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Theme Of Racial Inequality And Injustice In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Recommended: Literary analysis or racism in to kill a mockingbird

Aurora Young

Mrs. Austin

Honors English I-AoIT

1, May 2017

Racial Inequality and Injustice in To Kill a Mockingbird

Racism is an unrestrained force that plagues the society of today. It provides heavily opinionated theories, whether they are positive or negative, about all races. It is, however, disagreeable, and because of this, it can cause inequality and injustice among all people. Racism can also blind people from the truth about one's personality. Harper Lee, the author of the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, compares the Great Depression-stricken town of Maycomb to the Marxist views of “black versus white” opinions.

Racism has been proven to be immoral, as it is presented in this novel. A situation in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill …show more content…

A quote from the novel that supports this theory is, “Lula stopped, but she said, “You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here--they got their church, we got our’n. It is our church, ain’t it, Miss Call?” (Lee page 158). This quote explains how segregated the county of Maycomb is. Lula explains that Jem and Scout cannot be there because they are white, and that they have their own church. However, the segregation of this county does make sense because of the enactment of Jim Crow laws. People of color and non- people of color had to use separate facilities. A person of color was not welcome to an all-white facility, and vice versa. Another quote that shows the effects of unfair treatment that racism provides is, “You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women--black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men.” (Lee page 273). This quote was said by Atticus, during the time of Tom Robinson’s trial for the accusation that he raped Mayella Ewell. This quote is significant because Atticus is saying that not all people are bad, and that accusations like this should not be placed solely on one race; everyone has their flaws, and it is unfair to make such accusations based on the color of a person’s skin.

Harper Lee has shown us many examples of racism that were present in her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. She has shown us how challenging it was for the characters to survive in this “black versus white” society. Her bestseller was not only influenced by the Civil Rights movement, but it was also influenced by her youth and culture. Her life and narration in the novel share many similarities with Scout Finch, in that they both had to overcome the struggles of living in a racist

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