In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee addresses many themes such as prejudice, innocence, courage and coming of age, although racism seems to stand out the most. The story is set in Maycomb, Alabama, a small town in the south divided by white and black people who do not trust each other. The book is told through the eyes of Jean Louise Finch, nicknamed Scout. She lives with her father Atticus Finch and brother Jem. The mother died when Scout was two years old, so the father hired Calpurina, a black cook to help out around the house. This causes a lot of problems in the town with other white folks proving they are truly racist. Atticus Finch is a respected white lawyer who is defending Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white girl named Mayella Ewell. Due to the color of Tom's skin he is given an unfair trail and accused of rape although he is innocent. The sheriff later kills Tom when he tries to run while in custody. Other characters in the book include Mrs. Dubose, Boo Radley, Bob Ewell and Dill.
An example of racism comes from the neighbor Mrs. Dubose when she would tell Jem and Scout that their father was a nigger-lover. Mrs. Dubose was an old lady who was very mean and sick, but had the strength to yell at Jem and Scout when they walked by her house. She said their father was lawing for niggers, meaning that a white man was defending a black man. Jem asked his father what that meant and he said "nigger-lover is just one of those terms that don't mean anything - like snot-nose. It's hard to explain - ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody's favoring Negroes over and above themselves. It's slipped into usage with some people like ourselves, when they want a common, ugly term to label somebody." (Lee 108.).
Another example of racism is when Tom Robinson is wrongly accused of a rape he did not commit. In the courtroom, it was obvious that Mayella and her father, Bob Ewell were lying when they were being questioned by Atticus Finch.
