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Race Relations and Social Justice
During the 1930s blacks have faced discrimination and racism. Racial violence became more common, in the South as the days went on. Difficulties over segregation and discrimination exist, in every state of the union, producing in many city states a rising tide of discontent that threatens the public safety. Harper Lee has shown many examples of what blacks had face and she used the book To Kill a Mockingbird to demonstrate them. In Maycomb, Alabama Scout the narrator in this book walks us through about what she see’s from her point of view. Race relations still occur both in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird and to this day. One will discuss if social injustice has remained the same. Another will discuss how
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When looking at race relations and social injustice during the 1930s, one can see how it harmed the lifestyle of blacks. In chapter 12, when Calpurnia brought Atticus and the children to church someone told her “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 Cal?” Calpurina said “its the same God ain’t it ?” (Owell 119). For Scout and Jem to be young, they experience racism at a young age and for Calpurnia being black and bring white people to an all black church because In other eyes it wasn’t right to do. An article on race relations , says that “Problems of the Great Depression affected virtually every group of African Americans” (“Race Relations in the 1930s and 1940s”). The Great Depression leads to massive unemployment, that led to poverty and homelessness. Blacks faced unemployment of 50 percent or more and whites faced less than 20 percent. While women searched for jobs, children dropped out of school and some runaway, minorites were to be hired and racism was becoming higher. Social injustice occurred during the 1930s and African Americans were affected more than anybody during this time. In Chapter 20, when Atticus is speaking to the jury on …show more content…
Race relations, today is a different picture because there are areas of similarity and areas of disagreement. In chapter 23, when Atticus is explaining to Jem on why he lost the case he tells him “There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads-they couldn’t be fair if they tried. In our court when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins. They’re ugly but those are the facts of life (Owell 251-252)”. Jem doesn’t really understand how it’s fair that Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father both get to walk away while Tom Robinson is convicted of raping her. Today, if a white man or female was to kill a black person they would face a lifetime of jail. In this case you could say the Trayvon Martin case, Trayvon was 17 years old African American high school student. Zimmerman, a 28-year-old hispanic man, was the neighborhood watch coordinator for his community where martin was visiting his relatives at this time. Zimmerman shot Martin, who was unarmed, during a altercation between the two. According to an article i read it said “How you see race in the United States can depend a lot on your background” “(Blacks and whites see racism in the United States, very differently)”. The quote means a lot because it is true, it depends on the way in which you were raised. Racism is taught, I say this because you just don’t go around
“Beneath the armor of skin and bone and mind, most of our colors are amazingly the same.” This quote by Aberjhani is very relatable to “To Kill A Mockingbird”. The novel by Harper Lee was published in 1960. The book involves racism, rape, and inequality. A major theme in the book is unfairness. Maycomb County is a small, prejudice town in Alabama. The town is divided between racist Whites, and innocent Blacks. African Americans had no rights and no power in the 1930s. Whites had a lot more rights, and had power over the Black community. From innocent Blacks being killed, court siding with Whites, Maycomb is a very unfair town.
Even though extraordinary changes have been made in the past to achieve racial equality, America is still racist, especially in schools. In the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” written by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch is criticized for defending a black man accused of raping a white woman. During the 1930s, the time this novel took place, America was a very segregated country. At the time when Harper Lee wrote "To Kill a Mockingbird," America was fighting a civil rights movement. The events of racism in “To Kill a Mockingbird” reflect the time period.
Racism is a targeted issue in Harper Lee’s 1930s-based novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. In Maycomb County, a fictional town in Alabama, it seemed taboo to be antiracist. When a trial involving a black man accused of raping a local white female, eyebrows are raised and tempers take over the town. At this time, it is highly unlikely for a black man to be acquitted of charges even with a substantial amount of evidence to prove him innocent. With little hope, Tom Robinson is defended by Atticus, a local lawyer. Atticus knows nearly immediately that this case will not end in justice due to the color of Tom Robinson’s skin (Lee, 80).
To Kill a Mockingbird: Race Relations Racism is a problem that has been around for multiple centuries. In To Kill a Mockingbird, it demonstrates how racism can affect one person even in the court of law. In this story, the case of Tom Robinson is told. It is obvious that Robinson is a victim of racist people that see him guilty only because of his race, African American. From the beginning, it seems obvious that Robinson does not have a chance of winning his case, whether he is guilty or not.
In the time around 1931, slavery had been abolished for almost seventy years, and many Black were living in society just like everyone else because they had the right to. Still, people didn’t treat them like they belonged, despite the government officially declaring it so. The majority of Whites made sure they had nothing to do with Blacks, for they might also face being disrespected or looked down upon. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, many outcomes may have resulted differently because of people of the town of Maycomb’s racism towards Black. Tom Robinson got an unfair white jury. Aunt Alexandra ended Scout and Jem’s going to church because it was a black church. People did not care how Tom was treated because he was “only a black.” The town turned against Atticus for defending a black man. Racism in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird affected the events by not giving black people as much chance of being taken for their word of innocence, which demonstrated not only an unjust legal system for persons of color, but an unfair system in other aspects of life as well.
Racial prejudice is widespread in the county of Maycomb, and a prime example is the Tom Robinson case. Tom, a black man, was accused of raping Mayella, a white woman. Atticus puts forward all evidence from his witnesses that clearly proves Tom was innocent, Jem even says, ?and we?re gonna win Scout. I don?t see how we can?t? (pg 206), but Tom still received a ?Guilty? verdict. Atticus tried removing the prejudiced thoughts of the jurors by saying, ??the assumption - the evil assumption - that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings??. (pg 208). Atticus? saying insinuated the point that all of God?s children were created equal. To the jury, the only important thing was that Tom was black and the accuser was white, he never stood a chance under those conditions. These racial tensions between blacks and whites had made their way into the courtroom, a place where everyone should receive a fair trial no matter what race or colour, but an unjust verdict was reached. The prejudice that was felt towards Tom made him lose all hope of freedom, and as a result, he died upon an escape attempt. Tom was victim of racial prejudice and loss of hope.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, many different themes come into view. One major theme that played a big role in the character’s lives is racial prejudice. Racism is an unending problem throughout the book. The song “Message from a Black Man” by The Temptations has many similarities to the theme of racial discrimination. Therefore, both the novel and the song prove that racism was a great obstacle for some people at a point.
The 1930’s were a time in which blacks faced many hardships. It was a time in which the Ku Klux Klan had its peak. However, most importantly, it was the time when Nelle Harper Lee, the writer of To Kill A Mockingbird, was being raised. She was raised in a world where “niggers'; were the bottom class in one of the most powerful countries in the world. She was also being raised during the Great Depression, a time when the attacks on blacks were intensified, as they were the scapegoats of the immense downfall of the US economy. However, she was only a small, innocent child who believed in equality for all. Thus, Harper Lee expressed her disapproval over the treatment of blacks in her Award-Winning novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, through the eyes of a fictional character called Jean Louise Finch, better known as “Scout';.
The 1930s proves to be a fatal time of racism in the southern states of the US. Harper Lee knows first hand the discrimination and prejudice that the white society imposes on the African Americans as she lived in Alabama. In her novel, she documents how growing up in this type of environment can affect a person. Lee’s character, Scout Finch, begins her journey in blissful innocence. Over a two year span she encounters many circumstances that conclusively lead to her maturation. A few critics claim that the children in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, do not show any development; however, the conflicting viewpoints of racism in Maycomb, Alabama, during the 1930s, send Scout Finch on a transformative journey.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”-Martin Luther King Jr. This quote shows how racism is like darkness and hate and love and light are the only way to drive racism out. The story takes place at the time of the great depression. Scout lives in a very racist and judgement city in the south. A black male is accused of raping a white woman. Scouts dad Atticus gets appointed to be the defendant's lawyer. Racism is an antagonist in To Kill A Mockingbird because the white people of Maycomb discriminate the blacks and make them feel lesser. The theme racism can be harmful to everyone is shown by many characters throughout the book.
The Pulitzer Prize winner, To Kill A Mockingbird, not only alerted the world of social inequality in the South, but also highlighted the significant impact of one man’s will to bring justice to all members of society. Scout, the young and naive narrator, details the events of her life in the American South during the Great Depression, while also providing the reader a look into the racial inequality and bias that plagued her world. Harper Lee uses her book to establish the idea that while living in a an unjust society there still exist individuals who have a desire to fight for justice. Scout, through her innocent narration, establishes the South to be a harbor of injustice and severe inequality.
In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, racism is a major theme. Atticus Finch, the narrator’s father, defends a negro, Tom Robinson, in the court of law against a white man, Bob Ewell. Robinson had reportedly raped a young white girl, Mayella Ewell. But according to Robinson he had gone to help Mayella, as he often did, with work around the house. As he starts helping Mayella, she tries to get Tom to kiss her and will not let him out of the house. Bob Ewell sees this and chases Tom out of the house and accuses him of raping his daughter. Atticus goes against almost everyone in Maycomb County’s opinion in defending Tom Robinson. Throughout the course of the novel, racism effects many characters such as Tom and Helen Robinson, Scout and Jem Finch, and Mayella and Bob Ewell. All these characters had there lives
Through the close study of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird we are challenged to consider the racist attitudes of 1930’s America and how good people in the world, symbolized by mockingbirds in the novel, can become corrupt and their innocence destroyed. To Kill A Mockingbird is narrated be a 6-year-old girl by the name of Scout, and, through this perspective, we discover a sense of the innocence, inquisitiveness and fun filled life that comes with childhood. However, the novel, set in the 1930’s and written in the 1960s also comments on the harshness of life and, through juxtaposing good and evil characters, Lee makes a powerful comment on the way people should treat each other and condemns the racist attitudes of the time. Through the sequence
conquering racism. In the first placeFor example, racism tends to be passed down through generation. Also, humans categorize situations based off first experience. Another example would be the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. Harper Lee’s
Racism today is considered a terrible thing, but if we go back a few years to the 1930’s racism was considered normal. Racism is defined as “A belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race” (Merriam Webster Dictionary). One of the main themes in “To Kill a Mockingbird” is Racism: we see this in he way the whole community resents Atticus for defending Tom Robinson, in the outcome of Tom’s court case, and in the way Bob Ewell harasses Helen, Tom’s wife. Racism starts to show it’s ugly face when the community becomes aware of the fact that Atticus is planning on defending Tom.