During the 1930s of when the novel To Kill a Mockingbird was written, there were a lot of historical events. The Great Depression was a huge influence on the novel. Harper Lee incorporated real life events in to her writing to make the novel impactful. The real life events used in the book were Jim Crow Laws, Mob Mentality, and Scottsboro Trails.
As of today the Jim Crow laws are not really affecting the community because racism was demolished in the late 1900s. The problem is at one point of American history the Jim Crow laws controlled the south. They were like the constitution in the south, everyone abided by these rules and if you did not follow them you were punished. In the 1930s “whites were superior to blacks in all important ways, …show more content…
The way blacks were treated was unfair and cruel. They did not get fair trails and they had no equal rights in the south. The Scottsboro boys were an example of how bad blacks were treated. The court had no evidence that they raped the two women (Anderson). Instead they just assumed they did because they were black. During the trail one of the girls said that they were not actually raped and instead were just scarred of getting arrested. They were scarred because the girls who called rape were actually prostitutes. Even though one of the girls admitted that the rape did not actually happen; they still convicted the boys. Once the trail was over and the Scottsboro boys were convicted of rape, there was a mob that attacked the jail and lynched a few of the boys. This trail shows how blacks were actually treated and how racism was real in the south. Racism is a way for a certain group to show power over another group. “To have a hierarchy, there must be status differences between people” (Schaefer).
In conclusion, there were a lot of historical events such as the Jim Crow laws, mob mentality, and Scottsboro trials that occurred during the time period of To Kill a Mockingbird. The Great Depression had a huge affect on relationships between humans, community, and countries during the 1930s. Harper Lee did an amazing job of incorporating these events into her writing. This book was a terrific example on how difficult life was in the south during the 1930s, especially for
As of today the Jim Crow laws are not really affecting the community because racism was demolished in the late 1900s. The problem is at one point of American history the Jim Crow laws controlled the south. They were like the constitution in the south, everyone abided by these rules and if you did not follow them you were punished. In the 1930s “whites were superior to blacks in all important ways, …show more content…
The way blacks were treated was unfair and cruel. They did not get fair trails and they had no equal rights in the south. The Scottsboro boys were an example of how bad blacks were treated. The court had no evidence that they raped the two women (Anderson). Instead they just assumed they did because they were black. During the trail one of the girls said that they were not actually raped and instead were just scarred of getting arrested. They were scarred because the girls who called rape were actually prostitutes. Even though one of the girls admitted that the rape did not actually happen; they still convicted the boys. Once the trail was over and the Scottsboro boys were convicted of rape, there was a mob that attacked the jail and lynched a few of the boys. This trail shows how blacks were actually treated and how racism was real in the south. Racism is a way for a certain group to show power over another group. “To have a hierarchy, there must be status differences between people” (Schaefer).
In conclusion, there were a lot of historical events such as the Jim Crow laws, mob mentality, and Scottsboro trials that occurred during the time period of To Kill a Mockingbird. The Great Depression had a huge affect on relationships between humans, community, and countries during the 1930s. Harper Lee did an amazing job of incorporating these events into her writing. This book was a terrific example on how difficult life was in the south during the 1930s, especially for