To Kill A Mockingbird-Racism

The early to mid 1900s were a dark time. It was a period of extreme racism, and depression. Our town by Thornton Wilder, is a stage play that takes place in the early 1900s. It takes place in a town called Grover's Corners, NH. It is about a young girl named Emily Webb, who marries a young man named George Gibbs. She later dies in childbirth. After death, Emily Webb learns that the living don’t realize how much life is worth. To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel about a little girl named Scout Finch, her brother Jem Finch, and their father Atticus Finch. Scout and Jem’s Father, Atticus takes a case where a white women was allegedly raped by Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson is a crippled black man. Atticus chose to defend the black man. Atticus knew …show more content…
In To kill a Mockingbird there is a clear explanation of the time and place. I clearly explains that it is a southern town. And that most of the townspeople will be racist. This specifically affects Scout and Jem. Because they live in a racist town with racist friends and a non racist father, they were bound to be confused. Because there was so much context in the story, Scout and Jem are being shaped as characters almost from the get go. “Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather, the streets would turn to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square” (Lee 6). This is an example of the setting Harper Lee used. In Our Town there is little to no setting. Obviously at the beginning of act 1 the stage manager explains the setting and the town itself, however it isn't mentioned much after that. The reader is expected to remember through the whole play. “Well i’d better show you how our town lies. Up here- is Main Street Way back there is the railway station; tracks go that way. Polish Town’s across the tracks, and some Canuck families. Over there is the Congregational Church; across the street’s the Presbyterian. Methodist and Unitarian are over there. Baptist is down in the holla’ by the river. Catholic Church is over beyond the tracks. Here’s the town hall and post …show more content…
To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in Maycomb County, Alabama during the Great Depression. Louisiana has always been known for having slaves and being segregated. This book takes place smack dab in the middle of an incredibly segregated and racist time. A huge part of the To Kill a Mockingbird plot is the Tom Robinson case. If Maycomb County had not been a racist town, Tom would have easily won the case. All of the evidence provided pointed towards the fact that Tom Robinson did not attempt to rape Mayella Ewell. “He stood up and pointed a finger at Tom Robinson. “-I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella!” So serene was Judge Taylor’s court, that he had few occasions to use his gavel, but he hammered fully five minutes” (Lee 231). “Judge Taylor was polling the jury: “Guilty… Guilty… Guilty… Guilty… “ (Lee 283). “Senseless Killing- Tom had been given due process of law to the day of his death; he had been tried openly and convicted by twelve good men and true; my father had fought for him all the way. Then Mr. Underwood’s meaning became clear: Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed” (Lee 323). Literally every single one of these quotes concede to the fat