...Option 2 Instead of “We find Tom Robinson guilty…” the true meaning of what the jury said was “We find Tom Robinson guilty because he’s black”. Racism in the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” affects the events in the novel by many means. In the beginning of the book can see subtle hints of it while Scout and Jem are trying to see Boo Radley and experience different things. However, it becomes prominent in the middle with the events leading up to and the actual trial. In the end of the book with the aftermath of the trial aside from a few instances it goes back to more of the kids growing up and learning important lessons about life. To evaluate my point I will now show and explain three different points of racism in the story. As said in a study guide online “Despite the challenge of overcoming the town’s deeply ingrained racism…” many people in Maycomb County are racist. Some are so racist that they will take it to the degree of forming a lynch mob for Tom Robinson. The only thing stopping them from killing Tom was the intervention of a young girl lucky to change their minds to not hurt Robinson. However, that does not mean they changed their minds and suddenly like blacks. It’s this generations old hatred based on race...
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...To Kill A Mockingbird There were are a lot of people in the world who thought that it was okay for them to take advantage and discriminate others who were not the same race as them. The term for people doing this to others is called racism. Racism is still around today even, you can find it bassically anywhere you go because that is how often it occurs. Many people thought nothing of it back then, but then people started noticing that it was not a very good thing to do. People started thinking this because racism led to slavery and they did not think that it was right for one race to serve the other. Mostly all of the states up in the north had voted and banned slavery for that state, but the states in the south still liked the idea of it and did not agree to ban it. There were a lot of different times that racism had occurred back then, mostly in the eighteen hundreds, but two of the most known times were the “Scottsboro Boys Trials” and the “Emmett Till Murder”. Also the Tom Robinson case in a very famous book called To Kill A Mockingbird is an excellent example of racism not only from an individual but from a whole town. There are still a lot of times today that racism could be accounted for, one of the major times is the racism that started after the nine eleven incident that had...
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...Hatred and Racism in the 1930s The power of racism can affect one's behaviours and actions with one another. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, a man named Tom Robinson is convicted of raping a 19-year-old girl that is part of the Ewells family. As a black man in the 1930s, it was hard not to be guilty of a crime against white people like the Ewells. Siding with Tom Robinson as a white man is also looked down upon. This can be proven by the reaction of a lady named Mrs. Dubose when she hears one of the main characters named Atticus was defending a man when she said: “your father’s no better than the N-words…” (To Kill A Mockingbird, 102) The quote shows Mrs. Dubose’s hatred and discrimination to black people. The quote also shows how defending a black man is hated by the people. Mrs. Dubose’s act gives...
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...point of view. The novel shows how growing up in times of depression, racism, and poverty can change an individual or even a society. The story takes places in Maycomb County. The time is set in the early 1930s where poverty and racism plays a major roll in the United States. The tone of the story is very serious and shows the reader a piece of reality. The mood is very sympathetic but the reader may also feel humor from Dill, Scout, and Jim, three of the main characters. The setting plays a major roll in the plot because the racism during that time contributes to the conflicting opinions of...
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...During the trial of Tom Robinson, Mr. Raymond emphasizes that the “hell white people give colored folks(Lee 269)” is something to cry about. For Scout, this brings attention to a topic she has never done any digging into. This event sets the stage for future events that allow Scout to develop a broader understanding of racism. When discussing the Tom Robinson trial, Atticus explains that the jury “[carries] their resentments right into a jury box(Lee 295).” This highlights the racism involved in the jury’s verdict of Tom Robinson’s case and allows Scout to take a broader view on the subject and its presence in Maycomb. Harper Lee develops To Kill a Mockingbird as a bildungsroman novel through Scout’s coming of age lessons regarding understanding other people’s points of view and the presence of racism in Alabamian...
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...Imagine being back in the Great Depression and being accused of something that did not happen and being found guilty. This is what happened to Tom Robinson in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. In the novel, Harper Lee used real life stories as a guide to help her write her novel correctly and accurately. The novel is tied to a few stories such as, Jim Crow laws, mob mentality, and the issues of racism in that time period. One of the first connections to America’s history of racism in To Kill a Mockingbird is the Jim Crow laws. To begin, Jim Crow was a racist system that promoted inequality between the races. A bountiful number of people believed the laws were necessary to keep black people in their place. In addition, they used the Jim Crow...
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...To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee views the impact of racism on a society. Racism is a social norm in this society, and it plays a big part in both adults and children's lives. Jem and Scout live in a town called Maycomb. They meet a boy named Dill who visits Maycomb every summer. The threesome lived an adventurous and innocent life until a black man is convicted of rape and is put on trial. Reality then crashes down and Jem, Dill, and Scout’s opinions on Maycomb changes. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates the effects of racism on the minds of the youth. This racism changes Jem, Scout, and Dill’s views on Maycomb and the people that live in it. This brings painful feelings to all of them. Dill, Scout, and Jem witness Mr.Gilmer...
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...Sharon Dang Stevenson Honors English I 11 October 2011 Racism “Any concept of one person being superior to another can lead to racism.” –Walter Lang. Racism is treating others differently based on the color of their skin and ethnicity. Not many people realize that racism still exists in our country. Even though we have fought for the freedom of slaves and against the prejudice of black people, racism still lives. Harper Lee shows an aspect of racism through the outcome of Tom Robinson’s case, the prejudice of the townspeople, and the Finches’ neighbors. “In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins. They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life” (Lee 295). The outcome of Tom Robinson’s case shows that the jury is guilty of racism. Even if the evidence is clearly at fault with Bob Ewell, and most would say the Ewells’ are guilty, Robinson was the one taking the blame. Robinson was only trying to help Mayella Ewell and she seduced him. She wasn’t beaten by Tom, she was beaten by her own drunken father. The Ewells’ lied to the jury and yet they got away with it because of their skin color. The townspeople are also guilty of being prejudice. When Calpurnia take the children to church, she was scolded by Lula, a black lady not satisfied with the sight of white children in her church. She said, “You ain’t got no business bringing white chillun here-they got their church and we got our’n. It is our church, ain’t it, Miss Cal?”...
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...Racism, the Destruction of Humanity Greed, arrogance, anger, and ignorance are destructive forces in our world that may destroy our humanity, beat down our beliefs and wreak havoc on our morals. But none is as powerful as racism. Racism is the worst kind of prejudice in society, as illustrated in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, what befalls Tom Robinson and his family, it can ruin Bob Ewell’s lives. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Tom Robinson and his family are the most apparent victim of racism. He is guilty by raping a white woman but actually he is innocent. Everyone is blinded by his color and has already decided to put him into the jail. Obviously, he gets an unfair trial. In the court, Mr. Gilmer, the lawyer who defends for Mayella Ewell, treats Tom without any respect. Even though Atticus finds much evidence that proves Tom is innocent, no one listens to him. Tom is a nice man and he only wants to help others, however, his kindness becomes his murderer. After his death, his wife Helen Robinson needs to raise their children by herself. But no one feels sympathy for her and even no one is willing to offer her a job. Is appearance so important that can destroy our humanity? We are going to lose our selves because of racism. Atticus defends for Tom in order to protect the justice. However, he and his children are disliked by the town people. Jem and Souct get troubles from school. Everyone teases them and no one is willing to make friends with them. Furthermore...
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...Racism According to the Dictionary, racism is “prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior.” Harper Lee’s, 1960 novel, To Kill a Mockingbird takes place is the early 1930’s during the Great Depression in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama. The town of Maycomb has shown its racism in many different ways. Racism is shown through the Tom Robinson case, Bob Ewell’s actions, and the actions of Aunt Alexandra. Throughout the Tom Robinson Case racism is shown through the jury and its actions. Tom Robinson was accused of rape and even after all of Atticus’ hard work to try and prove him innocent, he was found guilty and sentenced to death.When...
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...the accuser and Tom Robinson as the defendant. Atticus takes the stand as the lawyer to defend Tom, and proves a valid point to anyone that it is as clear as day that Tom is not guilty. Why was he proven guilty then? Personal, I don't see that he should be guilty. I want people to realize the truth, and see why he isn’t guilty. Physical evidence of Mayella’s bruises clearly shows that her left side was bruised. Attius states, ”...there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella was beaten savagely by someone who led almost exclusively left … Mr.Ewell … no doubt signing it with his left hand, and Tom Robison..having taken oath with the only good hand he possess- his right hand.” This clearly contrast both...
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...her father’s Atticus Finch’s defendant. Atticus Finch is helping a black man named Tom Robinson with the charge of raping a white girl. These two lives changed from the racism involved with their everyday activities. The jury at Tom Robinson's trial shows racism because all the evidence indicates that Tom is innocent but all the jury members plead him as guilty.Helen Robinson Tom’s wife faces prejudice due to her husband supposively raping Mayella therefore it becomes very difficult for her to find a job and get hired. Tom Robinson the defendant of this case faces racism from Bob Ewell Mayella’s...
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...that have not seen prejudice. Through these innocent perspectives, the reader looks through a window to see the very raw core of human nature. Because of this purity, that Jem and Scout see Tom as a mockingbird. Tom represents a mockingbird in a few, yet significant, ways. First of all he ignites the children to sing their own song of youthful innocence; he is a minority and considered “crippled” in the eyes of many characters in the novel. Finally, Tom goes out of his way to be a hard-working and helpful man, even though his graciousness is not reciprocated. All of the way through the trial of Tom Robinson, many injustices become clear to both Scout and Jem. The unfair and biased treatment of Robinson leads to...
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...novel. There are similarities to Jim Crow, mob mentality, and the issues of racism in that time period. In To Kill a Mockingbird the first connection to America’s history is the presence of the Jim Crow laws. The Jim Crow laws were a way to segregate blacks from whites. Some examples of the laws were segregated buses, prisons, mental hospitals, and reform schools. If...
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...“I’m simply defending a Negro- his names Tom Robinson”. With these words Atticus informs Scout of his life altering task of standing up to the prejudice and racism that pervades the sleepy southern town that was Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. The effects of racism on Maycomb and its citizens will be discussed with further reference to ‘To kill a Mockingbird’. The court case of Tom Robinson seems to be a turning point for “the sleepy town “of Maycomb County. One acquires the impression that Tom is hated by everyone in the town as he, a black man, falls at the bottom of the social hierarchy that is very much a part of the town. Due to racism , black people are looked down upon by white people and the very few who choose to go against this norm...
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