Harper Lee vividly describes the immorality of racism and prejudice. Lee reveals the many racist practices that take place in a small town in Alabama. Jean Louise Finch who is referred to as “Scout”, shares many incidences that took place while she was growing up with her brother Jem and father Atticus.
Tom Robinson is a character that is falsely accused of beating and raping a white woman and is found guilty. Atticus Finch who is not only a wonderful father to Scout and Jem, but also performs miracles in the courtroom as a remarkable lawyer for Maycomb county, is standing as Tom’s lawyer in the trial.Lee exposes the many racist and prejudice individuals through a specific character and that character being Tom Robinson.
When Bob Ewell goes to testify he points at Tom and says “I seen that black n**** yonder ruttin on my Mayella” (pg. 173). Bob Ewell is portraying Tom to be an animal who has violated his daughter. Black men were(are) usually portrayed in this manner because of the racist ideologies that ‘all black males are aggressive’ and ‘all black males are rapists’. Tom is an impoverished black male attending a trial, with an all white jury because he was accused of raping a white women, due to these things he is at an automatic risk of being announced guilty and denied any justice.
Atticus takes the case to defend Tom, knowing he would be shamed for it, and looked down upon, as a white man in America. Even though evidence of Tom’s innocence was displayed to the jury, they still announced him guilty because of their racist and prejudice ideologies, instead of analyzing the factual evidence that was presented to the them.
