Inhumane
Born on April 28, 1926, one of the greatest American female novelists was born unto this world; she grew up in Monroeville, Alabama ("Google." Google. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.). Known for her best and only novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written in 1960, Lee taught society the cruelties of the discriminations of colored people ("Google." Google. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.). Harper Lee makes a harsh impression on her readers by the choice of words she used in the novel; not out of a racial hate of her own, but of a racial hate of the white people in the times of inequality. It comes as a surprise to Lee’s readers how blatantly she throws around this derogatory phrase, but it is to prove a point about the disrespect our society has towards black people. Harper Lee’s diction in this novel is significant to the theme of having moral nature among human beings; equality of all.
  It says in the novel, “’…Mr. Ewell came in, very excited he was, and said get out to his house quick, some n*****’d raped his girl’” (Lee, 223). Bob Ewell was a very racist man. Very low did he think of black people and there is also an irony that appears here because the Ewell family would have been considered one step above Negroes on the social scale; from lowest to highest it went: the Negroes, the Ewells, the Cunninghams, and then the Finches. Bob Ewell is already considered better or above Tom Robinson and the rest of the black society, but he still feels the need to make them feel less than what they already are to Maycomb. Harper Lee is trying to emphasize to her readers how completely ridiculous it was to call a black person a n*****, just to degrade them when they don’t even deserve it.
Stated in chapter 23, “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, he is trash” (Shmoop Editorial Team. "To Kill a Mockingbird Race Quotes." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.) As said before, this quote refers to a white man who wrongs a black man, which is a crime against humanity because in that time, Negroes were the scum on the inside of the toilet bowl and white people were the pearls inside of the oyster. The pearl in the oyster now becomes the FECES on the scum of the toilet bowl for making a fool of them; the white man is now lower than the negro himself for having talked low of him.
Atticus says, “…ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody's favoring Negroes over and above themselves. It's slipped into usage with some people like ourselves, when they want a common, ugly term to label somebody." Basically the pit of the use of the word “n*****” is a feeling of intimidation. White people feel intimidated by black people, but won’t come out and openly say it. They disguise their humiliation by degrading them and calling them that choice phrase. Scout asks Atticus if he is a “n*****-lover,” because that’s what Cecil Jacobs told her he was and he replied that he was, but firmly said to her never to use that word again, for it is wrong to call someone who has just the right to be on this Earth as you do a name that goes against humanity.

Much like how it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, it is a sin to provoke one as well. It’s the same thing to live your life day by day bringing down someone of different color as it is to kill someone of different color for no apparent reason. It’s basically how the saying goes, “Treat people the way you want to be treated.” If everyone did that, there would be no name calling or murder or injustice among anybody in this world. Harper Lee’s diction in this novel is significant to the theme of having moral nature among human beings; equality of all.