“ Negroes worshiped in it on Sundays and white men gambled in it on weekdays”.
In "To Kill A Mockingbird" there are examples of segregation. Maycomb is divided with white people living on one side and the black people behind the rubbish dump. Although living in the worst part of town, their living culture is viewed favourably. Their horses, poor and simple, but well kept with the atmosphere described as warm and friendly. Their church is clean, neat and decorated, wit the cemetery being described by Scout as a “happy” place. All this is written by Harper Lee to favour the blacks above the white people and their way of life, to make the injustice suffered all the more unfair.
The injustice is also portrayed by the lack of opportunities for black people in the town of Maycomb. All black people, regardless, are deprived of educational opportunities, their job prospects limited and the wages, for the menial jobs the do acquire, wretched and pitiful. Zeebo is considered to have a brilliant job for a black man, respected for this throughout his community, and he is a garbage collector. However this injustice I not just necessarily towards the blacks, Maycomb is divided into clearly defined social groups, Jem has discovered this when he states in chapter 23 that there are “four kinds of folk in the world”, he then goes on to explain that these are the Finches and their neighbours, viewed within Maycomb as white middle class, the Cunninghams, who represent the badly hit farming community, the Ewells, the lowest class of whites and the blacks who are automatically seen as the bottom of the Maycomb society. There are instances of injustice within each of these four groups occurring throughout the novel. For example Atticus Finch, considered as the highest status group is treated unjustly when he stands to defend Tom Robinson, the black man accused of rape. People who have admired and respected him in the past become rude and discourteous making offensive remarks and viewing him as an embarrassment to the white middle class.
Another example of the injustice is when Aunt Alexander will not let Scout bring Walter Cunningham home due to their lowly status, it seems unfair and unjust that Scout cannot bring a friend home just because he comes from a poorer family than she does.
Much of the injustice is flared from the people of Maycomb viewing people as belonging to the groups rather than each person as an individual. For example Aunt Alexander, unlike Atticus, does not see Calpurnia as a person but only as part of the black group. This point is made throughout the novel.
In the book", there is not just racial injustice, there is also a prejudice against people who are different. We see many examples in "To Kill A Mockingbird".
Although the main themes of the novels are concerning adults who are unjust to each other, Scout and Jem also behave with unjust behaviour towards their neighbour, Boo Radley. They are fascinated by this man, and intrigued by the mystery that surrounds him. Their behaviour and prejudice towards him stems from rumours created by people who do not know the truth and being suspicious of the unknown. Scout believes that
“Any stealth small crimes committed in Maycomb were his work.”
Aunt Alexandra was a very prejudice person, racially and towards people who were different. She is very proud to be a Finch and wants the Finch family to be a high class and looked up to family. She shows great disapproval when Atticus defends Tom Robinson.
“She won’t let him alone about Tom Robinson. She almost said Atticus was disgracin` the family.”
Another great example of injustice against people who are different is Miss Stephanie Crawford. As the town gossip, she lives on spreading rumors about people who are different. An example of this is the instance where she had told Jem about Boo Radley.
“Boo was sitting in the living-room cutting some items from The Maycomb Tribune to paste in his scrap book. His father entered the room. As Mr. Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his parent’s leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants, and resumed his activities.”
This was one of the many stories that was made up by Miss Stephanie just because Boo Radley was different.
Maycomb was a very prejudiced town, perhaps because of the way they were behind the times.
In “Silas Marner”, although there is no racial prejudice there are many other injustices in the book. The injustices are against others who are ‘different’. Silas Marner is a character, withdrawn from the outside world as a result of unfortunate circumstances and events. This reaction caused judgement and disapproval from his surrounding community resulting in many incidents of injustice and discrimination towards his character.
“So had his way of life….and he never strolled in to the village to drink a pint at the Rainbow.”
Within the community of Raveloe the majority of the people strolled to the village for a drink, as this quote signifies Silas Marner did not do this, and because of this was viewed as different.
In Raveloe, people were suspicious because they didn’t know where he came from. He did not socialize and he was a hard worker. We also come across the instance where some children kept coming up to Silas’ house and peeping in the window. When Silas Marner looked at them they would run away.
“he liked their intrusion so ill that he would fix on them a gaze that was always enough to make them take to their legs in terror”.
The children did this because Marner was different.
Throughout the book Silas had some fits. This was probably the main reason people though he was different. One instance was when Jem Rodney found Silas Marner having one of his fits.
“He saw that Marner’s eyes were set like a dead mans”.
In Lantern Yard, they thought his soul had left his body,
“But there might be such a thing as a man’s soul being loose from his body, and going out and in, like a bird out of its nest and back”.
Silas worked long and hard sitting at his loom. This may have been the cause of his appearance, his hunched back and pale eyes.
“A pallid young man with prominent, short sighted brown eyes”.
Another example of injustice within "Silas Marner" is the way the community he lives in, judge him. When a cobbler’s wife Sally Oates shows the symptoms of heart disease he offers her a remedy of foxglove remembering how this helped his mother.
“Recalling the relief his mother had found from a simple prescription of foxglove”.
When this cures her, there becomes a strong belief among everyone in the village that he has some sort of connection with the devil because of his healing powers. Again this shows great injustice within the novel as Silas is attempting to do a good thing and trying sincerely to help someone and this is rewarded by suspicion and apprehension from his fellow villagers.
The lack of communication is shown by his lack of speech throughout the novel, his silence is extended through fifteen years and only broken when he is robbed of his gold.
"To Kill A Mockingbird’s” main case of injustice is the Tom Robinson trial. Tom Robinson felt sorry for Mayella, her father was ignorant and foul mouthed. Tom Robinson often helped Mayella out by doing odd jobs for her. He treated her decently which Mayella is not used to. She is lonely and desperate for attention. When she invites Tom into the house after she has sent her brothers and sisters away, she makes sexual advances to him. Tom is shocked and afraid, and so runs away. Bob Ewell saw what happened and beat his daughter. He then accuses Tom of beating and raping his daughter to ‘discard’ the evidence that his own daughter was low enough to kiss a black man. Tom is found guilty at the trial and is sentenced to death. The jury know that this crime could not have taken place and the Bob Ewell is lieing, but despite this, it does not come into honesty – it comes into class. Although the Ewells are the “white trash” of the community, they are still rated above black people. It is unjust that Tom was found guilty despite the fact it was obvious he wasn’t.
The first injustice we encounter in "Silas Marner" is when Silas is accused of stealing the church’s money.
“The lots declared that Silas Marner was guilty”.
He was solemnly suspended from church membership. He moved away from Lantern Yard to Raveloe. He worked very hard and treasured his gold. He lost faith in God and did not attend church. He did not mix with people.
“He invited no comer to step across his door-sill”.
The second instance of injustice in Silas Marner is when he was robbed.
“Robbed! I have been robbed!”
Silas worked all day, every day and he bought very little. Due to this, his money ‘piled’ up and he loved it very much.
When Silas left his door unlocked, Dunsey Cass intrudes and steals his money. Dunsey, brother to Godfrey, is having serious money problems and cannot believe his luck as he finds Silas’ ‘mountain’ of hard-earned money.
The way Silas reacts when he fins his money gone shows the depth of his feeling of despair, not believing someone could actually steal from him, instead believing a mysterious power had taken everything way from him.
“Was it a thief who had taken the bags? Or was it a cruel power that no hands could reach, which had delighted in making him a second time desolate?”
His reaction towards this injustice is as if he has lost a friend or relative.
The third major injustice in Silas Marner concerned Godfrey Cass. Godfrey Cass is higher class than Silas and is the son of the squire. He is secretly married with a child. He tells no one this and keeps his current wife quiet by giving her money which she just spends on drink and opium. His wife dies one night in the snow leaving her daughter to wander into Silas’ home. Silas at first thinks he sees his money again, but as he looks again it is actually the golden hair of the girl. He goes to the Christmas party where everybody except him is. He asks for a doctor and claims that he has a right to keep the girl. Godfrey sees this as an opportunity to get rid of the past and so rejects the girl, knowing it is his daughter.
There are examples of justice also in the two novels; with every injustice, there is a justice to follow.
"To Kill A Mockingbird’s" main case of injustice is the Tom Robinson trial. The injustice was that he was put on trial even though there was no chance that he was guilty. The justice was he had a great lawyer defending him, one that believed in racial equality so he would do his best to fight for him. Although Atticus tried his best, he was still found guilty and died as a result of trying to escape. At the end of "To Kill A Mockingbird", Bob Ewell attacks Scout and Jem as they were walking home, but is saved by Boo Radley who kills Bob Ewell. This is natural justice; Bob Ewell killed an innocent man and so he died as well. It also showed that Boo Radley was not the monster the people of Maycomb made him out to be, but a warm kind hearted man.
In Silas Marner there are also justices. After Dunsey Cass steals the money, he falls down the stone pit to his death. The body is recovered along with Silas’ money when the pit is drained.
With the unjust accusation of having stolen ‘treasure’, Silas later amasses ‘treasure’ which is later stolen from him. The child comes in place of the treasure and he stops being alone. Later the treasure is found but it has a different value to him and can be used for the child.
Silas’ religion returns, this new belief is based upon Silas’ love for his friends.
On finding Eppie, Silas ends his penance as Godfrey is beginning his. Silas rejects his fellow men and is solitary for fifteen years. Godfrey rejects his own child and is childless for fifteen years. Both men suffer, Silas recovers, Godfrey does not.
Godfrey tried to get Eppie back because his new wife could not have children and they both agreed to try and get Eppie to come and live with them. When they asked Eppie, Silas said it was entirely her decision. Eppie rejected her birth-father like he rejected her, although they were the rich, high-class family, she would still prefer to live with the kind father she grew up with. This shows justice because Godfrey rejected Eppie and now Eppie rejected Godfrey.
Silas Marner is the true victim of prejudice. Expelled from one community because of a false accusation of theft, and finding himself a stranger in the community in which he goes to live. He first becomes a miser then I robbed of his gold but the ‘blessed’ with a needy child in its place. Eventually through her he is emotionally healed and finally accepted into the community. As in "To Kill A Mockingbird", the ending is happy with justice being done.
Both novels are ‘moral’ stories and both portray a great injustice, but the justices outweigh them although in “To Kill A Mockingbird”, a man loses his life.
