Essay On Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird

In the midst of the most progressive era in the history of the United States, people seem to be choosing to compare their current situation with the one in the 1930’s, where most African Americans were dehumanized. Women and Blacks have had a history of patronization which is displayed throughout To Kill A Mockingbird. Even though there are some disagreements in certain subject matter between the races today, relations and ideals of injustice have evolved.

Racism was very “popular” as you should say back in the 1930’s . Whites had all the power while blacks and other minorities were suppose to fear them. In Maycomb , Alabama racism was around and had effects on citizens. Segregating whites from blacks is a horrid thing. It’s inhuman to say you're better than someone else because of their skin color. We as humans are equal some may be more wealthy than others but when it all comes down to it we will all go in the same box in the same ground. Racism was and still is a horrible thing and it affected a lot people.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee depicts racism in the 1930’s and shows the characters had to overcome challenges because of it. The 1930’s was a difficult time to live in because of racism against African Americans and the depression, where thousands of people lost their jobs. The idea “an extraordinary challenge can sometimes make an ordinary person into a hero” shows that anyone in To Kill a Mockingbird could have been a hero, even in a time of hardships. Scout Finch, Arthur “Boo” Radley, and Atticus Finch overcame challenges in the story in order to become great heroes.

In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, many minor themes are present such as gender and age. However, the largest and therefore major theme of the book is racism. All of the events and themes in the book had only one purpose, to support the theme of racism.

“Racism and injustice and violence sweep our world, bringing a tragic harvest of heartache and death,” Billy Graham once said. In Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Atticus is a father and a lawyer who lives with his children, Jem and Scout, and their cook, Calpurnia, in a town of Maycomb, Alabama. Maycomb is a town populated with black and white people, but the town is dealing with racism. The white people feel as though they are better than the black people. An example was when Tom Robinson lost the trial to Bob Ewell because he was black but innocent. People were also being judged on appearance, or not being treated properly, like how people see the kind of person Boo Radley is in the beginning of the story. Harper Lee’s novel “To

The novel “To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee demonstrates the effects of racism in southern America. Throughout this appealing novel, there are many characters who illustrate different personalities. Personally, I would compare Scout Finch to myself. After analyzing the character Scout Finch in relation to myself, while Scout portrayed more of a complex personality, I am easier to get along with, hence demonstrating how personality is the best method of establishing allies. Mine and Scouts personalities differ as Scout depicted more of a tomboy personality and solved a variety of problems by fighting, due to the aggressive personality she demonstrates.

Everyone has different opinions about everything in life. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, readers can definitely decipher the text in two different ways, an indictment of racism or as a racist text. Many people have shared their views on what they think about this story. In one article,“Racism in To Kill A Mockingbird” by Isaac Saney, Saney empounds how racist the novel really is. Meanwhile, in another article, “Symbolism and Racism in To Kill A Mockingbird” by Adam Smykowski, the author demonstrates how the novel is an indictment of racism.

“...how can you hate Hitler so bad an’ then turn around and be ugly about folks right at

Walking out in public and being discriminated by race or color is something that should not happen. A lot of different racial groups like to make fun of other groups for no reason. However, once people start to fight for their rights or their life that is when it has gone too far. Tom Robinson, from the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, has to go through this every single day of his life. In Tom Robinson’s case, he was even charged with a crime he did not commit. An important role having to do with racism is Martin Luther King Jr., he was also subjected because he was black. He had to fight all of his life to stand up for what he believed in. Although, there were a lot of people who hated him he did many things that stopped people mistreating blacks.

In the book and life, it is believed that racism should be diminished and everyone should be treated equally. This is described and shown by the trial and characters. After the trial, Atticus talks to Jem about how the average white man and a black man are not equal. It is like this and judgment or racial slurs until 1963 when Martin Luther King gave his speech. Before this point, the judgment and racism were still present, but after 1963, people were thought of as equal. In the book, the racism is told differently due to having Scout who is a child, telling the story in a different perspective. She believes that Atticus wants to keep his kids away, and Aunt Alexandra didn't think it was a good idea for the kids to watch the trial, due to the racism

A person’s childhood can really affect the way they see the world. Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is highly influenced by the life she lived as a little girl. She grew up in the small town of Monroeville, Alabama. She was born there in 1926 and recently passed away in February of 2016 (Lee). Harper Lee’s real name was Nelle (Nail), but everyone calls her Harper because she opted for Nelle to be left off of her first novel. Her parents named her after her grandmother, Ellen, but spelled backwards (Shields I Am Scout 6). Despite growing up with two older sisters and only one brother, Nelle grew up as a tomboy. Her childhood best friend was her next door neighbor, Truman Capote. They both shared a common

What would you do if all of a sudden after years of living without it, you suddenly had racism directed toward you. Well this is what Jem and scout faced first hand and for the first time. They lived their lives without having racism directed toward them, and then all of a sudden they were put in a position that they had never experienced before. When Calpurnia takes the two kids to her church which was all people of color, so when a lady saw that white children came she got upset and confronted Calpurnia, Jem, and Scout. The to kids did not know what to do in this situation that was foreign to them. In summary, Scout and Jem got a small fragment of what colored people felt when they were being discriminated because of their race.

Have you ever been in a situation having to do with race? In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, racism is a vital role in the time this story takes place. She wrote the story based on how racism was like in her eyes as a child. In my opinion, after reading her novel, racism still takes place in America many years later.

“But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” (1 John). Racism has been present in all societies long before America to some degree, crippling people’s ability to seize opportunities. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, race in Maycomb determines a predominant role in the path one’s life will take due to biases in the town. This idea presents itself in both how the people treat and accept each other in the book and the recurring treatment in today’s world.

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the most loved books ever written. Many of you may have read it when you were younger in an English class, but there are some important lessons in this novel that you may have missed. These lessons have a positive impact on children’s world view and point out the problem of racism in society. The problem of racism is prominent throughout the novel are still relevant to this day.