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.”.
Even though he is innocent, because he is black, there is almost no chance he will win. As Atticus says, "In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins" (Lee 249). Tom has a right to justice too, but society thinks he does not deserve it because he is different. Next is the Finch family. They are not black and are well respected by the community, until Atticus is assigned to defend Tom.
Thus the racist social values of Maycomb County are responsible for the failure of Atticus Finch’s defense for Tom Robinson. When hate and racism start controlling people, that hate will be factored into each decision they make in life. For example, defending someone who is guilty and criticizing someone who is innocent. As a result of hate and racism controlling the witnesses of the trial, they are another factor that cause Atticus’ defense to fail. There are several characters involved in the justice system of Maycomb County.
Im ne being a white man in the 1930's. With the pressure and grief of the towns agi people surrounding ; with judgement being directly thrown in the face of the man only trying to do the right thing. In Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee, To , by she illustrates the point that by Atticus defending Tom Robinson even though it was considered the "wrong" thing to do and taking the case, defending him to his best efforts and taking the case even though he knew this would have both negative and positive effects on his children, he was not a racist. In this book, Atticus Finch is defending a black man named Tom Robinson, who is accused of rape. Throughout the story, we see the injustice that has tied between everyone involved as this time .
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.
After the court case when Atticus was leaving, the community of black people rose in respect of his heroic actions in which he presented in defending Tom. As the crowd rose Reverend Sykes said to scout “Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father’s passin,” (pg 211). Many people would argue, saying that he is not a hero and he was just doing his job, but I would disagree. Atticus was not only doing his job, he was trying to prove a very important point.
He also plays a part in affecting the town's morals throughout the novel by being modest, standing up for what he believes in, and seeing things all the way through. Atticus was a positive influence on the town of Maycomb, morally and racially in To Kill a Mockingbird. This research paper looks at how Atticus affected the people of Maycomb, including Tom Robinson, his children, and the townspeople in general. In order to defend Tom Robinson on trial, Atticus had to make many sacrifices that involved the town's opinion and views of him as a person. Though most of the people in Maycomb were racist in some way, many of those people knew Tom Robinson was innocent.
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
When Tom was accused of rape, this was the most racist point in the book to me. The people of Maycomb automatically labeled him as guilty. If I were in his position I would have wanted to fight back. Atticus Finch, a local lawyer and one of the main characters, is appointed as Tom’s lawyer. He is almost completely shunned from the town because he is trying to help a black man accused of rape.
So far, one of the major plots seems to be about his choice to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, in court. During this era, the residents of Maycomb county and the world in general were still extremely racist towards African Americans. They were considered slaves and not on the same level as normal people. The people who were poorer than the black people (for example: the Erwells) were even respected more. 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.