To install StudyMoose App tap and then “Add to Home Screen”
Save to my list
Remove from my list
The land of the free, the home of the brave, The land of opportunity, justice, and equality for not one, not a few, but all. It‘s the sad truth that while this is acceptable for a fairy tale, it’s ultimately a mere self-delusion in reality, Even today, social inequalities are still present and decisions are still made based on factors outside of a person's control such a race, gender and class. However, to really experience the extremes of this inequality, one must step back in time into one of the most controversial time periods in American history: the 19305. Housing the Jim Crow Laws and the birth of the NAACP, the Great Depression and the Scottsboro Trials, the 19305 were a time of endless discrimination and injustice, of boundless stores of prejudice based on something out of the victim‘s control, a time of multifarious oppression against those who spoke out against the unfairness of it all.
This discriminatory atmosphere is depicted in Harper Lee‘s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, in which the narrator Jean Louise “Scout” Finch grows up in the predominately white town of Maycomb, Alabama, surrounded by racists and bigots.
She and her brother Jem mature and progress, encompassed by stereotypical ideas concerning African Americans.
Verified writer
Proficient in: Life
5 (893)
“ Thank you so much for accepting my assignment the night before it was due. I look forward to working with you moving forward ”
When They witness their father Atticus, a lawyer, defend an innocent negro man, they begin to understand the harsh realities about the world that they were previously unaware of Through it all, they experience the stunning conviction and subsequent death of the aforementioned defendant in the most eyeopening ordeal of their lives, In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses characterization to demonstrate the negative impact racial inequality has on people’s lives.
Through the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man who is accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell, readers can infer from the character’s dialogue that Tom is an exceedinglyhumble and civil citizen while the father of the plaintiff Bob Ewell, comes across as extremely racist and disrespectful.
During his testimony, Ewell testifies that “‘I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin' on my Mayella!”’ (Lee 231). Although the undereducated and immoral Bob Ewell may not have been a man of great words, he manages to subtly slip many of his reprehensible ideas into just ten words For one, Tom’s race is greatly emphasized by the redundant statement “black nigger", showing that the idea of race can even be used as a piece of evidence for or against certain individuals Bob’s testimony heavily generalizes African Americans, as it is referencing the flawed idea that all African Americans are likely to sexually assault women.
The words “ruttin‘ on" is a term that is typically reserved for animals, and for Bob Ewell to characterize Tom Robinson as such, is nonetheless another one of his objectionable beliefs, Using this choice of phrase, Bob Ewell is blandly expressing his opinion that African Americans are inferior to whites, just as animals are inferior to humans. This immediately reeks of racial inequality; if whites don‘t even think that other races are on the same level as their own, then how can they then treat them fairly? Lastly, Bob Ewell speaks of Tom Robinson as if the latter was so far below him that he was barely worth considering. He does this not by what he says, but rather what he doesn’t say. Bob Ewell never mentions Tom’s name, or even a pronoun such as he, or him. Instead he only refers to Tom as “that black nigger", a derogatory term that reveals the racist ideologies of the majority of the white population in the 19305.
Although it can be said that this is coming out of Bob Ewell's mouth, who, in the eyes of almost everyone in Maycomb, is “trash“, it is revealed in Atticus’s closing statement that it isn't just Bob Ewell who thinks like he does. Atticus goes on to declare at the end of the trial that [Mayella Ewell] was white, and she tempted a Negro, She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man... No code mattered to her before she broke it, but it came crashing down on her afterwards. Why is it that the people of Maycomb County believe that a negro man raped a white woman, and not that a white woman attempted to kiss a negro man? There‘s little doubt about the stereotypes set in stone in the minds of those in Maycomb, cemented so firmly that the jury does not have an open mind in the case. After all, Atticus cannot make the all white jury suddenly colorblind, which is what mattered the most in the case of Tom Robinson Tom Robinson did nothing wrong, and only tried to help the plaintiff through what seemed like difficult times for her.
He did not accept her advances, and yet the use of the word ”tempted“ allows the reader to infer that Tom Robinson did not welcome the advances of Mayella EwelL However, despite the overwhelming lack of evidence, the people of Maycomb only see the color ofToms skin, which is apparently enough evidence to sentence a man to death for a crime he didn’t commit The trial of Tom Robinson uncovered an unspoken truth that everyone in society knew but no one dared to question In the 19305, especially in a small, rural town like the fictional Maycomb, Alabama, the white people have always claimed victoryr Unsurprisingly, the discriminatory jury unanimously condemns Tom Robinson to death, even with every single piece of evidence lining up in Tom’s favorr During the walk home, Atticus explains to Scout and a disheartened Jem that there's something in our world that makes men lose their headsithey couldn't be fair if they tried, In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins, They're ugly, but those are the facts of life’".
Atticus believes that race is a factor that incites craziness in people He reveals the disgusting truth to Scout and Jem. There was never a real trial. Atticus and Tom never stood a chance, It was already a done deal, predetermined, just a show under the guise of the law As soon as the white men of the white majority got out of bed, as soon as they walked into the courtroom under the gaze of the white audience and swore an oath in front of the white judge. Their decision was already made, and nothing could have stopped it. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Not a shocking decision for most, merely confirming what was already known, what was inevitable. Tom Robinson never stood a chance, simply because he was black, and his accuser was white. Even Atticus mentions in his closing statement that, “‘This case is as simple as black and white’”.
The case boils down to the word of Tom Robinson against the word of Mayella Ewell. Even though the Ewells live in a dump and are the disgrace of the town, they are still white, and Tom Robinson is black. In the 19305, the assumption was that “all negroes lie, that all negroes [are] immoral beings, [and] that all negro men are not to be trusted around [white] women. Therefore, a black person’s word could never be trusted and a white person’s word, even if they were “trash”, or even if they were known to be untrustworthy, or even if what they said didn’t make sense. It wouldn’t matter because that person was white and therefore their word was to be taken by default as correct while the person of color would be wrong. It didn’t matter how monumental the accusation was.
It didn‘t matter what the consequences were. It didn’t matter how much it could impact someone’s life, or even cut it short. Through the work of Harper Lee, it is clear how much racial inequality can dramatically alter someone‘s life. The prejudice and stereotypes that people had against African Americans could even swing the law, The fact was that, in the 1930s, blacks were never right when they were up against a white’s word, no matter how unfair this was. After all, what is it that separates all the races of the world? Is it not the same stars that they live under? Is it not the same air that they breathe? Is it not the same God?
The Claws of Inequality That Life Grips America. (2023, May 08). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/the-claws-of-inequality-that-life-grips-america-essay
👋 Hi! I’m your smart assistant Amy!
Don’t know where to start? Type your requirements and I’ll connect you to an academic expert within 3 minutes.
get help with your assignment
