Intoleration In To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird

The town of Maycomb is presented as a friendly and welcoming community. At the same time, they treat the Radley’s very poorly. The Radley’s shouldn’t be judged on their disinterest of social interaction because they are doing no harm to anyone by just staying in their house. America in the 1930’s was very conceded, especially in the South. They held no tolerance for anyone that seemed opposed to uniform regularity. A prime example of this intoleration for the time period and location would be the unfair and extremely biased case against Tom Robinson. What many people don’t understand about this world, is that we are talking about actual living and breathing people and while the “perfect world” would be to never judge

People said he existed, but Jem and I never saw him. People said he went out at night when the moon was down, and peeped in windows.”(8) This is the description that Scout presented about Boo Radley in the beginning of the book. She has been told by her older brother and other townsfolk wild rumors about him. While she is just a little girl, her ideology and belief system stem from the environment around her. It has been cultivated and developed by all of the people in Maycomb. Boo Radley is just a shy man who doesn’t care about his social status and as punishment, it seems that he is banished into segregation from the rest of the population. What people don’t see in Boo are the kind acts he does for the Finch children. When the Miss Maudie’s house was engulfed in flames and Atticus asked the children to stand outside away from harm's way, nobody noticed that Boo had placed a blanket over Scout’s shoulders. “ Someday, maybe, Scout can thank him for covering her up.” “Thank who?” I asked. “Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you”(72) Boo is constantly trying to let the kids know of his presence and is often looking out for these two kids. He has proven time and time again that he is a person with a kind heart and should be considered a “Mockingbird” He is different from most people because he isn’t just here for himself. He puts himself in difficult situations to

Mayella often asked for Tom’s help with her chores and Tom did it because he felt sorry for her and her situation. On one of the occasions she decided to kiss him and her father, Bob Ewell, saw it. Tom ran away and Mayella was beaten by her father. She later claimed rape against Tom even though she instigated the whole situation. He was put on trial and when asked why he felt sorry for her he said “Yes, suh. I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more'n the rest of 'em-” “You felt sorry for her, you felt sorry for her?” Mr. Gilmer seemed ready to rise to the ceiling. The witness realized his mistake and shifted uncomfortably in the chair. But the damage was done. Below us, nobody liked Tom Robinson's answer. Mr. Gilmer paused a long time to let it sink in. (125-126) Tom’s judgment comes from something he has no control over, race. It is frowned upon and even ludicrous for a person of color to place themselves over any given white person. He is put in a catch 22 position and it all because he decided to inconvenience himself for the benefit of another. If Tom would’ve been a white man then all of the fingers would have been pointed to Bob Ewell but they weren’t willing to judge on the character of Tom because he was black. There is obvious evidence that Tom is innocent such as “He looked oddly off balance, but it was not from the way he