Atticus's Injustice

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, conflict surrounding race is illustrated through the injustice of Tom Robinson’s trial. One example is shown when Atticus is explaining to Scout why he took the trial. Atticus clarifies, “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us to not try to win” (76). He is referring to the days of slavery and how that is a foundation of racism. Atticus recognizes that a black man essentially has no chance against a white man in court due to the deep-rooted discrimination in Maycomb. Any other public defender would not put forth effort in the Tom Robinson case due to the prejudice. However, Atticus is still going to do the right thing and try to win despite the reality …show more content…
Atticus explains, “The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom...you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life” (220). Atticus has been exposed to this kind of inequity in his life, but the children have not. He believes that, especially in court, everyone should be getting a fair trial, which is not true in the town of Maycomb where it seems to be based off of social standards. The verdict of the trial exemplifies to Scout and Jem the corruption in the system of law in Maycomb based on the bias most of the people have towards black residents. The last example of the racial injustice in Maycomb is when Tom Robinson is shot and killed in jail when he is attempting to escape. Scout reiterates the town’s racist reaction by saying, “Maycomb was interested by the news of Tom’s death for perhaps two days...to Maycomb, Tom’s death was typical. Typical of a nigger to cut and run. Typical of a nigger’s mentality to have no plan, no thought for the future” (240). This demonstrates the citizens’ intolerance since they can just brush off Tom Robinson’s death because they feel it is something that is bound to