The Social “Race”ism of the Century
All people thrive on something what do you thrive on? Have you ever falsely accused somebody of doing something? Well, the people of Maycomb country thrive on using racism to make their decisions. They also accuse Tom of rapping Mayella just like the Scottsboro boys were accused of rapping the two young white women. Harper Lee used real-life events as inspiration for her novel To Kill a Mockingbird. There are connections to Jim Crow, mob mentality, and issues of racism in that time period. In To Kill a Mockingbird, one of the first historical references is the Jim Crow laws. Jim Crow was a system of laws that set up inequality. Some people thought the laws were needed because people thought the whites were …show more content…
Mob mentality is used to talk about unique characteristics that show when people are in large groups. Also, Mob mentality is also normally referring to a negative action. This is shown in current examples like when a person listens to one type of music with their friends than by themselves (Smith). Mob mentality is also part of our country’s past. One example is on August 7th, 1930 many young men were killed and it is known as the most iconic lynching. (“Strange Fruit. Anniversary of a Lynching). A photo taken at the lynching shows that the white people dress up to come to these lynching’s (Beitler). This photo also shows that the black men were beat before they were hung because their clothes are torn and wrecked all over (Beitler). The men’s clothes were destroyed because the mob had wanted to just kill the men by themselves. In the novel, citizens of Maycomb experience mob mentality. One example is Walter Cunningham because he was the leader of the mob, and acted like a crazy mad man. An example of this is when there is a mob outside of the jailhouse Walter has never shown hatred towards Tom and now he is trying to kill him. In the text it states, “All right, Mr. Finch, get em’ outa here” (Lee 204). This shows mob mentality because Walter has been a friend of Atticus for a long time and he is now telling him to get his kids out of the area. The last instance of mob mentality is seen when Atticus is talking to Jem …show more content…
“Dou you all reckon it’ll be all right if you all came to the belcont with me” (Lee 219). This shows racism because the blacks are not allowed to sit on the main level with the whites or they will be seen as equals. A few reasons that people tend to be racist are to keep their self-esteem up, to build or create a structure to have support, or just for dominance so they can stay above all other people (Routedge). An example of racism is shown when, nine black males fight with white men on a train and at the train stop two white women get off of the train and say that they have been raped (Anderson). This shows racism because the men were black and the women felt that they had an advantage over them to get them in trouble. The white women also wanted the white men to not get in trouble so they called the black men out for something that never happened. Harper Lee uses these ideas in her book with one example being when Tom is in the jailhouse there is a mob lead by Walter Cunningham, was started so they could kill Tom by themselves (Lee). Lee models the Tom Robinson case after the Scottsboro trial in the book. The first way that racism is shown in the book is when Tom is accused of being guilty of rapping Mayella. This is showing racism because the Ewell’s had an advantage over Tom
All people thrive on something what do you thrive on? Have you ever falsely accused somebody of doing something? Well, the people of Maycomb country thrive on using racism to make their decisions. They also accuse Tom of rapping Mayella just like the Scottsboro boys were accused of rapping the two young white women. Harper Lee used real-life events as inspiration for her novel To Kill a Mockingbird. There are connections to Jim Crow, mob mentality, and issues of racism in that time period. In To Kill a Mockingbird, one of the first historical references is the Jim Crow laws. Jim Crow was a system of laws that set up inequality. Some people thought the laws were needed because people thought the whites were …show more content…
Mob mentality is used to talk about unique characteristics that show when people are in large groups. Also, Mob mentality is also normally referring to a negative action. This is shown in current examples like when a person listens to one type of music with their friends than by themselves (Smith). Mob mentality is also part of our country’s past. One example is on August 7th, 1930 many young men were killed and it is known as the most iconic lynching. (“Strange Fruit. Anniversary of a Lynching). A photo taken at the lynching shows that the white people dress up to come to these lynching’s (Beitler). This photo also shows that the black men were beat before they were hung because their clothes are torn and wrecked all over (Beitler). The men’s clothes were destroyed because the mob had wanted to just kill the men by themselves. In the novel, citizens of Maycomb experience mob mentality. One example is Walter Cunningham because he was the leader of the mob, and acted like a crazy mad man. An example of this is when there is a mob outside of the jailhouse Walter has never shown hatred towards Tom and now he is trying to kill him. In the text it states, “All right, Mr. Finch, get em’ outa here” (Lee 204). This shows mob mentality because Walter has been a friend of Atticus for a long time and he is now telling him to get his kids out of the area. The last instance of mob mentality is seen when Atticus is talking to Jem …show more content…
“Dou you all reckon it’ll be all right if you all came to the belcont with me” (Lee 219). This shows racism because the blacks are not allowed to sit on the main level with the whites or they will be seen as equals. A few reasons that people tend to be racist are to keep their self-esteem up, to build or create a structure to have support, or just for dominance so they can stay above all other people (Routedge). An example of racism is shown when, nine black males fight with white men on a train and at the train stop two white women get off of the train and say that they have been raped (Anderson). This shows racism because the men were black and the women felt that they had an advantage over them to get them in trouble. The white women also wanted the white men to not get in trouble so they called the black men out for something that never happened. Harper Lee uses these ideas in her book with one example being when Tom is in the jailhouse there is a mob lead by Walter Cunningham, was started so they could kill Tom by themselves (Lee). Lee models the Tom Robinson case after the Scottsboro trial in the book. The first way that racism is shown in the book is when Tom is accused of being guilty of rapping Mayella. This is showing racism because the Ewell’s had an advantage over Tom