Racial Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird
Problems that plagued the American society decades ago still plague it today. People face discrimination because of their race or social status. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, one can see Alabama in the 1930’s through the eyes of a child named Scout, and the audience’s perception of the events that take place throughout the book are greatly affected by the resulting naiveté and ignorance. The theme of the existence of racial inequality in the novel is extremely important, and Tom Robinson embodies this theme better than any other character due to his race, the time in which the novel is set, and the prejudice of a small town community. For a long time, African Americans have been considered inferior to Caucasian men or women. During
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There are many times when the townsfolk use racial slurs directed at Tom, demonstrating the prejudice shown to African Americans. Lee shows her audience the prejudice of Maycomb when she writes “How this could be so, I wondered, as I read Mr. Underwood's editorial. Senseless killing—Tom had been given due process of law to the day of his death; he had been tried openly and convicted by twelve good men and true; my father had fought for him all the way. Then Mr. Underwood's meaning became clear: 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,” (323). This quote means Atticus did everything in his power to save Tom, but he could do nothing to change the hearts of men. The men who were on the jury were either racist or afraid of the ridicule that would ensue if they stood up for Tom.
All things considered, Tom is an important symbol of racial inequality in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird due to his race, the time in which he is wrongfully convicted, and the prejudices that the town of Maycomb faces him with. Lee wants her audience to learn that skin color does not denote a person’s character nor does it indicate a person’s value or worth, that everyone is entitled to fair treatment regardless of his or her race or social standing. It is the responsibility of all people to prevent the problems of the past from becoming the problems of the
There are many times when the townsfolk use racial slurs directed at Tom, demonstrating the prejudice shown to African Americans. Lee shows her audience the prejudice of Maycomb when she writes “How this could be so, I wondered, as I read Mr. Underwood's editorial. Senseless killing—Tom had been given due process of law to the day of his death; he had been tried openly and convicted by twelve good men and true; my father had fought for him all the way. Then Mr. Underwood's meaning became clear: 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,” (323). This quote means Atticus did everything in his power to save Tom, but he could do nothing to change the hearts of men. The men who were on the jury were either racist or afraid of the ridicule that would ensue if they stood up for Tom.
All things considered, Tom is an important symbol of racial inequality in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird due to his race, the time in which he is wrongfully convicted, and the prejudices that the town of Maycomb faces him with. Lee wants her audience to learn that skin color does not denote a person’s character nor does it indicate a person’s value or worth, that everyone is entitled to fair treatment regardless of his or her race or social standing. It is the responsibility of all people to prevent the problems of the past from becoming the problems of the