Negative Impacts of Social Injustice on People in to Kill a Mockingbird

Individuals are often greatly impacted by social injustice, which is related to the skewed perception authorities have embedded into society on inferior individuals, furthermore initiating a lack of rights and morality but also providing valuable learning experiences. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), a bildungsroman novel based in the southern states of the United states, portrays this by exploring how systemic racism in society instigates violence, furthermore compromising relationships and equal rights of individuals. Additionally, the novel explores how individuals, especially juveniles, develop empathy and courage through the experience of the lack of ethics and morality. Therefore, To Kill a Mockingbird portrays the negative impacts of social injustice on individuals through the experiences of racism and the lack of ethics and morality.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee highlights the systemic racism towards African Americans in the Maycomb community, which develops violence towards African American individuals and others who are associated with them. The novel is set in the 1930s, where the Jim Crow laws and the influence of the Ku Klux Klan fortified the widespread perception in society of African Americans as a lower class, associating them with their history as slaves. The effect of the systemic racism set by laws and societal perception can be observed in Atticus Finch, “A flash of plain fear was going out of his eyes” personifying fear with movement, clearly accentuating the fear Atticus has experienced due to his experience with mob violence and his relations with an African American, furthermore impacting his approachability and likeability as an individual. This is evident in Mrs Dubose’s derogatory remarks about Atticus “Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for!”, which depicts the increased hatred towards Atticus because of the societal beliefs of the time. Ultimately, the enduring mindset of the southern states of America that dehumanized African Americans led to the discriminatory trial of Tom Robinson, “The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box.”, this depicts the prejudice and lack of ethics that has impacted the basic rights of individuals to a fair trial which eventually leads to the death of Tom Robinson, “He likened Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters”. The use of simile in comparing Tom’s death to hunters slaughtering songbirds, suggests that the racial prejudice of the Maycomb community has led to a groundless decision and ultimately the death of Tom Robinson; an innocent individual. Therefore, To Kill a Mockingbird explores the violence that is produced from systemic racism through the experiences of characters within the novel, revealing the effects of social injustice on individuals.

Additionally, Lee investigates how the experience of the lack of ethics and morality in society allows individuals to develop empathy and courage. This can be related to the Scotsborro incident of 1931 where two white women falsely accused nine African American teenagers of rape in Alabama, influencing the public perception and individuals similarly to the Tom Robinson case in the novel. The bildungsroman novel explores how Scout’s life is intertwined within the Tom Robinson case as well as the Radley’s which allows her to develop courage and empathy. Scout’s general perception of the town recluse, Boo Radley, “His hands were bloodstained … his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time”, the vivid imagery depicts her initial fear of Boo Radley because of his malevolent nature, despite not having seen him before. When Scout encounters racial prejudice at school from Cecil Jacobs, she is tempted to fight, although refrains from instigating violence, “I drew a bead on him, remembered what Atticus had said, then dropped my fists and walked away, ‘Scout’s a coward!’ ringing in my ears. It was the first time I ever walked away from a fight.” Through walking away, she demonstrates her development of courage by learning and moving away from her usual violent methods. Moreover, the ability of Scout to withstand against the lynch mob highlights her development of courage through the novel, “I had leaped triumphantly into a ring of people I had never seen before…’Don’t you touch him!’ I kicked the man swiftly”, this illustrates her courage in the form of standing up for her beliefs. Throughout the conclusion of the novel, Scout shows empathy for Boo Radley as she contemplates about meeting Boo Radley, “One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough,” the metaphor allows Lee to communicate to the reader of Scout’s empathy as she realises how Boo Radley lives, which contradicts common societal views. Therefore, To Kill a Mockingbird conveys how the experience of a socially unjust community, including the exclusion of both Boo Radley and Tom Robinson allows individuals such as Scout to develop empathy and courage through these experiences.

Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) portrays the impact of social injustice on the individual through exploring how enforced racial prejudice in the southern states of America generates violence and furthermore creates unequal rights and destroying relationships, evident in individuals related to the Tom Robinson case. On the other hand, the novel also conveys the how social injustice provides a valuable learning experience for Scout, allowing her to develop empathy and courage through her experiences.