Examples Of Racial Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

Racial Prejudice is a problem in which humankind has been experiencing over the last few decades and has been posed as a problem in which a sense of moral conscience is needed in a person to battle the prejudice in the world. In the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” written by Harper Lee, the event illustrated to show the idea of racial prejudice in the town of Maycomb, is the Lynch Mob scene. In this scene, Atticus, whose name was based on a Greek city of Attica, which was the home of justice, prevents Tom Robinson, accused of raping a white female, from being murdered by the mob. Harper Lee uses various language techniques to further emphasise his point. Through writing this novel, Harper Lee has been referred to as the forerunner of the Civil

War Rights movement as she unveiled the discrimination and racism in America during her time.
Different usages of dramatic irony are present during the lynch mob scene, which suggests how racist and discriminating the people of Maycomb really are.

Scout describes the lynch mob as, “I thought they must be cold-natured, as their sleeves were unrolled and buttoned at the cuffs. Some wore hats pulled firmly down over their ears. They were sullen-looking, sleepy-eyed men who seemed unused to late hours”. This irony emphasises their brutal and hostile nature and by describing them as this way, it shows that the lynch mob had actually dehumanised themselves. By buttoning up their shirts and pulling their hats down, it shows that they are hiding their individual personality behind their clothing and were ashamed to reveal who they were. The use of irony is effective here as this was being described through the eyes of young Scout Finch whose ideas are still very innocent, so she misinterpreted the mobs intentions. There were some individuals who did not cover themselves up, “Mr Cunningham wore no hat, and the top of his forehead was white in contrast to his sun scorched face”. This shows us that some individuals were not afraid to voice their

opinion, whether the intentions were good or bad, and Mr Cunningham is a good example of that. But his reaction to Scout’s ‘innocent’ questions, “Don’t you remember me, Mr. Cunningham? I’m Jean Louise Finch. You brought us some hickory nuts one time, remember?” shows that even a person with such opinion can learn to change their ways, “I’ll tell him you said hey, little lady…Let’s clear out”. The civil nature of Scout has humanised Mr Cunningham, bringing him back to the right mind set. This shows that even “wild animals” mobs are humans and can be stopped, “So it took an eight year old to bring em to their senses”. This emphasises that everyone can learn to have a moral conscience, no matter how hard their social and economic backgrounds were. This shows how racist people can be, and how they can learn to be loving towards other people.
The prison building in which this whole scene of the lynch mob is to be based on has been described by Scout herself, to reveal the injustice nature of the Southern states of America.

Scout describes them as, “was the most venerable and hideous of the country’s buildings”, and “was a miniature Gothic joke one cell wide and two cells high, complete with tiny battlements and flying buttresses. It had a "red brick facade" and "ecclesiastical windows.” These descriptions made by Scout are used to make fun of the whole view of the white members of the society. By referring to it as a gothic joke the author is suggesting that it contains the repressed prejudice of the people in the town and it is being described as a joke because the law does not treat the black and white equally. The juxta positioning of the words venerable and hideous suggests that the justice in Maycomb is racially biased and is working against the interests of the black community. Also when the narrator quotes, “It gave the town a respectable look and no stranger would ever suspect it was full of niggers,” it emphasises my point. This use of irony shows that behind the mask of justice and peace, there lay a community of disgusting individuals who would punish the black population of society at will. This idea is still relevant in society today as racial injustice is present in the world today, such as the injustice shooting of the black boy by a white American police officer. Although there were people who

stood up for injustice such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, we can learn from the book to make the world a better place for all of us to live in, regardless of the colour of our skin.
In this particular scene, Atticus is described in many ways by different usages of language techniques. First of all, the quote, “oblivious of the night-bugs dancing over his head,” shows the fact that a potential danger will be foreshadowing Atticus, waiting to strike him. He is simply oblivious to the danger that he will come face to face with. Another language technique used was the listing of his action, “We saw Atticus look up from his newspaper. He closed it, folded it deliberately, dropped it in his lap, and pushed his hat to the back of his head”. In this technique, we are told how calm and collected Atticus really was when mobs of people approached him outside the prison. By doing so, Lee created a sense of contrast between Atticus and the lynch mob, as one was violent and cowardly, and the other was calm and courageous. From this we can learn from Atticus of how we can be an example of a just person, just by trying to copy Atticus’ attitude towards his surroundings. Atticus was a calm, courageous man, trying to persuade people by his kind words and not by his action. We can learn to stay calm and peaceful to try and solve the injustice happening all around the world. There was a real life example of Atticus who like him, fought against the injustice in his country. His name was Gandhi and he fought for the rights of his people in India. Like Atticus, he was really calm and collected, and never in his life resorted to violence. Therefore, we can learn from Atticus and Gandhi to try and eliminate injustice around the world. Lee uses Atticus to try and convey to us of how we can combat such injustice such as racism in the world today.
In conclusion, the significant setting that was used to show the idea of racial injustice in Maycomb during that time in the 1930s, was the lynch mob scene, where Atticus approaches the cowardice lynch mob, and prevents Tom Robinson from being killed by them. Lee uses different language techniques such as irony, quotations and listings to further convey her theme. From this, we can learn how to make the society better by acting like Atticus who was courageous and calm, both by his words and attitudes.