To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel written by Harper Lee, is primarily considered to be addressing racial prejudices of the 1930’s. Moreover, the book explores social issues such as conservatism and prejudices that characterized the remote towns of America during that period (Johnson 2008). To Kill, a Mockingbird is popularly known for its humor and warmth despite dealing with serious issues like racial discrimination and rape. The novel focuses on the instinct of right or wrong, well displayed by the narrator’s father, Atticus Finch who served a moral hero for many as a model for integrity for lawyers due to his morality rather than his physical capabilities. The narrative mixes the simplicity of childhood observation with an adult situation which is further complicated by hidden motivations and unquestioned tradition. This element of the style called tactile brilliance allows Lee to tell a delightfully deceptive story. The primary themes of To Kill a Mockingbird are a destruction of innocence and racial injustice, written when America was in the midst of a depression and the state of moral development and social inequality was gradually being overcome (Lee 2016). In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, racism in addition to other types of discrimination is heavily shown throughout the book.
Racial Discrimination
To Kill a Mockingbird is considerably focused on the courage of a white family to stand for what the rest of the community consider to be outside the social norm based on their individual belief in what they believe to be right and humane. The novel is written at a time when African-Americans were thought to be immoral, and whites could employ and exploit them, but no personal relationships could occur between the whites and blacks. Racism is the major driving force in almost all the negative events in the story where people are so quick to judge others by the color of your skin. Atticus, however, display an upright, solidly moral response for his reaction to the events happening, qualities that make Scout, Atticus’s daughter, look up to him. Moreover, Atticus is seen to encourage his children to get along with all folks, telling them to remember to judge people by their intentions rather than their actions and to put themselves in other people’s shoes to understand their behavior and character best (Mancini 2008). The entire town turns against Atticus’s family, and his children bullied because he defended a black man accused of attacking a white woman.
Atticus, Tom’s lawyer, fails to understand why there is a great force of hatred when anything that involves an African American comes up. According to him, good always prevail over evil, and he struggles to overcome racism with the hope that one-day racial equality will exist. Despite having powerful evidence for his client, race becomes the defining factor in the jury’s decision and Atticus loses the trial. Racism is deeply rooted in the novel with multiple instances explored between the black people and the white people; Mr. Raymond reveals that he pretends to be an alcoholic in the town of Maycomb to avoid questions and judgment for marrying a black woman (Davidson 2015). The reason Atticus understands why the people in Maycomb have held on to racism is because he looks at things objectively, which has enabled him to stand against the racist nature of most whites. This is the lesson that the author runs throughout the novel, the ability to view things or situations from the perspective of others instead of just reasoning with personal judgment. Unfortunately, only a few open-minded people in the novel can recognize racism as evil and try to fight against it, and the town remains deeply rooted in racism.
From the beginning of the story, the black community introduced through Cal who is a servant like many black Americans within the white society. This already shows the position of the African Americans as a servant and inferior to the whites facing discrimination due to the color of their skin (Mancini 2008). Moreover, as we move deeper into the novel, Tom, an innocent black man is convicted as a rapist just because of the color of his skin and the general mentality among the whites that black people are always guilty. However, the blacks are also human beings, innocent and law abiding. In fact, they help in the white community who exploits them and treat them badly. Despite being victims of their race, the African Americans embrace and respect those who respect them in return as seen when they stand in gratitude for Atticus for defending Tom and respecting the black community.
The novel was written during a period when racism was the primary determinant of the interactions between the whites and the black, where the whites were considered the dominant and black as slaves. The Black find themselves a target of racial antagonism, with Tom being the best example convicted based purely on his race which leads to his death. However, there are few free minded individuals who have stood against racism and treated everyone equally regardless of their skin color. Moreover, at the end of the novel, racism drops down among the whites; Atticus is happy even after having lost the trial because the jury, comprised of all white judges took the time to decide the case of a black man, something that before that would have taken few seconds to decide. This gives the reader hope for a better tomorrow of a society free from racism.
Apart from the theme of racism, the novel lives up to its title with some of the characters in the story who are innocent in real life being judged negatively by a community that is depicted to be narrow-minded and conservative. This was seen where two individuals, Tom and Boo are discriminated in the novel by the community based on their race and lifestyle respectively despite their innocent nature (Johnson 2008). Tom is convicted for a crime he did not commit by a racist jury who believe black people are criminals and always guilty and specifically, the black males are sexual assaulters. On the other hand, Boo is judged from the way he lives, mysteriously and have therefore been accused of having sinister intentions but at the end of the novel, he turns out to be innocent, in addition to saving the lives of Scout and Jem from being murdered by Ewell.
On a wider perspective of the novel, the two characters, Tom and Boo compliment the title of the book, as the mockingbirds are known to mimic the sound they hear, they have no voice of their own (Mancini 2008). Furthermore, the birds are considered good in the community for their entertainment. In the same way, Too has no voice of his own and suffers death which is decided by those with a voice in the community, this is symbolized as killing of the mockingbird; Boo becomes the hero at the end of the novel by saving the lives of two children which signifies the positive outcome of the mockingbird. The title of the book is communicating that the narrow-mindedness of the society has impacted to the killing of the mockingbird, which is a noisy but innocent creature.
Gender Discrimination
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, gender prejudice and the role of women in Maycomb, Alabama plays a significant role throughout the text. It begins with the realization that Scout had lost her mother at a very early stage which is not a limitation in Scout’s life as she does not complain about her lack of femininity. However as a girl Scout is expected to wear dresses and behave like a lady, something she is not comfortable doing and that earns her a negative attention in the town (Davidson 2015). As a woman, Scout is expected to behave in one way regardless of her personal desires; her Aunt Alexandra is convinced that it is best for her to have some feminine influence and that was the main reason she moved in with the family. In Alabama, women are not yet allowed to sit on juries despite the fact that women won the right to vote in the 1920’s, but until 1930, women still have no say in important issues in this town (Lee 2016). Moreover, gender inequality is present in the town as women are not allowed to work and are often being treated harshly in the novel.
Women were considered second class citizens and not expected to work and earn money as they would be stealing jobs from men who were the breadwinners of the family and those women who got jobs were lowly paid with little respect from the community. Their only expectation from the community was to get married and have children (Hartley, Mary, and Tony Buzan 2002). Moreover, women and girls during the Depression were subjected to unfair expectations which limited their freedom to be who they wanted to become, as it was the case with Scout. This represents oppression the woman faced in a rigid society and the struggle they went through in that period. Critics of To Kill a Mockingbird argues that Lee does not pay attention to how women are treated in the novel, in fact, she appears to reinforce the attitude of the time. Moreover, through scenes like the discussion between Atticus and Scout about women being allowed to join the jury and how Mayella Ewell was portrayed, the author suggests that women are not capable of serving a jury and that there are two classes of women; the respectable whites and the white trash. This shows how far gender discrimination is rooted in Maycomb.
Social Class Discrimination
There are different social classes in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird which is based on the color of the skin and the occupation. There were various social classes even within the white people; there was the highest social class of the whites with decent jobs in the community, the middle-class whites and the poor yet respectable whites. This was followed by the wealthy or middle-class black people, and the lowest social class was the poor black people (Hartley, Mary, and Tony Buzan 2002). For instance, the Atticus family is part of the highest social class as Atticus is a lawyer, a highly respected occupation in the community; also, he is a white which was sometimes a critical factor that determined what social class you belonged to. On the other hand, Lula, a black American represents the lowest social class as she is poor, and is seen as a disgrace to the black community.
For the white community, there was a rigid and time-honored rule for those whites in the highest social class to treat the white people with lesser status kindly. But for the majority of the black people, they have accepted their status in the community and have embraced their social conditions. The black people have accepted not getting the education, always having the worst of things and the fact that they don’t get credit for their work. Also, the use of Too and Boo by the author shows the impacts of the social prejudices on innocent members of the community. Despite their tolerance and avoiding complaints, the black people are still poorly treated by the white people. The fact that the white people are unwilling to treat the black people equally has further contributed to the way the social classes are divided. The author uses the main character’s family as a symbol of change in a community enslaved by social prejudices with deep rooted racism and conservatism (Davidson 2015). Through Atticus, Scout and Jem there it is possible to focus on the good qualities of people and understand their bad qualities by seeing the world through their viewpoint and treating them with sympathy and understanding regardless of the social class the individual exists.
Conclusion
All these ideas in the novel are explored and narrated by a young girl, Scout through which the reader can see all the events that occur throughout the book. The message that the author tries to send the story is to stop knocking down those people who do not have a voice of their own in the society. Moreover, the book advocates and promotes equality for all humanity regardless of race, gender and social class. Although there have been many controversies surrounding To Kill a Mockingbird, the novel remains vibrant dealing with themes about racism amongst other prejudices that exist in society. Also, it brings to the attention of the readers the injustices in the race, gender, and class and calls out to the readers to embrace change that will be of benefit to everyone in a community and to pursue equality and justice across all races.
Tom’s death is an insult to humanity and a defeat of justice, by letting Tom die, the sin of killing the mockingbird is committed as he is an innocent man who is a product of racial discrimination. This is one of the two primary themes in the novel. The second theme is another man’s shoes as advocated by Atticus; according to him, you will never understand the behavior of a man until you stand in his shoes and view the world from his perspective. This theme is illustrated through Boo, a mysterious man, surrounded by town rumors of being a monster, prejudice against an innocent man as it is revealed at the end of the novel when he saves the lives of Jem and Scout from Ewell.
To Kill a Mockingbird is narrated through of a young girl in the book; initially, Scout is prejudiced by the town people due to her gender, and she turns to fighting to defend herself. However, as the scenes develop such as how she disperses the mob outside the jail by talking to them and finally understanding Boo’s life from his point of view, the narrator matures to become a rational and wiser character. Moreover, Scout’s father teaches the two children on the importance of getting along with all folks regardless of their race, gender or class. Scout’s progress is a clear indication that beliefs and views are ultimately passed by parents to their children, therefore, with the right upbringing, the children can change and overcome the prejudices in the society. Moreover, it was the author’s way to show that people can break away from prejudices and embrace each other; if a child like Scout living in such times when racism and discrimination are deeply rooted in a community can overcome these vices and treat everyone equally, then it is possible for every individual living in today’s society to change, and accept each other even with our differences.