Tom Robinson Discrimination Quotes

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Even in today’s world, racial prejudice and bias are large issues in society. This issue dates back to the beginning of our country, being a prominent issue. To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel about how an innocent man, Tom Robinson, was framed, mistreated, and killed because he was African American and could not escape the racial prejudice of the South. Despite all of the efforts made by his lawyer, Atticus Finch, Tom was found guilty of a crime he did not commit. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee displays the race relations between African Americans and white Americans in the southern United States during the Great Depression. After introducing the main characters, the rising action of the novel starts when Atticus Finch, a small-town, open-minded …show more content…

Tom Robinson is a kindhearted, humble man. Tom Robinson is described as a mockingbird, a symbol of innocence incapable of hurting anyone ("To Kill a Mockingbird, An Introduction to"). The mockingbird is a songbird that beautifully sings. This accurately describes Tom Robinson as he has no previous criminal record, and his left arm is severely mangled and useless from an accident in a cotton gin when he was a young child. Atticus uses the quote, “Shoot all the bluejays, if you hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 119). This quote means that it is morally wrong to convict someone innocent. This situation is very typical for the society of southern Great Depression America. White Americans were very prejudiced towards African Americans at the time, for no reason. White people thought that they were better than Black African Americans simply because of their skin. Without a reason, White Americans would be outright rude toward African Americans. They would set up practices such as segregation to separate people based on nothing besides their race (“Race Relations in the 1930s and …show more content…

The accused men were quickly put on trial, similar to Tom Robinson. In the trial, Tom Robinson would need a lawyer. Most of the town’s lawyers would not take the case simply because he was a black man; however, Atticus Finch, an educated, intelligent, open-minded lawyer, took the case. Atticus was aware there was very little chance he would succeed as the town where the trial was held was extremely prejudiced. Even with the odds against him, Atticus chose to go forth with the trial because he knew that Tom deserved a proper defense. “Until you climb into his skin, walk around in it” (Lee 39) This quote by Atticus Finch shows that he believes that you cannot understand someone's issues unless you are that person. After taking the case, Atticus and the Finch family start to take backlash from the town due to him defending a black man. This represents the small but present amount of white people who were trying to change the racial climate of the United States ("To Kill a Mockingbird, An Introduction to"). These activists would hold and organize rallies to fight for a change in the political system to make life better for African

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