Ben Whitten Mrs. Cottingham Introduction to Literature 17 February 2023 To Kill a Mockingbird Literary analysis essay Remember being blamed for something, like being blamed for breaking something someone else did? Well, throughout the entire story of Scout's childhood black people were stereotyped and blamed for things they didn't do just because of their skin color. The story takes place in a small town called Maycomb during the Great Depression. The main character is Jean Louise, also known as Scout Finch, a smart and talkative girl who changes in age from six to nine throughout the story. Scout and her older brother, Jem, are raised by their famous lawyer father, Atticus Finch, who is a single father and raises them with the values of sympathy …show more content…
A piece of evidence to support this claim is when Scout says “I shut my eyes. Judge Taylor was polling the jury: “Guilty…guilty…guilty…guilty…” I peeked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each “guilty” was a separate stab between them” (Lee 129). This quote supports my claim because it shows how Tom Robinson is accused of rape and pronounced guilty. Even though most of the people in the court could tell that Tom was innocent didn't matter in the end. He was voted guilty just because his skin was different than theirs, just because he was black. Overall Tom shouldn't have been voted guilty and he only was because his community was filled with racism and it won't ever be the …show more content…
A white figure named Boo Radley slashes his father with a scissor. Despite his offense, “The sheriff hadn’t the heart to put him in jail alongside Negroes, so Boo was locked in the courthouse basement.”(Lee 17) he is not imprisoned among prisoners with black skin. Instead, he is imprisoned in the courthouse's basement. If he is jailed alongside the black folks, the sheriff believes it will be a terrible punishment. Observe the inequality in the court system as Boo, a white teen, is treated unfairly despite confessing to his crime. Tom, who is blameless, is mistreated, however, due to his dark skin. This incident demonstrates how bias discriminates against individuals and how decision-making and a sense of justice are lost among those in positions of authority. Overall This shows that in the future white people could just be committing crimes all the time but no one would do anything because they don't want them to be imprisoned with the black