Examples Of Mob Mentality In To Kill A Mockingbird

and disgusting (V.E.). In Lee’s fictional book, the citizens she created followed or respIn Harper Lee’s book To Kill a Mockingbird she was inspired from events throughout American history. Jim Crow laws, mob mentality, and the Scottsboro trials are all connections during this time period.The Jim Crow laws were a huge part in American history back in the 1930’s, in the book occurrences would happen when the laws were needed; especially during a trial. This was one of the first connections.The Jim Crow laws were laws that were put in place after slavery was over. Some reasons why southerners thought that the Jim Crow laws should be needed are that multiple Christians thought the white community was the superior race and believed that slavery

Mob mentality is when people are in a large groups of people; they lose themselves and or their humanity. This shows in current examples like when a crowd is going in one direction and people get trampled (Smith). Mob mentality is also part of the country’s past; an example is 80 years ago in Indiana. There was a lynching of three black teenagers; the night before the lynching occurred Claude Deter was shot and killed they thought it was the three black boys. The mob was having blood lust they wanted to kill the boys immediately. They started to yell, people came for justice others came for the entertainment (“Stranger Fruits: Anniversary of a Lynching”). The photograph taken at the lynching shows the mob proud of themselves for their “accomplishment”. There were men and women, one man was even pointing at the hanging bodies in the tree. The photographer Beitler was setting up his camera, when the boys were about the be lynched he said “It is like people at the fair” (Beitler). Maycomb farmers and townies were introduced to mob mentality in the book. An example of mob mentality in the book would be the jail scene; Atticus left home one night to go into town. Jem, Scout and Dill all decide to follow him since it is not like atticus at all to leave home at night. As they are following Atticus, they see him head to the county jail he had a rope and a light. As the three watched Atticus, two black car show up and men start to get out of them. The mob of farmers got angry one of the men said “You know what we want, get aside from the door” (Lee 202). The mob was getting more frustrated at Atticus, Jem and Scout along with Dill pop out behind the shadows. Later on in the mob scene Scout notices Mr.Cunningham in the mob; she starts to speak to him. Mob mentality usually a huge group of people no one stands out on their own. Once Scout points out Mr.Cunningham he is not part of the mob anymore, after Scout points him out