How Does Atticus Use Racial Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

I am reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and I am on page 304. So far this book is about the Tom Robinson trial and how Scout, Jem, and Dill react. Even with all of the evidence pointing towards Tom being innocent, he was convicted of rape and sent to prison. In this journal I will be characterizing and predicting. Tom Robinson is compassionate and realistic.

Atticus made a long speech about how everyone is the courtroom has told a lie and has done something immoral. Then she says “black or white”. She goes on saying that men are not created equal, then she says there is one way that all men are created equal. “in our courts all men are created equal” say Atticus. He also said in the name of god, believe

Mayella feels guilty about being attracted to a black man because it is not accepted in society at the time. She gets upset when Atticus shows the jury that she is lying about being attacked by Tom Robinson. Mayella says, “I got somethin’ to say an’ then I ain’t gonna say no more. that nigger yonder took advantage of me an’ if you fine fancy gentlemen don’t wanta do nothin’ about it then you’re all yellow stinkin’ cowards, the lot of you. Your fancy airs don’t come to nothin’-your ma’amin’ and Miss Mayellerin’ don’t come to nothin’, Mr. Finch-”

His life comes to an abrupt and unnecessary end after Mayella “tempted a negro” and he is forced to pay the ultimate price, despite all evidence indicating his innocence (Lee 204). Tom adds to the long list of victims of racial prejudice in Maycomb because of others who share Mrs.Dubose beliefs. In a similar way, racial prejudice is also exemplified through Scout’s conflict with Francis and Atticus’ conflict with the mob. While Scout is visiting her family at Finch Landing she gets into a heated fight with her cousin Francis. Francis, who caught Maycomb’s usual disease, calls Scout a “nigger lover” causing Scout to punch him (Lee 112).

Scottsboro Trial Vs To Kill a Mockingbird Trial “To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white.” This quotation is from Atticus Finch’s closing argument in To Kill A Mockingbird. Atticus is trying to express how this case is simple and there is no way that Tom Robinson is guilty.

Mayella should not be forgiven. Mayella, while being mistreated from her father, committed a crime. She is a victim of abuse and harsh obligations, but she still did something that is not right. She put a kind, hardworking father into a position that was inescapable for anyone nevertheless a Negro. Mayella says "That nigger yonder took advantage of me…" it is well known that someone of Tom Robinson 's nature would not do something as unprofessional as a rape.

Atticus Finch says “And so a quiet, respectable, humble black man who had the unmitigated temerity to feel sorry for a white woman, has had to put his word against two white people’s.” (Lee 219). In this part of the novel Atticus is giving his final statement, giving the jury a small summary of the case and how he sees Tom, and how he thinks the jury should see him too. Tom Robinson had to put his word against Bob and Mayella Ewell’s. Two white people's words that contradict Tom’s.

During Tom Robinson’s trial, he went to the witness box to defend himself, and prove to the jury and the judge that he was not guilty. Atticus, Tom’s lawyer, asked him different questions about the events that transpired. When on the stand Tom answered Atticus’s question while explaining “She says she never kissed a grown man before an’ she might as well kiss a ni**er. She says what her papa do to her don’t count” (Lee 221). With Mayella getting sexually abused by her father it leaves her in a vulnerable condition.

Despite those who stand firm in their unjust and biased beliefs in Maycomb, Atticus never doubts standing up for what is right, even if it means he could be mocked. Many times, Atticus proves himself worthy of being called a discerning person. When in court, Atticus questions Mayella in a way that one might call odd for a rape investigation while really, it reflects his true discernment. Like Scout concludes, “Surely but slowly I began to see the pattern of Atticus’s questions: from questions that Mr. Gilmer did not deem sufficiently irrelevant or

Ewell takes a stand to defend Mayella in the courtroom when Atticus starts to realize that Mr. Ewell could’ve been guilty for Mayella’s rape. Atticus tries to prove that Mr. Ewell is guilty by intentionally asking Mayella questions, but Mayella refuses to prove that Mr. Ewell is guilty and responds to this saying “I got somethin’ to say an’ then I ain’t gonna say no more. That nigger yonder took advantage of me.. “ (Lee 251). This quote symbolizes the judgement that Mayella made on Tom Robinson to prove that he’s guilty.

In the world right now, there is still inequality for all. People are criticized everyday because of how they look, speak, dress, act, etc. In America, although there is people that are changing, there with always be that small group of people that won’t change their views on what they believe is right and wrong in our society. You can also see this in the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, written by author, Harper Lee. All throughout the novel, you can see how white people are superior to the African Americans that live in the same town.

He uses this by saying “ there is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie =, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man living who has never looked upon a woman without desire.” By saying this Atticus is forcing the jury to feel compassionate because they realize their own fault. Atticus also says “All men are created equal, a phrase that the Yankees and the distaff side of the Executive branch in Washington are fond of hurling at us.” When Atticus says this it reminds the jury to have compassion because all men are created equal. Even the black

However it was rare that whites made contact with a black first. Tom Robinson confessed that Mayella asked him to help her with something in her house but later made a move to kiss him and she wanted him to kiss her back. Atticus Finch protects Tom by saying "she was white, and she tempted a negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man" (109). White women rarely made any contact during this time period because whites thought that they were more important than blacks which is why it was unspeakable in their society.

To Kill a Mockingbird Essay ¨Inequality is the root of social evil¨ (Pope Francis). In the book To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee shows that social inequality affects everyone. As the book goes on, Lee proves that racial inequality was one of the greater stresses in the 1930’s. Social inequality does not just exist only with race; it interferes with wealth, family backgrounds, age, and even your beliefs.

This behaviour is deemed as natural, and few people question the roles put in place, this is truly terrifying so we are lead to wonder if what we accept as normal is perhaps corrupt instead. Race is the dominant cause of inequality in To Kill A Mockingbird, thus Maycomb’s views on race heavily influence every aspect of life. Although racial inequality is clearly illustrated in the in the injustice, prejudice, discrimination and antagonism surrounding the Tom Robinson trial, it is also shown more subtly throughout the novel. In Chapter 25 Atticus Finch is quoted disclosing that the corrupt justice system is a direct cause of a racist society. “In our courts, when it 's a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins” (Lee, 295).