Negroes know that white men don’t hate them because they are them, but because they are a Negro. So it doesn’t make sense for a white man to get upset because Negroes hate him, it is because he is white. John has a bad experience on a bus; the driver won’t let him off at his stop. He believes that Negroes aren’t even second class citizens, but tenth class citizens. After the Parker Lynch Case, John decides to go to Mississippi.
This is shown in the characters of Dolphus Raymond, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley. Dolphus Raymond comes across as a no good drunk that hangs around with the Negroes, and spends all day sipping from a paper sack that could be covering who-knows-what. The town of Maycomb knows him as this and only this, but this persona is quickly broken by Scout Finch and Dill when they meet him outside of the courthouse the day of the Tom Robinson trial. They are cautious of him in the beginning, but then relax when Mr. Raymond breaks the silence and asks Dill if he wants a sip out of his bottle. They are confused at first, but then relax when he explains himself: “You little folks won’t tell on me now, will you?
Grant is a middle aged black man who knows of all the racism in his community and he let's it's affect him by hating his life and almost everything in it. Grant is forced to visit Jefferson from his aunt and Emma. When Grant begins to visit Jefferson things don't go so well. After a certain visit Grant realizes that he wasn't so angry anymore and he couldn't stay mad at anything for long (Gaines 125). Also, Grant used to be a very hostile man and he didn't care for anything but from visiting Jefferson he started to care about his life and the things in it, he dedicated his whole self to helping Jefferson become a man and he would get into arguments defending his choices with his aunt even if she was very important to him and they never fought.
Dolphus Raymond In the extract we come across a character called Dolphus Raymond. Dolphus Raymond is a white man who is in a relationship with a black woman and has ‘mixed children.’ Jem and Scout are discussing Dolphus Raymond’s ‘mixed children’ when Jem says ‘but around here once you have a drop of negro blood, that makes you all black.’ The ‘but’ in Jem’s sentence represents the places in America that have yet to move on from the laws of segregation. Jem’s sentence frustrates the reader as it lacks elements of emotion, as Jem and Scout could cause a change of opinions in the community of Maycomb. Jem talks about ‘a drop of negro blood’ this implies that both Jem and Scout have a negative attitude towards black people, perhaps caused by the amount of prejudice opinions in Maycomb. Lee includes Dolphus Raymond in ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ to explore the issues of racial prejudice surrounding the time in which the novel is set and in the novel itself.
He is a man who reacts with violence and confirms racist whites’ fears about black men. In a world that seems utterly hopeless, Wright offers hope and a way to address the racial divide. When Jan visits Bigger in jail, he says he isn’t angry at Bigger for framing him. Jan, a white man, understands how he confused, shamed and terrified Bigger by ignoring the social taboos that has governed Bigger’s life. In order to extend an olive branch, Jan recruits his friend, Boris A. Max to be Bigger’s lawyer.
It was the fact that the whites believed that they had this power over the African Americans and that it was there right in taking it and abusing their power. Richard gets a job at an optical shop in Jackson and right away two of his white co-workers yell crude words and try in any way to intimidate him. At one point they almost threaten to kill him and frightens Richard to quit the job knowing that he no longer would be safe there. Mr. Crane, Richard’s boss, is a kind man who is from the North and sympathizes Wright. He asks Richard what the co-workers had said and that they would be punished but Richard’s fear is too great and just accepts his pay and leaves.
Because the boys are all adjusted to separation of color, the whites sit with the whites, while the blacks sit with the blacks. Louie, the most courageous of all guys sat at the black table to break the new found tradition. Because he was not wanted at the black table, he received glares from almost all of the blacks except for Rev. Although the whites looked at him and called him a trader, he didn’t care. Julian, the black captain of the team questioned Louie’s action.
Atticus: The fact that one of his relatives tried to acquit really surprised me, especially after seeing Mr. Cunningham outside of the jail in that mob. Scout: I knew that he didn’t really want to be there, he was just doing what everybody else was doing. Bringing up his son seemed to really bring him to his senses. Atticus: You have to remember scout that Mr. Cunningham is a person too, with a family and a role in this town as a farmer. Being in a mob can make people act differently, and I think your innocence definitely made him stop and think.
At some point he appeared as the “Zulu king” at a Mardi Gras event. Although something shocking that he adopted was ''When It's Sleepy Time Down South” as his main theme song to appease white people. Eventually young black musicians would see Louis Armstrong as someone that should just be forgotten for trying to kiss every white mans feet. One thing he did that really seemed to strike a nerve was when Louis publicly denounced President Eisenhower for his racist policies. Although Louis never tried to come off as Racist, his critics just continued to assume that he abandoned his black brethren for the lifestyles of a white man.
The people of Macomb’s jury during the trial choose to find Tom Robinson guilty even thought the evidence strongly suggests he is innocent. They do this because of their racist opinions and hatred towards the African American community. In contrast Atticus stands up to a mob for what he believes because he holds no prejudices. During the summer night when Jem, Scout, and Dill get shot at, Mr. Radley automatically assumes that it was a black man who was trying to steal from his garden. This shows that even thought Mr. Radley had no proof he assumed that it was an African American only because of his racist opinions towards blacks.