In the novel 'To Kill A Mockingbird ', Harper Lee presents the prejudicial problems faced in everyday American society in the mid 1930 's, a time where injustice was prominent, especially in the southern states of the USA, which is where this novel is set. The problems create a domino effect and allows the reader(s) to discover how they all fit together to create one large social problem; prejudice.
Underneath the seemingly calm and lackadaisical impression the small town of Maycomb gives off, is a powerful atmosphere of hostility towards the African-American community. The consonance that appears to exist between white and African-American people is disrupted quite often by minor paroxysms of friction and it becomes clear that the peace …show more content…
The "ridgid and time honoured code" of society, as stated by Atticus, was that, while white people were able to employ and utilize African-Americans for their own benefits, white people were discouraged when it came to personal relationships with African-Americans, and there is no acknowledgement that African-Americans share the same emotions as white people. Furthermore, a wicked presumption is made stating that "all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings" and do not have the satisfaction of the supposed 'unprejudiced ' view of the law. The Reverend Sykes also states within the novel that he hasn 't seen the jury "decide in favour of a coloured man over a white man" before. This shows how race can interfere even with the justice system, where everyone is supposedly meant to be equal, in the eyes of the law, however it is clear that this is not always the case in the Southern states of the USA in the mid 1930 's. Atticus states that he cannot comprehend "why responsible people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up," and calls this temptuous attitude "Maycomb 's usual disease", the word "disease" implying something that is deadly and affects people directly. Mr Dolphus Raymond talks about "the …show more content…
In Chapter 12, a Negro woman voices her fierce objection regarding the Finch children when they enter the Negro Chapel with Calpurnia. She goes on to tell Calpurnia that she "ain 't got no business bringin ' white chillun '" to the Negro Chapel. This shows us how Lee presents racism as something that is not merely 'one way ', but is experienced by both African-Americans and white people alike. The agony that the African-Americans must endure soon becomes the cause of retaliation and 'reverse racism ' towards the white-American population. Calpurnia 's loyalties are also questioned as she works as a servant for a white family. This clearly shows the tensions between people of even the same race and how they have begun to question each-others true selves and intentions, which, in effect, can result in the problem of violence, (most likely verbal violence), one of the major problems presented by Lee in the novel, which was faced by many in mid 1930 's American society at the
Underneath the seemingly calm and lackadaisical impression the small town of Maycomb gives off, is a powerful atmosphere of hostility towards the African-American community. The consonance that appears to exist between white and African-American people is disrupted quite often by minor paroxysms of friction and it becomes clear that the peace …show more content…
The "ridgid and time honoured code" of society, as stated by Atticus, was that, while white people were able to employ and utilize African-Americans for their own benefits, white people were discouraged when it came to personal relationships with African-Americans, and there is no acknowledgement that African-Americans share the same emotions as white people. Furthermore, a wicked presumption is made stating that "all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings" and do not have the satisfaction of the supposed 'unprejudiced ' view of the law. The Reverend Sykes also states within the novel that he hasn 't seen the jury "decide in favour of a coloured man over a white man" before. This shows how race can interfere even with the justice system, where everyone is supposedly meant to be equal, in the eyes of the law, however it is clear that this is not always the case in the Southern states of the USA in the mid 1930 's. Atticus states that he cannot comprehend "why responsible people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up," and calls this temptuous attitude "Maycomb 's usual disease", the word "disease" implying something that is deadly and affects people directly. Mr Dolphus Raymond talks about "the …show more content…
In Chapter 12, a Negro woman voices her fierce objection regarding the Finch children when they enter the Negro Chapel with Calpurnia. She goes on to tell Calpurnia that she "ain 't got no business bringin ' white chillun '" to the Negro Chapel. This shows us how Lee presents racism as something that is not merely 'one way ', but is experienced by both African-Americans and white people alike. The agony that the African-Americans must endure soon becomes the cause of retaliation and 'reverse racism ' towards the white-American population. Calpurnia 's loyalties are also questioned as she works as a servant for a white family. This clearly shows the tensions between people of even the same race and how they have begun to question each-others true selves and intentions, which, in effect, can result in the problem of violence, (most likely verbal violence), one of the major problems presented by Lee in the novel, which was faced by many in mid 1930 's American society at the