Histories impact on To Kill a Mockingbird During the 1930’s the United States was in a time of great poverty and segregation. The Great Depression was in full swing and the town of Maycomb, Alabama was right in the middle of it. Harper Lee integrated real-life events as stimulus for her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. In the novel, there are connections to the Jim Crow laws, mob/herd mentality, and the Scottsboro trials.
The Jim Crow laws were written to limit the rights of black people, and to repress their role and place in society. The poster representing the Jim Crow laws portrays Jim Crow in torn clothes, animals in clothes, and the picture depicts Jim Crow to be incredibly happy. The picture illustrates how Blacks were considered …show more content…
These activities can be non-violent, but most use violence. The picture of the lynching in Indiana is appalling. Two young were accused and before they were tried, they were hung in front of the county jail. After hearing news of a shooting, a mob forced their way into the jail intent on finding the accused and the authorities gave in to the mob, allowing them access to the men. The photo shows the mob was all white and the expressions on the people in the photo depict a sense of pride. They looked upon what they had done as a good deed, they were proud of their actions (Beitler). This depicts how white people thought they were causing no harm to society, since they viewed black citizens to be inadequate members of society. Mob mentality stems from a commonly held belief that is taken to exponential levels and is used to justify actions, such as the saying: if a restaurant is packed, then you can assume it will be good. This mentality causes large groups to gather for a common cause and this frequently leads to violence and different behaviors stemming from violence (Smith). In Billie Holiday’s song, Strange Fruit, mob mentality is depicted as she talks about strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees. These strange fruits are you Blacks getting hung. She talks about their facial features such as: their bulging eyes and twisted mouth (Holiday). This song expresses the normality of this behavior towards blacks in society. Mob mentality is also demonstrated in To Kill a Mockingbird in Maycomb. When Jem is pressured into knocking on the Radley’s front door, this is an example of mob/herd mentality. He is pushed into an action that other people are doing, which is a direct correlation to mob/herd mentality. Outside of the Maycomb county jail a mob forms around Atticus when he is with Tom Robinson. The mob is made up of town outsiders, such as Walter Cunningham. The mob does not demonstrate any
The Jim Crow laws were written to limit the rights of black people, and to repress their role and place in society. The poster representing the Jim Crow laws portrays Jim Crow in torn clothes, animals in clothes, and the picture depicts Jim Crow to be incredibly happy. The picture illustrates how Blacks were considered …show more content…
These activities can be non-violent, but most use violence. The picture of the lynching in Indiana is appalling. Two young were accused and before they were tried, they were hung in front of the county jail. After hearing news of a shooting, a mob forced their way into the jail intent on finding the accused and the authorities gave in to the mob, allowing them access to the men. The photo shows the mob was all white and the expressions on the people in the photo depict a sense of pride. They looked upon what they had done as a good deed, they were proud of their actions (Beitler). This depicts how white people thought they were causing no harm to society, since they viewed black citizens to be inadequate members of society. Mob mentality stems from a commonly held belief that is taken to exponential levels and is used to justify actions, such as the saying: if a restaurant is packed, then you can assume it will be good. This mentality causes large groups to gather for a common cause and this frequently leads to violence and different behaviors stemming from violence (Smith). In Billie Holiday’s song, Strange Fruit, mob mentality is depicted as she talks about strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees. These strange fruits are you Blacks getting hung. She talks about their facial features such as: their bulging eyes and twisted mouth (Holiday). This song expresses the normality of this behavior towards blacks in society. Mob mentality is also demonstrated in To Kill a Mockingbird in Maycomb. When Jem is pressured into knocking on the Radley’s front door, this is an example of mob/herd mentality. He is pushed into an action that other people are doing, which is a direct correlation to mob/herd mentality. Outside of the Maycomb county jail a mob forms around Atticus when he is with Tom Robinson. The mob is made up of town outsiders, such as Walter Cunningham. The mob does not demonstrate any