Sunday, March 29, 2015

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.

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