Essay, Research Paper: Discrimination In To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human
behavior (Lee). It portrays how unkind people of Maycomb County
could be. It shows a time when being different made life more difficult
than it had to be. It was a time when people did not accept differences. It
especially shows cruelty against blacks, lawyers, and the poor.
Discrimination against blacks is shown a lot all throughout the
novel. Maycomb County didn t exactly welcome blacks as well as the
whites were welcomed. The white people had more priveleges than the
black people had. The blacks wouldn t enter the courtroom until all of
the whites had entered (Lee 166). Racial discrimination still goes on
today. Because of racism in the criminal justice system, blacks are more
likely to be arrested, convicted, and given stiffer sentences (Horne 135).
When slavery had ended, the so-called freedom lands held nothing but
disappointment for most black people (McCague 119). To Kill A
Mockingbird tells of a black man being accused of raping a white woman
and in the courtroom, the white man s word is taken over the black man s
word (Lee 172). The white woman s father said that some nigger d
raped his girl (Lee 169). The black man is punished for a crime that he
did not commit because of his race. In the novel, racial words are used
often. Words such as nigger and negroe . It wasn t known for white
folks and black folks to be together unless it was work associated. If it
was seen, people would say, why s he sittin with the colored folks?
(Lee 163).
To Kill A Mockingbird also shows discrimination against lawyers.
Lawyers have always been deeply discriminated against. They are
discriminated for what they believe, stand for, and everything that they
represent. It shows that Atticus Finch was hated for defending Niggers
(Lee 79). Many people hated him for his tricking ways (Lee 180). His
children were made fun of and picked at about the person that their father
was defending. Scout Finch knew that she was different because of her
father. I saw something only a lawyer s child could be expected to
see (Lee 213) is one example of how she knew that she was known as
different. People would ask if they were ashamed of him (Lee 102).
The children of the Finch family didn t like the way that they were treated
because of their father. They thought that Atticus should have said
something to defend them when people were talking about them (Lee
166). Jim Finch, Scout s brother, asked Atticus if he defended niggers?
(Lee 79).
To Kill A Mockingbird also show the cruelty and discrimination
against the poor people of Maycomb County. These people were put into
a category of their own. Of coarse, they were talked about and made fun of
because they were different. There were many children who didn t know
where their next meal was coming from (Lee 30). Some poor people
were called dirty (Lee 110). Some people weren t spoken to in the book
because of their social status. A lot of the poor were known by their last
name. These people were the people such as the Cunningham s and the
Ewell s. They weren t very popular and lived off of what they could.
People said, they re not out kind of folks (Lee 226).
In conclusion, To Kill A Mockingbird portrays how awful and
cruel people can be to one another and how discrimination and hatred can
feel the lives of people because of differences. It can all turn out much
worse than expected (Marney 110). This novel proves that.