To kill a mockingbird was a political statement, yet it was not meant for the public to so widely see. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the award winning novel by Harper Lee, many important topics are touched upon with themes such as family and justice, however, the most prevalent theme is racism and Harper Lee manages to touch upon it many times. Race in Maycomb County helps to determine social class and power, it also creates an unspoken set of rules regarding code of conduct and how many people interact in their relationships, both interracial and not.
In Maycomb County race is a major determining factor in a person’s positioning in the social hierarchy. This is proven when we hear the ladies of Maycomb discussing Helen Robinson, Tom Robinson’s
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The ladies seem to believe that Tom is the one that needs to know that he is forgiven. “If we just let them know that we forgive ‘em, that we’ve forgotten it, then this whole thing’ll blow over,” said Mrs. Merriwether (310). In this quote it becomes obvious that Mrs. Merriweather and the ladies of Maycomb believe that even though the black community contains perfectly respectable people, because the black community is black then the ladies believe that they are automatically higher in social ranking and generally better than the black community. Not only is the social hierarchy viable in relations between black and white people it is also obvious that there is a lack of respect within whites that associate with african-americans. When Scout meets Mr. Dolphus Raymond he explains to her that the people of Maycomb need a reason for a perfectly respectable white man to have children with a black woman. “I try to give ‘em a reason, you see. It helps folks if they can latch onto a reason...folks can say Dolphus Raymond’s in the clutches of whisky-- that’s why he won’t …show more content…
These rules force people to conduct themselves differently in relationships that are both interracial and not. This is proven when Dill, Jem, and Scout discuss the mixed children of Maycomb and why Jem thinks that they are sad, “Colored folks won’t have ‘em cause they’re half white; white folks won’t have ‘em cause they’re colored” (215). By saying this Jem illustrates how many people shun other people or treat the other members of the county differently based off of race. It shows that these children will not be accepted into society just because of their race. Even if this is true, some of the people in Maycomb do not let race affect their judgements such as Mrs. Maudie, Atticus, and Mr. Link Deas. This is especially proven when Harper Lee tells about Mr. Link Deas defending Helen Robinson from Mr. Ewells continued assaults, “If I hear one more peep outa my girl Helen about not being’ able to walk down this road I’ll have you in jail before sunset!” (33). This quote helps to show that Mr. Link knew that Helen and her family did not do anything wrong and did not deserve to be punished even if she was black. Therefore race does determine how a person will interact in a relationship, however, some people in Maycomb choose not to follow these rules and make their decisions based off of character instead of skin
At the time period of the book, racism was very popular, and especially within the town of Maycomb in the book. But racism was on both sides of the
The interactions between those of a different race in Maycomb is looked down upon. Therefore, many african americans are wrongly punished and treated as though they are less than human. African-Americans are often seen as inferior to caucasians.
Things in Maycomb, Alabama were pretty normal. Until one day, when news went around saying that Mayella Ewell had been sexually assaulted by an African American named Tom Robinson. This struck the town by surprise because the Ewells were not exactly the most admirable family. Mayella had very little power because of her race, class, and gender. Ordinarily being white back then was of higher rank, but considering where she came from, her race did not do her any good.
In Maycomb, both white people and people of color hold animosity to each other. So the children in the town with both a white and black parent are treated differently because society can’t put them in a box “‘ They don 't belong anywhere. Colored folks won’t have 'em because they’re half white; white folks won’t have ‘em ‘cause they’re colored, so they’re in-betweens, don 't belong anywhere. ’”(Lee 161)
1) Miss Maudie says she has “no business with the court this morning.” She does not feel compelled to watch the proceedings because she is aware of the injustice Tom Robinson will receive due to the prejudice the majority of Maycomb harbor against the black population. In response to Dill’s question about the reasoning behind her decision, she says “‘t’s morbid, watching a poor devil on trial for his life. Look at all those folks, it’s like a Roman carnival.” Miss Maudie’s words clearly portray her thoughts on the trial.
Maycomb is still very segregated in the community. Not just by race, but also by the social class. In the story, Atticus finch is appointed to defend a black man named Tom Robinson who has been accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell. When
In addition, the court for Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell, sat African Americans in different seats than whites (Lee 210). The court expresses bias in the case when whites have superior seats when watching the outcome. In Maycomb there are lingering themes of racial enmity that are shown over and over to develop a strong main
Harper Lee uses a direct connection from “To Kill A Mockingbird” and Maycomb to the racism occurring in the south. Harper states that people change the way they act for power, language and social status. Harper Lee says “As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t forget it - whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, he is trash.” (Lee 220) By Harper Lee expressing her feelings and emotions to everyone, and wanting to include everyone in as a group, think about the ways that Harper Lee uses to connect the town of Maycomb in “To Kill A Mockingbird” to the racism that happened in the south.
The Contrast of Empathy and Racism Although Americans follow the same rules and government, there is a clear divide between the priorities of the citizens. As with Americans, in Maycomb, Alabama, there is a clear divide in people’s viewpoints. Some of them are empathetic of others and see everyone with an open mind while others generalize people and can immediately make an assumption about someone from the color of their skin. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, she makes it clear that there are two kinds of people in Maycomb, the majority whom are racist and the select few who are empathic. Empathy is shown throughout the novel in many situations by the Finch family.
In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, the themes of social inequality, race relations, and perspective are shown carefully in Maycomb through the viewpoint of Jem and Scout. As the children mature and grow their understanding of the distinctive cultures in Maycomb develops and transforms. Through the progression of the novel, interactions between the different races are revealed and they allow Scout and Jem, alongside the readers to view the relationship between black and white people in Maycomb. When Scout goes to visit the “Negro” church, it allows her to view the black community from a different perspective. Furthermore, she acknowledges the ingrained bias the white citizens carry against the black citizens as well as their discriminatory
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, racism grudges on Maycomb Ville’s society. Families collared by agony, struggle everyday to break free from the chains of poverty. Domestic violence eclipses the town as it conceals beneath the dark shadows. Maycomb ville’s conflicts all revolt into a drastic nightmare.
Near the middle of the novel the children take a trip down to the town square where there are lots of people at the courthouse and having picnics. The blacks are all sitting in one corner and the whites are everywhere else, Scout notices Dolphus Raymond over by the blacks and asks Jem and Dill why he sits with the blacks. Jem tells Scout about what happened to the women he was supposed to marry and how he sits with the blacks because he likes then better. Jem also tells Scout and Dill that Dolphus Raymond has mixed children, Jem also mentions that it can be hard to tell mixed children from normal children and says,” ...once you have a drop of negro blood, that makes you all black”(216). When Jem says this he means that in Maycomb anyone who is part black is treated as if they are full black by the whites and as if they are full whites by the blacks.
Racism was not the worse things in the whole book, classism was even worst than that. In the To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee used several events to show classism was a really grave problem and this problem was full over the Maycomb. Classism was a really serious problem in Maycomb, it was really common in any of the society class. It happened to the children, to the Radley’s family, to the Ms. Dubose and to the Mr.Dolphus. In the chapter 2 and 3, when Miss Caroline wanted to know why Cunningham didn’t bring his lunch, Scout explained the reason to her but Miss Caroline didn’t care about what she was saying and she even criticized Scout, it made Scout had a really bad emotion.
Though most of the town Maycomb feels negatively and discriminates the African-Americans, characters like Atticus show us how one person can impact his surroundings if he has high morals. Although he couldn’t change the mindset of the other town residents , he made sure that his own children didn’t discriminate people, purely on the basis of their skin colour. Racism can be seen even in the first few chapters of the book. These racist comments by nonracist children typify the culture in which they were growing up.
For instance, lots of the people in Maycomb would avoid black people throughout the story because they were considered the lowest class of people. Lots of white people in town would make comments about black people or ignore them. The majority of white people gave them a hard time. One example of this would be when Mr. Raymond talks to Scout about how white people treat black people. The text states, “‘Cry about the simple hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to that they’re people, too’”