Examples Of Jim Crow Laws In To Kill A Mockingbird

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“Depression was a period of drastic decline in an economy, marked by rising levels of unemployment” (McCabe 4). Harper Lee used what was happening in the world to write her book To Kill a Mockingbird. Jim Crow laws, mob mentality, and racism are all connected. The first example in the novel and the world is Jim Crow laws. Jim Crow was a way to keep black people less worthy than the white people. Some people thought the laws were needed to keep white domination, to not offend the whites, to keep their jobs, or to protect the white women. A few examples of the laws are that black people had segregated buildings and everyday places; they could not have white people jobs, and they could not display public affection. If these laws were not followed, …show more content…

Racism occurs in our society. People are racist because they have low self-esteem, they like certainty and structure, and they need dominance (Routledge). An example of racism is shown with the Scottsboro Trials. Nine black teens were accused of rape by two white women, and sentenced to death penalty or life in prison. The teens were riding the train when the women who were in trouble with the law accused them of rape to cover up their secrets (Anderson). Harper Lee uses these ideas in her book when Mayella accuses Tom of rape, so she could cover the secret of what her father had done to her. An example of racism in the trial was how one of the teenagers accused was blind, and another was too sickly to walk which clearly shows that they could not have raped the two women. This relates to Tom Robinson’s case because he was also injured and accused of something that would not have been possible. Tom had injured his left arm in a cotton gin and was clearly unable to use it to hurt someone with it. They relied on people believing what could not be possible only because he was black. Another example of racism in the trials was how there were no black people in the court, which lessened the chance of anyone understanding how it felt to be blamed for something only because of race. In the novel, there were no black people in the jury either (Lee

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