Racism And Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

Superior Essays
Throughout history, racism and prejudice have affected the lives of individuals all over the world. Segregation has divided the unity among colored and non-colored people, forcing the whites to immediately think differently of someone who doesn’t look the same as they look. Arthur Radley and Tom Robinson share many similarities despite the fact that one is white, and the other is black. In To Kill a Mockingbird these two characters experience different stories and lifestyles but meet a common ground in result of them. When compared side by side, Harper Lee proves that the justice system applies beyond just the pigment of someone’s skin. Arthur Radley is a thirty-year-old man who is a recluse in his house throughout the plot of To Kill a Mockingbird. …show more content…
This is shortly after the Civil War, so slavery 's abolishment had occurred not long after. Since the abolishment had not been passed for a while, most people 's attitudes towards blacks had not changed, despite how movements toward change had been set up. The situation that shows the greatest example of racial prejudice is the trial of Tom Robinson. In Tom’s trial, he is mistreated because he is black. The example of this is the way that Mr. Gilmer, Tom 's prosecutor, calls Tom "boy." The tone of voice he uses towards Tom makes him look foolish. The only reason for this is because he is black. Correlating to the trial, the worst example of racial prejudice is Tom’s trial verdict. The evidence that Atticus appeals to the judges show that there is no way Tom couldn’t be innocent, but he is still found guilty anyway. A minor example of racial prejudice in To Kill a Mocking Bird is Aunt Alexandra’s lady meeting. One of the women that attended this meeting was Miss Merriweather, throughout the meeting, she explains about the “sin and squalor” that is suffered by black families. She also recognizes Helen Robinson as “That darky’s wife.” This everyday language goes to show that the blacks are not respected and are given very offensive names. Arthur Radley suffers from a different type of prejudice, known as a social prejudice. Some families in Maycomb are discriminated by others due to their social status. The whole Radley family suffers from this discrimination because nobody has seen Arthur in years, and no one knew where Mrs. Radley was. This prejudice is directed toward Arthur because he doesn’t fit into Maycomb’s normal behavior patterns and people don’t really know much about them in

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