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https://doi.org /10.5281/zen od o.14977430

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The Criterion: An International Journal in English Vol. 16, Issue-I, February 2025 ISSN: 0976-8165
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Race and Justice in American Fiction: A Study Through To Kill A
Mockingbird
Dr. Porishmita Buragohain
Assistant Professor,
Department of English,
Lanka Mahavidyalaya.
Article History: Submitted‐24/01/2025, Revised‐02/02/2025, Accepted‐12/02/2025, Published‐28/02/2025.
Abstract:
The concept of race and justice has been important issues since the beginning of human
history. The theme of race and justice serve a significant position in American fiction. Race
and justice also play an important role in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel
highlights the idea of race from a different historical period and identical racial perspectives.
The aim of this paper is to explore how race and justice exhibits its significance in American
fiction. This paper also tries to examine the treatment of race and justice in a post-depression
American society. It puts forth the idea of justice by contextualizing the alienation of justice in
legal and social terms in the case of a black man. The writer of the select novel has rightly
pointed out that though segregation has been abolished from the institutions, from the society,
its disease has remained in the minds of a large number of people.
Keywords: Race, justice, history, segregation, alienation.
Race foreshadows all facets of human life. History has also given the evidence
regarding the racial inequality that America has gone through. Racial inequality in America is
fairly well documented. The discourses on race issues have been examined not only by the
white thinkers. It should be noted that when a black talks about the blacks his perspective will
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be different as he belongs to that community, in this way the white community’s perspective
will also be different regarding a particular race which has been under the domination of the
whites for a long period of time. Historically racism in the United States can be traced to
American South. The problem of making hierarchies among people based on color was not
only restrained to the southern states, but it was more dominantly administered there than
anywhere else in the United States. Dilemmas regarding race and racism have bothered all
modern nations. We can connect white racism of America with the post-apartheid South Africa
which has also exhibited itself in a dark, ominous and forceful way in the late twentieth century.
Racism has both an ideological and material aspects, as suggested by Du Bois. Du Bois puts
more emphasis on the problems created by racial divisions. According to him African
Americans are regarded as a ‘problem’ by the white society but this problem lies in the binaries
that are created by racism. Race plays a crucial role in constituting one’s identity. The concept
of race is recent. Ideas regarding race does not remain static, rather it changes from time to
time on the basis of social, political and cultural scenario. The American society gives
dominant evidence of race relation and racial divisions. In America racial category has become
a major determinant in a person’s struggle for his rights. This aspect takes us back to “Jim
Crow” laws that have been passed in the United States after the end of Civil war. It also offers
testimony of racial inequality based on color or race. The idea of racial division can be
institutionalized. The legal and political institutions also play a major role in legitimizing race
relation between blacks and whites. For instance, slavery in the United States can also be
institutionalized as it was permitted by the law. Thus the American society legitimizes white
supremacy over the blacks with the help of institutions.
Racism has often appeared to be timeless. Now the concept of race as a natural and static
category has been challenged by most of the contemporary scholars. We also accept the idea
that race is a construction that transforms and shifts in different situations. John Searle, in his
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book The Construction of Social Realty has clearly pointed out that race is a “social
construction” and “ontologically subjective”. Racial ideology is historicized as it is related to
certain historical realties throughout time which offers it significance.
Race foregrounds the issue of superior and inferior. Frantz Fanon in his book Black Skin, White
Masks suggests, “The black man among his own in the twentieth century does not know at
what moment his inferiority comes into being through others”. Fanon critiques the whites for
looking at the blacks through racial landscape. Fanon is against of the idea of racial
discrimination. According to him “The Negro enslaved by his inferiority, the white man
enslaved by his superiority alike behave in accordance with a neurotic orientation” (Fanon 5).
Thus the creation of the feelings of superiority and inferiority has categorized the blacks as
inferior based on color line. The novel selected for the study explores the idea of race from
different historical periods and from seemingly identical racial perspectives. The main purpose,
however, is to show how the racial group must encounter with different phases of racial
domination within a specific period of history or at a particular given time.
The interlacing of race and justice in American fiction is a major issue that offers significant
insights on American society. Race has been a key issue for critical debate since the 1950s.
After the 1950s, the debate can be historically traced to the rise of the Civil Rights Movement.
But race has dominated American intellectual discourse for more than a hundred years ago
when the anti-slavery sentiment of a large group of people give rise to abolitionist movement
and Civil War in the late eighteenth century. It is interesting that the major debates on race
happen because of the world war movements.
In simple terms, race is a social construct. If we look at the historical implication of the word
race we see that it gets different treatment throughout history. By the turn of seventeenth
century race was purely a matter based on physical features such as skin color, geographical
location, stature and shape, thus people were divided on the basis of their physical traits.
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In modern times we see that historians, cultural anthropologists and other social scientists have
looked at the term race as a cultural category or social construct. Many social scientists prefer
the word ‘ethnicity’ to the word ‘race’. In this context, the belief in race as a social formation
can be traced back to 1960’s Civil Rights Movement that has fought for equality. The
movement draws from modern thinkers such as Claude Levi Strauss who believe that race has
no innate connection with biological origins or diversity. So race can be studied from the
perspective of various disciplines and methodologies.
When To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960 it succeeded in getting the attention of the
reading public and as a result it remained as a best seller for a long period of time. The book
had also been chosen to be translated into different languages. “I never expected that the book
would sell,” said Harper Lee in a 1964 radio interview (Oxoby 127). This novel is a
bildungsroman told from the perspective of Jean Louis Finch (also known as Scout) and the
novel highlights events from Scout’s life during the period of 1933-1935.
Published in the throes of the Civil Rights Movement, To Kill a Mockingbird is directly
influenced by the social tensions of that era. When the novel was written the white people had
the supreme power and control over the community. This novel is based on post-depression
American South. This is the time when society reexamines itself. Generally, post-depression
literature questions the success story of America. This book is also not an exception. She has
revised this book in1950. This novel in a way has begun as a response to give the power of
choice to the black people. This story is about basics of democracy. Harper Lee is responding
to the problem regarding the future of America.
This novel fairly presents the social and political scenario of the post-depression era. The
central episode of the novel centres around the rape trial of a black man called Tom Robinson.
This episode is as significant as it portrays not only the hollowness of American society but
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also the hollowness of legal system. Certain real incidents are related to Tom Robinson’s trial.
Though those incidents are not identical with Tom Robinson’s trial, they have importance in
the social realm.
While writing this novel Lee draws on her memories of growing up in rural Southern Alabama
during the depression. It should be noted that the character of Scout has so much similarities
with the author Harper Lee. The character of Dill, the friend of Jem and Scout has been taken
from real life. Dill is her childhood friend Truman Capote. There are also certain similarities
between Harper Lee’s father and Atticus Finch who plays a crucial role in the novel. This novel
has undoubtedly made Atticus Finch one of the heroes of literature. Moreover, Atticus’s actions
and the trial of victimized Tom Robinson can be compared to Scottsboro trial of 1930s. Tom
Robinson’s trial is akin to the trials of Scottsboro boys, which have become a burning topic in
those days. In Scottsboro trial nine blacks were falsely accused of raping two white women
one of whom was a prostitute. Though it was proved by the doctors that there was no evidence
of raping, they were sentenced to death. This trial had happened in Alabama and Lee was also
influenced by this trial. The remarkable parallels between the Scottsboro trials and the trial of
Tom Robinson have drawn considerable attention from scholars.
In the Scottsboro trial there was a judge called James Horton who went against his own
community for saving the rights of the blacks like Atticus Finch in the novel. Atticus was the
lawyer who went against the collective sentiment of a community to defend a black man and
bring him justice. The case that the author has portrayed in the novel is identical with the
Scottsboro trial of 1930s and this helps the reader to realize the social and political scenario of
1930s largely. Both these trials also hint at the class divisions and how these divisions of racial
inequality matter in terms of attaining justice. It may be the real or fictional Alabama but
inequality, racial bias is there, and this can be proved with the help of these cases.
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To Kill a Mockingbird captures the suppression of a black male by the dominant white people.
From the point of view of the whites of American South, a black man is a menace who can
violate the purity of Southern Black woman and therefore the black man should be looked at
with suspicion and kept in the peripheries. From the perspective of blacks also the white woman
always remains as a threat because any accusation from the white woman can turn their life
upside down and they will end up in despair. These two perspectives can help us to look at the
race relation between two races. This also hints us to a kind of inner turmoil that society has
faced. This relation is obviously not free from violence. The novel documents this particular
aspect.To Kill a Mockingbird is based on Maycomb County. It is Scout’s story and told
primarily from her point of view.
This is the story of a moral white man who has fought for the cause of right and wrong. He
stands for the ideal white man who remains by the side of the law. This man is Atticus Finch
and this honest lawyer has come to our attention when he defends a black man called Tom
Robinson in a false case. Because of his defense of the black man, the whole white community
has considered him a disgrace to his own race. The anti-African American feeling in Maycomb
is the cause of resentment towards Atticus and his family. This is evident in the scene when the
Cunningham-led mob comes to lynch Tom on the very night before the trial. This incident
alerts us to violence that has been generated in the minds of people for their hatred towards a
particular race. This scene has also been witnessed by the children. It should be noted that
Judge Taylor has deliberately chosen Atticus to defend the case of Tom Robinson. This novel
also offers a critique on the judicial system. Atticus, in spite of great pressure of the community
defends the black man and becomes a hero in his defeat. Within a year, Scout also realizes that
the judicial system is important and it is not free from bias.
This novel portrays the aspect of racism not only through society and people, but it also
concentrates on dialogues and words. When Scout comes to know about Atticus’s court case
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from her friend Cecil Jacobs, she asks him, “Do you defend niggers Atticus?” (83) Atticus
replies, “Of course I do. Don’t say nigger, Scout. That’s common” (83). Her use of the word
‘nigger’ reveals the fact that she has internalized the words and ideas of the adults. She imitates
the words of the adults. Atticus makes her understood that the word ‘nigger’ is a very offensive
word to use in terms of a black. Francis has also called Atticus as “He’s nothin’ but a nigger-
lover” (92). From the reaction of the people, Scout has also come to know that her father has
done something unusual. Thus, this little girl has revealed the fact that defending a black by
someone who is white is not a good thing for him. It is no less than committing a sin. The white
people have despised him for this and they even do not exclude his children too. In this respect,
we can take into account the title of the novel. Atticus once said, “Shoot all the blue jays you
want, if you can hit ’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (99). Miss Maudie also
said, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy” (100). This is an
indication of the idea that the adults should be careful of what they are doing in front of the
children so that they can’t catch up with something illogical. The adults should not destroy the
curiosity of the children and to kill that curiosity is a sin.
Scout learns that Atticus will be defending Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a
white woman. Already Scout is being harassed at school because of her father’s involvement
in the case. Nevertheless, Atticus insists that Scout will not allow others to rile her because of
their ignorance. The Robinson case serves as the focal point for the second half of the novel.
Scout and Jem are exposed to the subtleties of black-white race relations in the South. The
white man’s attitude towards Atticus has been changed as he is defending a nigger. Her friend
Cecil has also said, “My folks said your daddy was a disgrace an’ that nigger oughta hang from
the water-tank” (85). For the majority of white man Atticus is a disgrace to their race because
instead of taking side of the white man, he is protecting the black man who belongs to an
inferior race. They believe that the white man can never do any wrong. Even if they commit
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any crime, they can easily escape from the situation as the law protects them. However, Atticus
is fighting for the cause of the justice for the black man irrespective of what race he belongs to
because he knows Tom Robinson is innocent.
The character of Dolphus Raymond offers another dimension to understand the race relation
between whites and blacks. Dolphus Raymond is one of the intriguing characters though he
does not appear frequently in the novel. He becomes interesting for his relation with a colored
woman with whom he lives. He is a man who does not care what his race thinks about him. He
completely rejects the code of society that believes in racial inequality. As he has preferred to
live with the blacks he is one of the outsiders of Maycomb. This highlights the racial boundaries
of a society. This aspect is important to realize the circumstances of racial assimilation. The
whole Maycomb alienates him because of his relation to a black woman. According to Jem he
has a lot of ‘mixed chillum.’ Jem has also pointed out to the predicament of the mixed people.
He says, “They don’t belong anywhere. Coloured folks won’t have ’em because they’re half
white; white folks won’t have ’em ’cause they’re coloured” (177). The mixed people are
without any sense belongingness.
Atticus puts on the best defense that he can in the courtroom. While it is clear that he will lose,
he is still determined to take a moral stand. Scout and Jem are able to reason, based on the
evidence, that Tom Robinson is innocent. However, the jury finds him guilty and the children
learn the awful truth that, “a court is only as sound as its jury, and a jury is only as sound as the
men who make it up.” As Jem struggles to come to terms with the unjust verdict, Atticus
explains, “So far nothing in your life has interfered with your reasoning process…but you saw
something come between (the jury members) and reason…There’s something in our world that
makes man lose their heads – they couldn’t be fair if they tried” (220). Scout has learned that
adults can be wrong in their judgments within a courtroom and that they can be wrong in the
everyday judgments. She has realized how the world judge people.
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Justice and the court of law are related to each other. An innocent person gets justice in the
court of law. The novel shows that justice is a privilege for those, who have born as white and
it is not a right. Reverend Sykes’s comment on the trial is also interesting. He comments, “I
ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man…” (230). This
proves the predicament of the blacks in a white dominant society throughout the ages. They
are denied justice because of race, because of color, because of the division that has made them
savage and inferior. The law is in favor of the whites. The writer also criticizes the legal system
of America through this novel. However regarding the 1930s Southern reality Atticus remarks,
“in our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins.
They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life” (243). This is the legal ground of America that
decides the fate of people not in terms of evidence and law, but in terms of race and color. He
also says, “There’s nothing more sickening to me than a low-grade white man who’ll take
advantage of a Negro’s ignorance” (243). Atticus uses the word ‘low’ in the case of a white
who just takes the advantage of a black’s inconvenient condition. The stereotypes that prevail
in the society also raise questions in the minds of the children. Therefore Jem questions, “If
there’s just one kind of folks, why can’t they get along with each other? If they’re all alike,
why do they go out of their way to despise each other?” (251). These are serious questions
whose answers can be given with help of history.
Tom Robinson has not given justice in the court of law. He is shot because he has done a
mistake by going against the superior race, by blaming the member a white race. It was
absolutely ridiculous that a black man’s word be taken over the word of a white man. The truth
is, Tom Robinson is convicted not because he is guilty of raping a girl but because he is a black.
The attitude of the people in Maycomb regarding Tom’s death proves that his death does not
have any impact on the society. “To Maycomb, Tom’s death was typical. Typical of a nigger
to cut and run. Typical of a Nigger’s mentality to have no plan, no thought for the future, just
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run blind first chance he saw” (265). Thus Tom’s escape makes the whole Maycomb believe
that he is guilty, his escape from prison compels the whites to hold their pre-existing ideas
about what African-Americans are like. No amount of black blood can overcome a drop of
white blood in Maycomb genetics and no Atticus Finch can save him from being regarded as
“typical”. We can say that Tom Robinson is not mainly killed by the guards; he has been killed
by the community, by the people of Maycomb. This is how justice is denied in the court of law
and even in the mind of people in the case of Tom Robinson. The white community of the
Maycomb County was also indifferent towards Tom Robinson. They even didn’t realize their
unfair treatment towards him. This little Maycomb is the representative of the larger American
society where the division between blacks and whites is visible and the society does not
recognize the injustice done to the blacks. Therefore, we can say every society has a Tom
Robinson who suffers because he does not have a voice in him.
For Atticus it is a moral responsibility for him to save that innocent victim irrespective of his
race or color. Thus, Harper Lee has featured Atticus so prominently in the novel to question
the very basis of underlying assumptions of race and class division. This book offers
commentary on the race problem. It concentrates on a judicial system that does not demonstrate
what it confirms. To Kill a Mockingbird juxtaposes two kinds of justice in the court of law and
justice of the individuals. Both of this justice can be reasoned through this novel.
However, if we describe To Kill a Mockingbird as the story of a lawyer who defends a black
man charged with the rape of a white girl, it will be a great injustice to the text. Though the
trial is the main event of the book, it also focuses on other aspects that contribute to the
greatness of the novel. This is the study of events and people that has influenced a young girl
and helped her growing up to be an honorable, sensitive and well-reasoned woman. Therefore,
this can also be said that this novel has justified Scout’s role in a world that is dominated by
issues of racial inequality and distinct color division. Through Harper Lee’s treatment of racial
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inequality, discrimination, we learn where there is kindness there is also hope. She has
conveyed an important message to the next generation that will help them rethink their position
on their ethical grounds. Racial prejudices become an obstacle in a black’s struggle for justice.
Justice is not permitted to the blacks, as justice does not concentrate on fairness, rather on
power politics. Justice is conceived as an umbrella of fairness, draining from the primacy of a
society’s moral obligations to right principles. In the social sphere, justice is often clouded by
considerations of race, class, ideology, etc. Literature resists this phenomenon. American
fiction resists this phenomenon by drawing on the history of the racially sensitive south.

Works Cited:
Fanon, Frantz. Black Skin, White Masks. New York: Grove Press, 1994. Print.
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Vintage, 1998. Print.
Oxoby, Marc C. “Hey Boo: Haper Lee & To Kill a Mockingbird (review)”. Film &History:

An Interdisciplinary Journal 42.2 (2012): 127-129. Project Muse. Web. 19 April 2016.
Searle, John. The Construction of Social Reality. London: Allen Lane, 1995. Print.
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