How Is Statistics Used In To Kill A Mockingbird

1571 Words7 Pages

Kill A Mockingbird, a novel published in 1960 by Harper Lee, effortlessly depicts the hardships African Americans and people thought of as “different” have endured throughout America's history. The novel tells the story of Scout and Jem, two kids whose father represented a black man falsely accused of rape in court. The story shows the grim reality of the treatment of African Americans during the Jim Crow era because of the author's observations in adolescence, which proved to be a massive influence on the creation of the book. Along with depicting the treatment of different groups in society, the novel also shows the underlying innocence in people, and how it can be exploited by the use of prejudice. To Kill A Mockingbird explores themes of …show more content…

An article posted by The Appeal states “Black men are also twice as likely as whites to be arrested for sexual offences, and three times more likely to be accused of forcible rape. But it’s unlikely that they commit sexual assault at higher rates than other ethnic or racial groups.” Both of these statistics can be linked back to deep-rooted prejudice and discrimination in American society (Nathan, 2018). Further, to convey innocence in To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee utilizes symbolism throughout the story. The most recognizable depiction of this symbolism is the use of the mockingbird. In the story, this symbolism is explained by this quote: Mockingbirds don't do one thing, but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird (Lee, 94). Which is essentially saying it's a sin to kill an innocent being. Tying in with the previously mentioned quote, the Sheriff in the novel is quoted as saying "'There's a black boy dead for no reason, and the man responsible for it's