To Kill A Mockingbird Essay

Racism has been an issue for many, many decades in our society and has been addressed by numerous literary publications including the award-winning novel ‘To kill a Mockingbird’. Many of the ideologies of the time, in which the novel was written, the 1960’s, are embedded in the story. Some of these ideologies, challenged by the author, seem alive and well today, over 50 years later. The reason that I am writing this article is to indicate the relevance of ‘To kill a Mockingbird’ by linking the racism in the story with a recent event.
The novel is still relevant today, as the main ideology embedded in the story, which is racism, still exists today in the universal community. However, the racism in ‘To kill a Mockingbird’ comes from people
One of these people was Judge Taylor. Judge Taylor handed Tom Robinsons case over to Atticus, because he knew that Atticus was the best lawyer in Maycomb, and hoped that therefore, Tom would receive somewhat of a fair trial. The town’s reaction was shocking. Most of the citizens of Maycomb were genuinely disgusted by the fact that a white man would defend a black man in court and give him a chance of justice, and they certainly did not mind showing this. Atticus’ children were subject to some very racist remarks from people on numerous occasions, which targeted their father. Even at school, Scout had to hear her comrads call her father a ‘nigger lover’. One student, Cecil Jacobs made a particular nasty comment. “My folks said your daddy was a disgrace an’ that nigger oughta hang from the water-tank!” It seemed though that Cecil Jacobs wasn’t the only child that had heard the disgust people felt about Atticus Finch from his family. Scout’s cousin Francis also lets her know what their grandmother thought about the situation. “I guess it ain’t your fault if Uncle Atticus is a nigger lover besides, but I’m here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family