Aunt Alexandra is racist because she believes in tradition. She calls her brother racist names for defending Tom Robinson.
Aunt Alexandra is a traditionalist, and in Maycomb that means she is a racist. She does not approve of her brother defending a black man, so she says very racist things about him that Francis repeats.
“If Uncle Atticus lets you run around with stray dogs, that’s his own business, like Grandma says, so it ain’t your...
Aunt Alexandra is racist because she believes in tradition. She calls her brother racist names for defending Tom Robinson.
Aunt Alexandra is a traditionalist, and in Maycomb that means she is a racist. She does not approve of her brother defending a black man, so she says very racist things about him that Francis repeats.
“If Uncle Atticus lets you run around with stray dogs, that’s his own business, like Grandma says, so it ain’t your fault. I guess it ain’t your fault if Uncle Atticus is a nigger-lover besides, but I’m here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family—” (Ch. 8)
Francis is telling Scout that her father is hanging around with stray dogs because he is talking about him defending Tom Robinson. Robinson is the stray dog. This disparages both Tom Robinson and Atticus.
Atticus explains to his children that Alexandra believes that the Finches are superior because of how long they have lived in Maycomb, and probably because they are white. The fact that they are such an old family makes them more valuable, in her eyes.
Atticus suddenly grew serious. In his lawyer’s voice, without a shade of inflection, he said: “Your aunt has asked me to try and impress upon you and Jean Louise that you are not from run-of-the-mill people, that you are the product of several generations’ gentle breeding—” (Ch. 13)
By this, Atticus is trying to tell his children the “facts of life,” meaning he is teaching them about class system in Maycomb. Alexandra believes this is important, but Atticus does not. To him, defending Tom Robinson is a good thing. He believes that if he doesn’t do it, he will be letting the town down. Atticus believes that in a court of law, everyone should be treated equally.
The contrasting values of Alexandra and Atticus demonstrate the old order versus the new one. Atticus is trying to teach his kids that a person’s value comes from being a good person, not class or skin color. Scout and Jem will grow up believing these new values, and teach them to their children. That is how racism is combatted—one child at a time.
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