Racial prejudice is clear in the case of Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping a young girl. Atticus believes, correctly, that he is innocent and makes the decision to defend him in court. Atticus encounters a lot of abuse for this decision and his children, Scout and Jem get teased and made fun of in school. However he decides to stick beside Tom even though he knew he had no chance because the white jury would never believe his story but his conscience would not let him do otherwise and he risks his reputation. One day scout hears in school that, “her daddy defends niggers” and is upset by this. When she asks her father he encourages her to walk around in someone’s skin before making judgments about people. He tells her not to be influenced by what other people say, and to stick to what she believes. Inevitably, Tom Robinson is not given a fair trial in court and even though all the evidence clearly points to his innocence- he is sentenced to death despite Atticus closing statement:
“All men are not created equal. One individual may be faster than another;
Some people are more gifted beyond the scope of most men. But in one arena this country presumes that all men are created equal: in their rights before a court of law.”
This is a clear example of racial prejudice. Even thought Tom Robison was a kind warm hearted man who could not be capable of doing such a thing- he was still found guilty. Even though all evidence suggested that he could not have committed the crime- he was found guilty by an all white jury who saw him as being , “ black trash”
After the verdict that Atticus himself had predicted- there was nothing more that he could do, he had tried his best to prove an innocent man not guilty. In the end Tom Robinson is shot after trying to escape from prison. This show that when a black mans word went against a white mans word, the white man, regardless of his background or character, would always be victorious
Another way that prejudice is conveyed is with Arthur (Boo) Radley. All the children fear him and even the adults are anxious. It shows us the freer of the unknown. The Radley house is described as being old and dark with:
“Rain rotted shingles drooped over the eves of the veranda”
The Radleys are shown to be different from everyone else because they liked to, “keep to themselves” He is seen as being a bad man and children make up stories of him stabbing his father when he was younger.
As time passes the truth about Boo comes out: he emerges as a hero when he saves Jem and Scouts life. Jem and Scout are attacked by Bob Ewell on Halloween night and when Boo sees this he rushes to help the children and ends up stabbing Bob in order to save the children. Jem’ arm is badly broken but other than that they are unharmed. This proves that judging him to be a bad person before knowing who he really was, was the wrong thing to do. Just because Arthur Radley was not like everyone else in Macomb, did not make him a bad person. He is not taken to court and charged for murder because according to Heck Tate, dragging shy Arthur into a trial would be:
“ As sinful as killing a mockingbird”
Instead a report would read that he had fallen on his own knife.
Boo Radley hardly ever left his home but when the children he had watched so frequently from his window, needed him, he came:
“ Thank you for my children Arthur” Atticus said when boo carried the children home.
In to kill a mockingbird Harper Lee uses the characters of Tom Robinson and Arthur Radley to represent mockingbirds. They are also examples of the prejudice that exists in the small town of Macomb. They are wrongly judged on the way they look or the way in which they behave.
Word Count-1104
