EC
The 1930s in America was a time of both economic hardship and unjust racism for the
minorities which took place predominantly in the South. Harper Lee, the author of the timeless
classic ​To Kill A Mockingbird​, addresses the issue of racism in the 1930s through different
symbolism throughout her novel. Adam Smykowski reflects on the symbolism in his analytical
essay, “Symbolism and Racism in ​To Kill A Mockingbird​” where he also masterfully interprets
all aspects of Lee’s intentions and meanings represented by symbolism. On the other hand, the
articles “Race and Ethnic Relations” by Vernon J. Williams and “Minorities in the Depression”
by Gale both tell of the hardships and prejudice against blacks in the 1930s of which Harper
Lee’s novel presents. Therefore, in Harper Lee’s novel, ​To Kill A Mockingbird​, she uses
symbolism to portray racism in the southern states of America during the 1930s.
“Most early New Deal relief and recovery routinely excluded or discriminated against
minorities” (Gale 1). In the 1930s the race relations between whites and blacks was very poor
with blacks being heavily segregated against. The previous poverty had resulted in blacks having
very little political leverage, if any at all. Upon the New Deal being created by President F.
Roosevelt, the black minorities who needed the relief and recovery programs the most were
neglected (Gale para 2). Economic recovery was the priority rather than reform after the
depression and the New Deal depended on segregationists in the South. Due to these factors, the
blacks showed their disapproval of the New Deal by protesting (Gale para 2&5). Relief programs
promised to support a policy of equal opportunity, like the Tennessee Valley Authority, they
retained many forms of obvious discrimination while keeping a habit of differing pay and quota
systems. In addition, the organizations watched the racial employment. These actions
transformed race relations and led to an inflammation of tensions between the workforce split up
by race. It also created tension between black workers in the dominantly white communities
where many blacks stayed (Williams 2). In addition, although the New Deal provided the needed
relief, it also surged the conflict between whites and blacks who were unemployed. This led to
riots because of the white mentality that they needed the relief more than the blacks and the
blacks thinking just the opposite (Williams 2). Yet all these injustices were known with the
example of authors being compelled to argue about the system of white-black equality in
Chicago. Here there was rigid segregation in schools, playgrounds, and open jobs that mirrored
the race relations in the Deep South (Williams 4). However, in 1936 African Americans were
invited to sit in the press box as delegates to the Democratic National Convention and were
chosen to deliver actions like the welcome address for the very first time in history. And with the
majority of black voters voting for Democratic in that same year for the first time in history,
things were beginning to change (Gale 2).
Yet, in the 1930s, the black minority were, “Always the last hired and the first fired in the
cities, their jobless rate soared far above that for whites as fierce competition for industrial work
compounded traditional employer racism and discriminatory policies” in the words of Gale (1).
The Great Depression brought scarce incomes and, at best, bare subsistence living in the South
where seventy-five percent of the nation’s blacks lived (Gale 1). This malnutrition and starvation
led to disease and hopelessness. And even then, the most qualified among the blacks were
competing for much fewer jobs (Williams 1). However, following President Roosevelt’s order,
discrimination was banned in the Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects which led to
the increase of African Americans in WPA jobs. In addition, mostly due to the New Deal, the
number of black employees in both experienced and semi-skilled jobs went up from 23 to 29
percent as the median African American family income also rose to that of white. To add on,
more blacks were able to get educated as well as their life expectancy increased from 49 years of
age to 55 for black women and 47 years to 52 for the average African American man (Gale 2).
“Most [minorities] remained mired in poverty, discriminated against, and segregated from white
America. Yet new government precedents favorable to minorities, greater activism by civil rights
organizations, and a spirit of reform that recognized minority needs as a part of the liberal
agenda also spurred hopes for fully equality and justice”(Gale 3). With all these happenings in
Harper Lee’s mind, she set to work creating a novel that conveyed the injustices of the race
relations in the South.
The building of the snowman one winter by the main characters, Jem and Scout is
particularly symbolic. Jem’s building the snowman with the foundation of dirt, due to the
shortage of snow, and covering it with the little snow they had can be interpreted in a couple
ways. Firstly, it can be seen as him trying to cover up the black man and displaying that all
people are equal, no matter their skin color (Smykowski para 2). For instance, when Jem and
Scout were making the snowman, “Jem scooped up some snow and began plastering it
on...Gradually Mr. Avery turned white” (Lee 89). This text proves how Jem shows that a black
man is the same as a white when taking the dirt snowman and covering it with the snow to
become an image of a white man who lived in their neighborhood (Smykowski para 2). The fire
that engulfed Miss Maudie Atkinson’s home and melted the snow off the snowman portrays the
prejudice residents of their town who believe that blacks and whites are not the same. The
snowman can be interpreted in yet, another way with the merging of snow and mud meaning
marriage between people of different races or miscegenation (Smykowski para 2). Therefore, the
snowman represents both Jem’s non-racist outlook and the racist views of his hometown,
Maycomb County.
The experience Jem and Scout had with Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose is also symbolic.
As Smykowski quotes Lee, “Mrs. Dubose and her insults, which included, “Your father’s no
better than the niggers and trash he works for!” not only show us her own views, but they also
represent the views of the rest of Maycomb County” (Smykowski para 2). In addition, Jem
cutting off the tops of every one of Mrs. Dubose’s white camellia bushes represents Jem trying to
eliminate the mentality and mannerisms of the racist whites in their town (Smykowski para 2).
Then when Atticus makes Jem go and read to Mrs. Dubose and thus nursing the flowers, it
symbolizes Jem fostering his courage so that he will be strong enough to endure what the
prejudice people say about his family and him. Also, the Finch children’s visits and reading to
Mrs. Dubose signifies “their aims to change the racist ways of Maycomb” (para 2), in the words
of Adam Smykowski. Although all these events happen in a small town in 1930s Alabama, they
apply to and signify the racism of the entire South during that time period.
The Ewells property also portrays the racist ways of the South in the 1930s. Mayella
Ewell, one of Bob Ewell’s many children, keeps flowers in the yard. These red geraniums
illustrate the white womanhood of the South. In addition, the fence that borders the Ewell’s land
represents the Southern whites’ racism and fear while trying to protect the woman hood from the
black men. The constant fear of miscegenation is symbolized through the combination of the
fence, flowers, and the location of the black residents near the Ewell’s house (Smykowski para
3). Actually, “a sort of miscegenation does occur, as Mayella Ewell makes advances toward Tom
Robinson. Her advances startle Bob Ewell and bring about his greatest fear, as he is willing to
end an innocent man’s life because of it” (Smykowski para 3). Thus, Lee uses the Ewells to
symbolize the racist behavior of the whites in the 1930s South.
The language in Harper Lee’s novel also symbolizes the racism in the South during the
1930s. One example of the language was when, “Bob Ewell stands up and exclaims, ‘I seen that
black nigger yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella!”’ (Lee & Smykowski para 3). This crude statement
proves how the whites viewed blacks. The use of the word ‘ruttin’ especially gives blacks an
animalistic quality and makes African Americans seem like a lowly beastly species (Smykowski
para 3). Bob Ewell’s choice of words also portrays a sense of separation and belittlement of
blacks. In the 1930s, nonunion blacks were considered as ‘scabs’ by companies while there were
no such labels for whites which created a segregation against the blacks when being hired
(Williams 3). However, in the novel when Mr. Gilmer, the prosecutor for Tom Robinson’s trial,
constantly refers to Tom Robinson as “boy” shows the racist mentality of the whites. The reader
can see the lack of respect for blacks. In addition, his use of words such as “big buck” goes back
to the representation inhuman views of blacks in the 1930s. (Lee & Smykowski para 3). Hence,
through the use of language, Harper Lee symbolizes the racism and unjust treatment of blacks.
Lee mixes irony with racist symbolism in one of Aunt Alexandra’s missionary circle
meetings. During one of the meetings, Mrs. Grace Merriweather chats about how the Mrunas in
Africa live in shadow and penury. Upon her telling how J. Grimes Everett is the only one that
can help them, the other ladies in the missionary circle all act sympathetic and helpful towards
those blacks. Yet it is ironic how they treat the blacks in their own town like dirt, always
criticizing them. On the same note, once the trial of Tom Robinson is over and Aunt Alexandra
expresses her disapproval of Atticus Finch letting his children witness the trial (Smykowski para
3). Atticus responds with “they might as well learn to cope with it. … It’s as much Maycomb
County as missionary teas” (Lee 285). Atticus’s retort symbolically refers to how what is said in
Aunt Alexandra’s missionary circle is just as racist as the court case. Therefore, the missionary
circle teas symbolize the bitter irony of the South and how much racism was ingrained into the
people’s lives in the 1930s (Smykowski para 3).
Atticus Finch’s actions also represent themes of the prejudiced South in the 1930s. One
greatly illustrative action done by Atticus was the shooting of the rabid dog, Tim Johnson. Tim
Johnson symbolizes prejudice and how the preconception of blacks spreads its disease, like how
a rabid dog spreads rabies, throughout the South. When Atticus kills the dog, he also
metaphorically stops the prejudice and racism from spreading any further as he kills it and is
seen as the hero for doing so. However, Atticus was not able to uproot the entrenched
discrimination in Maycomb county (Smykowski para 4). An example of this being shown was
when his daughter, Scout, refers to the trial being “like watching Atticus walk into the street,
raise a rifle to his shoulder and pull the trigger, but watching all the time knowing that the gun
was empty” (Lee 282). These reasons show how Harper Lee uses the mad dog to symbolize the
spread of racism and prejudice in the 1930s South (Smykowski para 4).
In the novel, Atticus acts as the voice of reason personifying justice (Smykowski para
4).When he tells Scout, “I’d rather you shoot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you’ll go
after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember, it’s a sin to kill a
mockingbird” (Lee 119) the audience is brought back to the title of the novel, ​To Kill A
Mockingbird​. In the bird world, bluejays are seen as bullies due to their aggressive, primitive,
and rambunctious nature. In contrast, mockingbirds are viewed to be innocent as singing
beautiful melodies is all they do and they would never harm anyone. Due to these reasons
bluejays are seen as bullies and symbolize the white people while mockingbirds represent Tom
Robinson and all the underprivileged blacks (Smykowski para 4). In addition, because
mockingbirds are innocent and harmless they also represent Boo Radley as he would never want
to harm anyone and is not guilty of any of the rumors that are said behind his back. The act of
Boo Radley staying inside due to his dislike of facing the prejudice and corrupt world outside is
one way Harper Lee expressed the harsh society in the 1930s. Thus, Lee symbolized the
relationship between whites and blacks in the 1930s South through the bluejays and
mockingbirds in her novel (Smykowski para 4).
Hence, in Harper Lee’s novel, ​To Kill A Mockingbird​, she uses symbolism to portray
racism in the southern states of America during the 1930s. The meanings behind the snowman,
Mrs. Dubose’s actions, the Ewell’s property, and the language used by the racist whites; also,
Aunt Alexandra’s missionary circle tea, the mad dog, and the symbolism of the bluejays and the
mockingbirds all prove Lee’s intentions through the meaningful interpretations by Adam
Smykowski. These symbolic things help further Harper Lee’s theme of the unjust moral
characteristics of many people. In Adam Smykowski’s words, “​To Kill A Mockingbird was an
influential novel at the time it was written. However, it remains just as important, influential, and
certainly, as symbolic today as when it was first written” (para 5).
Works Cited
Gale. “Minorities in the Depression.” ​The Great Depression and the New Deal​, 1999. ​Literature
Resources from Gale​,
go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T001&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchR
esultsType=MultiTab&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&currentPosition=2&docId=G
ALE%7CEJ2158000332&docType=Essay&sort=RELEVANCE&contentSegment=&pro
dId=MSIC&contentSet=GALE%7CEJ2158000332&searchId=R5&userGroupName=bro
o63621&inPS=true. Accessed 6 Jan. 2017.
Lee, Harper. ​To Kill a Mockingbird​. New York, Grand Central Publishing, 1960.
Smykowskyi, Adam. “Symbolism and Racism in [To Kill A Mockingbird].” ​Contemporary
Literary Criticism​, 1996.
Williams Jr., Vernon J. “Race and Ethnic Relations.” ​Encyclopedia of the Great Depression​, vol.
2, 2004. ​Literature Resources from Gale​,
ic.galegroup.com/ic/uhic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?displayGroup
Name=Reference&zid=f01c29e39d893c600e1b1341c11f3615&p=UHIC&action=2&catI
d=&documentId=GALE%7CCX3404500435&source=Bookmark&u=sand55832&jsid=6
200ddac43eec100915e8bdb3e09d081. Accessed 6 Jan. 2017.