes varied from state to state. However, the message was clear to the former slaves that they were still unequal. Examples of these laws are as follows: 1.
c.) The varying interpretations indicate the use of “presentism” throughout the periods in which the affair has been analyzed. During the civil rights movement, use of the term “blacks” to describe the slave population was seen as one of the main points of insensitivity, because African Americans of the time had such little cultural footing in America. After the 60s, students began to reflect on Jefferson’s unwillingness to see integration as an option, because African Americans were still struggling to integrate after the civil rights movements. Modern day, the concern lies in Jefferson’s blatant stereotyping of slaves as lesser and even as “musical”. These all reflect the current ideals of the time in
The Great Depression is evident throughout the novel through the hardships that the people of Maycomb experience. America in the 1930s was also a time with much violence and injustice against not only against black people, but also those who were different. In the 1930s many races were still treated as inferiors, especially the African Americans. Despite the rights that the African Americans were suppose to have, many white people tried to intimidate and suppress their rights. Throughout America, there were laws enforcing racial segregation and discrimination, particularly in the south.
The modern day novel and movie The Help shows many similarities that were portrayed in the classical novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Both The Help and To Kill a Mockingbird go into depth about the struggle humanity has been threw over the years. Although they both contain the same themes the way the authors create the situations and display the harsh reality of society’s make these two stories very different. During the depression prejudice was at its peak, with the Jim Crow laws and no rights for blacks it made it near impossible for the African American community to live a normal life. 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.
Lawrence Rigby English 120 Dr. T. Francis September 11th, 2008 Student No. 000-04-6841 Room: Michael Eldon GIB Critique: Is Slavery the Cause of the Social Ills that Plague Blacks Today? By: Garvin H. Shannon While his opinion and theory behind the social ills of blacks are well supported, Shannon has failed to mention that the human race itself, is shaped by its past. In truth, we all "have the power to shape our own destiny" as Shannon mentions, but the fact remains, Blacks must first comprehend their purpose in order to understand what is predestined for them. In his opening statements, giving our oppressors divine characteristics is said of those blacks that use slavery as the reasoning behind their lack of responsibility; however, I cannot depart from the impression that Shannon feels slavery hasn't had little or any effect on the moral fiber of blacks.
In the 1840s and '50s, the party was in conflict over extending slavery to the Western territories. Southern Democrats insisted on protecting slavery in all the territories while many Northern Democrats resisted. The party split over the slavery issue in 1860 at its Presidential convention in Charleston, South Carolina. The Gilded Age politics, called the Third Party System, was characterized by intense competition between the two parties, with minor parties coming and going, especially on issues of concern to prohibitionists, labor unions and farmers. The Emancipation Proclamation issued on 1863 may have given some 4 million slaves their freedom, but the process of rebuilding The Jim Crow laws were racial segregation laws enacted after the Reconstruction period in Southern United States, at state and local levels, and which continued in force until 1965, which mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities in Southern states of the former Confederacy, with, starting in 1890, a "separate but equal" status for African Americans.
As his character develops in the novel, he comes across as calm, empathetic and nonjudgmental. He also is one of the few who can see things from another’s point of view. In the 1930s in America, racism was a big issue based on discrimination against black people. Most white people, in the novel discriminate against the black people because they fail to see life from their point of view. 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 final exam will discuss the struggles African Americans encounter for civil rights during the 1950s thru 1980s. The attitude Malcolm X had in the civil rights and the issues that others had with Malcolm X philosophy in achieve equal rights for African Americans. Also, there will be great details in Martin Luther King Jr. and others philosophy in achieving equal rights for African Americans. The overall outcome of the civil rights movement in the 1970’s and 1980’s after the death of the most important Black leaders of this country. To pin point the beginning of the civil rights movement depends on who and what is being discussed.