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.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee incorporates the theme, prejudice, to portray the feelings and thoughts that people had during the time period of the Great Depression; this was described in the Trial where Tom Robinson fought for his life. throughout the 1930's, most people were raised with prejudice beliefs in the South. Whites were taught from generations before them that african americans do not deserve respect. Therefore, it should not be brought to them. Most whites believed that African Americans were to do what they were told, by them.
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
Nick Salamone June 9th, 2009 Theme Analysis To Kill A Mockingbird is set in Alabama before civil rights cases were properly exposed of justices and cases against African-Americans were considered open. You find out that society can hurt innocent individuals who have littler power because of who they are. Through this novel, you put on the shoes of a small girl, Scout, and walks through a town where they learn of social inequality, coexistence of good and evil, and racism by seeing it through her father and life experiences. Race is a central issue in this time period. People aren't willing to accept change and theirs not much you can do in the 1930's to change that because it was "sociality acceptable" not to.
Racism inside and outside races and in schools In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee racism in schools was shown when Scout went to school. When all of the students found out that her dad was helping Tom Robinson, they said her father was a “nigger lover.”(Lee 87) In current event, Yorkshire primary schools recorded 3,018 racist incidents while secondary schools recorded just over 2,000. At a high school in Ontario a Korean kid got charges pressed on him, and suspended after being bullied and punched in the nose. After the other students found out about Atticus helping Tom Robinson win his case, all Scout and Jem heard in school was that their dad was a “nigger lover.” The Korean kid in Ontario got charges pressed on him and suspended after being punched and bullied. Racism and prejudice inside and outside, same races, and schools still happen today.
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’.
To kill a mocking bird by Harper Lee is a story of racial prejudice and social class, set in a time when such narrow mindedness was considered acceptable and apart of every day life in the small town of Maycomb. A widower, Atticus raises his children by himself, with the help of kindly neighbours and a black housekeeper named Calpurnia. Scout and Jem almost instinctively understand the complexities and machinations of their neighbourhood and town. This novel takes place in 1930’s in a typical southern society. Once Atticus chooses to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, Scout faces many challenges and she discovers numerous facts about life.
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.
It is a recount of her childhood in the 1930’s represented through the character Scout and is centered on the conviction of a black man stating that he has raped a girl. Representation of the loss of innocence is shown through the topic of the ‘mockingbird’ aspect, prejudice and the experiences of the families and children. They all have specific parts in the novel that make us lose certain pieces of innocence in our lives. Our loss of innocence through reading this text is because of certain people perspectives and experiences and the growing up is a part of becoming an adult. The aspect of the ‘mockingbird’ in the text occurs frequently.
Racial, and sexual discrimination has been and still is a problem throughout the world whether its considered fair or not, unjust or not, chances are it will be around as long as the human existence. The Lemon Orchard by Alex La Guma was written about the oppression of the blacks in South Africa during the mid 1900’s. A black Englishmen is taken captive by a small group of white town folk who are outraged at the black Englishmen for “being cheeky and uncivilized towards the minister of their church” (La Guma 333). Even though Africa is predominantly inhabited by Negroes, South Africa is run primarily by the white Englishmen making it much like the United States at the time, where black’s rights were unclear and at times unexistent. La Guma makes it clear through the context of the captors toward the black man and toward each other that racism