In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, prejudice is a problem clearly evident in Maycomb. The novel not only focuses on black and white but other forms of prejudice such as racial injustice and class. Making opinions about someone or something not based on reason or experience has been a problem since 1930s and still is today. Prejudice causes society to overlook innocence and make judgments. Because of Maycomb society's prejudice, two characters in the novel are judged guilty despite their innocence. Being a typical southern town during the Great Depression, Maycomb is a society that is racist to the African American population. Atticus questions this view when he says, “Why people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don’t pretend to understand”(Lee 117). This thought it put into …show more content…
Tom being a black man in a white man’s world, he was convicted by the jury. Atticus explains, “In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins” (Lee 295). Tom Robinson was clearly declared guilty due to his color not act. In fact as Tom states, “‘I was just tryin’ to help you out, suh”’ (Lee 263). Tom shows his innocence when he explains that he only wanted to help out a fellow in need. The only feelings he had for Mayella was pity, but those feelings were unacceptable in Maycomb. It was uncomfortable for a black man to feel sorry for a white woman. Despite Tom’s clear innocence, the jury consisting of white farmers, made its decision in court based on their racist mindsets and influenced by prejudice. Even though there was no credible evidence, Tom’s color was enough for the jury to make their decision. “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts