ipl-logo

Examples Of Mob Mentality In To Kill A Mockingbird

1485 Words6 Pages

Can one understand how the blacks could still be treated unfairly? In today’s day and age society is fighting for a change to end racism. Harper Lee used real life examples when she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. Throughout the book, Lee referenced Jim Crow, mob mentality, and issues of racism during the time the book was written. In the book, one of the first topics Lee referenced was the Jim Crow laws. Jim Crow was a set of rules that showed the inequality between two races. The white people created a set of strict, detailed rules for the African Americans to follow. “People thought the laws were needed because whites were superior to blacks” (Pilgrim). The whites thought they were superior in the following ways: intelligence, morals, and behaviors (Pilgrim). Some examples of …show more content…

Another example of the Jim Crow laws in To Kill a Mockingbird is when Atticus makes his closing statement in Tom’s court case. Atticus wants everyone to have a fair trial and that all men are created equal in the court (Lee 273-275). These examples show how the Jim Crow laws were seen in everyday life in the story. Additionally, Harper Lee uses mob mentality in her book. Mob mentality is when a large group of people believes strongly in an idea or action (Smith). People act differently when they are in large groups and that is why they join mobs (Smith). People think they will not get in as much trouble when performing illegal activities in a large group (Smith). Society longs to be in a large group and wants to feel they are similar to others (Smith). Current examples of mob mentality are being peer pressured into drinking and smoking (Smith). People may not want to participate in these events, but because their friends are doing it makes it not as bad. It could possibly ruin their life but if their friends are making these choices maybe it would not do any damage. Another current

Open Document