Throughout the course of history, mankind has learned many things, and has continually strived in running the race towards the prize that has been set out for them. It’s undeniable that at times we do a great job, lighting the future with hope. However, other times the path ahead of us seems only to be filled with darkness. This impression could be given through many of today’s undisputable facts. Quite unfortunately, justice is not for all. Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mocking Bird; the documentary, Eyes on the Prize: Education at Little Rock; Anthony Burns by Virginia Hamilton; and the certain poems all illustrate this fact.In the view of Harper Lee, justice is a simple concept. To recognize the difference between justice and injustice does not take any special degree of wisdom or sophistication, as shown by Scout, our narrator. In fact, the learned members of the community- such as the judge and prosecutor- and the proudly religious Baptists who are spectators at the trial are, willingly or not, allied with the machinery of injustice.The title this novel is a key to some themes. It is first explained in Chapter 10, at the time that Scout and Jem Finch have just received air rifles for Christmas. Atticus tells his children that it is a sin to shoot a mockingbird. Later Miss Maudie explains to the children what Atticus meant: Mockingbirds are harmless creatures that do nothing but sing for our enjoyment. Therefore, it is very wrong to harm them. It is easy to see that the "mockingbird" in this story is Tom Robinson- a harmless man who becomes a victim of racial prejudice and injustice. Like the mockingbird, Tom has never done wrong to anyone. Even the jurors who sentence him to death have nothing personal against him. They find him guilty mostly because they feel that to take the word of a black man over two whites would threaten the system they live under, the system of segregation. Tom himself is guilty of nothin...
