“Fairness is what justice really is.” (Potter Stewart, Supreme Court Justice. 1915-1985) Fairness and justice has played a critical role in the world for many years. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a prime example of this. Harper Lee is trying to convey to the reader how important justice and fairness are to civil society by showing us a harsh degree of discrimination in the courtroom, the way Scout is treated being a girl who wears boys clothing, and the way that Atticus is treated for defending a person of color because he knows it is the right thing to do. Discrimination in the courtroom comes in many different ways. In the novel, Tom is likely to lose trial where he was accused of doing something he most likely did not do for the vapid reason that he is a man of color. Had the court system given Tom Robinson a fair chance he would not have ended up in jail and he may not have been killed. No man, woman, or child should have to go through life being degressed and put …show more content…
At first, Jem and Dill were treating Scout poorly because she was a girl and she didn’t “belong” outside running around with them, but eventually it was mentioned by Aunt Alexandria that Scout needs to start “dressing like a lady”. In her aunt's eyes Scout was acting out and going against the rules, but in reality the only rules she was going against were the ones made up by society that she should not have been subjected to. While the children were in the courthouse during the trial Jem was told to take Scout home, but Scout refused. Jem told said to Reverend Sykes, “I think it’s okay, Reverend, she doesn’t understand it.” (Lee, Pg.197) This quote allows us to see that because Scout is so young, Jem assumes that she does not understand what is happening. Jem often unfairly judged Scout because she was younger than him, which is a reality of judgement and fairness in society