TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD The corporation is the real villain of Maycomb County. Discuss. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee presents a corrupt society facing complex social, ethical, and moral problems. Some will say that Bob Ewell is the bad guy, but in reality, society is the harsher bad guy. Lee's underlying theme, such as social discrimination, plays a role in identifying bad acts of the community and how they affect opinion judgments. The overarching theme of racial discrimination is clearly evident throughout the book. Unfortunately, society itself is the ultimate cause of this dilemma. Maycomb County is divided between honest, hard-working blacks and privileged, prejudiced whites. The long-standing racist attitude towards black people is callous as they have not been recognized as human beings and are treated inhumanely. When Tom Robinson; a respectful black man is wrongly accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, Atticus is assigned to fight for Tom at the trial. Because Atticus is a white man ...