The Theme of Racism in Harper Lee's "to Kill a Mockingbird"

Rosa Parks once said, "To bring about change you must not be afraid to take the first step. We will fail when we fail to try," Atticus from To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee was not afraid. To Kill A Mocking Bird is a heart-wrenching story that follows a small girl named Scout Finch and her coming of age adventure among the people of Maycomb, a fictional town located in the American south, more specifically Alabama, that has been gripped by the Great Depression. The city, still haunted by its confederate past, is constantly dealing with struggles on the topics of racism and sexism. Scout's father, Atticus, a local attorney, rises above the rest of the town still fighting the Civil War by taking the case of Tom Robinson, an African-American man who has been falsely accused of rape, against the wishes of many in the town while teaching his kids lasting life lessons along the way. Through Atticus and his actions like defending Tom, Valuing Calpernia, and his intense love of justice no matter what colour, Harper Lee wished to project her ideas on social justice and racism to the reader.

Starting off, one of probably the most profound quotes in all of modern writing is, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, Until you climb into his skin and walk around in it," (Lee 33). Obviously, one cannot climb into someone else's skin. It is a metaphor that expresses how one has to think about how someone else thinks, feels, and sees the world because everyone has different experiences that affect their view of the world. Until one does that, one cannot truly understand a person. That is the whole point of what Lee is trying to tell us through Atticus. Moving on, this following quote touches on subjects like racial stereotypes and how they, rather than being tied to one race, can be applied to the whole population. "You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the Human race and to perticular race of men," (Lee 232). Using Atticus as a puppet, Lee slaps the reader in the face with this message. Racial stereotypes can be applied to everyone, and how many races are weighed down by the ball and chain of stereotypes even though they do not apply to every one of the races. For example, is it fair for someone to assume an African American person is a criminal based on their skin colour alone? No, right. Harper is trying to tell the reader that the world must stop making assumptions based on race to have true equality.

Backtracking a little, While reflecting on the mob that met Atticus and his children at the jail, he states, "That proves something - that a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they are human…You Children last night made Walter Cunningham stand in my shoes for a minute. That was enough," (Lee 179). While this quote and the message that comes with it may seem unassuming to the reader that does not look for it, Lee is still there, using Atticus as her battle horn to send a message to the people of her village. That message reveals to the villagers or readers how those who may seem cold and bloodthirsty are still a human being deep inside their souls and that humanity will always overcome evil. Next, is a quote not directed at us in the 21st century but of the people of the time the book was written. The quote "The most ridiculous example I can think of is that people who run public education promote the stupid and idle along with the industrious - because all men are created equal, educators will gravely tell you, the children left behind suffer terrible feelings of inferiority," (Lee 233). this quote is directly negating the segregation of schools. Unlike in today's world, where people of different races go to the same school before the later 1960s, children of colour were forced to go to coloured schools, where they had significantly less opportunity to learn than the children of the white school. Through Atticus' voice, Lee is trying to tell the reader of the mistreatment African American kids receive in the public school system and how these children suffer academically and mentally.

Moving on, Atticus states, "But there is one way in this country in which all men are created equal - there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockafeller, the stupid man the equal of an Einstein, and the ignorant man the equal of any college president. That institution, gentlemen, is a court," (Lee 233). In this quote, Lee showed her opposition of prejudice in the American court system and how everyone, no matter what colour, is innocent until proven guilty. Finally, the most crucial quote from Atticus. The true golden rule we should all live by is "It's not okay to hate anybody," (Lee 282). This single quote pretty much sums up Atticus' lessons to his children. It also sums up Harper Lee's perspective on social justice. It ties back to the first quote that was given. "You never really understand a person until consider things from his point of view," (Lee 33). That is why she says it is not okay to hate anybody because one never knows what someone has experienced that led them to do what they do. To feel how they feel. That is why we must take a second to stand in someone else's shoes. To get a taste of the real them.

Harper Lee wants the world to try and experience what another person has experienced. She wants the world to understand each other a little better. She wants the world to have sympathy for other people.