Disrespect In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird was a pretty good book that took place in the 1930s in the town of Maycomb. The story is told through the eyes of the main character, Jean Louise Finch, and the story introduces many other characters. To kill a mockingbird has many big themes that played a part in the plot of the story, some of them being Courage, Cruelty, Honor, Hatred, Ignorance, Justice, Kindness, Prejudice, Tolerance and Maturation, but one of the most important themes in the story was Racism. People in the town of Maycomb display their racist attitudes by convicting Tom Robinson for a crime they know he didn't commit, by treating the African Americans and people who associate with African Americans with no respect, and by trying to …show more content…

When people around the town found out that Atticus was going to help Tom Robinson in court, they began to call him racist names and to disrespect him as if he was African American. The children of Atticus were verbally abused, being called names as their father was.

“That evening a mob went to the jail to lynch Tom Robinson, and it looked as if they would toss Atticus aside if they had to.” (Lee, 278). Right after Tom Robinson’s trial as he was in jail, a mop came and tried to kill him. If it was not for Tom Robinson being protected by Atticus, he would have died earlier than he did. One of the main reasons the mop tried to kill him was not only because of how he was accused of raping a white woman, but because he was black.

Nevertheless, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird was a great book with a very interesting plot and lots of great themes that really improve the plot, consequently, one of them being racism. Racism was seen throughout the book from the trial, or from when the African Americans were treated with the least respect, or when the people tried to kill Tom Robinson before his