Racism in to Kill a Mockingbird

“In this country American means white.

Everybody else has to hyphenate. ” –Toni Morison. Ever since the birth of our country, The United States of America, it has been known as the land of freedom. At the turn of the 20th century people who were religiously persecuted in European countries dreamed of a life in America without racism. They saw America as “The Land of Freedom. ” But their views were misled.

America was and is a country deeply rooted in racism; its branches weaving their way throughout our lives, media, literature, language and culture. Our society has grown into a culture of Racism.Now some say that racism had left when slavery was abolished or even when a black president was elected. But they are completely wrong. The culture of racism has not left our society. It has simply become a subconscious thought that has inched its way into our lives.

Although placed in a past time period, the book Too Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and the movie The Help by Tate Taylor both portray the theme of racism throughout in a way that still correlates to modern day society. The most obvious affect racism has on the people of Maycomb (the setting of To Kill a Mockingbird) occurs between the whites and the blacks.A great example of this happens during Tom’s Robinson’s trial. “"What was the evidence of her offense? Tom Robinson, a human being. She must put Tom Robinson away from her. Tom Robinson was her daily reminder of what she did.

What did she do? She tempted a Negro. She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man. Not an old Uncle, but a strong young Negro man. No code mattered to her before she broke it, but it came crashing down on her afterwards.

" (Lee 203). This quote shows the traditions of society.White citizens weren’t even socially allowed to confront a Black citizen personally, let alone kiss one. Whites not only viewed blacks as inferior but they didn’t even see them as people. The Whites treated the Blacks harshly for no reason. They lynched, called names, attacked, ordered and did many other evil things to the blacks.

It was a moral atrocity and the culture of racism only became worse as the book progressed. Racism directly affected the Black community in a negative way. An example of this from To Kill a Mockingbird was when the children visited Calpurnia’s church. Lula stopped, but she said, "You ain't got no business bringin' white chillun here – they got their church, we got our'n. It is our church, ain't it, Miss Cal? " This quote shows the impact the racism had on their self-esteem.

Throughout their entire lives they were told they were inferior and separate to the Whites. With time, the black citizens learned to accept it and Lula directly shows that by saying that the children should be at the “White” church. The Blacks began to accept what the Whites were saying and began to live a life around it.Many say that racism is just a factor of life that we all have to live with, but they are wrong. Racism can be defeated just like any other bed thing in life; by doing something about it. There are many different shining stars in the town of Maycomb.

Glimmers of hope that make you believe that racism can be defeated. Scout’s father, Atticus, was one of these shining stars. He said, "Remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird. " That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it. "Your father's right," she said. Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy .

.. but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird. " (Lee 90).

This quote shows exactly what kind of heart Atticus had. The mockingbirds are symbolism for Tom or any other oppressed African-American person. Atticus, as well as some others, believed that treating an innocent man, or woman, inferior to you with no reason was wrong. On the surface this seems like an obvious statement, but in reality our minds think the exact opposite. Those little prejudices we have need to be forgotten just as Atticus did.

People like Atticus give me hope. There still is hope as long as we stand up for what is right. The Help by Tate Taylor is placed in a different time period than To Kill a Mockingbird but it still shows how harsh and cruel white American society was, and to some degree, still is. One of the main “villains” in the movie, Hilly Holbrook, is an extremely racist and discriminatory character, one of the many in the town. She said "A bill that requires every white home to have a separate bathroom for the colored help. I've even notified the surgeon general of Mississippi to see if he'll endorse the idea.

I'll pass. "(Taylor).Although she and her lunch group came in contact with the maids, they treated them like filth. They wouldn’t even share a bathroom with the black maids.

In To Kill a Mockingbird the white citizens wouldn’t allow black people on their properties. It was against the social code to have a personal relationship with an African American as it is in The Help. The culture of racism was evil and sickening. In The Help the black maids also became accustomed to the segregation and discrimination of the other white townspeople. An example of this came from Hilly while she was working for Celia “You supposed to eat in the dining room, Miss Celia.

That’s how it works. ” (Taylor). The maids were accustomed to being separate to the housewives. They acted as though there were certain “rules” and that they shouldn’t be broken.

This is exactly how the Black citizens of Maycomb felt when Scout and Jem were brought into their church by Calpurnia. The congregation said that they should be separate and that that church was their church just as Hilly thought about the table. If someone says something to you enough, you begin to believe it or at least accept it and that’s exactly what African Americans did in this time period.Just as in To Kill a Mockingbird there are still glimmers of hope in the town. Skeeter, the protagonist in the movie, says this “Skeeter: I was raised by a colored woman. We love them and they love us - but they can't even use the toilets in our houses.

"(Taylor). She is one of the few white women in the town who don’t see the barrier between black and white. She goes as far as to write a book on the awful things the Housewives did to the maids. Just like Atticus and Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, Skeeter is a shining star in Jackson, Mississippi.

She doesn’t kill the mockingbirds and instead takes care of them. People like Atticus and Skeeter are great role models to our modern society. People like them stand up against the crowd. And the only way to stop racism is to do something about it. The culture of racism hasn’t changed much from the 20th century.

Although the method in which racism is delivered has changed, we still encounter it every day. From the little prejudices in the back of our minds to the lynching that is still happening in our country they all need to be stopped.The book To Kill a Mockingbird and the movie The Help both show a culture of racism that has grown in our society. The whites are discriminatory and racist towards the blacks and to some degree, the blacks begin to believe the things they say.

This cycle causes complete segregation of towns and destruction of self-esteem. But there are still some who give hope. People like Skeeter, Celia, Scout, and Atticus all are shining lights in a dark society of judgmental, racist people. Standing up for what is right is the only thing that will change that ‘African-American’ into just an ‘American’.