In chapter 15 we see racial prejudice taking place when the townspeople come to Finch’s Landing to try and stop Tom Robinson acquiring a court hearing. When the children come out they make the townsfolk feel ashamed of themselves and make them realise what they really are. This shows that even the racist members of Maycomb can still become non-racist.
We also hear that Jem is aware of Atticus’ situation, there is evidence that Atticus avoids Jem knowing this when Jem asks ‘They were after you weren’t they?’ Atticus replies with, ‘No, son, those were our friends.’ Atticus called them friends because he didn’t want to cause any alarm even though Jem was aware of the situation.
Jem then shows knowledge of racial ‘politicians’, the Ku Klux Klan, by responding to Atticus’ comment on that he had never heard of a gang in Maycomb. This is an early sign that Jem is growing up and able to see what is happening around him, that he doesn’t just automatically accept what he sees.
In the novel, racism shows up at both sides of the spectrum, either physical racism or verbal racism. The most severe form of physical racism is in chapter 24 when Tom Robinson is imprisoned and murdered when trying to escape even though he was assured by Atticus that he was confident in winning the case. During his murder, he was shot seventeen times whilst trying to escape the prison. If this was a non- racist attack, however, he would have only been shot once in somewhere like the foot to bring him down. In some cases, verbal racism can be just as damaging as physical racism. Take Bob Ewell for example, even though he was the lowest of the low (known as white trash) he was still considered higher than any black person and quite often addressed them as “hey boy”. The reason for using “hey boy” to address blacks was that it made him feel higher. As if he was talking to a child.
In chapter 14 when Scout asks Atticus if she can go to Calpurnia’s house on Sunday Aunt Alexandria butts in and immediately says no. This informs the reader of her racist attitude. In chapter 24 Aunt Alexandria is gossiping with the other Missionary tea ladies and they mention …“the squalid lives of the Mrunas”. This makes the reader think that all black people live in dirt. When in reality, they don’t.
When Calpurnia invites Jem and Scout to church they can’t wait. When they got there the black people did not seem pleased although they didn’t show it. This shows that some black people lived in a kind of silent protest, that they weren’t terribly innocent of prejudice either. This can hardly be blamed as it was the whites that made them like this in the first place.
Jem and Scout were both bullied by other white racist members of Maycomb. It was mostly Jem that knew what was being said because Scout was too young to know. In chapter eleven, Mrs Dubose displays a strong racist attitude when she says to Jem ‘Your father’s no better than the niggers he works for!’ this shows that even the older members are not open minded enough to accept the black people in their community.
During the court scene, Tom is standing in the witness box; he makes the mistake of saying he felt sorry for Mayella. … [“Yes suh. I felt right sorry for her; she seemed to try mor’n the rest of, em”]. This made the whites feel pitied upon by blacks, that the blacks were higher in society, when in reality this was not the case. Mr Gilmer kept repeating the fact that how a black man could feel sorry for a whit woman to drill this into the heads of the jury. Despite the fact that Mayella had injuries down the left side of her face, and it was clearly shown that Tom was not capable of doing this due to his withered arm, and all other evidence showing Tom’s obvious innocence he was still found guilty by the white jury. This does not necessarily say that the jury were racist, but if they had found Tom innocent they would have been beaten or even killed. This shows that they were put under pressure and that even the law system is corrupt.
When Atticus gathers his things and walks out of the courtroom, all the black people stood up to show their gratitude and honour for what Atticus did for them.
The time this novel was set in, racism was considered normal. This is one of the main themes of the novel, that alongside prejudice. Boo Radley was a victim of prejudice. Many of the townsfolk of Maycomb believed he was mad, and some believed he had actually killed people. While his father was confined to his home, Boo chose to stay indoors. Scout points this out to the reader when she says, “I think I know why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the house all this time…its because he wants to stay inside.” When people start rumours like this it is another sign of humanity lashing out at what they don’t understand. This is a good example of Harper Lee showing prejudice in the novel.
I believe that with children like Scout, Jem and Dill, as long as their view of their does not become corrupted, I believe that Maycomb would become a better place. I think it would also be a better place if people like Mayella had children, her kids would make it a much more equal society but only if the children do not come into contact with people like Bob Ewell.
