Racism in To Kill A Mockingbird

In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, the prejudice of society causes people with differences to become victims of the town’s bigotry. Not only differences in skin color, but also differences in social status. As a man who always believes in doing the right thing no matter what, Atticus Finch teaches his children, Jem and Scout, the difference in right and wrong.

One of the main characters in the novel that is being discriminated is Tom Robinson. Tom is accused of beating and raping sixteen-year-old Mayella Ewell, daughter of the town’s poor white trash family. Mayella would sometimes ask Tom to help her out with small tasks around the house. After inviting him inside Mayella made a sexual advance to Tom, which was morally unthinkable, so she connives with her father to accuse Tom of rape. Atticus Finch is appointed to defend Tom. “Atticus would risk his reputation and his life to defend a black man accused of a crime that violated the most sacred taboos of his society”(Magill, 1991). During the trial, some evidence was shown that should have made the jury realize that there was no possible way that Tom could have done the crime. When Tom was of a young age, he was in an accident that left him handicap

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Lula, a Negro, protests against the visit of the white children; and Calpurnia retorts: ‘it’s the same God ain’t it?’” (Matuz, 1990, p. If they had not discriminated against people different from them, they would have realized that Tom Robinson was not guilty of the crime he was convicted of. At first, the children share this fear.

There is also racism from blacks to whites.

When he was a teenager, he got into minor trouble, and since that time, his father, who is a religious fanatic, has imprisoned him in his home.

There is racism inside the Finch house as well. “For Aunt Alexandra, the class gap between the Finches and the Cunninghams is one that can never be bridged” (Matuz, 1990, p. Even despite the astonishing defense by Atticus, Tom was found guilty. Aunt Alexandra comes to live with them because she feels like Scout needs a woman role model. She believes that the Finch’s are like the royalty of Maycomb, and that Scout absolutely cannot be a friend to “poor trash” like Walter. Aunt Alexandra fears this bond because she believes Calpurnia is not a good enough or suitable role model for a young white lady. He keeps Jem from getting in trouble by returning his torn pants, mended; he leaves the children little presents in a hollow tree; he even gets near enough to put a blanket

around Scout when she is standing outside to watch a neighbor’s house burn.

Approximate Word count = 1009
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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