Jim Crow Laws In To Kill A Mockingbird

In 1955, as she boarded her bus in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks took a seat in the Colored section, separated from the White people due to the current Jim Crow laws. Shortly after, more White passengers boarded the bus, so there were no more seats left in the White partition. By law, Rosa was obligated to subject her seat to the White passengers, yet after driver James F. Blake demanded her to, she refused. Upon this, Parks was arrested for disobeying a White man’s orders. Being that this took place in the Deep South, the White community was enraged by her outburst against their segregation laws, their power over the Black community, their way of controlling others as they wished. And so, over the course of over a year, a new civil rights

During one late night, a fire starts in Miss Maudie’s home. The entire neighborhood gathers to help Miss Maudie save what is left of her blazing house. The author states, “The men of Maycomb, in all degrees of dress and undress, took furniture from Miss Maudie’s house to a yard across the street” (Lee 78). As the author states, men are trying specifically to salvage furniture from the burning abode. And at the same time in the story, the trial is coming up between the Ewells and Tom Robinson. Almost coincidentally in this case, these same men are also trying to preserve the White supremacy morals that are engraved within the citizens of Maycomb. Even though they know that Tom is innocent, they can’t let a Black man walk free; even though they know that the fire has already destroyed all of Miss Maudie’s house, they can’t let everything disappear in the flames before them. After Atticus has done his part, he stands by with his kids and watches as the rest of the townsfolk assist Maudie Atkinson. Scout observes, “In a group of neighbors, Atticus was standing with his hands in his overcoat pockets. He might have been watching a football game” (Lee 79). The house fire is noteworthy in the story because it represents how unwilling Maycomb people are to the fact that their society may fluctuate soon due to the upcoming trial, and they don’t want it to happen–it can’t happen. Atticus stands there watching calmly because he knows that change is actually good, and he is ready for it to happen. He is just watching and waiting for everyone else to realize it and catch up, for everyone to escape the fire–whether they like it or not. The refusal to accept change that is solely represented here correlates to how society is threatened and fearful that something will not go their way, that something will take a