Based on perspective, Atticus Finch considers that Maycomb is a racist, yet an atrocious town; due to its racialist/intolerant behaviors that the citizens practice towards different skin complexions. For instance, an example of this bigotry can be demonstrated by Tom Robinson’s case; as this was clearly shown/said throughout the arguments during the court trial. As a single parent and a lawyer, Atticus Finch receives a lot of negative attention in Maycomb for representing Tom Robinson's case; which also, happens to have a negative impact on his children. They are talked about, made fun of, and their lives are even threatened at some points.…
There is all those stereotypes about lawyers being nasty, money-grubbing people. Well, meet Atticus, giving lawyers and dads a good name since 1960.Atticus Finch is a major character in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird . Atticus is a very even-keeled type of guy; he does not get too worked up about stressful situations. He is not affected by what other people say or think. He is consistent and rooted in his beliefs.…
Innocent people are being targeted for the color of their skin and their social class just like the residents of Maycomb,Alabama during the 1930’s in Harper Lee’s book “To Kill A Mockingbird”. In this book, which is based on a white family and told through the eyes of the youngest child, “Scout Finch”, you learn about her residential city Maycomb, and its many issues with racism and social discrimination. You also learn about Scout's father , Atticus Finch, who is an attorney for a hopeless black man striving for innocence due to being falsely accused of rape. Throughout this essay, you will read about the characters of “To Kill A Mockingbird” and how they mature due to racism and social profiling. Scout changes her racist and social view of Maycomb after her dad talks to her about the various situations and why they happened.…
Books filled with controversy rarely get recognition for shaping people’s lives; however, To Kill a Mockingbird overcomes this stereotype by showing the good in an otherwise not so good community. This community, known as Maycomb, exemplified traditional racial views that southerners held during the 1930’s. Most of the community, and most of Southern America, shared these same racial views, but Atticus Finch’s beliefs differ from those around him. Throughout the book, Atticus stands up for people of all races despite what those around him think. The courage shown by Atticus has greatly impacted all aspects of my life, including my faith, and demonstrates the determination that I wish to possess.…
It must be acknowledged that there were several negative outcomes of Atticus’ decision to take on the case of Tom Robinson. For instance, when it is first discovered by the people of Maycomb that Mr. Finch has assumed the black man’s case, even their children lash out against Scout and Jem, nearly causing a fight in the schoolyard as a result (Lee 77). However, Atticus uses this as a teaching moment for his children, which is then imparted along to the vast number of readers who have studied the pages of To Kill A Mockingbird, learning the same invaluable lesson that Scout does, to “hold [one’s] head high and keep [one’s] fists down” and continue to stand and fight for what is right and just (Lee 78). Furthermore, some could question the wisdom…
“The moment a little boy is concerned with which is a jay and which is a sparrow, he can no longer see the birds or hear them sing.” ― Eric Berne. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee. Atticus Finch’s kids see how different the world is between skin colors and how it affects their rights. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird Scout and the kids have been opened up to the world evil Injustice and hypocrisy.…
Prejudice is having a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. This is an action that is often used today. Society comes up with opinions about people they have heard from someone’s personal experiences. They choose to judge people or things without knowing anything themselves. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus Finch defends a black man, Tom Robinson, when he is wrongly accused of raping a white girl. When he takes this job the Maycomb community instantly criticized Atticus for helping Robinson. Atticus’ two children, Scout and Jem, are also harassed by kids at school who had heard from their parents. A majority of Maycomb has preconceived judgements against Atticus and the blacks in the community. In…
Throughout the novel the mockingbird is a symbol of innocence, of goodness and pure heart that contrasts starkly with the social prejudice and the lack of empathy present in the majority of characters. This is established by Miss Maudie in her explanation as to why Atticus said it’s a sin to shoot mockingbirds: "Mockingbirds don't … eat up people's gardens, don't nest in cribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us"(p.49). The symbolism is further reinforced when Mr Underwood likens Tom’s death ‘to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters’ in the Maycomb Tribune; thus further positioning readers to understand that regardless of how solid Atticus’ case was, Tom never had a chance – his innocence was destroyed by the prejudice of society (p.128). Similarly, Scout states that putting Boo Radley on trial would be “sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird” for he is pure of heart and to go “draggin’ him with his shy ways into the limelight… that’s a sin” (p.126). Through the mockingbird symbol, readers are positioned to understand the destructive nature of prejudice and the threat it poses to…
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee). In the Maycomb County there is a lot of whites, blacks and even some mixed. There are some that are wealthy and some that are not. Some get along and others do not. Even in a small town, they all live so differently. Throughout Harper lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, hypocrisy, injustice and evil is envisioned in an adult society. Miss Gates and Lula contradict themselves. Atticus is harassed, Tom Robinson gets accused for a crime he did not commit. Bob Ewell tries to kill Scout and Jem and Maycomb is loaded with rumours of Boo Radley,…
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee focuses more on the aspect of racial discrimination rather than “poor white trash” discrimination (Hovet 187). It is so conspicuous that a man loses his life because of it. While the discrimination is more prominent regarding race, the Finch family is also greatly discriminated against throughout the novel. Racism is very prominent in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, as evidenced when Tom Robinson, a black man, is accused of raping a white woman in the 1930s South; because of his innocence and untimely death, all lives in the novel will be changed forever, including Atticus Finch.…
“Racism and injustice and violence sweep our world, bringing a tragic harvest of heartache and death,” Billy Graham once said. In Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill A Mockingbird Atticus is a father and a lawyer, who lives with his children, Jem and Scout, and their cook, Calpurnia, in a town of Maycomb, Alabama. Maycomb is a town populated with black and white people, where racism is apparent. White people feel they are superior than the black people and treat them poorly. Racism is evident when Tom Robinson lost the trial to Bob Ewell, because he was black, even though he is innocent. People were also being judged on appearance, or being treated improperly, like how people see the kind of person Boo Radley is in the beginning of the story. Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” is about injustice.…
Harper Lee lucidly epitomizes the matter pertaining to this theme in her gothic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee, with southern drama, scathingly condemns racial prejudice through the story of a wrongfully accused black man. However, she also affirms the inherent goodness in human kindness through the story of the protagonist, Atticus Finch and his daughter, Scout. In this story, Atticus benefits from the racist Maycomb jury, who was admired and respected, ever since the discovery of the wrongdoings of the jury. Atticus, a small town lawyer, decides to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who was wrongfully accused for raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. He does this despite being disparaged by the racist Maycomb community. Even though his actions may cause turmoil to him and his family, he continues to benefit and act upon the wrongdoings of the Maycomb community by defending an underrepresented man. Through this decision, scout learns how to…
Martin Luther King once declared, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. “ This widely known quote shows that the color of a person should not limit the from doing anything. The topic of racism is frequently visited in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel that takes place during the Great Depression. It focuses on the life of Scout Finch, her brother and the neighborhood she has grown up in, Maycomb County. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee uses racism in the trial scene to show that some people are treated unjustly due to their status. This theme is used to represent characters in the novel to show how race creates tension between the people of Maycomb. The treatment of Tom Robinson during the trial scene reveals that people of the…
For example, in school and work we see bullying, and exclusive groups. The reader can relate the victim of a bullying scene to Tom Robinson because just like Tom Robinson, the victim is discriminated against, but rarely stood up for. One quote said by Atticus Finch was, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb into his skin, and walk around in it”(Lee 39). Atticus says this referring to the blacks of Maycomb, and just like bullying victims, the reader may look different or dress uniquely, and get judged for it, but the reader could be the nicest person in the town. And, until the bully witnesses their personality, the bully can not say they are different, or rude. Victims are picked on for no reason and do not feel strong enough to stand up for themselves, and the blacks in Maycomb are treated the same, they get punished for things the town and themselves know they did not do. The problem is no person feels strong enough to stand up for the victim. Miss. Maudie said, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy . . . but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 119). Miss. Maudie says this because she is saying people who are innocent are destroyed by evil, like Boo Radley or Tom Robinson. Boo Radley is like a mockingbird because mockingbirds do not harm people but rather “sing their…
Racism is part of everyday human society and it is human nature to judge other by their skins color, race, or the way they look. The novel, To Kill A Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, talks about perspective of a young girl named Jean Louise or Scout on series of events that happen in the town Maycomb, Alabama. Her father and a widower, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer with high moral standards and with the help of Calpurnia, a black cook, Scout and Jem discover the extent of racism in their home community while witness many events such as snow in Maycomb, neighbor house burning down and rape trial between a white woman and a black man and these events significantly change her at the end of the book. The two consequences of racial discrimination…