How Is Racism Shown In To Kill A Mockingbird

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“Whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.” This is Atticus referring to how racist white men are horrible, no matter how or what they come from. Racism is prevalent in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It is shown through Scout, and innocent young girl, and affects Tom Robinson; who is mainly hurt by the aggressive Bob Ewell. These three characters are all affected by racism differently. Scout Finch is just a child who is conformed by society. She grows up in a pace and time where it is acceptable to be racist. Although she is constantly surrounded by racism, her father, Atticus, greatly influenced her beliefs and morals. During the trial, he states, “...this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men.” Meaning that things should be applied to every race, not just whites or blacks. Scout, hearing this, is impacted to treat everyone alike. She has always understood that blacks are treated differently- cruelly and…show more content…
Link Deas. He also occasionally does housework for Mayella Ewell. But because of the color of his skin, Tom was the victim to ignorance and racism. He was indicted for supposedly beating and raping Mayella Ewell. When in reality, she was the one who broke the towns ‘code’ for kissing a black man. Evidence is clear that Tom couldn’t have beaten or raped her, his left arm was caught and torn in a cotton gin. Mayella was beaten on the right side of her face; that could only happen by someone with a left hand, and a strong one at that. She kissed Tom, and her father, Bob Ewell, sees this as Tom runs away. Bob then beats (and possibly rapes) his daughter. At the trial, Tom is unsurprisingly accused guilty, and goes to jail. He is shot 17 times by the police whilst attempting to escape. Sadly, racism and prejudice cause an innocent man’s
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