Examples Of Mob Mentality In To Kill A Mockingbird

The Great Depression was the time period in which Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird was set and was a time of economic instability and unpredictability (McCabe 12). Lee used many historical events and influences in her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. In the book, there are direct links to the Jim Crow laws, mob mentality, and the Scottsboro trials.

The first influence on Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is the Jim Crow laws. The Jim Crow laws were a set of anti-Black laws that could be seen mostly in the southern and border states and demoted Blacks to second-class citizens (Pilgrim). The Whites thought they needed these laws because many people at high positions believed that Blacks’ mental capacity was inferior to Whites (Pilgrim). Whites

Mob mentality is the unique characteristics that occur in a large group (Smith). Mob mentality causes people to take in the ways of the group, despite their own ideas or concepts (Edmonds). When a large group congregates and is upset about a certain thing, a lead rioter can fling a whole group into a state of rage (Edmonds). Often times, people take part in a mob after a comprehended unfairness to cause destruction and steer clear of recognition (Edmonds). Another reason many take part in a mob is to achieve a group goal (Edmonds). Often times it is equality and fairness these groups are seeking. Mob mentality type behaviors often include violence because the word mob conjures an image of a chaotic and violent crowd. Mob mentality is shown in To Kill a Mockingbird in multiple instances. This occurs when Mr. Cunningham and others are in a group outside the jail attempting to hurt Tom. Scout then jumps out of the shadows to meet Atticus, but finds herself bringing the mob to their senses. Atticus later explains to Scout that every person has weak spots. As mob mentality played a large role in To Kill a Mockingbird, so did the Scottsboro

The Scottsboro trials were trials in which two white women wrongly accused nine black men of rape (Anderson). Racism is very prevalent in the Scottsboro trials, as racism can be defined in this case as Whites pushing Blacks down to gain higher status (Schafer). It was found during the trial that many of the men were not in the same boxcar as the women and there was no doctor’s evidence of rape (Anderson). Anderson also states that the black men were given drunk, and clearly incompetent lawyers for this case. Even after one woman admitted that the rape never happened, the jury would not give in and the case continued (Anderson). In To Kill a Mockingbird, there was many similarities to the Scottsboro trials. In the book, Mayella Ewell accused the wrong person of raping her, as the evidence was pretty clear that Tom Robinson did not rape her. There was also an all-white jury, and the Black men’s attorneys were court appointed in both