In To Kill a Mockingbird, racial tensions are high. African American people and whites have separate water fountains, entrances, neighborhoods, and churches. In this time period in the South, whites and blacks did not attend church together. Therefore, the Finch kids caused quite a stir when they entered First Purchase Church with Calpurnia. Most of the congregation were kind to the Finch kids because they understood that they were children, and they respected their...
In To Kill a Mockingbird, racial tensions are high. African American people and whites have separate water fountains, entrances, neighborhoods, and churches. In this time period in the South, whites and blacks did not attend church together. Therefore, the Finch kids caused quite a stir when they entered First Purchase Church with Calpurnia. Most of the congregation were kind to the Finch kids because they understood that they were children, and they respected their father, Atticus, for all that he was doing to help Tom Robinson. However, Lula, a member of the congregation, does not want the Finch kids at First Purchase Church. She says that they have their own church and should not be there. Harper Lee uses Lula to showcase the fact that there are some African American people that do not accept Atticus and his family even though he is trying to help the cause of African Americans as a whole through the Tom Robinson case. Lula can also help the reader understand how prejudice may beget prejudice—Lula's frustration and anger are the products of the treatment she has received as she has been excluded from white society. Much as we sympathize with Scout and Jem, Lula's perspective too is understandable: why should white people be allowed in her church when she has never been allowed in theirs?
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