The Existence of Social Inequality

There has always been social inequality throughout this century, between genders, races, and even cultures. The main examples of social inequality in this book have been the racism towards Tom Robinson and the assumption that Boo Radley is a killer and a crazy person. The ending of the book explains the motif that reoccurs throughout the entire novel. Tom Robinson for example was given an unfair trial because he was a different skin color than the people running the trial, and the person who had put him in the courtroom in the first place. “ - The evil assumption- that all negroes lie, that all negroes are basically immoral beings, that all negro men are not to be trusted around our women… we know is in itself a lie as black as Tom Robinson’s skin, a lie I do not have to point out to you. You know the truth, and the truth is this: some negroes lie, some negroes are immoral, some negro men are not to be trusted around women- black or white” (Lee 273).  Atticus said this quote in the courtroom towards the jury.  Tom Robinson was not guilty as everyone knew it whether they admitted it or not, but he was sentenced to death anyway. Racism was very common back in the 30’s and was shown using this large quote from Atticus.

            Arthur Radley, also known as “Boo” does not leave his house often but is known all around the town for being crazy. Hardly anyone has ever seen him before, but everyone makes assumptions that he is a killer and sick in the head. Boo Radley is seen in the end as a nice person, and ends up saving the lives of Jem and Scout. The games that the Finch children and Dill would play at the beginning of the book was to try to see Boo Radley because they expected him to look like a freak. "According to Miss Stephanie, Boo was sitting in the living room cutting some items from The Maycomb Tribune to paste in his scrapbook. His father entered the room. As Mr. Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his parent’s leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants, and resumed his activities" (Lee 13). The rumor was obviously not true but was said anyway. Rumors that spread all around the city could make people believe thoughts that are not true and never were true. Scout ended up feeling sorry for Boo Radley because she was feeling empathetic. She knew how Boo Radley and Tom Robinson felt because she knew it was tough being in a time with race inequality and social class inequality. Another small example of social class inequality is how Walter Cunningham was treated because of how poor he was. That was only a minor for of social inequality in the book, but it was somewhat significant. Social Inequality exists today but is less existent because of human right petitions.