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Institutional Discrimination In To Kill A Mockingbird

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“Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man…” (Lee 179). This quote from Reverend Sykes in To Kill a Mockingbird is a sort of summary of how and why Tom Robinson was wrongly convicted guilty. It also gives a lot of insight on race relations in this time period. Unfortunately, racism has yet to leave society. Racism is still present in society today in a new form dubbed institutional racism. By definition, to institutionalize something is to establish in practice or custom. According to Wikipedia, Institutionalized discrimination refers to the unjust and discriminatory mistreatment of an individual or group of individuals by society and its institutions as a whole, through unequal selection or bias, intentional or unintentional; as opposed to individuals making a conscious choice to discriminate. Institutional racism is an issue …show more content…

This is a quote from the trial of Tom Robinson. It is said to Jem by Reverend Sykes: “Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man…” (Lee 179). This quote shows disparities within the court system based on race. Reverend Sykes knew that Tom would lose simply because of his being a black man being accused by a white man. Institutional discrimination as a term explores both implicit bias and systemic disparities (this is not to say “the system” is wholly at fault. This is a societal issue people of all races need to work to solve.). An example of a character who deals with implicit bias is Scout, who’s racial viewpoints are (unfortunately) not influenced solely by her father’s, but also those of her classmates and others in her town she interacts with. An example of systemic racism in the novel is the handling of Tom Robinson’s case, and how they knew he would be unable to win solely because of his

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Examples Of Tom Robinson Innocent In To Kill A Mockingbird

992 Words | 4 Pages

“There’s something in our world that make men lose their heads – they couldn’t be fair if they tried the white men always win” (pg. 220) in the 1930s racism at the time was powerful and strong the connection it had with people made a hatred emotion towards Tom, the white men will always win. Despite all the evidence that prove Tom is innocent, people still view him as guilty. Tom Robinson never committed a crime he is as innocent as a mockingbird, if racism was not a big deal as it was Tom would be a free man. Secondly, even when Tom is on trial at a chance he might die, he still shows kindness and compassion like a mockingbird. During the trial, Tom was called up by Atticus to give his side of the story.

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How Does Jem Mature In To Kill A Mockingbird

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After Atticus loses his trial, Jem notices that the Maycomb County justice system is broken and it needs help, “Then it all goes back to the jury, then. We oughta do away with juries. ”(294) This shows that Jem now understands that people are racist in everything and racism needs to be fought. On top of realizing that the justice system is in shambles, Jem realized that Tom Robinson’s case was very good at showing that.

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How Does Tom Robinson Have A Fair Trial In To Kill A Mockingbird

739 Words | 3 Pages

Tom Robinson, an innocent, black man, is convicted for rape of Mayella Ewell by a jury made up of white men. Tom is setup to fail from the very beginning since it is his word against the word of of a white girl. In any court case, “when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins” (Lee 295). The jury is able to make their decision about the case just by looking at the color of Tom’s skin. Even his exceptional lawyer, Atticus Finch, is unable to convince the jury that he is not the guilty one.

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To Kill A Mockingbird Coming Of Age Quotes

386 Words | 2 Pages

In court, Tom Robinson was declared guilty and sentenced to death. Atticus discusses the outcomes with Jem, stating that whites will always win over blacks. However, Jem argues by saying it “‘doesn’t make it right’”

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912 Words | 4 Pages

As the story continues the arrival of the trial will show just how racist the town of Maycomb is. “Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man.” (279) this quote was showing that it will be very unlikely for the white jury full of men to rule in favor of Tom Robinson even if they know he isn’t guilty. This proves my thesis because at this point Jem is very confident that Tom will not be

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975 Words | 4 Pages

Similarly, in the Tom Robinson trial racism is relevant, and Reverend Sykes, a prominent man in the Black community comments on the issue. He tells the children he “[has never] seen any jury decide in favor of a [Black] man over a white man …”, proving the fact that juries are racially biased (Lee 238). He explains to Jem how a jury can decide a man’s fate based on the color of his skin. Not whether he is truly innocent or not, but just because he isn’t like them. Juries being racially biased is an unfair way to decide a trial and has landed many Black men in

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1068 Words | 5 Pages

Tom being a black man in a white man’s world, he was convicted by the jury. Atticus explains, “In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins” (Lee 295). Tom Robinson was clearly declared guilty due to his color not act. In fact as Tom states, “‘I was just tryin’ to help you out, suh”’ (Lee 263).

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“‘I’m no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system-that is no ideal to me, it is a living, working reality.’” (Lee 274). Atticus, Tom Robinson’s defendant in the case, says in his closing statement that “‘two witnesses whose evidence has not only been called into serious question on cross-examination, has been flatly contradicted by the defendant’” (Lee 271). The final piece of evidence proving that the jury is guilty of jury misconduct is when Reverend Sykes says “I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man” (Lee 279).

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In the book Atticus and the members of the court system express the reach of prejudice, justice, and fairness in the justice system. The justice system was filled with prejudice. In the book it states, “ Now don 't you be so confident, Mr. Jem I ain 't ever seen a jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man…”(279). Reverend Sykes is witnessing the trial of Tom Robinson.

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In To Kill a Mockingbird there are lots of racial, gender, and religious, discrimination. Which is shown a multiple amount of times throughout the novel. To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee which takes place in Maycomb Alabama, where there is a lot of racial discrimination. But there is also some gender, and religious, discrimination.

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1033 Words | 5 Pages

That brings about a great majority of racist white men. The jury in Tom Robinson’s case is made almost wholly, if not entirely of them. The only people in the novel who clearly challenge this stereotype, or status quo, are Atticus Finch and Dolphus Raymond. This makes it not only possible, but fairly effortless for this group of men to have the power. Before the trial begins, Scout and Jem can’t find seats downstairs, where the white people sit.

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Marginalization In Of Mice And Men

1790 Words | 8 Pages

To Kill a Mockingbird shows the theme of marginalization where Tom Robinson, an African American (like of Mice and Men) is being accused of a rape that he did not commit. He is then convicted of this crime by a white jury with little substantial evidence. Because of his conviction, his life is shortened by him having been shot by white supremacists. A quote from the film states “quote”. From this quote it shows how Atticus (the lawyer defending Tom) points out how the evidence is inconclusive and how a white man would not be charged with this type of crime with the evidence given.

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In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, undoubtedly there is more than one type of discrimination displayed. Before we get into that, what exactly is discrimination? Well, to discriminate means to treat someone differently based on what they believe, their age, gender, who they love, even their appearance. The forms that I will be talking about are Sexism, (Prejudice actions based on gender) Racism, (Prejudice actions based on race) classism, (Prejudice actions on those of a different social class) and discrimination on those with a disability.

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731 Words | 3 Pages

In To Kill a Mockingbird the racial injustice was not fair to Tom Robinson because of the bias of blacks and whites in the past. Most of the characters in the jury in the book were favoring of whites than blacks. It was clear in the book that Bob Ewell had raped and beat his daughter Mayella Ewell, but the Racist jury took sides with Bob Ewell. Due to this unfair decision of the jury, Tom Robinson had tried to escape for his imminent execution and was shot dead. Today in the legal system all of this could have been avoided if racism is the courtroom was eliminated.

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In the 1930s, if a black man was on trial there was a ample chance he would be convicted even if evidence proved he was innocent. Throughout history humans being prejudice and bias have affected the lives of thousands of people; some ending with favorable outcomes while others weren’t so fortunate. Within the book To Kill a Mockingbird the readers learn that prejudice and bias people outnumber the understanding and kind. One decision or in this case twelve decisions decide the fate for an unfortunate man. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee reveals that people often follow their biases and prejudices rather than the truth.

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