How Does Lee Use Racial Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

In Harper Lee’s gothic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, protagonist Scout Finch and her family are introduced to racial inequity in the “tired old town” (5) of Maycomb, Alabama. Scout's father Atticus Finch, a lawyer, is given the task of defending a black man “{whose} name’s Tom Robinson” (86), who has been accused of rape, in court. During the trial, Scout and her brother Jem learn the appalling effects of racial prejudice and the iniquity of the world and the people in it. Tom Robinson is deemed guilty because of his race, despite all evidence proving his innocence. Lee utilizes literary techniques in the novel to further develop the theme of racial prejudice, such as Atticus’s encounter with Tim Johnson, Mrs. Dubose’s camellias, and her use

The subject, Tim Johnson, “a mad dog” (107), terrorizes the neighborhood and is portrayed as racism in the town of Maycomb. Tim Johnson has rabies, a deadly disease that is very contagious. Atticus referred to racism as “Maycomb’s usual disease” (117). Lee uses this phrase to compare the disease of racism to the disease of rabies in Tim Johnson. Lee reveals how racism is a menacing and very contagious disease that affects the town of Maycomb. During the encounter of the rabid dog, Tim, Atticus is immediately called to help, while others hide, leaving “a deserted, waiting street” (94), abandoning Atticus to take care of everything alone. When the sheriff tells Jem that “He’s{Tim} far from dead”(109), Lee helps readers understand that this can be applied to racism. The text suggests that racism is far from being dead, meaning that it is present in everyday life. Lee also adds the quote that “{it} hasn’t got started yet”(109). This signifies that racism will continue to grow as time goes

Before Tom Robinson’s trial, the town had a “gala”(182) and the town was “covered with picnic parties”(182). This use of diction creates a celebratory mood, suggesting that the town did not care about Tom’s trial. Lee creates the idea that the people of Maycomb do not care about Tom, or any African Americans for that matter. While most of the town of Maycomb is celebrating, “in a far corner of the square, the Negroes sat quietly in the sun” (182), suggesting they are outcasts. This dissimilarity between the townspeople is used to assist the reader in understanding the depth of the principal theme of racial prejudice. In many other segments of the story, Lee constructs diction in the same way, such as “ a…Negro who had the unmitigated temerity to ‘feel sorry’ for a white woman has put his word against two white peoples”(273). The definition of the words unmitigated and temerity have negative connotations. These words are often used to describe disastrous and audacious events. These words develop the complexity of racial prejudice. This quote means Tom Robinson is in the wrong for feeling sorry for “Mayella Violet Ewell” (203). This action of feeling sorry puts him in a place of superiority. The townspeople of Maycomb do not like this gesture from a black man, therefore they discriminate and degrade