How Is Racism Shown In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Racism has been a part of our world since before the Egyptians enslaved the Israelites. In America, even after all blacks were freed after the Civil War, racism continued. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, racism is a key component in the development and evolution of the main characters. When children see adults—especially their parents—exhibiting racism, they grow up to be racists themselves and racism spreads. In the time in which the book takes place, racism is shown in many different ways through many different people, young and old. In To Kill A Mockingbird, a black man named Tom Robinson is unjustly prosecuted, even though everyone in the court and town knows that he is innocent. He is prosecuted because of his skin color. Atticus…show more content…
They were slaves for many years and, even when they are now working out of their own free will, they are still treated terribly. White people expect the blacks to do their work for little pay. Nowadays people would quit this sort of job and find a better one, but back then blacks took all the work they could find because they needed it to survive. In the book, whites and blacks are always separated, even in church. A woman named Lula criticizes Calpurnia, who works for the Finches, for bringing Scout and Jem, her older brother, to their church, but the Reverend accepts them anyway. Scout notices when she and Jem go in the church that things are different. There are no hymnal books because most of the blacks cannot read and they do not have the money. Instead they follow along with one man who can read and he has the only hymnal book. After church they find Aunt Alexandra waiting for them at the house and she is upset with Cal for bringing the kids to her church. When Scout asks Aunt Alexandra if she is staying, her aunt says that she and Atticus think it would be best for Scout to have “feminine influence” (127). She is implying that Cal is not thought of as a female because of her skin
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