Historical Connections: Racism

     The classic novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird", by Harper Lee contains several historical connections that fit perfectly in context to a small town, in a southern state, during the 1930's or Great Depression. One of these historical connections could be seen through the Bigotry and Racism seen throughout the length of the book. Racism holds huge stock in every part of the book, whether it is seen in the school yard where Scout was often tormented about her father's involvement in the Tom Robinson defense, or if it is seen in the jail with the lynch mob, racism seems to plague the small town of Maycomb. Throughout the Great Depression this was a very evident problem as well. After the Stock Market Crash and people began to lose their jobs and income several groups started to protest with signs stating " No jobs for n****** until every white man has a job." There was even a trial held for the Scottsboro Boys, nine adolescent negro boys who where falsely accused of rape. Eight of the nine boys where sentenced to death in Alabama. These were not uncommon in a society prior to the Civil Rights Act and Movements.

Work Cited

Wormser, Richard. "The Rise and Fall of the Jim Crow Laws." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2015.

Tolerance and Courage: Atticus

"I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do."

- Atticus Finch, Chapter eleven, page 116.

Atticus Finch is a very well respected man in the old town of Maycomb, Alabama, and often tries to teach his two kids, Jean Louis Finch and Jeremy Finch what it means to have courage and tolerance. Compared to the over-glorification that children often give to jobs such as a dump truck driver, his children often see his job as a lawyer as lame and boring. What is not exactly known to his children is the amount of tolerance he has for everyone in the town, especially when you look at the events surrounding the Tom Robinson Case. Even when the entire town is ready to lynch a Negro man, Atticus believes that he could never truly face his children again if he didn't take up the case. This is because Atticus tends to lead and teach his children by example and he would not be proud of lesson he would be teaching. He once told his two children that "You never really understand a person until you consider things from their point of view... Until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." which only further explains the magnitude of tolerance and respect he is willing to give to everyone in the town. Atticus Finch exemplifies the idea of courage as well through out the book. Even though he has a pretty good Idea of the outcome of the trial, because of the all white jury and the injustices that African Americans faced prior to the Civil Rights Movements, Atticus was willing to see the trial through no matter what obstacles he faced. This shows that through his criteria for what it means to be courageous, he has achieved exactly what he was aiming to be.

Tim Johnson and the Usual Disease

       In Chapter 10, Atticus is charged the task of killing Tim Johnson, a canine with mad dogs disease, more commonly known as Rabies. Through conversations seen throughout the book Harper Lee begins to write an intricate metaphor of how Tom Robinson represents the "Usual Disease" of Maycomb. Rabies is defined as a disease that is nearly always fatal, and spreads through the saliva of infected animals, even when the animal is dead. Through information and details that, "To Kill a Mockingbird", is able to supply, the audience is able to make an assumption that Maycomb's usual disease is racism. Throughout the book the readers are able to get a view of two different communities and cultures that could be found in the southern United States in a Great Depression era. Through these descriptions people are able to get a handle on how people are treated dependent on race and class. The Usual Disease plays out to be this intensive metaphor on what the very essence of Racism is like. For example, after Atticus kills the mad dog he states to Jem and Scout, "Don''t you go near that dog, you understand? Don't go ner him, he's just as dangerous dead as alive". This can be seen as an allegory for racism due to the idea of how racism can never truly die. Depending on what people are raised to believe or the things they hear when they are little, people can still be racist and inappropriate towards race or ethnicity. Through this quote Atticus makes the statement that even if racism dies, it is still dangerous and can still re-emerge. That people will still make harsh and inexcusable  decisions based solely on the color of one skin.