“Many Blacks resisted…indignities… and, far too often, they paid for their bravery with their lives” (Pilgrim). The novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, utilized many historical events in order to provide life to the narration. There are accounts relating to the Jim Crow laws, mob mentality, and racial dilemmas of the Great Depression Era. To start, one connection between the novel and American history is the Jim Crow laws. To illustrate, these were a set of rules that limited the respect blacks received in society. White citizens thought the laws were needed because they did not want blacks to gain power. According to Dr. David Pilgrim, some examples of these regulations concerned the education system, libraries, and militias. The
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Mob mentality is the behavior of an aggressive or violent group. It commonly involves a chaotic state of mind, as people try to release their negative inner emotions (Edmonds). Mobs are commonly found causing harm or vandalizing property. Average citizens compose the majority of these mobs. They feel more secure committing crimes in a large group than as lone operators, as the guilt is distributed amongst the group members (Smith). A lynching of two imprisoned black men was caused because of the collective rage of a white mob. The two colored men were forcefully taken from their jail cells, with no resistance from the white sheriff, and publicly lynched (“Strange Fruit: Anniversary of a Lynching”). Indeed, it must be taken into account that the lynchers were no more than common men and women of the early 1900s. An infamous photograph by Lawrence Beitler showed a pregnant woman present at the lynching (Beitler). This proves the fact that people will attempt risks in a large group that they would never do on their own. Society associates pregnant women with joyous thoughts of the laughter and amazement of babies. Expecting women are not coupled with bloodthirsty events, similar to lynching; however, the photograph by Beitler disproves this, as it shows a calm, pregnant woman attending the hanging of two black men. Also, people participate in a mob because they want to belong somewhere. It is similar to a temporary gang, as people join it to meet their social needs. All initial members of a mob are closely connected by a single goal, which they strive to achieve at all costs. Undeniably, there are examples of mobs in the novel. One such instance is when some of the countrymen and townspeople of Maycomb formed a group against Atticus and Tom Robinson. They did not support Atticus’ views on blacks and so decided to gang up on him, as well as Tom. One encounter between Atticus and the mob
Mob mentality is the behavior of an aggressive or violent group. It commonly involves a chaotic state of mind, as people try to release their negative inner emotions (Edmonds). Mobs are commonly found causing harm or vandalizing property. Average citizens compose the majority of these mobs. They feel more secure committing crimes in a large group than as lone operators, as the guilt is distributed amongst the group members (Smith). A lynching of two imprisoned black men was caused because of the collective rage of a white mob. The two colored men were forcefully taken from their jail cells, with no resistance from the white sheriff, and publicly lynched (“Strange Fruit: Anniversary of a Lynching”). Indeed, it must be taken into account that the lynchers were no more than common men and women of the early 1900s. An infamous photograph by Lawrence Beitler showed a pregnant woman present at the lynching (Beitler). This proves the fact that people will attempt risks in a large group that they would never do on their own. Society associates pregnant women with joyous thoughts of the laughter and amazement of babies. Expecting women are not coupled with bloodthirsty events, similar to lynching; however, the photograph by Beitler disproves this, as it shows a calm, pregnant woman attending the hanging of two black men. Also, people participate in a mob because they want to belong somewhere. It is similar to a temporary gang, as people join it to meet their social needs. All initial members of a mob are closely connected by a single goal, which they strive to achieve at all costs. Undeniably, there are examples of mobs in the novel. One such instance is when some of the countrymen and townspeople of Maycomb formed a group against Atticus and Tom Robinson. They did not support Atticus’ views on blacks and so decided to gang up on him, as well as Tom. One encounter between Atticus and the mob