truly look at a person as a whole, not just for one’s skin color or even actions (good or bad). In the next quote, he encourages Jem to consider the complexities of Mrs. Dubose, despite her earlier racist views.

She had her own views about things, a lot different from mine...I wanted you to see something about her—I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand.

This quote is by Scout, as she talks with Jem. Scout says, “I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks.” Recognizing the perpetual tension and conflict between races in Maycomb, Scout shares a profound outlook on humanity that she is learning from Atticus. She hopes that people realize that all people deserve respect.

A character is shown by what they look like, how they act, what they say, and what others say about them. 

Atticus has been assigned this law case.  When Scout asks him why is is defending a Negro he says two things.

"For a number of reasons,,,,The main one is, if I didn't I couldnt hold up my head in town.  I couldn't represent this county in the legislature, I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do something again." (pg 75)

When Scout asks Atticus if he defends "niggers", Atticus tells her,

"Of course, I do.  Don't say nigger, Scout.  That's common." (pg 75)

After Scout and Jem both have experiences with Francis and Mrs. Dubose calling their father a nigger-lover, Scout asks Atticus if he is a nigger-lover.  Atticus replies,

"I certainly am.  I do my best to love everybody....it's never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name.  It just shows how poor that person is, it doesn't hurt you." (pg 108)

Atticus goes to the jail and sits there to defend Tom Robinson against the mob that just wants to hang him.  The children show up and change the whole situation.  However, Atticus was prepared to defend Tom from people who would harm him.

However we get the best insight into Atticus's view of prejudice after the trial.  Jem is very upset with the outcome of the trial, thinking it wasn't fair.  Atticus tells him,

"There's something in our world that makes men lose their heads -- they couldn't be fair if they tried.  In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins.  They're ugly, but those are the fact of life. "

Jem still isn't happy and complains that doesn't make it right.  Again, Atticus tells him,

"The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying those resentments right into a jury box.  As you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don't you forget it ---- whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, the white man is trash." (pg 220)

After Tom is shot, and Atticus leaves to tell his wife, Aunt Alexandra tells Miss Maudie that she is concerned about Atticus.  She asks what the town wants from him.  Miss Maudie tells us about Atticus.  she says,

"Whether Maycomb knows it or not, we're paying the highest tribute we can pay a man.  We trust him to do right. It's that simple." (pg 236)

When Aunt Alexandra asks who is asking him to do right, Miss Maudie replies,

"The handful of people in this town who say that fair play is not marked White Only; the handful of people who say a fair trial is for everybody, not just us; the handful of people with enough humility to think, when they look at a Negro, there but for the Lord's kindness am I." (pg 236)

Racial prejudice is deeply ingrained in Maycomb's segregated society, which is founded on racist Jim Crow laws. Throughout the novel, Jem and Scout gain significant perspective on their community and begin to recognize the truth behind their relatively peaceful hometown. One quote regarding prejudice and injustice comes from Dolphus Raymond, who interacts with Scout and Dill outside of the Maycomb courthouse. When Dolphus hears Dill cry about the way Mr. Gilmer disrespected Tom Robinson during his cross-examination, he tells Scout,

Things haven’t caught up with that one’s instinct yet. Let him get a little older and he won’t get sick and cry. Maybe things’ll strike him as being—not quite right, say, but he won’t cry, not when he gets a few years on him.

Dolphus's comment highlights the injustice Black citizens experience every day in Maycomb's racist society. The vast majority of white citizens are prejudiced and do not sympathize with Black people when they witness racial discrimination. Only innocent, naïve children react and empathize when they observe injustice.

Classism also exists in Maycomb, and characters like Aunt Alexandra discriminate against members of the lower class. In chapter 23, Aunt Alexandra prohibits Scout from playing with Walter Jr. When Scout asks her aunt why she cannot play with Walter Jr., Aunt Alexandra displays her class prejudice by saying,

Because— he—is—trash, that’s why you can’t play with him. I’ll not have you around him, picking up his habits and learning Lord-knows-what.

One of the most relevant quotes regarding prejudice and injustice takes place in chapter 25 following Tom Robinson's death. Scout reads Mr. Underwood's editorial about Tom's wrongful death and recognizes her father's predicament during the trial. Scout mentions,

Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.

Scout's quote emphasizes the dangers of racial injustice and describes the jurors' reasoning for wrongfully convicting Tom Robinson. Despite Tom's innocence, the jurors' prejudice influenced their decision to submit a guilty verdict, which is a prime example of racial injustice.

In the above quotation, we see an illustration of the primacy of certain social codes in Maycomb. These codes, whether they relate to the appropriate behavior of a young lady or the proper relationship between the races, are steeped in prejudice. What's more, they are almost unbreakable, even in a court of law, where justice is supposed to reign.

Atticus knows this, which is why he refers to Mayella's having transgressed a social code in kissing Tom Robinson. He knows that this code means a lot more to the members of the jury than any abstract notion of justice. However, he also knows that they are almost certainly going to draw upon that code in finding Tom guilty of Mayella's rape and assault.

She has committed no crime, she has merely broken a rigid and time-honored code of our society, a code so severe that whoever breaks it is hounded from our midst as unfit to live with.

It's true that Mayella has committed no crime. However, Atticus wants the jury to see that the exact same thing applies to Tom. However, he knows full well that the jury won't see it that way. All they'll see is that a Black man has been accused of raping and assaulting a white woman. As far as they're concerned, that's more than enough “evidence” to convict. Contrary to what Atticus might want, they are not there to dispense justice, but to uphold a moral code steeped in racial prejudice.

"Folks don’t like to have somebody around knowin’ more than they do. It aggravates ‘em. You’re not gonna change any of them by talkin’ right, they’ve got to want to learn themselves, and when they don’t want to learn there’s nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language." - Calpurnia

"As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it—whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash."  - Atticus

"Mr Finch, if you was a nigger like me, you'd be scared, too." - Tom Robinson

"I ain't touched her, Link Deas, and I ain't about to to go with no nigger!" - Mr Ewell

"Jem, how can you hate Hitler so bad an' then turn around and be ugly about folks right here at home -?" - Scout

"The handful of people in this town who say that fair play is not marked White Only; the handful of people who say a fair trial is for everybody, not just us..." - Miss Maudie

"I’m no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system—that is no ideal to me, it is a living, working reality. Gentlemen, a court is no better than each man of you sitting before me on this jury...." - Atticus

"The one thing that does not abide by majority rule is a person's conscience." - Atticus

Atticus Finch is colorblind when it comes to a man's skin. He treats all people--black and white--the same, and as Miss Maudie says, "Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets." Concerning the upcoming trial of Tom Robinson, Atticus wonders

"Why reasonable people go stark-raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don't pretend to understand."

When Scout uses the word "nigger" in his presence, Atticus tells her,

"Don't say nigger, Scout. That's common."" 's what everybody at school says.""From now on, it'll be everybody less one--"

Atticus has previously stated that a jury can't be expected to take a black man's word over a white man's, but in his final summation of the trial, Atticus pleads with the jury to disregard their racial biases and Tom's skin color. He asks them to do their duty without passion. Concerning Mayella Ewell's actions, Atticus reminds the jury that

"She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man... No code mattered to her before she broke it, but it came crashing down on her afterwards."

In Chapter 23, Atticus explains to his children that a person related to Walter Cunningham initially voted for Tom's acquittal during the trial, which is why the jury deliberated for so long. Jem and Scout are shocked to hear this, and Atticus continues to elaborate on the Cunninghams' respectable family background. Scout then mentions that as soon as school starts she is going to invite Walter over for dinner. Aunt Alexandra tells Scout, "We'll see about that," and Scout asks her why not (Lee 299). Alexandra goes on to tell Scout that the Cunninghams aren't their kind of folks. She mentions that no matter how much you scrub Walter Cunningham and dress him appropriately, he will never be like Jem. Scout gets extremely upset and asks Alexandra again why she cannot play with Walter. Aunt Alexandra responds by saying,

"Because---he---is---trash, that's why you can't play with him. I'll not have you around him, picking up his habits and learning Lord-knows-what. You're enough of a problem to your father as it is" (Lee 301).

Alexandra's prejudiced comment depicts her contempt for individuals who are considered lower-class. Alexandra believes that her family is "better" than the Cunninghams, and is prejudiced towards poorer community members.

In Chapter 11, Scout and Jem are insulted by the novel's most notorious racist, Mrs. Dubose. Mrs. Dubose yells, "Your father's no better than the niggers and trash he works for!" (Lee 135). Mrs. Dubose is not only prejudiced against black people, but also toward those who choose to associate with them.

In Chapter 24, Mrs. Merriweather is explaining the horrors that J. Grimes Everett experiences over in Africa during his missionary work. She tells Scout,

"you are a fortunate girl. You live in a Christian home with Christian folks in a Christian town. Out there in J. Grimes Everett's land there's nothing but sin and squalor" (Lee 309).

Mrs. Merriweather's xenophobic, intolerant comments display her prejudice toward foreigners. She is ignorant of other cultures and views America, along with its predominately Christian population, as superior to the Mrunas tribe in Africa.

In Chapter 26, Scout discusses Miss Gate's hypocritical comments with Jem. Scout says,

"I heard her say it's time somebody taught em' a lesson, they were gettin' way above themselves, an' the next thing they think they can do is marry us" (Lee 331).

Miss Gate's comments display her prejudiced feelings toward black people. Miss Gates believes that white people are superior and views black community members with contempt.