ipl-logo

Examples Of Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird

759 Words4 Pages

St. Andrew School Luciana Rupprecht 3-31-23 The Obsession with Racism in To Kill a Mockingbird The novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is about a little girl who’s name is Scout and her older brother Jem. The novel is set in the 1930s in Maycomb, Alabama. While the children experience different events and adventures, the main complication is a court case. The jury has to decide if Tom Robinson, a black man, raped Mayella Ewell, a white woman. Atticus has to defend Tom, and he doesn’t receive a good reaction. During the novel there are many examples of racism. Some of the repetitive examples of racism is when Atticus is put to shame and called a “negro-lover”, Tom Robinson is show disrespect by Mr. Gilmer during the trial, and finally, the hypocrisy the missionary circle displays during their weeting. What is the perfect parent? One that shows the right way to act and treat someone? …show more content…

The case was about if Tom Robinson raped Mayella Ewell or not. As expected they did not treat Tom with the utmost respect. “Robinson, you’re pretty good at busting up chifferobe and kindling with one hand, aren’t you?”(Lee 223). Mr. Gilmer is extremely rude to poor Tom, and does not respect him. Back in the 1930s, a person could show respect to someone by referring to them as sir or ma’am. Mr. Gilmer calls him Robinson and later in the chapter refers to Tom as “boy”. Not only is he referred to as “Boy”, he is also accused of a crime he did not do. He never raped Mayella, it was her that wanted to kiss a black man. The verdict of the trial truly shows the extremities of racism. Even though Atticus has concrete evidence that Tom is innocent, the jury still accuses him as guilty. The only reason why they did this was, not because they have evidence that he perpetrated this evil act, but because he was black. In the words of Atticus, the courtroom is the place where everyone is equal to each

Show More
Related

What Is The Jury's Verdict For The Tom Robinson Trial

1537 Words | 7 Pages

The jury’s verdict for the Tom Robinson trial was guilty. The reasons why the verdict was guilty, is simply because they were racist. They all heard clear evidence on how Tom was guilty from Atticus, but if anyone on the jury were to disagree that a black man was innocent, they would have been shamed by the whole county. This case is based off of the real world trial involving the 9 black boys who were accused of raping 2 white women on a train, in Scottsboro. These boys were ranged from 13 to 20 years old, and everyone was put on death row, except the minor who got life in prison.

Read More

Plessy Vs. Ferguson And The Separate But Equal Laws

1402 Words | 6 Pages

A critical event in the book is when Atticus accepts to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, who is accused of raping Mayella Ewell; however, he is disfavored against by the town due to his race. In the book, Atticus says, “...The only thing we’ve got is a black man’s word against the Ewells’. The evidence boils down to you did--I-didn’t. The jury couldn’t possibly be expected to take Tom Robinson’s word against the Ewells’...” (Lee 117).

Read More

To What Extent Did Tom Robinson Get A Fair Trial

584 Words | 3 Pages

Tom Robinson did not get a fair trial because he spent over one year in jail. Tom Robinsons trial was not fair due to the race of the people in the room during the trial. They thought Mayella was telling the truth no matter what because she was white. They had a bias jury that was against Tom. Even though Tom has enough evidence they are still going to think he is lying because he is black.

Read More

A Comparison Of To Kill A Mockingbird And Mississippi Trial

797 Words | 4 Pages

Bob and Mayella Ewell, Bob’s daughter, accused Tom of raping Mayella. It was an unfair trial because they had no documentation that Tom Robinson raped Mayella Ewell and the jury was filled with racist whites. During the appeal, it was evident that Mayella was lying under troth to cover up for her drunken and abusive father, Bob Ewell, by her movements. For example, her eyes would shift a lot and after she said something, she would gaze at her father for endorsement. What really happened was Mayella tempted Tom; she was getting desperate for attention that wasn't her father's, but the jury didn't perceive it that way.

Read More

Tom Robinson Trial Essay

896 Words | 4 Pages

Long before Tom Robinson is introduced into the novel, it is clearly known to the reader that ‘negroes’ are considered in the lower class and always convicted guilty, regardless of the truth. Tom is accused of sexual rape by Bob Ewell’s daughter, Mayella Ewell, who is an obnoxious young lady with an attraction to Tom. Sheriff Heck Tate testifies that Mayella was hit on the right side of her face. Tom’s lawyer, Atticus Finch, believes that this is crucial evidence for Tom’s case and asks Heck, repeatedly, to clarify that it was the right side of her face: “It was her right eye… Which side again Heck?... The right side Mr. Finch” (192).

Read More

How Does Lee Show Courage In To Kill A Mockingbird

918 Words | 4 Pages

Atticus takes on the case of Tom even though all odds are against him. Tom Robinson is a black man who is falsely accused of raping a white woman. The people in the town are taking out their anger and frustration over the case on Atticus. During this time, the color of Tom's skin is what is making people think he was guilty. Atticus knows that he will get a case that will affect his home life eventually, and this case was it.

Read More

Examples Of Stereotypes In To Kill A Mockingbird

508 Words | 3 Pages

Tom is accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Atticus Finch, Scout’s father, believes that he is innocent and he is only being accused because of his color. Stereotypes of blacks such as the assumption that they lie and are bad people cause others to not give someone a chance to be proven innocent, not unlike Tom. In the book, the characters refer to a black person as a “nigger” which is a very offencive and negative term which shows how people in the early 1930’s viewed people of dark

Read More

Examples Of Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird

359 Words | 2 Pages

One of the many, many themes in To Kill a Mockingbird is Race. Imagine a world where everyone with blue or green eyes could boss and push everyone with brown eyes around. Everyone with the blue eyes got the better education, better clothes, better housing. Rasism was one of the major topics in the novel, and the following paragraphs will further explain and go into detail.

Read More

Examples Of Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird

1914 Words | 8 Pages

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel that show the life of a southern state od Alabama during the “black racism” time period, where majority of the people had the mentality that (quote) with the exception of a few. To chosen to portray it from the eyes of Scout Finch, from a child’s point of view. Living in Maycomb, in the midst of a conservative society of the 1930’s and 20’s Southern America Scout Finch is an extra ordinary child.

Read More

Examples Of Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird

860 Words | 4 Pages

The novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” was written in 1960 by Harper Lee in the point of view of a young innocent girl named Scout. One of the main messages that Lee has (need a new word than – indicated or set out) is racism, it plays an important role which strongly impacts many character’s lives unfairly and changes the relationship between two. Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” shows that it is wrong to hurt someone who does no harm to you, for example, black people are innocent but no way did they have as many rights as white people did. Black people lived hard lives because society was judgemental, irrational and most importantly, racist. As Scout and Jem grow older they learn to cope, take responsibility and are introduced to new aspects of life, one of which is racism.

Read More

Examples Of Racial Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

857 Words | 4 Pages

When Mayella, and Bob Ewell, lie to the jury, they do it to make themselves look good. They went out of their way to make an official case about the scenario. Therefore it put Tom Robinson’s own life on trial for something he did not commit. Bob, got to do The only reason Mayella, and what they did, was because of the racial discrimination during that time. Everything that took place in the courtroom shows the loss of childhood innocence and extreme racial prejudice.

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Of Writing By Ana Swanson

622 Words | 3 Pages

The author’s name: Ana Swanson. The name of the text: “Many parents will say kids made them happier. They’re probably lying.”

Read More

Examples Of Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird

622 Words | 3 Pages

Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird most represented theme throughout the book , is racism in the south . In the 1930s in Maycomb ,Alabama, racism was the main discrimination in this time era. Scout were one of the characters that observed the difference between black people and white people. “Laundry is the only thing that should be separated by color”. That’s one of the reasons Atticus accepted the Tom Robinson case because he knew no one would take it and if someone would they wouldn’t put on a good case.

Read More

I Know The Truth In To Kill A Mockingbird

741 Words | 3 Pages

Tom was not looked at the same in court because he was a colored man and in his society, it was not expected for a colored man to win. In Atticus last statement he said, “Which, gentlemen, we know is in itself a lie as black as Tom Robinson’s skin, a lie I don't not have to point out to you. You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie,

Read More

Theme Of Bully In To Kill A Mockingbird

830 Words | 4 Pages

Tom Robinson is a young African-American who's been accused of raping and abusing Mayella Ewell, a young and closeted white woman. Racial discrimination is hinted throughout Tom’s trial as Atticus Finch explains to Jem that a white man’s word will always win over that of a black man’s - "... In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins. They're ugly, but those are the facts of life" (220). Atticus explains to Jem that in the courts of Maycomb, a black man’s state of innocence or guilt is truly determined by a white man’s testimony.

Read More

More about Examples Of Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird

Related Topics

Open Document