Examples Of Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird

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How do you feel about racism? In the book “To Kill a Mockingbird”, the book is set in the early 1900s, and the characters experience racism and witness it first hand. You get taken through the main character Scout’s point of view and see how she reacts to the racism around her. The book, for the most part is based around the court case of Tom Robinson, a person of color falsely accused of sexually harassing a white woman. Scout’s dad, Atticus is appointed to defend Tom Robinson and makes an effort against racism that was all in vain. To Kill a Mockingbird focuses around racism and the protagonists defending a person prejudiced by systemic racism and fighting against the bias that was hugely embedded in the court system at the time.

In the book, Atticus teaches Scout to defend what she thinks is right.
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This is Atticus explaining why he’s defending a black man. He knows that the man is innocent and is explaining that he’s standing up for what he believes and that if he didn’t he couldn’t hold his head up.
Furthermore, when Scout and Atticus speak to each other, “Well, most folks seem to think they’re right and you’re wrong. . .” (Scout) (Lee Chapter 11). “They’re certainly entitled to think that, and they’re entitled to full respect for their opinions, but before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.” (Atticus) (Lee Chapter 11). Atticus is telling scout that she should follow her conscience rather than listening to everything that other people