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Racism and english literature
Negative impacts of racism
Negative impacts of racism
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Racial profiling was a big problem in Maycomb, and it is still around in modern times. If you had even a small drop of a colored persons blood in you, you were considered completely black to most people in Maycomb. For example, “but around here once you have a drop of Negro blood, that makes you all black.” Jem was telling Scout how hard it was to be mixed in Maycomb. Mixed didn’t have a placed because white people thought of them as black, and black people thought of them as white. They were outcasts to everyone except the Finch family and a few others. Even though mixed people were treated this bad, blacks had it even worse. To elaborate further, “that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are
Sometimes, people discriminate one thing, but strongly oppose the discrimination of another thing. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, this issue is very much expressed throughout the story. This thought-provoking story takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during a time when there’s a rape trial against a falsely accused African American named Tom Robinson. There is also a discrimination, of sorts, towards a man named Boo Radley, by three young children named Jeremy “Jem” Finch, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, and Charles “Dill” Baker Harris. Both Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are similar in their own ways through their inherent goodness.
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
“We see the town of Maycomb in its worst light, willing to execute an innocent man for a crime he did not commit rather than question their belief in black inferiority and their social taboos about interracial relationships” (Felty 299). This quote may seem extreme, but it is completely accurate in Scout’s hometown of Maycomb, Alabama. In the town of Maycomb, prejudice and discrimination are a common theme in the lives of its citizens. This is shown in various ways. For example, African Americans are treated as lower class citizens because they are discriminated against by white people.
A small city nestled in the state of Alabama, Maycomb has got its faults, just like any other place in the world, but one of its main faults or (pg.88) “Maycomb's usual disease,” as Atticus calls it in the book is prejudice. Jem and Scout learn a lot about prejudice when a black man named Tom Robinson is accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell and their father, Atticus, is called on to be his lawyer. They realize the hate that people have buried deep within their heart when they see a black man accused of doing something only because of his color. On pg.241, Scout starts understanding this and thinks, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.” As the case continues, up until the death of Tom Robinson, Jem and Scout learn more and more about prejudice and how the hate that people have towards others causes them to take wrong actions. They also see how unfair it is that a white man can get treated better and think of himself better than a black man only because he was born white. This prejudice and the trial cause Jem and Scout to get in argum...
In To Kill a Mockingbird, many things occur to be simple and everyone’s happy, but it’s not always peachy in Maycomb Alabama. To Kill a Mockingbird tells of a little girl’s love for her family and life living in a racist community filled with judgmental people (Shackelford). This was the time where black people were treated unfairly in courts, especially in Alabama (Johnson). Alabama was the most racist part of the south, everything was separated and blacks were treated like dirt that the whites walked on. In the book, blacks did not have many rights and had to be servants and workers for the whites.
The hatred that the citizens of Maycomb felt towards the black community extended to anyone who became involved with them, especially the Finch family because Atticus was appointed to defend Tom Robinson. Scout and Jem suffered the most from this hatred because their peers were children, who are nearly always less candid than adults. Most of the people who were unhappy with Atticus would just try to keep away from him, which was bad enough. The children however, verbally abused Scout and Jem. Scout responded to this with physical violence, even though it was discouraged by her father. The sad thing is that they were mistreated even by members of their family, like Scout’s cousin Francis.
The story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee portrays many different scenarios of racial discrimination. Discrimination occurs in the book and many people are affected by the racial slurs and other occurrences. In the story, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, Atticus Finch, and Tom Robinson are all people that are discriminated against or are affected by discrimination. Racial discrimination is a major part of To Kill a Mockingbird.
'Democracy,' she said. 'Does anybody have a definition?' ... 'Equal rights for all, special privileges for none' (Lee 248).
He made it sound like you were runnin’ a still.”(Atticus and Scout in Chapter 9 Page 100). This shows that even Scout uses these words from the part of what society says the black community is. During this time was also the Great Depression. Although there was not as much slavery in late 1930, blacks were still used and treated poorly. Everybody did not have much money and having the Finch family as the upper class they were not rich. Moving down the social pyramid at the bottom was the African American society who as we can expect from this time and town did not have much money. As well as not as much attention was paid toward them which did not treat them any better. Also, a major place when there was a big part of racism was during the court trial against Tom Robinson. “There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads--they couldn’t be fair if they tried. In our courts, 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.”(Atticus to Jem in Chapter 23 Page 295) This shows how the people of Maycomb are racist and believe the white over blacks even in court. In addition, another quote that proves the theme of racism during the 1930’s is, “The one place where a man ought
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 a desperate attempt to save his client, Tom Robinson, from death, Atticus Finch boldly declares, “To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white” (Lee 271). The gross amounts of lurid racial inequality in the early 20th century South is unfathomable to the everyday modern person. African-Americans received absolutely no equality anywhere, especially not in American court rooms. After reading accounts of the trials of nine young men accused of raping two white women, novelist Harper Lee took up her pen and wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, a blistering exposition of tragic inequalities suffered by African Americans told from the point of view of a young girl. Though there are a few trivial differences between the events of the Scottsboro trials and the trial of Tom Robinson portrayed in To Kill a Mockingbird, such as the accusers’ attitudes towards attention, the two cases share a superabundance of similarities. Among these are the preservation of idealist views regarding southern womanhood and excessive brutality utilized by police.
Racism is a huge problem around the world. It ruins lives and makes people not want to live because of all the disgusting effects that come with it. The worst thing about racism is that people can’t control what color skin they have and how they look but people still judge them and don’t respect them. Racism discriminates characters because discriminates characters because it prevents, equal respect, equal laws / rights, and equal fairness.
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.
Segregation has played a substantial role throughout American history. Many court cases and different trials in different time periods have proven that a person’s skin color can dictate many things, such as where they go to school and where they sit on public transportation. The struggle to achieve equality was made even more difficult by the legislation of the Plessy vs. Ferguson case.
Everyday students begin their day by listening to the Pledge of Allegiance. Some may speak the words, but do the people really understand what is being said? “One nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”. The nation claims, as one, it ensures “liberty and justice for all”. However, the treatment towards certain groups, and the “extent” of liberty given to the people is limited. Thus, revealing America does not guarantee equal rights for all its citizens.