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Historical Influences On To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

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Historical Influences on To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird took place during the Great Depression. The Great Depression was a time of many hardships and devastations (McCabe 12). During this time there was a great decline in economics and a rising level of unemployment (McCabe 12). Many real-life events helped inspire Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Three connections to the book are 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 were anti-black laws used by Whites to keep Blacks in the second class status (Pilgrim). The laws operated between 1877 and the mid-1960’s (Pilgrim). The idea that Whites …show more content…

Racism is the prejudice discrimination of a race based on the idea that one race is superior (Routledge). One reason people turn to racism is because they want to boost their self esteem or group themselves (Routledge). It makes some people feel better to put others down, so they target those easiest to put down (Routledge). The Scottsboro trials were a one day trial involving nine black boys (Anderson). The nine boys were getting off a train when two white women yelled out “rape” (Anderson). The jury consisted of all white men and eight of the nine boys were unrighteously sentenced to the electric chair and the last boy was sentenced to life in prison (Anderson). Racism can be found in To Kill a Mockingbird. When the two women yelled rape, people automatically pointed at the black boys even though white men also got off the train (Anderson). This is similar to the book because Mayella yelled rape and no one thought for a second that Tom was innocent until after the trial (Lee). All evidence lead to Mayella’s injuries being from Bob Ewell, but because Tom was black and therefore an easier target, he was found guilty (Lee 282). Racism had influence on Harper Lee’s To Kill a

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