Racial Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

Racial prejudice plays a big role in the justice system, society, and plot of To Kill A Mockingbird. The setting of the book is located in a rural Alabama town called Maycomb. The storyline of the book takes place during the Great Depression, a time period also known as the Jim Crow Era in the South. Racial prejudice is present during the major occurences narrated by Scout Finch, the main character of the book. Harper Lee, the author, includes this hidden prejudice in her work to develop the society of her imaginary Alabama town and to show readers how racist Southern society was at the time. Racial slurs are made frequently by many characters in the novel. For example, some residents of Maycomb county shame Atticus, Scout’s father, for defending Tom Robinson, an African-American man who is convicted of rape. Cecil Jacobs, Scout’s schoolmate, announces at the school grounds, “Scout Finch’s daddy defended n-----s.”(77), to make fun of Scout. Ms. Dubose, an elderly neighbor, also makes a comment of Atticus’s defense of Tom Robinson, “Your father’s no better than the n-----s and trash he works for!”(105). Cecil and Ms. Dubose are just two …show more content…
The case was essentially a black defendant, Tom Robinson, versus a white plaintiff, Bob Ewell. Due to the prejudice and bias among the jury, Tom Robinson was not given a fair trial, even after Atticus pointing out that Bob Ewell must have beat her daughter, Mayella (the victim). In the novel, Atticus says, “It couldn’t be worse, Jack. The only thing we’ve got is a black man’s word against the Ewells’. The evidence boiled down to you did---I didn’t. The jury couldn’t possibly be expected to take Tom Robinson’s word against the Ewells’,,,”(91). This quote from Atticus shows how it will be hard to convince Judge Taylor that Tom Robinson is innocent because of the racial prejudice and how the case is a black man defending against a white man and