How Does Lee Present Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird

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In a world where the ideas taken from the Civil Rights movement still only held a small voice in American Government, Harper Lee writes through the voice of a young girl, Scout, growing up in rural Alabama during a time that displayed only small changes when it came to the rights of African Americans. In her novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Lee reveals the prominent theme of racism through her controversial characters. During his questioning in Tom Robinson's trial;, Bob Ewell describes Tom as “that black nigger yonder,” (Lee 175). By doing this, Bob proves to the courtroom he believes Tom carries so little worth, he does not even deserve to be called by the simplest of pronouns, let alone his own name. For someone as illiterate as Bob Ewell, he still can illustrate his blatant racism to a courtroom full of people with a mere four words. Mr. Ewell verifies the superiority a white man holds over a black man by avoiding calling Tom by his name. Later in the story, Bob Ewell even goes to the lengths of spitting in Atticus's Face and referring to him as a “nigger-lovin’ bastard,” (Lee 220). Lee…show more content…
It is our church, ain’t it, Miss Cal?,” (Lee 121). Lula confirms negroes can express racism, too. By asking Cal if it was still their church, Lee presents the common belief from negroes that whites feel pompously of themselves, and can claim anything they want as their own. Lula shows discontent from the children accompanying Cal to a black church, a place made open for worship to the same God; She feels invaded in her own church from two harmless children, displaying the depth of segregation during this time. Although Lula only appears once throughout the entirety of the novel, she still provides an impact to the theme by revealing racism is not
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