Examples Of Racial Injustice In To Kill A Mockingbird

Prejudice, not Pride

The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, takes place in the small southern town of Maycomb, Alabama. Atticus chooses to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman. Tom should have easily been proven innocent, but due to discrimination, he was convicted. During the build up to the trial, Mrs. Dubose makes a racist comment about Atticus, and it was Jem’s last straw. At first Jem is enraged, but he soon learns to forgive her. Also, the tension from the court case causes an attack on Scout and Jem where Boo Radley comes to the rescue to save their lives. The cascade of events triggered by Tom Robinson’s trial in To Kill a Mockingbird reveals Lee’s messages of racial injustice, forgiveness, and

courage. These messages are present in reality as well.
Lee underscores how that although apologies can be tough to accept, peace is not reached until forgiveness is given. Jem and Scout resent an elderly, sick lady named Mrs. Dubose because she judges their behavior and disapproves of Atticus’s choice to defend Tom Robinson in court. After spending over a month of long afternoons reading to her, Jem is relieved to be free. However, Mrs. Dubose passes away and Jem “picked up the camellia, and when I went off to bed I saw him fingering the wide petals” (112). After she died, Atticus explains to Jem that Mrs. Dubose did not have complete control over the hurtful statements she said. At first Jem thinks Mrs. Dubose is mocking him by giving him a camillia as a thank you gift, but he later agrees to accept this apologetic flower as a sign of forgiveness. Although Mrs. Dubose is no longer living, Jem’s hate towards her has greatly subsided. In reality, Rachelle Friedman, a soon to be wed woman who enjoyed running, was paralysed when one of her friends playfully pushed her into a pool at her bachelorette party during the summer of 2014. The wedding was postponed, she had to give up running, and her entire life was different from that moment on. The Huffington Post gives insight into her situation, and “since that fateful push, Friedman's life has changed drastically...but she forgave the friend who pushed her in.” Friedman inevitably had to give up one of her favorite things, running, and her everyday life was certainly hard to adjust to. None the less, she forgave her friend because she understands that mistakes happen. Friedman sincerely does not blame anyone for the incident, and goes on with her life as if it were normal. Both Jem and Friedman exhibit outstanding character by accepting apologies under the circumstances. They forgave and moved on.
Furthermore, Lee highlights how every human being deserves to be treated fairly without discrimination, yet racial injustice still exists.

After Francis makes fun of Atticus for defending a black man in court, Scout clarifies with Atticus by asking if he truly is a “nigger-lover.” To her surprise, he responds saying, “‘I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody’” (108). Atticus takes pride in his decision to fight for Tom Robinson by proving he is not affected by Francis’s racist comment. He holds his head high and proves to Scout that siding with Tom was the right thing to do despite the conditions. Atticus firmly believes “this case is as simple as black and white” (203) and Tom should have been treated equally. His race should not have been a deciding factor for the outcome of the trial, but sadly, it is undeniable that Tom’s black skin determined his fate. On the other hand, Barack Obama, the first African American president of the United States, confronted prejudice along his way to becoming the Commander in Chief. In one of Obama’s pre-presidential speeches, he says “I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve these [discriminating] challenges of our time unless we solve them together.” During his campaign he faced many rude racist remarks, but Obama did not let that shut him down because he believes in equal rights and freedom. He won the election because of his political ideas, and on January 20,

2009, Obama took the Oath of Office, something never thought to have been done by a man of color. Although prejudice is inevitable, it should not be a factor in making a court or political decision because everyone is merited the right of equality.
In addition, Lee shows that acts of courage go a long way.

Boo Radley has stayed inside his house for a majority of his life. However, when Scout and Jem need help, he puts their needs ahead of his, leaves his house, and defends the children from the attacker, Bob Ewell. When Scout returns home the night of the attack, she “wondered why Atticus had not brought a chair for the man in the corner” (266). Boo Radley, “the man in the corner,” had the audacity to leave the comfort of his house to protect the children by stabbing Bob Ewell, even though he is afraid of the outside world and wants to remain in the corner, unseen. It is difficult to step outside a comfort zone, yet Boo Radley displays a tremendous level of courage when he leaves his home for the first time in years to rescue Scout and Jem. Acts of courage do not only exist in literary works. In August 2015, a series of large storms hit San Antonio, causing flash floods. 25 year old, Dustin Rowen, a strong swimmer, risked his life to save three people during the flood. One of which was Jena Davis, a woman trapped in her car about to drown to death. Rowen’s “first rescue was an elderly woman, then a man, then out of the corner of his eye, he caught [Davis] freaking out’” (Baldas 3). By this time Davis’s car was almost completely covered in water, and the doors would not open due to the high pressure. Rowen was on top of a shelter, when he spotted Davis struggling in her car. He bravely left the safety of the rooftop,

swam to the submerged car, forcefully pried open one of the rear doors, and freed Davis from drowning to death. Rowen claims, "It was a risk I knew I was taking, but you kind of don't worry about yourself at that point.” This one man jeopardized his own life to save three strangers from dying. Rowen’s courage empowered many others capable of helping to step up during the floods and assist those in need. This created a domino effect, thus proving that single acts of tenacity can go a long way.
In conclusion, the messages of forgiveness, race, and courage outlined in Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird relate to reality. Jem and Friedman proved that although forgiveness can be difficult, it is a necessary step in achieving peace. Atticus and Obama verified the importance of not letting prejudice get in the way. Lastly, Boo and Rowen courageously risked their own comfort to save lives, thus indicating the powerful effect of braveness.