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.
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