The aim of this bachelor thesis is to analyse the depiction of racial issues in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The first four chapters provide a historical background to the life of African Americans in the American South in the first half of the twentieth century, focusing on the 1930s. The main chapter covers the relations between African Americans and white residents of Maycomb, explore the role of language and symbols, and examine the inevitability of Tom Robinson's death and the inspiration behind the court case.