Jim Crow South In To Kill A Mockingbird

The Jim Crow South was an era of intense racism and segregation. Jim Crow was more than oppressive laws; it was life as the South knew it. However, underneath the hateful surface, the Jim Crow South is more complicated than it is portrayed. Harper Lee explores these issues in her book, To Kill a Mockingbird. In the fictional town of Maycomb County, Alabama, Lee presents the theme of coexistence of black and white in all people and things, by illustrating Scout and Jem’s relationship with several characters, including Mrs. Dubose, Boo Radley, and Atticus, as they develop into maturity.
Lee incorporates Mrs. Dubose’s, who was a spiteful person and a racist, ordeal of struggling with addiction to demonstrate to the audience that the world is
The people of Maycomb County view Boo as an abomination: “According to Miss Stephanie, Boo was sitting in the living room . . . As Mr. Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his parent’s leg, pulled them out, wiped them onto his pants” (Lee 11). According to Jem, “Boo . . . dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained . . . There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time” (Lee 13). From these descriptions, Jem and Scout portray Boo as a menacing enigma. Along with Dill, they invent games and thrilling stories based off of him, in order to amuse themselves and gain a better understanding of the freak living next door, by bringing his personality alive. As the games and dares become more complicated, Boo slowly becomes an obsession of the children. Their innocence prohibits them from seeing Boo as a person, instead of a monster. However, as Jem and Scout mature, they begin to make sense of Boo’s actions. At the trial, Tom Robinson is convicted of raping Mayella Ewell. Jem’s faith in the people of Maycomb is shattered, and he says to Scout, “I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up
He follows his moral compass down the righteous path, no matter the ramifications. However, the author incorporates a scene where Atticus has an internal struggle to decide what is right, thus showing the readers that there is sometimes no definite right or wrong choice. In the story, Atticus is the embodiment of moral courage. This is evident when a mob of angry Maycomb folk gathers at the county jail to lynch Tom Robinson. Atticus risks his own life to make sure Tom Robinson wouldn’t be harmed. “‘You know what we want,’ another man said. ‘Get aside from the door, Mr. Finch.’ ‘You can turn around and go home again, Walter,’ Atticus said pleasantly.”(Lee 151). Additionally, when Mrs. Dubose attacks his reputation and character, Atticus merely tells his son, “‘Jem she’s old and ill. You can’t hold her responsible for what she says and does. Of course, I’d rather she’d have said it to me than to either of you, but we can’t always have our ‘druthers’” (Lee 105). His moral voice earns him the respect of the community, and stems from his understanding of the evil in people without limiting his judgement. He has faith that people have the capacity to do good, because he realizes that instead of being solely good or evil, people often have good and bad qualities, one just occasionally outshines the other. He treats people with the unwavering respect, because he is able to see life through their eyes. It is this understanding and