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Racism in to kill a mockingbird book
Racism in the justice system to kill a mockingbird
The trial of tom robinson in to kill a mockingbird
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Walter Dean Myers once stated that “One of the lessons learned during the Vietnam War was that the depiction of wounded soldiers, of coffins stacked higher than their living guards, had a negative effect on the viewing public. The military in Iraq specifically banned the photographing of wounded soldiers and coffins, thus sanitizing this terrible and bloody conflict.” The Vietnam War, fought in 1955 to 1975, was the longest war in American history. This war was a conflict between the Communist North Vietnam and its ally Viet Cong, and South Vietnam and its ally the United States. During the Vietnam war, tensions in the United States were extremely high.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee conveys that prejudice divides communities and that persecution of innocent people is evil; furthermore; these two minor themes reinforce the major thematic idea that a simple assumption can divide people. When Tom Robinson is put on trial for supposedly raped Mayella Ewell, the racism in Maycomb surfaces and creates conflict. In the novel, a stranger says, “You know what we want,” ‘another man said.’ “Get aside from the door, Mr. Finch.”(172). Some drunken men want to harm Tom Robinson for the wrong that he did.
According to Google.com “ prejudice is a preconcerned opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience”. This a very important theme in Harper. Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. Bob Ewell is a major sign of prejudice in the town of maycomb Alabama.
Throughout these five chapters surrounding Tom Robinson’s trial, it is apparent that the characters are victims of prejudice due to Maycomb’s race relations. Harper Lee introduces three characters that drives the main plot of To Kill a Mockingbird: Tom Robinson, Mayella Ewell, and Bob Ewell. Atticus Finch and Homer Gilmer pursued questions regarding the witnesses’ lives that are relevant to what occurred during the said incident. The questioning covered important points such as Bob Ewell being left-handed, Mayella’s inconclusive testimonies, and Tom Robinson’s reason for running away. It also included Mayella Ewell’s personal suffering that is caused by the known prejudice: “She was as sad, I thought as what Jem called a mixed child:
have you ever thought that people should be treated differently because of their race or religion? In the novel " To Kill a Mockingbird " showed Jem, Scout and Atticus Finch tries to help a black man named Tom Robison, who was accused of raping a very poor white girl named Mayella Ewell. While doing this, they learn the moral nature of human beings- that is, whether people are essentially good or essentially evil. In the process, Harper Lee wanted to show these themes: courage, prejudice, justice.
Racism and Prejudice in the Novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” EQ: Examine how Harper Lee addresses conflicts of prejudice , racism , classism , discrimination , and/or gender bias through the characters in her novel to kill a mocking bird. In the novel To Kill A Mocking Bird there were many indications that there were racism in the story. These indications is not easily to sight but there are not easy to sight. According to the novel, there were the trial of Tom Robinson.
No Compromise, by Dr. Max E. High, is about how Christians can live by faith and with integrity against all odds. With Bible stories, the author shows the qualities that are necessary for living a victorious life. Gradually, he describes how a person, who believes in the teachings of Jesus Christ, can live in a manner that is consistent with Godly values in an age of compromise. Using the extraordinary life experiences of Daniel, the Jewish hero of the Book of Daniel, Dr. Max encourages Christians to do the right thing at all times irrespective of the pressure compelling them to do otherwise.
The central idea that develops throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird is racism because throughout the book many people had prejudice, scared, and peer pressured into being racist towards the black people who lived in Maycomb. To Kill a Mockingbird showed what living with racism back then was like and it also showed the reader that many people had prejudice. Prejudice is shown all throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird and is one of the main themes that develops throughout the book. Prejudice is when someone judge others by how they look before getting to know the person personally.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee shows social, gender and racial prejudice. We see prejudice when Scout says “He ain’t company, Cal, he's just a Cunningham.”(Lee, 1960, p33). This is an example of social prejudice because Scout thinks that since Walter’s family is poorer than her’s that he’s not worthy to be called company. Another example of prejudice is “ I was not so sure, but Jem told me I was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, that's why other people hated them.” (Lee, 1960, 54) This quote is an example of gender prejudice because Jem is saying that girls imagine things too much and that's why no one likes them.
The child is innocent and curious, fluid and thinking, rash and developing. Therefore as time goes on, a child will take on the opinions of others. Throughout To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee, the children of the story, Scout, Jem, Francis, and Dill, are faced with an environment of prejudice towards others. The people of this environment spread their beliefs and change the children’s minds time and time again. Their views are molded by the people who interact with them causing their innocence and perspectives to be in constant flux.
A Fading Preconception Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, the town of Maycomb prejudices Tom Robinson for his skin tone and previous experiences with negro men and women. To Kill a Mockingbird took place during The Great Depression. People were losing their jobs and beloved families. Tom Robinson, a negro man in To Kill a Mockingbird, had to deal with the entire town of Maycomb against him during the Great Depression. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee shows how the town of Maycomb goes against a black man in the south during times of prejudice and racism.
The race prejudice exist in the society of Maycomb and it is the main topic of the novel, there is a strong prejudice against the black community, and this is view in different situations. Through the case of Tom Robinson’s, Atticus said that in the court when a white man word against a black mans, the white man always wins, that is the ugly truth and facts of life (224, chapter 23). This prove that the veridic of the case was based on the color of the skin and not for the evidence found, there was not enough evidence that prove that he was guilty, however, because he is black man accused from raped a white woman, not white jury will point out the contrary. Only a few white people like Atticus and others were on favor of Tom Robinson case.
“If the civil and political rights of both races be equal, one cannot be inferior to the other civilly or politically. If one race be inferior to the other socially, the Constitution of the United States cannot put them upon the same plane.” (Justice Henry Brown of Michigan) This sentence was the stated reason on why separate but equal was confirmed as constitutional. This verdict, especially where it states, “If one race is inferior to the other socially, the Constitution of the United States cannot put them upon the same plane.”
The theme I chose was Racism and Prejudice. For instance, being against people based on their ethnicity and race as well as discriminating against people. In the novel there are cases of events that include racism and prejudice, therefore it expresses the fact that there was segregation between the citizens of Maycomb, Alabama during the early 1930s. For example, on chapter 12 page 153, Lula comes up and says to the children, “You ain't got no business bringin’ white chillun here - they got their church, we got our’n. It is our church, ain't it, Miss Cal? “.
Essay In the novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee, there are many important messages shown throughout the book. However the primary focus was set on racial prejudice that existed in the 1930s-1940’s in the fictional town of Maycomb County. The racism in the novel was very much a reality in 1930s-1940s America. A very good example of the racial prejudice that existed was in the courtroom during Tom Robinson’s trial, an innocent Negro man held against his will for a crime he did not commit.