What view does Harper Lee give us of the lives and difficulties of the Black Community in ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ and what hope, if any, does she give for the future?
What view does Harper Lee give us of the lives and
difficulties of the Black Community
in 'To Kill A Mockingbird' and what hope, if any,
does she give for the future?
To Kill A Mockingbird is set in the U.S.A., in the Southern State of Alabama during the Great Economic Depression of the 1930s. Slavery played an important part at this time, and so racial prejudice was particularly strong in the Southern States. Slavery was abolished when the Southern States lost the Civil War. The sense of injustice that had already existed amongst Southern Whites suddenly became worse. When the Great Depression began, the Southern States were the poorest in the U.S and so this lead to the worsening of racial prejudice and poverty, so there was a stronger contrast between Whites and Blacks and this led to the segregation of the Whites and Blacks.
Maycomb is an object of this segregation between the Whites and the Blacks, as it is clearly divided into social groups. Jem recognises this when he tells Scout in Chapter 23 that there are ' four kinds of folk in the world'. These are the Finches and their neighbours (the 'White' middle class), 'the Cunninghams out in the woods' (who represent the badly hit farming community), 'the Ewells down at the dump' (the lowest class of Whites) and the 'Negroes' who are automatically seen as at the bottom of society.
Regarded as being the outsiders in the community, the black people live different lives in Maycomb. They are presented as god-fearing people as they attend church every Sunday. However the fact that 'Negroes worshipped in it on Sundays and white men gambled in it on weekdays.' shows the strong contrast of how low the blacks are regarded and treated by the whites, but the blacks still do not retaliate and are shown as moral people. Calpurnia, a servant to the Finch family is still very respectful to whites as she regards Jem as 'Mister Jem.' and when Jem and Scout are lead up to the balcony of the courtroom to find seats 'Four Negroes rose and gave us their front-row seats'. No matter how much respect they show, they are never presented as equal because of the colour of their skin.
Calpurnia is a good representative of black people that have a humble and honest character, which comes second nature to her and the majority of the blacks. They tolerate the prejudice against them and Jem and Scout learn that in order for Calpurnia to be tolerated by the whites around her, she must lead a double life to please the whites. Around black people Calpurnia talks 'nigger talk' because she thinks that if she 'talked white-folks talk at church: They'd think I was puttin' on airs to beat Moses.'
Another example that displays the humble characters of the blacks is the church that they worship in. It may not be fancy and the tombstones may be decorated with 'broken Coca-Cola bottles' but the blacks were content with what they had and 'It was a happy cemetery.' Once Jem and Scout are seen with Calpurnia they are treated with immense respect and the blacks are extremely hospitable towards the two white children amongst several blacks.
'When they saw Jem and me with Calpurnia, the men stepped back and took off their hats; the women crossed their arms at their waists, :
They parted and made a small pathway to the church door for us'
Despite all the prejudice from the whites against the blacks, Jem and Scout are subjected to prejudice towards them when they are confronted in the church by Lula May. She is a minority of the blacks that are prejudiced towards the whites but what she says is quite understandable because the blacks hardly retaliate to the whites and instead accept this racial prejudice. For generations black people had to treat white people as a higher class than themselves and so Lula had every right to be annoyed at Calpurnia.
'I wants to know why you bringin' white chillun to nigger church.'
However the children are never tormented in the presence of the blacks and needed not to fear, as the majority of the black people were happy to invite the children.
'Mister Jem, he said, we're mighty glad to have you all here. Don't pay no 'tention to Lula, she's contentious because Reverend Sykes threatened to church her.'
Zeebo even regards Jem as 'Mister Jem', which shows his upright character and 'a solid mass of coloured people' had protected the children from any harm from Lula, telling us that most of the black people didn't have the same view as Lula and accepted prejudice from the whites.
The fact that the church was poorly decorated and 'Along its walls unlighted kerosene lamps hung on brass brackets' and that 'There was no sign of piano, organ, hymn-books' was never thought of twice by the blacks. There were no complaints that the whites had put them in this poverty and the blacks always remained content with what little they were provided with. The point where the black community must collect 'ten dollars' for Tom Robinson's wife also enhances this poverty.
'Slowly, painfully, the ten dollars was collected'.
However this does show that the black community ...
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The fact that the church was poorly decorated and 'Along its walls unlighted kerosene lamps hung on brass brackets' and that 'There was no sign of piano, organ, hymn-books' was never thought of twice by the blacks. There were no complaints that the whites had put them in this poverty and the blacks always remained content with what little they were provided with. The point where the black community must collect 'ten dollars' for Tom Robinson's wife also enhances this poverty.
'Slowly, painfully, the ten dollars was collected'.
However this does show that the black community is very considerate towards others and portray a very close-knit community.
The Blacks are hardly given any land on which to live on and their houses are situated past the Ewell's dump, which again shows how unkindly they are treated.
There aren't many jobs for the blacks, apart from being servants, as of the prejudice against them. Zeebo - Calpurnia's son is a garbage collector and this is seen by the blacks as a job of high status as none of the blacks would be likely to get a job of a higher position. The 'Ewells had been the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations.' and the blacks were regarded as 'lower' than the lowest class of whites, which shows how inferior they were regarded to the whites. The life of Tom Robinson's wife is extremely difficult as she can't get a job as no-one will employ or trust her.
'Helen's finding it hard to get work these days...when it's picking time, I don't think Mr Link Deas'll take her.'
Even though she hasn't caused any harm to anyone, nobody will employ her because of her husband's case. Scout is able to see that the court case is against the Ewells who are the lowest class of the whites and are regarded as 'absolute trash' so she thinks that Helen shouldn't find it hard to be employed. This is true but Scout being so innocent later understands that the word of the Ewells whom are white people is more likely trusted than that of a black man's.
'Well, if everybody in Maycomb knows what kind of folks the Ewell's are they'd be glad to hire Helen...'
In the church, when the black people sing hymns they are not provided with hymnbooks as most of the black community is not educated. So, Zeebo, who was taught to read by Calpurnia, is made to read out each sentence of the hymn while the rest of the black people recite it after him.
'Line for line, voices followed in simple harmony until the hymn ended in a melancholy murmur.'
This shows how the black people lead simple but difficult lives in anything they do. Each day would be an obstacle for them as they are so uneducated and this is only because they are black that they can't get jobs and so are uneducated.
The Negroes in Maycomb are always regarded with anything 'dirty' as the Maycomb jail 'gave the town a good solid respectable look, and no stranger would ever suspect that it was full of niggers.'
Prejudice towards the blacks has also merely affected Scout and Jem as when Calpurnia is informing the rest of the neighbourhood about the 'mad dog' she runs up the front steps of the Radley house and bangs on the door, which is automatically noticed by Scout.
'She's supposed to go around in back.'
This prejudice is almost second nature to them. However throughout the novel, Atticus never encourages this prejudice towards the blacks, but instead teaches Jem and Scout that they are just as equal. Scout first learnt this when she is taught the value of Calpurnia.
'We couldn't operate a single day without Cal, have you ever thought of that? You think about how much Cal does for you, and you mind her, you hear?
Dolphus Raymond is considered to be a type of oddball in Maycomb, because he is a white man yet prefers to live with the Negroes. In town, he has a reputation for being a drunkard, but he tells Jem, Dill and Scout that he pretends; to provide an excuse for the whites in town for his staying with the Negroes. Actually, he is a very sensitive man who loathes the society which makes blacks and whites live separately and hates the "hell white people give coloured folks, without even stopping to think that they're people, too".
'It ain't honest but it's mighty helpful to folks. Secretly, Miss Finch, I'm not much of a drinker, but you see they could never, never understand that I live like I do because that's the way I want to live.'
This shows that the blacks are in complete isolation as they are criticised, judged and looked down upon by the majority of Maycomb and is so far-fetched that it brought Dolphus Raymond to live his life as a disguise in front of the white community.
Here Scout brings out that 'Atticus says cheatin' a coloured man is ten times worse than cheatin' a white man.' and this is translated from an evident point that relates to the lives and difficulties of the Blacks. This is when Atticus is explaining what the children should use their new air-rifles for.
'Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.'
Having said this, Miss Maudie agrees, explaining further that, 'Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy.'
It seems that only a minority of people such as Atticus and Miss Maudie understand that the blacks do nothing to harm anyone and so are regarded as the 'Mockingbird'. While the whites are regarded as the 'bluejays'; the point that the word 'bluejays' is plural tell us that there is always a majority of 'bluejays' together and the 'mockingbird' is seen as a singular word and are seen as the minority.
It is easy to see that the "Mockingbird" in this story is Tom Robinson- a harmless man who becomes a victim of racial prejudice. Like the Mockingbird, Tom has never done wrong to anyone. Tom Robinson is the subject of racial prejudice and portrays the difficulties of the lives of the blacks, as they have no chance of winning the court case, only because of the colour of his skin. Every person in Maycomb knew that Atticus would never win Tom Robinson's case.
' You've got everything to lose from this Atticus. I mean everything.'
Before the trial, Maycomb town was informed that 'the court appointed him to defend this nigger' and because of the hate, which was felt towards black people by the majority of the Maycomb citizens, Atticus, Jem and Scout drew attention to themselves. This caused the majority of the Maycomb citizens to bother and harass them as they were attempting to befriend the black people.
'Yeah, but Atticus aims to defend him. That's what I don't like about it.'
The extent of this prejudice towards the blacks is shown when Scout receives comments from the children at her school like Cecil Jacobs.
'Cecil Jacobs made me forget. He had announced in the school yard the day before that Scout Finch's daddy defended niggers.'
Cecil Jacobs is a perfect example of the younger generation of Maycomb that had already been brainwashed by their parents to be prejudiced against black people. This makes the lives of the blacks more difficult as this prejudice is being passed down onto generations so they can never avoid it.
' My folks said your daddy was a disgrace an' that nigger oughta hang from the water-tank!'
Jem's view on the extent of prejudice towards the blacks is a contrast to that of Cecil Jacobs as he has already been taught by Atticus that black people are just as equal.
'but around here once you have a drop of Negro blood, that makes you all black.'
Since the day Atticus accepted Tom Robinson's case, rumours spread around the town of Maycomb of his defending a Negro and Harper Lee shows the reader how the majority of Maycomb despise and spurn Negroes, referring to them as 'niggers'. Harper Lee shows how these rumours enhance the racial prejudice towards the blacks and at the time around the court case, this racial prejudice grows stronger, as many people continue to torment and harass Atticus.
Mrs Dubose, a morphine addict, one of the many prejudiced citizens in Maycomb, comments on Atticus defending a Negro.
'Not only a Finch waiting on tables but one in the courthouse lawing for niggers!'
By portraying this sense of evil in white people, Harper Lee displays this difficulty of the lives of the blacks as they face each day tolerating torment and hatred towards them. The Blacks are subjected to this hatred for only one reason and that is because of the colour of their skin.
In Chapter 15, racial prejudice consumes the mob that arrives at the jail with the intention of executing Tom Robinson.
'In Maycomb, grown men stood outside in the front for only two reasons
: death and politics'
The theme prejudice is shown quite clearly in chapters 17 to 21 during the trial of Tom Robinson and racial prejudice is most obvious. Tom being the 'Mocking bird' has brought no harm to Mayella Ewell (a person of lowest white class) whom has accused Tom of raping her. Tom's trial brings out the 'evil assumption' amongst Maycomb's Whites that he desired Mayella Ewell and raped her. The jury's prejudices ensure that Tom is found guilty despite the overwhelming evidence that he is innocent.
Firstly, there is a contrast between Bob and Mayella Ewell's reputation and Tom Robinson's reputation. The Ewells are known to be dishonest and not trustworthy. They had no decent job and are like a group of 'trouble-makers' to Maycomb. From their background, we know that they are uncivilised and a disgrace to the society.
'The Ewells had been the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations
Even the younger generations have a reputation of being lazy and uneducated.
'They come first day every year and then leave.'
Tom Robinson has a better background than the Ewells. He is presented as god-fearing because he is religious and committed to God as he is a member of the church.
'You all know of Brother Tom Robinson's trouble. He has been a faithful member of First Purchase since he was a boy.'
According to Calpurnia, the Robinsons are 'clean living folks'
Knowing this, the Juries and the people in the court chose to believe Bob Ewell's testimony rather than Tom Robinson's because of the skin colour. It is like the prejudice between the bluejays and the mockingbirds. Although Atticus provides the jury and the people of Maycomb with overwhelming evidence benefiting Tom throughout the trial, and proving him innocent, this is still not enough to overcome the powers of hate and racism.
From the sitting arrangement of the people in the court, we can also see the extent of racial prejudice in Maycomb.
The whites were separated from the blacks, with the blacks above them on the balcony. From where the whites were sitting, they could get a better view of the trial. They were given a 'better' seat than the blacks because the whites in Maycomb were considered more superior to the blacks. They were expected to have better treatment than the blacks. The extent of this prejudice is shown, as the whites did not even want to have the blacks seated around them. There is always a sense of separation between the two races.
As the court case continues Scout and Jem watch Tom Robinson tolerate unfair treatment and false accusations. A sharp contrast, which shows the attitude of the whites towards the blacks and vice versa is the way Mr. Gilmer, always refers to Tom as 'boy' and the difference of how Tom Robinson addresses everyone with respect when he speaks to them. He constantly addresses Atticus as "suh" and when he refers to Mayella he calls her "Miss Mayella". However Tom always tolerates the false accusations made against him from Bob Ewell and accepts Mr. Gilmer calling him 'boy'. This brings out his humble and well-meaning character.
'-I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin' on my Mayella!'
Tom was said to have 'felt sorry for her, she seemed to try more 'n the rest of 'em'. In this quotation he was referring to Mayella Ewell who was his accuser. This quotation says very much about Tom Robinson as it shows tolerance and acceptance. Tom never retaliated in a defensive way but instead openly admitted that he 'felt sorry for her' and this was seen as a desire for her by the whites. An example of the evidence that '...she tried more n' the rest of 'em' are the flowers that Mayella plants and keeps. The one crime that Tom was guilty for was, for helping Mayella Ewell, which came from his heart. If anyone should be sorry it should have been Mayella because Tom Robinson was a poor black man who had the use of only one arm (his right) and led a difficult life due to the fact that he was black and so was separated from whites.
Throughout the court case Atticus provides the jury (for long enough) evidence, which clearly proved Tom Robinson's innocence. There are three main points of evidence that clearly show his innocence.
When Atticus questions Heck Tate about the bruises on Mayella's face he explains that Mayella's 'arms were bruised, and she showed me her neck. There were definite finger marks on her gullet -"
Later Atticus mentions that Tom Robinson could not use his left arm. However, Mayella's neck is bruised all around. Scout, Jem, the Jury and the Judge and the whole courtroom see that Tom's left hand is of no use to him.
'His left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side. It ended in a small shrivelled hand, and from as far away as the balcony I could see that it was of no use to him.'
When Atticus questions Bob Ewell about Mayella's conditions we learns that Bob Ewell 'had never called a doctor to any of his 'n in his life, and if he had it would have cost him five dollars.' : From this statement, we can tell that Bob Ewell thought more of his money than his concern for his children, so there might be a possibility that he was the one who had beaten Mayella up.
: Since Tom Robinson could not use his left arm and Mayella's injuries were mostly on her right, we can clearly see that Tom Robinson was innocent. Bob Ewell was left-handed and so is more likely to have caused Mayella's injuries.
' You're left-handed, Mr Ewell.'
Once this evidence was made clear to the Jury and the Judge, the Jury finally found Tom Robinson guilty. This obscure choice was made because the Jury felt that if they took the word of a black man over two whites it would affect their manner of separation between the blacks and whites. Tom is only guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The children noticed this unethical decision made by the Jury. The reactions of the children are extremely understandable and Dil, Jem and Scout and other children and people who believe the Jury's decision was immoral provide hope for the future.
Later Scout mentions that 'All the little man on the witness stand had that made him any better than his nearest neighbours was, that if scrubbed with lye soap in very hot water, his skin was white.'
This quote is very important as it shows that Bob Ewell always had an advantage because under his layer of dirt, he is still white, who is accepted by the majority of the white community.
Harper Lee does give the blacks hope for the future and there are many key points, which show this. The children find that Tom Robinson was subjected to unfair accusations and this is evident in the middle of the court case when Dil is taken outside as he is crying.
'I don't care one speck. It ain't right, somehow it ain't right to do 'em that way. Hasn't anybody got any business talkin' like that - it just makes me sick.'
Also Dill doesn't ever refer the blacks as 'niggers' which suggests that he accepts blacks as ordinary people, like a white people.
After the court case 'It was Jem's turn to cry' and 'His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd.'
Hope for the future is also seen through people who care, such as Miss Maudie, Link Deas and Atticus. Link Deas gives his support to Tom as he voiced his opinion in the courtroom.
'I just want the whole lot of you to know one thing right now. That boy's worked for me eight years an' I ain't had a speck o'trouble outa him. Not a speck.'
More evidence to show hope for the future is the amount of time Atticus kept the Jury out for. If Atticus hadn't made a speech so powerful and effective, telling the Jury that they everyone knew who would win because the 'case was as simple as black and white.' The court case would have been ended shortly.
'If we'd had two of that crowd, we'd've had a hung jury.'
Even Miss Maudie explains this to the children.
'Atticus Finch won't win, he can't win, but he's the only man in these parts who can keep a jury out so long in a case like that.'
Despite the fact that Tom Robinson lost the case, Atticus is hardly upset, as he knew that this would be the result. The children were confused about Atticus' reaction but Miss Maudie soon explains it.
'...we're making a step - it's just a baby-step, but it's a step.'
'Baby steps' like this provide a definite hope for the future and the children realise the cruelty the blacks are subjected to.
Finally Harper Lee uses Atticus' simple saying which helps Scout to understand prejudice. From this statement it is saying that if every parent was like Atticus and taught their children the cruelty of prejudice against the blacks then prejudice can be rid of. Atticus explains that by standing in someone else's shoes, you learn to see things from their point of view and as a result you will understand and tolerate them, and no longer be prejudiced against them.
'You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view:-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.'
