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The word ‘Truth’ means to be honest and an ‘honest’ person is someone who is respected in the community. From a young age, parents are constantly instructing us to tell the truth, and if we do we won’t get in trouble. This certainly was not the case for Tom Robinson in the film ‘To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)’ and Starr Carter in the novel ‘The Hate U Give (2017)’ as their voices were overpowered by the ‘white community’.
The 1960s was a decade of radical social change and revolutionary demeanor. Although racism was still a tough subject for much of society, a substantial amount of people were able to come to a realization on many of the issues and influence positive change. However, social activists still encountered a long and treacherous path toward change because the ideas of equality and hatred were firmly embedded in so many people. Even films of the 1960s appeared to either jump around the issue or come on too strong. Nonetheless, Robert Mulligan’s 1962 film ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ found a balance between the two. The film had great success in shedding light on race relations and identifying how much more power and authority a white person has over a black person. In the film, Tom Robinson is seen being wrongly framed and accused of the rape and assault of Mayella Ewell even though she is quite noticeably lying. Unfortunately, Mr. Robinson is still found guilty due to the arbitrary decision by the jury because of the obvious fact he is black. Although the film was set almost thirty years before the sixties which was the time of the Great Depression, the dispute of racism was still far from outdated.
‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ (1962) is a powerful title because just the title alone represents a symbolic meaning that is displayed throughout the film. “Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy . . . but sing their hearts out for us, (Mulligan,1962).” Atticus’ explanation to the children symbolizes that mockingbirds are recognized and resembled as innocent in the film. Therefore, the title means that innocence is being killed by evil. Several characters in the film can be identified as a mockingbirds, such as Tom Robinson, Atticus, and Jem. These characters were symbolized as innocent, especially Tom Robinson who was found guilty because of the greater authority that Bob and Mayella Ewell had over him. Another very significant symbol relating to the perspective is the courthouse. Everything including the courthouse was segregated. The black community was all together sitting at the top while the white community was at the bottom. Symbolically, the separation of the seating between the two colors illustrates that segregation infiltrates Maycomb, where blacks are seen as inferior and treated as second-class citizens. It also displays how the Finch family can bounce past the rules of segregation and treat the black community equally and respectfully.
Set in the deep south town of Maycomb, Robert Mulligans''' To Kill a Mockingbird’ is established in a town where racism is frequent. Maycomb, Alabama is described as being a 'slow town,' where the majority of the inhabitants are old and there are no significant attractions. Maycomb is a small, poor, rural town and like many deep south towns, Maycomb has a very recognizable social hierarchy. “Jem tells Scout that there are four kinds of folks in Maycomb, There's the ordinary kind like us, there's the kind like the Cunningham’s out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes (Mulligan,1962).” Entrenched families such as the Finches live in nice residential neighborhoods, while African Americans live in their separate communities and are recognized as second-class citizens. The separation portrays how Maycomb is infiltrated with racism and that segregation is present.
Angie Thomas’ novel ‘The Hate U Give’ (2017) is undeniably successful at identifying ‘white privileges.’ The novel’s protagonist Starr Carter is a sixteen-year-old who constantly switches between two worlds, the poor, mostly black neighborhood where she lives and the wealthy, mostly white prep school that she attends. However, the tragic killing of Starr’s childhood best friend ‘Khalil’ by a white police officer known as ‘One-Fifteen’ made an uneasy balance between these two worlds and left Starr shattered. Over the news, Khalil was portrayed as a ‘drug dealer’ and wasn’t receiving the justice that he and his family truly deserved. Facing pressure from all sides of the community, Starr must find her voice to stand up for what's right. She later realized that this wasn’t just about Khalil but other race issues. “Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right (Angie Thomas, 2017).” Officer One-Fifteen was never charged for the murder of Khalil and his word was taken over Starr’s. However, this still didn’t stop Starr from doing the right thing.
It is difficult to believe that a hairbrush can play such a major role in the novel and symbolize both the blinding power and senselessness of racism. The hairbrush was ultimately used as the reason behind the reckless and needlessly killing of Khalil. Maverick states that this assumption was made up by Officer One-Fifteen not simply because the “handle was black enough” to be mistaken as a gun, but because Khalil himself “was black enough” (Thomas, 2017, p. 215) to be holding one. It seems that the hairbrush was a defense to justify the reason why Officer One-Fifteen shot Khalil three times without hesitating. The hairbrush is the reason why Officer One-Fifteen was never charged with murder and why he had more power over Starr. Another significant symbol portrayed in the novel is the ‘bullhorn’. “The lady climbs off and hands Ms. Ofrah the bullhorn. Ms Ofrah passes it over to me. Use your weapon, she says” (Thomas,2017, p. 405). Starr is no longer frightened to demand justice at this moment while standing on the same street where Khalil was killed. The focus on Khalil’s life, rather than death, further reflects the ethos of Black Lives Matter.
The Hate U Give is set in the fictional neighborhood of Garden Heights where Starr lives with her family and where the shooting of Khalil takes place. Garden Heights is known as the 'ghetto' at her suburban, mostly white 'bougie' private school. Starr’s father, Maverick who is also frequently known as “Big Mav” was born into a life of crime being known as one of the biggest drug dealers in Garden Heights. After having kids, he decided to leave the gang life behind by taking the blame for King and going to prison for three years in exchange for getting out of the King Lords. Maverick owns a small grocery store in Garden Heights and it is seen as a pillar of the community. Throughout the novel Starr and her family are constantly engaging in code-switching. Whether she is talking to fellow residents of Garden Heights, white people, or law enforcement, she always alters her inflection, vocabulary, and dress style. Based on whether Starr feels that she shifts into an entirely separate version of herself at Williamson, she drops many of the tics of her speech as she doesn’t want to appear as “ghetto” to her classmates.
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