Maycomb County Race Quotes

To kill a mockingbird was a political statement, yet it was not meant for the public to so widely see. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the award winning novel by Harper Lee, many important topics are touched upon with themes such as family and justice, however, the most prevalent theme is racism and Harper Lee manages to touch upon it many times. Race in Maycomb County helps to determine social class and power, it also creates an unspoken set of rules regarding code of conduct and how many people interact in their relationships, both interracial and not.

In Maycomb County race is a major determining factor in a person’s positioning in the social hierarchy. This is proven when we hear the ladies of Maycomb discussing Helen Robinson, Tom Robinson’s

The ladies seem to believe that Tom is the one that needs to know that he is forgiven. “If we just let them know that we forgive ‘em, that we’ve forgotten it, then this whole thing’ll blow over,” said Mrs. Merriwether (310). In this quote it becomes obvious that Mrs. Merriweather and the ladies of Maycomb believe that even though the black community contains perfectly respectable people, because the black community is black then the ladies believe that they are automatically higher in social ranking and generally better than the black community. Not only is the social hierarchy viable in relations between black and white people it is also obvious that there is a lack of respect within whites that associate with african-americans. When Scout meets Mr. Dolphus Raymond he explains to her that the people of Maycomb need a reason for a perfectly respectable white man to have children with a black woman. “I try to give ‘em a reason, you see. It helps folks if they can latch onto a reason...folks can say Dolphus Raymond’s in the clutches of whisky-- that’s why he won’t

These rules force people to conduct themselves differently in relationships that are both interracial and not. This is proven when Dill, Jem, and Scout discuss the mixed children of Maycomb and why Jem thinks that they are sad, “Colored folks won’t have ‘em cause they’re half white; white folks won’t have ‘em cause they’re colored” (215). By saying this Jem illustrates how many people shun other people or treat the other members of the county differently based off of race. It shows that these children will not be accepted into society just because of their race. Even if this is true, some of the people in Maycomb do not let race affect their judgements such as Mrs. Maudie, Atticus, and Mr. Link Deas. This is especially proven when Harper Lee tells about Mr. Link Deas defending Helen Robinson from Mr. Ewells continued assaults, “If I hear one more peep outa my girl Helen about not being’ able to walk down this road I’ll have you in jail before sunset!” (33). This quote helps to show that Mr. Link knew that Helen and her family did not do anything wrong and did not deserve to be punished even if she was black. Therefore race does determine how a person will interact in a relationship, however, some people in Maycomb choose not to follow these rules and make their decisions based off of character instead of skin