Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird, is set in 1930s America in a town called Maycomb where this popular novel surrounds the character “Scout” a nine-year-old girl, who is based on the Author, Harper Lee’s experiences as a child. The novel tells a story of a black man named Tom Robinson who is accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell. At the time, 1930s Southern America was the segregation era when racism was a common phenomenon. People of colour were highly discriminated and not accepted during this time in history. Harper Lee represents the normalisation of racism during 1930s America in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ through the manipulation of stylistic devices and aesthetic features through the mad dog, the trial, Dolphus Raymond.

Chapter 11 shows

Tom Robinson, a black man, is falsely accused of beating and raping a white woman named Myalla Ewell. Atticus defends Tom Robinson in his trial. Tom is one of the mockingbirds in the novel. [The ‘mockingbird’ is a motif used throughout the novel. The mockingbird symbolises innocence] Atticus foreshadows defending Tom Robinson in his trial to prevent him from being killed because he said himself that, ‘it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird’ (98) symbolising his innocence It is evident that this is an unfair trial as “the jury sat to the left, under long windows. Sunburned, lanky, they seemed to be all farmers, but this was natural: townsfolk rarely sat on juries, they were either struck or excused.” (175). The jury is all white which would result in the trial completely biased. Contrast is used in this quote juxtaposes the two opposing sides. This makes the reader feel as though because the jury are all white, the trial is completely biased. Atticus said during the trial, "She has committed no crime, she has merely broken a rigid and time-honoured code of our society, a code so severe that whoever breaks it is hounded from our midst as unfit to live with." (222). The quote represents the normalised representation of racism as Myalla had ‘broken a rigid and time-honoured code of society’ where dating a black man was hounded from out midst as unfit to live with’. A hyperbole is used as Atticus

He is a wealthy, white, man who lives deep in the woods and owns land on a river bank and had a fiancée, who was rumoured to have committed suicide after finding out he had a black mistress, whom he had children with. In chapter 16, Jem talks about Dolphus Raymond’s mixed-race children and says, “They don’t belong anywhere. Coloured folks won’t have ‘em because they’re half white; white folks won’t have ‘em ‘cause they’re colored”. (176) Racism is shown through this quote using an oxymoron as most of Maycomb agree with Jem’s statement as a mixed-race couple is opposed during this time in history. This clearly shows the reader that Dolphus Raymond is frowned upon by the people of Maycomb. When Dolphus Raymond is talking to Scout and Jem, he says, “I try to give ’em a reason, you see. It helps folks if they can latch onto a reason.” (219) The characterisation of Dolphus Raymond is that, Scout and most people in Maycomb believed that he was always drunk. Later in the novel he admits he is not a drinker and that he drinks Coca-Cola out of the bag but pretends it is whiskey. This changes the reader’s perspective on Dolphus Raymond and makes the reader feel sympathy toward him as he is one of the ‘mockingbirds’ in this novel. As a mockingbird he means no harm and only wants to live in peace with his family without being judged from others in the town. Dolphus Raymond foreshadows