The judge, jury, and final verdict, is like rain. It falls after a period of cloudy suspicion, softening the soil of superstition and stereotypes allowing the flowers of compassion to grow. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, she shines a light on the disgusting acts of white men in the 1930’s. The court is supposed to be a place of truth and justice, but in this novel it it the complete opposite. The jury of white men believes in the racial stereotypes against African men and women, judging and accusing them based off of rumors spread around the county. Scout’s father, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer who has agreed to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. Tom was accused by Mr. Ewell, notorious to the county for lying and cheating, of
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White prisoners were treated better than black prisoners in this time, including alleged murderer Boo Radley when Jem explained that the “sheriff hadn’t the heart to put him in jail alongside Negroes, so Boo was locked in the courthouse basement.” (Lee, 11) The courthouse is a place of justice, which, under these circumstances, symbolizes how the white men believed that white supremacy was morally correct and just. The black prisoners in the actual jail were probably also wrongfully accused just like Tom Robinson, even though the court system was supposed to be fair to all men, because the white jury and judges also had the same sense of superiority. Another incidence of supremacy in Maycomb County would be the different social classes depending on a person’s family line, as explains Jem to his younger sister Scout, "there 's four kinds of people in the world. There 's the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there 's the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes." (Lee, 226) Those in the Cunningham family line are honest, fair men who always keep their promises unlike the lying, ignorant Ewells characterized as “white trash.” When Lee adds the fact that the Ewells live by a dump, she is emphasizing …show more content…
Jem, Scout’s older brother, wishes to be just like his father one day which is why he tries to show fairness to all things, including insects. “[Jem] was certainly never cruel to animals, but I had never known his charity to embrace the insect world. ‘Why couldn 't I mash him?’ I asked. ‘Because they don 't bother you,’ Jem answered in the darkness. He had turned out his reading light.” (Lee, 236) Within this statement lies symbolism. The insect represents different social classes, mainly black people, within Maycomb. The african american people in Maycomb County do nothing to bother the white people in this story, doing their best to help out wherever they can. The insect Jem refers to is doing no harm to Scout, not necessarily helping her, but not harming her either. Similar to Jem’s kindness toward an insect is Atticus’ feelings toward the people against Tom Robinson when he explains, “this time we aren 't fighting the Yankees, we 're fighting our friends. But remember this, no matter how bitter things get, they 're still our friends and this is still our home." (Lee, 76) Back in the Civil War, the south called the Union the “Yankees” which is why Atticus refers to them as bad. The “Yankees” represent those who make up the lynch mob. During the time of the Civil War, even brothers would
White prisoners were treated better than black prisoners in this time, including alleged murderer Boo Radley when Jem explained that the “sheriff hadn’t the heart to put him in jail alongside Negroes, so Boo was locked in the courthouse basement.” (Lee, 11) The courthouse is a place of justice, which, under these circumstances, symbolizes how the white men believed that white supremacy was morally correct and just. The black prisoners in the actual jail were probably also wrongfully accused just like Tom Robinson, even though the court system was supposed to be fair to all men, because the white jury and judges also had the same sense of superiority. Another incidence of supremacy in Maycomb County would be the different social classes depending on a person’s family line, as explains Jem to his younger sister Scout, "there 's four kinds of people in the world. There 's the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there 's the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes." (Lee, 226) Those in the Cunningham family line are honest, fair men who always keep their promises unlike the lying, ignorant Ewells characterized as “white trash.” When Lee adds the fact that the Ewells live by a dump, she is emphasizing …show more content…
Jem, Scout’s older brother, wishes to be just like his father one day which is why he tries to show fairness to all things, including insects. “[Jem] was certainly never cruel to animals, but I had never known his charity to embrace the insect world. ‘Why couldn 't I mash him?’ I asked. ‘Because they don 't bother you,’ Jem answered in the darkness. He had turned out his reading light.” (Lee, 236) Within this statement lies symbolism. The insect represents different social classes, mainly black people, within Maycomb. The african american people in Maycomb County do nothing to bother the white people in this story, doing their best to help out wherever they can. The insect Jem refers to is doing no harm to Scout, not necessarily helping her, but not harming her either. Similar to Jem’s kindness toward an insect is Atticus’ feelings toward the people against Tom Robinson when he explains, “this time we aren 't fighting the Yankees, we 're fighting our friends. But remember this, no matter how bitter things get, they 're still our friends and this is still our home." (Lee, 76) Back in the Civil War, the south called the Union the “Yankees” which is why Atticus refers to them as bad. The “Yankees” represent those who make up the lynch mob. During the time of the Civil War, even brothers would