Topic > Harper Lee's depiction of the theme of racism in To Kill a Mockingbird

Published in 1960 and written by critically acclaimed author Harper Lee, "To kill a Mockingbird" observes the life of Scout Finch, an innocent American child subjected to the horrors and merciless segregation that existed in the American South. The novel itself addresses multiple universal themes, particularly the concepts of racism and injustice. These ideologies are particularly evident in the various characters introduced by Lee and demonstrate the impact these notions would have on the functioning of society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Specifically, racism in To Kill a Mockingbird refers to partiality, referring to a person, or an entire race, or a group of people from different ethnic groups. The novel presents bigotry in Maycomb society, where most individuals belong to different races. Harper Lee challenges prejudice and highlights how social betrayal, partisanship, and lessons in discrimination destroy social cohesion. Despite the fact that the entire content portrays racism, some notable incidents of racism in Harper Lee's novel will be discussed in this essay. The first quote that prominently displays the theme of racism is when Mr. Raymond acts like he is drunk so he can explain why he married a woman of another race and even lives with her. From the novel, we understand that Mr. Raymond is often drunk and in this scenario he pretends to be confused to explain to Scout, Jem and Dill why he does this as "Secretly, Miss Finch, I'm not much of a drinker." , but you see they could never, ever understand that I live like this because that's how I want to live. The quote makes it clear that a man would pretend to be drunk just so he can live with the woman he loves and have children with, it could be an idealized example of the racism prevalent in Maycomb. Furthermore, the use of simile and irony highlights the fact that there was clear racism in society and it is unacceptable to live with a person of another race and even better marry them. In addition to that, the personal pronoun “I” makes the reader feel like the story is being told to them and the emotional connection towards the readers shows how much of a disgrace society was in the late 1900s. The second quote which evidently shows the main theme of racism in the book is when Atticus mocks his uncle by stating that “She was white and groped a nigger. He did something that is unspeakable in our society: he kissed a black man. Not an old uncle, but a strong young black man. No code mattered to her before she cracked it, but afterward it collapsed on her. The derogatory term of “nigger” is used here to show disrespect towards blacks as what we know now, in society, is an ethnic slur that only blacks have the right to use. The constant repetition of the singular personal pronoun “she” emphasizes that she has in fact done something immorally wrong, once again, demonstrating the theme of racism as it should be acceptable to kiss a person of a different race. Likewise, we as an audience understand that Atticus hopes that we as readers fall into the technique of paradox, since in this case Mayella actually broke the law, yet Tom, an attentive black man, was following them and obeying the whites. wife. Finally, the alliteration of "came crashing" helps focus readers' attention on this particular section of the text and creates rhythm and mood. The third and final quote I will discuss in this essay expresses the controversial and important theme of racism is when a.