Essay/Term paper: To kill a mockingbird 6

Essay, term paper, research paper:  To Kill a Mockingbird

In Harper Lee's novel To Kill A Mockingbird, an issue is addressed which could be considered controversial. This issue is one that everyone faces each day, no one particularly likes to suffer from it, yet we often do it to others. This issue is injustice, and it was ever-present in To Kill A Mockingbird . Some of the types of injustice confronted in this novel include, racial injustice, religious injustice, and discrimination of women. Harper Lee often offers suttle remedies that would put an end to the constant injustices in the novels diverse society.

The greatest case of injustice involves Tom Robinson who was falsely accused of a crime that he never attempted, nor intended to. Tom's view of the actions that lead up to the trail were not believed because of his race, which in all details the way society miss-treated African Americans during the time period the novel was set in. Tom's actions were different than what others in his situation would have been. Instead of getting angry and striking back against society and the white townsfolk, Tom went through the trial without getting aggravated because he was falsely accused, and conducted himself as a gentleman. Tom's actions depict the kind of man he truly was, not one to rape and beat a helpless teenager, but one to conduct himself as a civilized human being. I strongly feel that this is a remedy that Harper Lee offers on the subject of dealing with everyday injustice. Instead of getting angry when someone puts us down, we should react by laughing along with the person or even just walking away. These reactions may douse the person's sprit to criticize you and end the tormenting

Another issue of injustice confronted in To Kill A Mockingbird is that of religious injustice. When Jem and Scout attend church with Calpurnia, Jem comments on the First Purchase Church, stating that, "On Sundays, the blacks worship, and white men gambled there on weekdays." I feel this is also a form of racial injustice, meaning that if the black community were to gamble in the white's church, trouble would arouse, but also a form of religious injustice. The white people don't respect the blacks rite to worship in a church that they "purchased" just because of there color of skin. The first addmendment to the Bill Of Rights declares that all men shall have freedom of religion, yet the white's spend endless hours gambling and sinning on "holy land." Once again, the blacks do not strike out or rebel, but let the whites do as they wish. The blacks knew they were mistreated because they were not like everyone else, yet they lived with constant desecration everyday of there lives. The remedy upon this subject I believe has to do with being yourself, no matter what others thank of you. Don't change your way of life just to accommodate anyone else's life.

The final instance of racial injustice that stuck out among many, is the reaction of the predominantly white courtroom when Tom Robinson stated that he felt sorrow for Mayella Ewell. Many of the people began to talk and snicker, as if they believed that Tom Robinson did what he did because he felt he could easily take advantage of her, when most of them in some way or another also felt sorry for Mayella due to the fact that her father drank, and it was obvious that she was beaten on regular occasions.

Conclusively, these are only a few instances of injustice that were intertwined in the novel. Harper Lee does a wonderful job of portraying the racial injustice which was very much alive during this time period. The remedies given include self-restraint, and being yourself. My views and opinions may be totally wrong, but that is how I interpreted this tale of growing up in a predjutdice society.