Injustice the Cornerstone of Sadness Once upon a time a civil rights activist named Martin Luther King Jr. declared, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” (“Injustice Quotes”). Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird has the recurring theme of injustice which rears its head in varying ways. Citizens of Maycomb from all social classes possesse many preconceived notions about people that lived differently from themselves, and this often resulted in injustice. Some of this injustice come from within households between family members. Other injustices between people stem from racial divides. Injustice is persistent in Maycomb in the form of incidents like Mr. Ewells abuse of Mayella, the false conviction of Tom Robinson, and Mr. Ewell attacking Jem and Scout. …show more content…
While familial injustice might not prove the most rampant form, it does exist. One instance of familial injustice occurs in the form of abuse imposed by Mr. Ewell on his daughter, Mayella Ewell. Although never confirmed the fact is heavily implied by Mayella when Atticus askes about her father saying, “’I mean, is he good to you, is he easy to get along with?’ ’He does tollable, ‘cept when-‘” (245). Sprinkled throughout the trial subtle hints present themselves that Mr. Ewell abuses Mayella such as the quote above, the fact he keeps his daughter away from the community, and the fact that Mr. Ewell refused to call a doctor when Tom Robinson supposedly raped her. Mayella refuses to completely out her father, but the damage was done. Abuse proves time and time again to be completely unjust to the recipient of that