Examples Of Discrimination In To Kill A Mockingbird

Not too long ago, May 25 of 2020 marked the unlawful death of the well-known black man, George Floyd. He was arrested, and soon after, murdered, by a racist white police officer, who pinned Floyd to the floor while kneeling, causing Floyd to plead 20 times he could not breathe. While George Floyd had been committing a small crime, it was not acceptable for a police officer to unlawfully punish him for his crime. That’s not his job, but the court’s. However, this tragedy occurred due to one common fact in every racial-based situation to take place in society. Prejudice is started from opinions, and accelerates into unlawful actions as we see from racial conflict of George Floyd, as well as characters from books. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird,

Harper Lee showcases through Tom’s appearances how people of color tackle excessive discrimination from the world. First, Lee makes use of Tom's dark complexion. At the beginning of Chapter 9, Cecil Jacobs insults Atticus for defending Tom, distinctly mentioning he is colored, causing Scout to fight Cecil. Due to this event, Scout questions her father, “Do all lawyers defend n-Negroes, Atticus?”(Lee 77). The author uses this example to show us racial concepts, discrimination and prejudice, displayed not only in the society of Maycomb, but in society today as well. Tom’s skin tone led to Scout questioning racial prejudice. She has not grasped the idea of racial injustices, and Harper Lee uses this as an example of societies lurking with people that fail to understand

First, Lee shows the structural aspects of Calpurnia’s black church. As Scout and Jem formally prepare for arrival at Calpurnia’s segregated church, Scout notices the physical features of the church. Scout identifies, “It was an ancient paint-peeled frame building, the only church in Maycomb with a steeple and bell….. Negroes worshiped in it on Sundays and white men gambled in it on weekdays.” (119). The appearance of Calpurnia’s church models how black people always get the used resources, therefore never acquiring true equality. We see with Calpurnia’s church’s structure, it was surprising to Scout because her church did not look this roughed up. Her church never was this simple. Her church did not have sacred walls peeling off. But Calpurnia’s church does, because of the inequality and the reality of black lives. Second, Lee unravels the dual role Calpurnia plays. Through Chapter 24, Calpurnia speaks formally with white people and informally along with different languages to black people, primarily at her church. When asked by the children why she does so, Calpurnia counters, “folks don’t like to have somebody around knowin‘ more than they do. It aggravates ’em. You’re not gonna change any of them by talkin‘ right, they’ve got to want to learn themselves, and when they don’t want to learn there’s nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language.” (127).