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Assignment: Analyze the novel and subsequent film, “To Kill a Mockingbird” and identify how
it portrayed life in the South post-Reconstruction.
Student: Collins, Noelia D.
Date: 2/25/2015
Instructor: Dr. Melissa Esmacher
Class: American History (HIST1302)
The Perceived Guilt of Men and Mockingbirds-By Noelia Collins
The issue of race was a focal point of American social and political order from its beginnings
all the way to the end of the 20th century; more specifically, the issue of “whiteness” and
“blackness”. In the film adaptation of the award-winning novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by
Harper Lee, the persecution of—and overall bias against—blacks in the United States during the
1930s is addressed. In this analytical essay, I will analyze first the political atmosphere in the
United States in the 1930’s—when the film is set. Secondly, I will analyze the plot of the film
and the picture it paints of the troubles of that era. Next, I will go in to the perception and
acceptance of “To Kill a Mockingbird” in the 1960’s.
1. The ‘30’s
Before I delve into the plot of “To Kill a Mockingbird”, I will first explain briefly the civil
rights movement during the decade in which the story is set, the 1930’s, in order to provide
backround as to why “To Kill a Mockingbird” made such an impact. The following section will
briefly explain the concerns of the early civil rights movement.
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A. The Early Civil Rights Movement
In the late 1930s, tension was building around the civil rights movement and awareness was
rising concerning the “race problem”. During the 1930s, the NAACP (National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People), founded by W.E.B. Du Bois in 1909, had already started
work towards repealing laws that discriminated against blacks in areas such as education through
lawsuits (“World History Series: The Abolition of American Slavery”- James Tackach). In
addition, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, our president at the time, appointed some black men to
administrative positions in the Committee of Civil Rights Services, initiating desegregation in
federal offices (“World History Series: The Abolition of American Slavery”- James Tackach).
B. Northern Segregation
Despite what appeared to be launching pads towards more rights for African Americans, there
were also events that deterred a move away from segregation and unequal treatment. First off,
the great migration of blacks from the rural South to the urban North was coming to a close in
the 1930’s (“Give Me Liberty – Eric Foner). This caused a rise in racial tension in the North,
which now found itself with a much denser black population. There was discrimination in not
only work, with employers either not hiring blacks or hiring them for menial jobs, but in
housing. Because of “racially restricted covenants” that dictated that only whites could live in
certain buildings, African Americans were often over-crowded and left with little room and
resources. African Americans had come to the North seeking solace from the harsh segregation
of “Jim Crow”, the series of laws that enforced segregation in southern states. Instead of relief,
they found a subtler form of discrimination that, although less outwardly violent, made the
message of desired segregation very clear. As author Julius Lester stated, “…In the North,
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segregation wasn’t deliberate, it just sort of happened that way.” (“The 1960’s: Opposing
Viewpoints”; “The Civil Rights Struggle Has Brought Despair to Black Americans”- Julius
Lester”).
C. Southern Segregation
Schools, trains, water fountains, and other public gathering places in the South were all
formally segregated by “Jim Crow Laws” (“World History Series: The Abolition of American
Slavery”- James Tackach). The Supreme Court had ruled in the 1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson,
that segregation was legal, which resulted in the motto of “separate but equal” (“Give Me Liberty
– Eric Foner). This meant that African Americans were still citizens, just not necessarily the
same “type” of citizens as whites. The idea was that there could be segregation as long as blacks
and whites were treated equally, but this was never the practice. For example: In 1916, it was
determined that southern school systems spent on average $10.32 on the education of a white
child and $2.89 on the education of a black child (“American History by Era: The Cold War
Period; 1945-1992”). That scale did not become more balanced until well into the 1960’s. The
seemingly insurmountable educational and monetary gap between these two races served to
reinforce the idea that whites were inherently superior to blacks.
A main point of contention between whites, blacks, and those who sympathized with blacks
was lynching. From the 1860s until the 1950s, lynching was a public spectacle for white
Southerners to watch as though it was a celebration. It often revolved around a minority being
punished for a crime, whether real or manufactured and although it could be any minority, the
victim was usually a black man (“Lynching and Spectacle: Witnessing Racial Violence in
America”-Amy Louise Wood). The accusation was generally that the black man in question had
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sexually approached a white woman, as would be exemplified in the lynching of Emmett Till in
1955 (http://www.phsteamstrength.com:“The Lynching of Emmett Till”-Chris Crowe). Such is
case for the character Tom Robinson in “To Kill a Mockingbird”.
2. “To Kill a Mockingbird”
In a nutshell, “To Kill a Mockingbird” depicts the life of two children: Jean-Louise “Scout”
Finch and her brother, Jem Finch. Scout is six and Jem is ten when the story begins in the
summer of 1938. Their Mother having died four years prior, the children live with their father,
Atticus Finch and are cared for during the daytime by the Finch’s black maid, Calpurnia.
Atticus Finch is a lawyer who is asked by the town’s Sheriff to defend Tom Robinson; a black
man accused of sexually attacking a local white woman. The story of the unjust accusation
against Tom Robinson, his trial, subsequent conviction and death is the focus of the plot.
Therefore, although there are many other points that could be made concerning this novel, this
paper will focus on the heavily racial element of the story. This entails analyzing the racial
outlooks held by the individual characters as well as those held by the county at large and how
and why that affected not only the trial of Tom Robinson but the lives of the members of the
Finch family.
A. Calpurnia
Seeing as Calpurnia provides invaluable insight into Atticus Finch’s opinion of African
Americans, it is prudent to go in to more detail about her and her role in the Finch household.
She is the Finch family maid; she cares for the children and cooks and cleans for the family.
Despite the fact that she is a black woman, she is always treated as though she is a part of the
family. She had been in the family’s employment since Jem was born and they all call her “Cal”
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at one point or another out of familiarity (“To Kill a Mockingbird” 1960 –Harper Lee/“To Kill a
Mockingbird”1962 – Robert Mulligan). For all intents and purposes she is the only mother figure
that Scout has any recollection of. Despite this, she and Scout have a tremendous relationship,
Calpurnia knowing Scout is mischievous and hard-headed and Scout thinking Calpurnia is too
harsh and over-bearing.
It is important to note that she is never once made out to be a lesser human because she is not
white, not by Jem, Atticus, or even Scout—despite her dislike of Calpurnia. She is always
referred to and treated with respect, as though she was an aunt or a cousin, with just as much
right to be in the Finch household as any of them.
B. Aunt Alexandra
This mentality about black house-servants is not the norm however, as is clearly demonstrated
in the novel by Atticus’ sister, Alexandra Hancock. She disapproves of a black woman being
Scout and Jem’s near exclusive maternal figure. In the novel, after she makes her opinion of
Calpurnia clear to Atticus, he immediately rebukes her saying, “…Calpurnia’s not leaving this
house until she wants to … She’s a faithful member of this family…” (“To Kill a Mockingbird”
1960 – Harper Lee)
An interesting point is that it is apparent throughout the novel that Alexandra is much less
racist than most people in the county. She stands by her brother throughout the trial of Tom
Robinson and even comforts Scout after the girl is horrified by witnessing a display of blatant
racism at a tea party held by Aunt Alexandra (“To Kill a Mockingbird” 1960 –Harper Lee).
However even Alexandra, who is comparatively very accepting of blacks, did not approve of a
black woman raising her niece and nephew. It is a strong testament to how extreme the sentiment
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of the unworthiness of blacks must have been in the minds of others in the county who were less
tolerant than the Finch clan.
C. Atticus Finch
Despite the fact that the book is told from Scout’s point of view, it is Atticus Finch who most
captures the reader’s attention. He is a respected townsman in Macomb and it is clear that he is a
quiet, wise man who cares for his children very much. He takes his children seriously and
teaches them both as much as he can to the best of his ability. He is also generous, willingly
giving his skills as a lawyer to all who need him despite knowing that he will be paid back in
help or food rather than money. Such was the case with Mr. Cunningham, a poor farmer who
paid Atticus back in produce for legal help.
It is important to note that the Sheriff offers Atticus an out when he comes to ask him to take
on Tom Robinson’s case. He makes it clear that Atticus is under no obligation to take the case
and that the he would gladly find someone else to defend Robinson in Atticus’ stead (“To Kill a
Mockingbird”1962 – Robert Mulligan). Atticus, however, chooses to defend Tom Robinson.
Because Atticus grew up in the South, it is impossible for him not to have known the social
repercussions of defending a black man. Though in the eyes of the County, Atticus Finch’s crime
was not defending Tom Robinson. Rather, his offense was that he truly believed Robinson over
Mayella Ewell, the girl who accused Robinson of raping her.
Both of these points are evidenced by a conversation between Mr. Ewell—Mayella’s father—
and Atticus Finch. Mr. Ewell, confident that Atticus is on the side of the “good white folks”,
approaches Atticus after the initial hearing. He greets him by saying that he would have gladly
lynched Robinson and saved Atticus some time and the county some money rather than take the
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business to trial. He even jokes about how ridiculous it is that some people think that Atticus
actually believes Robinson. Mr. Ewell changes his demeanor—and his opinion of Atticus—
instantaneously when he realizes that Atticus does believe Robinson’s story over his and
Mayella’s. He makes it his mission from there on out to damage Atticus in any way he can,
going so far as to try to murder Jem and Scout (“To Kill a Mockingbird”1962 – Robert
Mulligan).
Atticus makes it clear that he believes Tom Robinson is innocent, as well as what he thinks
about spilling innocent blood. He makes his point by telling a story at the dinner table of when
he got his first rifle. He tells his children that his father had told him that he could shoot jaybirds,
tin cans and trees, but that he must never shoot a mockingbird. When Jem asks him why, he says,
“…Mockingbirds do nothing but make sweet music for us to enjoy…” In essence, that it is
wrong to kill mockingbirds because it’s a crime to spill innocent blood in any form; even from a
bird (“To Kill a Mockingbird”1962 – Robert Mulligan).
He is obviously disappointed by the whole mess surrounding the trial and the American
justice system in general. Mayella would have been shunned if had she admitted that she had
initiated contact with Robinson, which she did, and so was forced to lie. Her father, furious that
she had touched a black man, beat her, which he attributed to Robinson in court. The town was
blind to the truth because they were completely unwilling to believe Robinson over the Ewells.
Robinson was taken away from his family, put on trial and eventually died all because of
interracial attraction. Atticus states all this and more in his closing statement in the courtroom
before the jury went to deliberate.
D. The Town
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The townsfolk are not inherently evil, but evil was brought out in them. When Tom Robinson
is brought back to Maycomb for his trial—after being held in a different county, for fear of him
being killed if he was kept in Maycomb—Atticus Finch goes to the jailhouse to stand guard. He
leaves after the children fall asleep, but they follow after him and hide in the bushes, bearing
witness as a mob of townsmen form around the jailhouse. They are all men that the children
know and trust; they had likely never seen most of them behave violently.
There is a struggle of good-and-bad within the mob. Although the mob is intent on getting to
Robinson, they don’t want to hurt Atticus Finch to do it. They tell him to step aside repeatedly
and although Atticus refuses every time they don’t force him aside. Before we can see if they
are, in fact, willing to harm Atticus to get who they came for, the children come out from their
hiding place to stand with him. While Atticus tries to order Jem to take Dill and Scout home,
Scout turns the mob for a loop without even knowing it. She calls out Mr. Cunningham by name.
When he fails to acknowledge her, she reminds him of how she is in school with his son, and all
the times she’s played with him.
By doing this, she unwittingly ruined the anonymity provided by the mob. Although all of
them knew Atticus, they were willing to stand up to him because the mass of people allowed
them to leave their consciences behind for the moment. It wouldn’t be any one person
committing a crime; it would be the entity “mob”. Then, when Scout called out Mr.
Cunningham, the effect was shattered. She had, by that simple act, made them individually
accountable for the lynching they had undoubtedly planned. In response, every one of them went
their separate ways and one and potentially two deaths were avoided that night.
E. Tom Robinson
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Atticus Finch’s crime was that he believed Tom Robinson but Robinson’s crime was telling
the truth in the first place. He was a field laborer with a wife and children and he had to pass by
the Ewell house every day on his way home from work. He caught the attention of Mayella
Ewell, a lonely, simple girl. She would have him come over the fence that separated the Ewell
property from the road and have him do chores for her. One day, she called him over the fence
not to have him do chores, but to kiss him. Her father came home just as she did and saw her kiss
him. Frightened of what her father, an abusive man, would do to her she said that Robinson had
taken advantage of her. Robinson defended himself to Atticus and held his innocence in court.
However a black man asking the court to believe him over a white woman was practically a lost
cause.
Tom Robinson is found guilty despite Atticus’ best efforts and it could be argued that he was
found guilty the moment the case went to trial. He died by being shot to death by an officer while
trying to escape custody. Despite Atticus’ insistence that there was a good chance for an appeal,
he obviously disagreed and died trying to regain his freedom. By Atticus’ standards, killing Tom
Robinson was like killing a mockingbird: doing the ultimate harm when no crime had been done
to warrant it.
3. The Reception
Ironically, considering how popular the novel is now, it was originally quite obscure. Despite
the novel’s shaky popularity, the film adaptation, released only two years after the initial
publication was received incredibly well, earning many awards, and was applauded as a
masterpiece. It seems as though a novel about racial tensions was too “real” for Americans,
particularly Southern whites; too blatantly accusatory. A film, on the other hand, is easy to see as
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something imagined and far-removed. It held the appeal of being seen as near fantasy by those
who refused to see the strong racial and political point being made while still being able to be
used as a powerful tool for the civil rights activists.
A. Progress in Civil Rights
While the political atmosphere surrounding the civil rights movement in the 30’s had been
precarious already, the atmosphere in the 60’s was even more virulent. In 1963, Martin Luther
King Jr. led a march on Washington D.C. and gave the famous “I Have a Dream” speech. In
1964 and 1965, various groups such as the “Black Panthers” arose that rejected “racial uplift”—
blacks conforming to the standards of white society—and promoted that African Americans be
proud of their identity. Also during this time, the process of desegregation begun by lawsuits
such as Brown v. Board of Education was completed by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the
Voting Rights Act of 1965. “Jim Crow Laws” were officially declared unconstitutional and
thereby banned (http://www.pbs.org). The story of Atticus Finch and Tom Robinson, a black
man struggling for his freedom and a white man defending the innocence and rights of his fellow
man came at exactly the right time to embolden black civil rights activists and their white
supporters.
4. Conclusion
In conclusion, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, both the film and the novel, are invaluable examples
of rigid social structure of rural America in the early 20th century. The story paints a vivid picture
of how strong the stigma that followed whites who sympathized with blacks was. Atticus was
publicly shamed and his children were taunted and nearly killed. Meanwhile, African Americans
were frequently found guilty of the crime of being different, easy scapegoats simply because
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they were considered arbitrarily inferior. From the racial hierarchy imposed from slavery’s
foundation in America, all the way to 1938 in the hypothetical life of the Finch family, racism
permeated the social landscape of the United States. Now, we have “To Kill a Mockingbird” and
books and films like it to remind us of the cost of the freedoms African Americans have today.
Let us not forget it.
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Works Cited
Tackach, James; “The Abolition of American Slavery”, World History Series; Lucent Books,
San Diego, CA; 2002; (February 4th, 2015)
Sitkoff, Harvard; “The Cold War Period: 1945-1992”, A. 3. “The Struggle for Equality: Brown
v. The Board of Education”; American History by Era: Volume 8; Greenhaven Press; (February
4th, 2015)
Koerselman, Gary H.; “The Cold War Period: 1945-1992”, B. 4. “The Civil Rights Movement”;
American History by Era: Volume 8; Greenhaven Press; (February 4th, 2015)
Lester, Julius; “The 1960’s: Opposing Viewpoints”, Civil Rights Movement, Counter Argument
Essay, “The Civil Rights Struggle Has Brought Despair to Black Americans”; Greenhaven
Press, San Diego, CA; 1997; (February 2nd, 2015)
Lee, Harper; “To Kill a Mockingbird”; 1960; (February 4th, 2015)
Robert Mulligan; “To Kill a Mockingbird”; 1962; (February 6th, 2015)
http://www.phsteamstrength.com:“The Lynching of Emmett Till”-Chris Crowe
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/struggle_president2.html; Educational Broadcasting
Corporation; 2002; (April 10th, 2015)