To Kill a Mockingbird Argumentative Essay

883 Words2 Pages

Tom Robinson, a black man in To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the main characters in this story that causes controversy because of his skin color. Is the story’s relevance based on Mr. Robinson and his skin color? In my opinion yes, the book revolves all around his skin color and racism of the time. Tom Robinson is treated unfairly because he was black not because of what he supposedly did. The controversial subject matter in this book is immense in numbers, but out of all them, racism stands out the most. A question that has come to mind after reading this book is, today is racism still a hostile problem and as big as it was in the 1930s? Throughout this research paper I will gather information about racism from the 30s, and also today. Then I’ll compare and contrast the differences between the past and present and come to a conclusion.
Take a look back to the 1930s and explain to me how it was okay to treat someone a certain way because of the color of their skin. How was it fair to make a group of human beings sit in a specific seat on the bus, drink from special water fountains, and to put their children in completely different schools? As a country we should be ashamed that we ever acted so self infatuated. While acting this way we missed out on plenty of opportunities to unite and grow as a country but instead we were blinded by the color of someone else’s skin.
Tom Robinson is accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Robinson is caught with Mayella in the Ewell residence by her father Bob Ewell. Bob swears by everything that he saw Mr. Robinson taking advantage of his daughter, Mayella. Robinson supposedly runs out of the back door of the house and Bob states he does not beat Mayella. Then Bob storms into the sherif...

... middle of paper ...

... is still alive but is not as widely accepted as it once was. In the society we live in today it does not matter age, gender, or ethnicity, we should all be treated with the same rights. Although this is the way it should be, society will always contain racism although it has diminished greatly compared to the time when To Kill A Mockingbird was written.

Works Cited

Arnade, Chris. "America Is Still a Deeply Racist Country." Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 12 Jan. 2014. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1960. Print
Shmoop Editorial Team. "Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 01 May 2014.
Chafe, William H. Remembering Jim Crow: African Americans Tell about Life in the Segregated South. New York: The New Press. 2001.

Open Document