Relationship Between Setting And Theme.
Tom Robinson was prosecuted although he was innocent. The jury who had listened to his trial was made up of all white men. A major theme in To Kill A Mockingbird is racism. The town of Maycomb was filled with racism, which is why Tom Robinson was convicted of rape. The setting of To Kill A Mockingbird is a small, southern town in the 1930's. This setting is the most important fictional element that affected the theme of racism in To Kill A Mockingbird.
The early 1900's were a hard time for negroes. The Thirteenth Amendment was ratified on December 6th, 1865 which ended slavery. Most Southerners were for slavery and once the slaves were released, many whites felt hatred towards the blacks. The whites acted as the blacks were second-class citizens and sometimes acted as though they were not human. Earlier in the story, it was said that Boo Radley was supposed to go to prison but the sheriff did not have the heart to lock him up alongside of the negroes.
Decades after the civil war, Southerns still were incensed that they lost the war. They were still stubborn in their actions toward blacks. Most Southerners were angry when slavery was banned since then they had to work for themselves. Many believed that without slaves, the economy would collapse. They also believed owning slaves identified their honor. Obviously the southerners would be racist against the blacks because they were no longer their slaves.
Maycomb County was a small county inhabited by few people. Not many outsiders traveled through since the next town was many miles away. With a small town, it is expected that mostly everyone will have the same views and that parents will teach their children what they think is right. If some differs from an idea from the community, people will gang up against that person. One of Scout's schoolmates harrassed her and announced in the school yard that her father defends negroes.