Racism in To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird was published in the 1960s, when the civil rights movement was growing and striving to attain equal rights for African-Americans. During this period, racial segregation and discrimination were commonplace throughout the United States, particularly in the Southern states.

The issue of racial prejudice is primarily introduced into the novel through Lee’s depiction of both black and white characters. It is through the manner in which these characters interact that Lee reveals how human behaviour is motivated by preconceived notions about race. There are several white characters in the novel that are clearly portrayed in a negative light. The Ewells and Aunt Alexandra are examples of characters in the novel who freely express their superiority over the black community, and take it upon themselves to perpetuate the segregation of African-Americans.

Bob Ewell specifically shows prejudice towards the black community when he accuses Tom Robinson of raping his daughter Mayella. Although Tom Robinson did not commit the crime for which he was accused, Bob Ewell incriminated Tom Robinson because Mayella had ‘tempted a Negro’ and in doing so had broken a ‘rigid and time honoured code’. It is important to note, however, that although the Ewells are members of the white community and by default are socially above the black community, they live on a garbage dump and are regarded as white trash.

Aunt Alexandra also expresses her distaste, and Maycomb’s contempt, for the black community in various ways. For instance, Aunt Alexandra refuses to let Atticus’ children visit Calpurnia’s home because it would be inappropriate for white children to interact with the black community in their neighbourhood, let alone their house. According to Aunt Alexandra, black and white people can never be on equal footing and she attempts to impose this view on the Finch family. Although Lee clearly depicts these characters as ‘true’ racists such that everything they do and say is aimed at segregating and degrading the black community, there are different shades of racial discrimination amongst other white inhabitants of Maycomb. For instance, although the editor and printer of Maycomb’s town newspaper, Mr. Underwood clearly despises the black community, he is prepared to protect Atticus from the white mob which attempts to lynch Tom Robinson. In addition, after Tom is killed during his attempt to escape prison, Mr. Underwood writes a compassionate editorial wherein ‘He likened Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children…’.

Mr. Dolphus Raymond’s character is sharply contrasted with the other white characters in the novel through his opposition to racial segregation, which is demonstrated by his living with a black woman and having mixed children. He expresses his contempt for the way in which black people are treated in Maycomb noting ‘the hell white people give coloured folks, without even stopping to think that they’re people, too’.

Lee contrasts these white characters with the black characters in the novel by presenting the black members of Maycomb in a positive light. However, Lee does manage to demonstrate that prejudice on the basis of race does not itself have racial borders. Just as the white community discriminates against the black community, Lula, a black female character, criticizes Calpurnia for bringing white children to their all-black church: ‘You ain’t got no business bringin’ white children here – they got their church, we got ours’. Lula’s reaction to the white children can be viewed as her acceptance of the town’s view that black people should be segregated. In fact, it can be argued that all the main black characters in the novel are depicted as passive creatures who silently assume the roles the white people have delineated for them.

For instance, Tom Robinson is physically presented as a strong, powerful young black man, but when cross-examined by Bob Ewell’s lawyer, he is portrayed as being subservient, scared, frail and timid. Calpurnia’s place in the Finch household is also clearly indicative of race relations during the 1930s. Although Calpurnia performs all the duties and functions of a mother, her role is clearly defined and she is not viewed as an equal member of the Finch family. In casting the characters in this manner, Lee appears to have suppressed the African-American voice and their fight for equality.

Тhe characters in Lee’s novel, both black and white, contribute to the novel’s discourse on racial prejudice by drawing attention to overt examples of racism and attacking various misconceptions and stereotypes about black people.