The Impact of Bigotry

A detailed Summary of The Impact of Bigotry

In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the setting impacted on most of the actions taken by the major characters. Specifically, the altercations between the major characters were a direct result of the beliefs held by the people in the South during the 1930's. We see that this holds true in real life as well. Wherever people live, their setting influences most of the actions they make and how they act towards other people.

One place where the setting has most impacted on people is down South. In the South during the 1930's the setting impacted on everyone who lived there. According to Johnson, white people down south loathed and were very resentful of the colored people. They thought of the black race as God's curse. [20-21] Johnson gives us an excellent illustration of how everything was segregated in the Southern society. If white people were getting onto a bus, they would have to let them get on first. In addition, if there were only one seat left on the bus, the black person would have to get up and give it to the white person. That problem rarely arose because they also had a separate section of the bus where blacks had to sit. If they sat in a white section they would be beaten.[15-17]

There are several other examples of racism also. Calpurnia brought Jem and Scout to a black church. They were approached by a woman named Lula and she said, "You ain't got no business bringing white children here-they got their church, we got ours." [119] This just goes to show you how the blacks can be racist towards white people also. Lee also tells us how the day before the trial, Tom Robinson is moved to the county jail, and that evening Atticus quietly leaves for town, anticipating trouble. Atticus was sitting in front of the door reading a book despite all of the bugs that were bothering him. Then Scout, Dill, and Jem saw three dirty old cars drive around and stop in front of the jail. No one got out just yet. Atticus seemed as if he knew they were coming and folded his newspaper and tilted his hat back.

So, this is how it really was like down South during the 1930's and also in To Kill a Mockingbird. It shows how there was racism in every aspect of life and also in every decision that was made down South. No matter how much you knew that a black man did not do something, he would always be guilty simply because you could never take a black man's word over a white man's word. Therefore, this shows you just how everyone had one way of thinking and no one would change their ways. So, that is how racism was expressed in everyday down South and in To Kill a Mockingbird.

A third literary critic, Sullivan, explains to us how there was much racism presented in the novel. He talks about how a young Negro boy was falsely accused of rape just because he was black. The critic also states that as the book progressed it showed how the South expressed its feelings and traditions towards the blacks. Sullivan also admired how the racism was presented in the novel. [1]

Finally four men got out of the cars and approached Mr. Finch. They asked him if he could move aside so they could go in there and lynch Tom Robinson. Atticus refused and told them to go home. Then out of nowhere Scout came running over to help her father. She talked to the men and then she saw a familiar face. It was Mr. Cunningham. Scout talked to him about his son, but he did not look interested. Then Scout talked about entailments and how they were bad to get in to. Mr. Cunningham realized what he was doing and he left with all of the other men. [151-154] This shows you how much people would go out of their way to try and kill a black man for a crime that he did not even commit. It just goes to show you how sometimes adults can't solve the problem, but rather it takes a child to bring them to their senses.

Lee then tells us about the next witness who is Tom Robinson. Atticus points out to us how he has a crippled left arm that hangs lifeless at his side. He says that on the evening of the alleged rape she asked him to fix a door handle inside the house. The handle was really not broken, and then Mayella tried to kiss him and he tried to resist her and then he fled because he could see Bob Ewell through the window. Because of Tom's arm he could have never inflicted those blows on her face and it also becomes clear that with his kind, gentle nature he would have never taken advantage of her. Then Tom Robinson said that he heard Bob Ewell say, "You goddamn whore, I'll kill you." [186-195]

The author, Lee, also shows us what happens to Tom Robinson in the trial. She shows us just how racist people are and how they are not willing to change. All the black people had to sit in the balcony because they didn't have enough importance to sit on the bottom floor. There were no seats on the bottom floor, so Scout and Jem had to sit in the balcony with the black people. [164] Lee also tells us about all the people who took the witness stand. Heck Tate was the first on the stand. Heck said that he saw Mayella Ewell badly beaten up and she was lying on the floor.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Tom Robinson, Harper Lee, According Johnson, South Blacks, Bob Ewell, Discrimination South, Robinson Atticus, Mayella Ewell, God I'll, Kill Mockingbird, tom robinson, south 1930's, black people, literary critic, kill mockingbird, white people, man's word, bob ewell, maycomb county, black person, tom robinson atticus, man's word white, word white man's, black man's word, lee tells people,

Approximate Word count = 2616
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English