Tom Robinson exemplifies how racism prohibits justice and fairness in the town of Maycomb. Tom Robinson is a black man that is not treated fairly because of his race. In the town maycomb no one is ever going to believe a black man over a white man. The people in the town are prepared to accept the word of the ignorant Bob Ewell over a decent black man. How the town perceives Tom has a lot to do with how he is treated.
This shows his acceptance because he doesn’t see Jim as a person and he sees his children as someone else’s property, which he feels would be wrong to steal. Although he accepts society’s view on slavery, Huck’s respect toward Jim is shown when Huck goes to him for his help, to find out what Pap was doing in town. Huck’s respect towards Jim is displayed because there were many other people Huck could have asked, but he chose Jim
“To Kill a Mockingbird” Throughout the book ”To kill a mockingbird” by Harper Lee, many people might see Atticus as a failure at both his job and being a parent. Even though Atticus didn’t win the trial, there was still several was he succeeded throughout the story. For example, he stood up for a Black man, he gave his kids someone to be proud of, and he somehow managed to be a gentleman even though people were mean to him. Atticus always tries to stand up for the Black people, which is pretty insignificant during this time period. Throughout the story he also tries to tell his kids that you should never judge a man based on his skin color.
Tom Robinson is a black man who is accused of raping Mayella Ewell. In Maycomb County, there is still serious racism going on and Blacks have not been treated right. However, Atticus still decides to take the case and defend Tom Robinson even though he knows that town’s people would insult him and his children. Although Atticus tried his best to prove Tom is innocent and he actually proves it, he still loses the trial. Despite the truth that he lost, Maycomb makes a “baby-step”( p.289).
(Page 217/218) No black man should feel sorry for a white person. The witnesses of this cross examination were shocked and this shows how prejudice they were- they believed that no black man can feel sorry for their superiors. Another factor that was deeply prejudice during Tom Robinson’s trial, was when Mr Gilmer has trouble trusting Tom’s statement when Tom says that he helped Mayella out of kindness and no money. He did not believe a black man could do a simple chore from the goodness of their heart for nothing! Also when Tom is called big buck- Mr Gilmer is treating Tom as if he were more of an animal.
Atticus Finch's actions in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee show that to truly know a person's convictions we must observe his or her actions. Atticus, a small-town lawyer in a racist, white, southern town was charged with defending Tom Robinson, a black man accused or raping a white woman. Before he took this talk Atticus spoke like a person who believed in fairness and equality. After taking on this task, despite ridicule from the people in his town, it was obvious he believed in the ideals of which he spoke. Another example, which further demonstrates that a person's true feelings can only be discerned by his or her actions, is Arthur Dimsdale's behavior in The Scarlet Letter.
Before she thought that Atticus was different from the other fathers in Maycomb because he was too old and couldn’t do anything fun with them. After he killed the mad dog in one shot, Scout was proud of her father and got more influenced in him. Scout is forced to understand that Tom Robinson was being treated differently because he had colored skin. Because of that, Scout realized that people can be prejudice because her father took a case of an African American man who was innocent. It shows that Scout can actually think seriously about things when she says, “Who in this town did anything to help Tom Robinson, just who?”(215).
Judge Taylor ends up being very helpful towards Tom; no other white person besides Atticus would take the time to think about a black man. It’s hard to give Tom a fair chance when the whole jury’s skin color is white, and the whole town is against you, but Judge Taylor encourages Atticus to try his best. When the case ends its fair to say Judge wasn’t exactly happy with the outcome, partially because Tom has to go to jail to pay his time. Beyond his feelings, Judge Taylor continues to try his best to make people realize how innocent Tom really
But this did not matter to Atticus; he went against everyone, and what everyone said just to prove that Tom was innocent. We are shown Tom Robinson’s humanity and point of view through Atticus’s actions, while the majority of the white population see Tom as just as inferior with no rights. Atticus was scorned by many of his fellow citizens because of his attitude that a black man should have the same rights as a white man. Atticus’s rejection of authority was felt by everyone in his town. His determination to defend Tom causes his own family grief from others in town.
A black man does not have to only be racist against a person of the different race but also can be racist to someone of his own race. That is what people misunderstand all the time but Hurston shows readers that what they think is false. You don’t have to be racist against someone of an opposite race. You can be disgusted not only with an opposite race but also your same race. Most people seem to believe that racism is a dislike between two different cultures.