Two examples of this paradigm are Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. However, the novel approaches another two characters, Atticus and Dolphus Raymond. The novel does not just portray suffering as its typical definition of physical pain, it does however illustrate characters that experience emotional pain and stress. The inhabitants of Maycomb County despise ‘coloured folks.’ They don't believe that the black people are on the same level as the white. Consequently, their attitudes
From the racial prejudice used against Tom Robinson, to the economical prejudice against the Cunningham family, To Kill a Mockingbird has shown how people in Maycomb look at people. This book truly shows how the people in Maycomb Alabama are prejudice towards each other. It is very devastating that people would ever treat people like this and be prejudice like they are in this
Tom Robinson is later seen as guilty. Even though it is very obvious that Bob Ewell is guilty, mainly because Tom’s left hand is useless. Because of Tom’s race, the people who see him as innocent will be looked down upon. Racism killed Tom.
Alex Rounds Swafford Pre-AP English 10 April 23, 2012 Tom Robinson’s Struggle with his Alienation Societal alienation is perhaps the cruelest way an individual or group can be treated by a community. When alienated, or alone and without any support, it is human nature for person a person to break down. In the American classic Too Kill a Mockinbird by Harper Lee, the character Tom Robinson struggles with this societal behavior ultimately leading to his downfall. He is an example of seclusion and shunning by society for the pure fact of being black. This alienation stems from untrue stereotypes and the disturbing moral values exhibited by the inhabitants of Maycomb.
First of all, the Ewell family takes Tom advantage of. He is accused that he rapes and harms Mayella who is Mr. Bob Ewell’s daughter. As Mayella says, “That nigger yonder took advantage of me an’ if you fine fancy gentlemen don’t wanta do nothing’ about it then you’re all yellow stinkin’ cowards” (Lee 188). This situation shows that black people in that period of time has no right in the same level as white people. If they get too close to white people as Tom Robinson does, it would bring their lives into disaster.
Mrs. Dubose criticizes him at one point and says, “Atticus is a Nigger lover!” or when she says, “Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for!” He also puts his re-election for legislature in jeopardy because of all the racist people living there. Most of the community think blacks are complete trash and should not inhabit their neighborhoods. Before the trial, Atticus leaves the house to go to the jailhouse to protect Tom Robinson from
Justice Racism has been one of the worst problems black people have endured since they came in touch with the white race. Racism is a belief that one's own race is superior and has the power to rule others. In Martin Luther King's writing “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, he answers the criticism given by his fellow clergyman that judged his actions as “unwise and untimely” (King5). King makes the reader understand that black people are tired of being treated as outcasts and as an inferior race thus, reassures the clergyman that black people's inalienable rights are being ignored. However, King proves to the clergyman, in his writing, that black people deserve equal rights by appealing to the reader's emotions, appealing to logic and
Although revered for his efforts and courage in the North, the South typically viewed John Brown as lawless murderer and condemned him. At this point, many abolitionists felt the need to abandon their means of peacefulness in their demands to end slavery. Southerners were shocked and scared regarding the matter since he had means of organizing a slave rebellion, even though he was a white man. The raid had caused a great amount of fear for slave revolts and abolition in the South, thus pushing further the issue of
“Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority.” – Thomas H. Huxley The novel To Kill a Mockingbird told an unforgettable story of doing what a person thought was right no matter what the cost. Author Harper Lee used the character Atticus Finch to show a rejection of authority when he went against the social codes in his town and defended a black man in court. Lee showed Atticus’s penetrating defense that ended up revealing the town of Maycomb’s inherit racism. Atticus Finch challenged social justice and prejudice by defending Tom Robinson just as he would any other person. Atticus’s whole town went against him because he was defending a man of a different race.
This assumption that black people are lower in class than anyone else, is a direct result of the unfair views of society. These inequalities are displayed in a number of ways, most prominently through the wrongful accusation and, afterwards, the unjust trial of Tom Robinson. The rigid social structure of Southern society, as well as the racial prejudice of the 1930s, allowed Bob Ewell to accuse Tom of a crime he did not commit. The quote: “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case.” is Scout’s way of saying that society’s views led to the inability of the jury to look past the colour of Tom’s skin, to reach a fair sentence. In Lord of the Flies, lack of equality also directly leads to a few of the incidents on the island.