To Kill A Mockingbird Change In Society

A Change in Ourselves or a Change in Society One out of every two Americans today believe that racism is still a prevalent problem in society (cnn.com). It has improved since the 1900s but it is still important to recognize this issue regarding people’s morals and values. Racism is nothing new as shown by looking at the world’s past and the Jim Crow era, which lasted from 1877 to 1965. During this time, interracial marriages were illegal in almost every state and blacks and white were separated for most things including: school, drinking fountains, restaurants, buses, work and many more. Towards the end of this time period, people began to realize these problems and they started to speak up through words, speeches and books. To Kill a Mockingbird,

Community has a way of impacting someone’s morals negatively either with peer pressure, making them believe the actions are normal or by spreading rumors about others. In Maycomb, many people make fun of and judge Arthur Radley for never coming out of his house, including the Finch’s neighbor Miss. Stephanie. She makes up this rumor about the Radleys: “‘Boo was sitting in the livingroom cutting some items from The Maycomb Tribune to paste in his scrapbook. His father entered the room. As Mr. Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his parent’s leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants, and resumed his activities’” (11). Even by saying small things like this, it has the power to change people’s morality if they begin to think talking about others like this is okay. The whole town of Maycomb discriminates against the Radleys and acts like they aren’t human. Growing up here might teach children that just because someone is different they are weird, an outcast and someone to make fun of. Many people do not realize but the town in which one lives in has a huge impact on how they perceive things, as many people want to fit in and try to be like everyone else. Similarly, in the song ‘The Death of Emmett Till’ Dylan sings about the unfairness blacks are treated with and the mob mentality effect: someone acts a certain way toward people and everyone follows their example thinking it’s okay. In this song Bob Dylan sings, "Some men they dragged him to a barn and there they beat him up... They tortured him and did some evil things too evil to repeat. There was screaming sounds inside the barn, there was laughing sounds out on the street. The reason that they killed him there was just for the fun of killin' him and to