Examples Of Unfairness In To Kill A Mockingbird

In Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill A Mockingbird”, the book states multiple offensive statements discriminating people by their race and social ability. Ever since 1933, when the setting of the book took place, to this day people all over the world have experienced these social and racial issues leading to unfairness. America and people around the world, will never achieve true racial and social equality, even if it has improved since the nineteen-hundreds.

Prejustice and the judgment within the novel, portrays a negative opinion with very little justified knowledge. The characters, that demonstrate racial and social unfairness, in the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird”, often are quite biased and act unfavourably towards people of different

race and social factors. The novel explores the coloured and underprivileged communities within the Maycomb county and the importance of an individual's social class and standings within so. This essay deals with the trails, racial comments, social class, and tribulations through the perspective of a young girl, Jean Louise Finch, who is also known as Scout.
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Scout and Jem, Scout’s older brother, are looked after by Calpurnia, their black housekeeper, who serves as a mother type figure of the children. It is speech that separates the white county from the black, and when the children attend Calpurnia’s church, Scout realizes that Calpurnia adapts to the different environment when she is communicating with her fellow peers within the church. Although both Scout and Jem do not quite understand that Calpurnia speaks two languages, they respect her for being able to master both.

Beginning with Scout’s first day of grade one at school, the incidents with a boy, Walter Cunningham, and his father, Mr. Cunningham, gives an insight on what life was like when the book took place. Walter did not have a lunch at school and was offered a quarter to buy one from his teacher but refused to take it saying “Nome thank you ma’am” (Lee 25) because he would not be able to pay it back. Mr. Cunningham also had Scout’s father, Atticus who is a lawyer, served as his lawyer but because the Cunningham’s are in such a low class and do not have any money, Mr. Cunningham pays Atticus in the form of stove work and hickory nuts.

The Burris Ewell incident gives an even further insight on life in Maycomb and the disregard for the importance of education, from mainly the poor farmers of the county. The Ewell’s only having to attend the first day of school for each grade, and Walter Cunningham not being able to pass the first grade because he always needed to help his father with the crops, demonstrates the high disregard for education from the parents of Maycomb. When Scout
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returned from lunch the first day of school, her teacher, Miss Caroline, was standing in the middle of the room staring at Burris when she noticed he had lice. Miss Caroline was freaking out when a boy, Little Chuck Little said, “ Now don’t you fret ma’am. There ain’t no need to fear a cootie.” (34) She then described Burris’s physical description, releveling is poor living condition and low status.

The trial of Tom Robinson serves the highest movement in the novel as Atticus is representing him in trial.

Tom Robinson, a middle aged black man, is accused of raping a young white woman, Mayella Ewell. Mayella serves a mother figure to her younger siblings and is invloved in an incestuious realationship with her father, Bob Ewell. The Ewell family does not have money and lack education therefore representing that they are in the lower class. In the novel, it is quickly recognized that Tom Robinson is convicted based on the colour of his skin. In the trial, Bob Ewell’s reaction to Mayella kissing a black man horrifies him, showing the fear of miscegenation. After battling the trial from both sides, Atticus explains to Scout and Jem that in the court, when it is a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins. After the judge left to determine the winner of the case, when the jury came back out it is stated that “ A jury never looks at a defendant it has convicted” (282) and when they came out, not one of them looked at Tom Robinson. He was then found guilty after Atticus fought long and hard for him. It was that way because of the colour of Tom’s skin. The jury was actually considering the points made from Tom and Atticus but they had to go with the white man’s word against the black

man’s.
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Cases like the one of Tom Robinson from the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird”, still happen to this day. Racism and social equality has improved dramatically since the nineteen-hundreds but, equality and fairness still do not always apply to everything around the world. In some cases still to this day, a white man’s word can still overrule a black man’s word in trials and cases therefore indicating that America and people around the world, will never achieve true racial and social equality. No matter what, there will always be someone that you encounter in life that will discriminate someone weather it is race, gender, class etc. There is no way around it, as people can try to change the mindsets of others but you can not change the way they they come across or react.