Examples Of Conflict In To Kill A Mockingbird Essay On Society

Kenrich Nguyen

Mrs. Housepian

English 2H; Period 2

18 November 2021

Society Creates Conflicts

Human beings have a longing to belong. People need to be accepted by those around us, whether that is a religious organization or a political party. Often times the group that satisfies this primal desire is society. Society provides a stable hierarchical system where people can find subgroups to associate themselves with. It provides security and normality through unspoken rules and expectations prevalent throughout its many levels and subgroups. But oftentimes, as shown in a variety of literary works, these rules and expectations create tensions and animosity between those within the system, those outside of the system, and those who clash against

The looming fear of being an outcast, unfortunately, can override an individual’s moral compass leading to them mistreating others. A prime example of this can be found in Harper Lee’s historical fiction novel To Kill A Mockingbird. Near the novel’s midpoint the trial of an innocent black man is concluded and the verdict: Guilty. Faced with such injustice Scout, the narrator of the story and her brother Jem ask their father why an innocent man was ruled guilty. Their father, Atticus tells the children, “Those are twelve reasonable men in everyday life, Tom’s jury, but you saw something come between them and reason...There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads—they couldn’t be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins,” (Lee 224). The twelve men Atticus is referring to are the jurors who falsely convicted Tom Robinson, the black defendant, of rape. Those same men who so heartlessly convicted an innocent man are also just and reasonable members of society. But in that courtroom, something clouded their judgment, and that something was racism. During the period that the novel was set in, racism was commonplace and was socially accepted and in some cases encouraged. So when Tom Robinson, a black man was sent to trial no one expected him to emerge innocent but the jury could’ve changed that,

Instances of this can be observed in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. During the trial of Tom Robinson, Scout and her friend Dill exit the building to take a breath of fresh air when they run into the town drunk, Dolpus Raymond. He speaks to the children about the town and during their conversation, he states, “It ain’t honest but it’s mighty helpful to folks. Secretly, Miss Finch, I’m not much of a drinker, but you see they could never, never understand that I live like I do because that’s the way I want to live,” (Lee 204). Before this, he talks about how the town couldn’t understand his way of living and that he made his choices out of his own volition. But the main reason they can’t accept him is that he married a black woman willingly, breaking a major taboo of the time. Because of this, he’s shunned by society for not fitting in and breaking the norm. In an attempt to fit in more he pretends to be a drunk because the town just can’t accept him for who he is, or respect his decisions due to the social norms of the time. Another example in the novel of mistreatment due to being different occurs earlier in the book. On Scout’s first day of school, she meets a brand new teacher from out of state. Because they’re new in the community they are not yet accustomed to the peculiarities of the townsfolk or how the social dynamics are