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Claire Aminuddin

Ms. Akers

Honors English 10

5 September 2017

Literature Lessons

When imagining a small town in Alabama, pictures of quaint, dusty, and aged buildings

come to mind. Small towns, most of the time, receive the presumptions of a closeness and tight

bond within the community, giving the feeling that everybody knows every soul living in the

town. This was the case of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s; however, the tight knit community

had its downfalls. Being a town in the south, ingrained racism and the Jim Crow laws heavily

influenced the people of Maycomb. In the coming-of-age novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, by

Harper Lee, the complex array of characters learn about racism and innocence through artfully

woven lessons of life.

To begin, the citizens of Maycomb, through the trial of Tom Robinson, learn the lesson

of equal treatment of every human and the wrong of racism. Black people in the south at the

moment in time were treated almost as a subhuman race with lesser rights and privileges as a

white person. The fact that Cecil Jacobs mocked Scouts father for defending a black man shows

the absurdity and inappropriateness of trying to help a black person. Scout, being a naive child,

first becomes of aware and questions her values, when Cecil called out her father in the

schoolyard. I soon forgot. Cecil Jacobs made me forget. He had announced in the schoolyard

that the day before that Scout Finchs daddy defended niggers (Lee 99). Scout begins to

wonder, after this encounter with Cecil, why was it wrong to try to help somebody in court?

Scout didnt see Tom Robinson as an inferior black man, she saw him as a innocent man
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deserving of a rightful and fair trial. Scout had her pure, childish morals questioned, but the

whole towns treatment of black people and the wrongness of oppression were challenged during

Atticus ending testimony and argument. Atticus, as a lawyer, knew that every man deserved a

fair trial and defense whether guilty or innocent. He called out the ingrained racism within

Maycomb while planting the question; Why do we, as white people, treat black people so badly

with no dignity or rights? Atticus taught the lesson through his court case that every human

deserves equal treatment because every man is guilty of doing wrong:

The evil assumption--that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings,

that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption that one

associates with minds of their caliber. Which, gentlemen, we know is in itself a lie as

black as Tom Robinsons skin, a lie I do not have to point out to you. You know the truth

and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral. . . But this is a truth

that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men. (Lee 273)

The trial of Tom Robinson was an opportunity for Atticus to prove and show how wrong the

people of Maycomb and people all over the south were of treating black people as a subhuman

race always capable and guilty of terrible deeds. In the end, through Scouts naive and innocent

nature and Atticus ending statement of the truth, Harper Lee is able to teach the lesson that

everyone deserves equal treatment and opportunities, no matter the color of their skin.

Furthermore, Harper Lee teaches the lesson that stereotypes drive a society through her

novel and the character portrayal. Two prevalent stereotypes within To Kill A Mockingbird are

the situations of Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. Both stereotypes have different circumstances.

Boo Radley is subject to the childish imaginations of Jem, Scout, and Dill while Tom Robinson

is subject to the racist mindset of people in the south during that period of time. Boo Radley lives
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on the street of Jem and Scout. There are fanciful stories about Boo because he never comes out

of the house and has become the neighborhood creeper through town gossip. To Jem, Scout,

and Dill, Boo is a mysterious, malevolent man who peeks through peoples windows at night and

scratches screen doors. The common stereotype of a recluse being mean and unfriendly is

disproved by the actions of Boo. He gives Scout a blanket during Miss Maudies house fire and

protects the kids when Bob Ewell attacks. Boo breaks the stereotype of a recluse and shows

compassion through his watchful eye and protective spirit:

Winter, and a man walked into the street, dropped his glasses, and shot a dog. Summer,

and he watched his childrens hearts break. Autumn again, and Boos children needed

him. Atticus was right. 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. (Lee

374).

Scout learns that Boo is a friend not an evil spirit trying to haunt her. She looks at Boos situation

through his perspective; thus, breaking the stereotype built in her mind. Tom Robinson is another

stereotype within the society of Maycomb. His stereotype is not driven by the mysterious recluse

nature like Boo, but driven by society's discrimination of race. The rape accusation and trial of

Tom Robinson led to his inevitable demise. The moment Mayella accused Tom of raping her, he

became a dead man. Everyone knew Atticus was going to lose the trial. He was defending a

black man accused of assaulting a white woman. To most everyone in Maycomb, Tom was

guilty the minute he was accused, there is no doubt in their minds. However, when Dill and

Scout discuss their feelings about the trial, Dill sees through the stereotype of Tom Robinson. He

didnt like how Mr. Gilmer, the prosecution, treated Tom like he was nothing. I dont care one

speck. It aint right, somehow it aint right to do em that way. Hasnt anybody got any business
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talkin like that--it just makes me sick (Lee 266). The stereotype that because Tom is a black

man, he is automatically guilty, bothered Dill. He thought every man deserved the same

treatment no matter the race. To conclude, the lesson that stereotypes drive societies is shown by

Boo actions and Scouts discovery. The lesson can also be shown through Tom Robinsons

situation.

In conclusion, in Harper Lees novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, lessons are skillfully hidden

within the experiences of characters. The facts that everyone deserves equal treatment no matter

race, age, or social status and that stereotypes can deeply influence perspective are both lessons

told through the stories of Scout Finch. Most readers are able to relate to Scout because she

embodies the innocence and curious naivety that everyone experienced in their childhood.