Examples Of Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

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In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows inequality in a place as formal as a courthouse. During Tom Robinson’s trial, Reverend Sykes tells Jem “I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man…” (page 279). In this scene it’s obvious that Tom is innocent, but because of the past it is unlikely for a black person to be in favor over a white person no matter the circumstances. The way people went about life back then seemed as if they expected whites to always get special treatment or an advantage if it came to an issue about race. When Tom was testifying his side of the story he told Atticus what Mayella had said to him “She says she never kissed a grown man before an’ she might as well kiss a nigger” (page 260). This shocked the jury and audience because a white women wanted something to do …show more content…
Scout thinks to herself something she thought that was true about mixed people during the time of the trial “White people wouldn’t have anything to do with her because she lived among pigs” (page 256). If someone was a mixed person they would either be shunned for being part black by the whites, or for being white by the blacks. Either way it was hard for mixed people to make friends since they were judged by both sides just because of the way they were born. Before the jury made their final decision, Atticus left them with one last word, “...Some Negroes lie, some are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women--black or white” (page 273). Atticus is trying to explain to the jury that not just black people are those particular traits, and that those views can affect relationships and interactions around them. Perhaps a white women was scared of a black man and may have not wanted to go near them because they were afraid he might have raped her. The prejudice shown in this novel affects relationships and the way people view one
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