The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, tells the story of a small town that faces many challenges. Atticus Finch is a very humble and respectful man who defends Tom Robinson. He has two kids, Jean Louise, and Jem. Jean Louise “Scout” Finch is a young girl that is very intelligent. She is the daughter of Atticus. Jem Finch is a young boy that matures throughout the novel. He is the son of Atticus Finch. Tom Robinson is a black man accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell. Mayella Ewell is considered white trash in the town of Maycomb and she is the daughter of Robert Ewell. Robert Ewell is considered white trash and is the father of Mayella Ewell. Boo Radley lives down the street from Atticus. He is considered the town psycho…
In the early 1900s, power was divided in whites up and African-Americans down. Mayella has some power because of her race, white. She has more power than Tom because everyone that is white there is downstairs and everyone that is African-American is up stairs. She had more rights to say so more than blacks because of the skin color. Although her race gave her some power, her gender doesn’t.…
Maycomb, a typical small town in southern Alabama, has the prejudicial attitude which triggers many incidents and also establishes the status of people. Most people have the same beliefs and values in the community of Maycomb. There is a strong division of classes within Maycomb and the rigid class structure has an extensive effect on the events. For instance, Scout condescends to Walter Cunningham when she is explaining to Miss Caroline about his situation. Scout judges Walter based on his family and she is labeling him as the "Cunningham family" which is seemingly meant to be poor and poverty. When Scout tells Miss Caroline about the Cunningham, she thinks it is "clear enough" (24) to the rest of the people. The story is set during the Great Depression, at a time in which millions of Americans lost their jobs. Many people lost their homes, their land, and their dignity. Burris Ewell is not accepted in Maycomb as well. The class says to Miss Caroline that he is "one of the Ewells" (31) and that the Ewells are "members of an exclusive society made up of Ewells" (35). Gossips can affect key events and even the smallest details because they make everyone to prejudge others. To some degree, it is all under Maycomb's definition system.…
To Kill A Mockingbird, a novel by Harper Lee, is the story of a young girl named Scout, growing up in Maycomb County, Alabama, in the 1930’s. Scout is forced to mature quickly when she father takes on a job defending Tom Robinson, a black man accused of rape, in court. As a result, Scout is mocked and discriminated against by a society that believes a black man is always guilty. Scout comes to realize that her small, safe town is not the tranquil place she had thought, but is full of racists who let their passion run away with their common sense. The ever present symbol of innocents, the mockingbird can be seen in Scouts childish ways, Boo’s simple good heartedness…
To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in Maycomb, Alabama. Atticus Finch is a lawyer and has two kids, Scout and Jem, who he raises alone because his wife died. Scout is a young girl that acts like a tomboy. Her brother Jem is the oldest and is a boy, who is in love with football. Tom Robinson a person of color was accused of raping a white woman, Mayella. Even though the evidence leads to Mayella's father, Bob Ewell. Bob was forcing Mayella to say things to convict Tom. Most people in the courtroom knew Tom was innocent. Towards the end of the book when Scout and Jem get attacked by Bob Ewell who Atticus accused of raping Mayella. During this attack the Finches neighbor, Arthur Radley, who they have never seen comes out and saves Jem and Scout.…
The book to kill a mocking bird is set in the great depression, and is narrated by a girl named jean Louise (Scout) Finch. Her father, Atticus finch is a lawyer who is told to defend a black man, and her brother who is always with no matter what. The book follows this girl for 3 years and documents all the important things that happened in her life. The story is set in a town called Macomb which is in Alabama in this town Atticus finch is told to defend a black man accused of raping a white lady hopelessly trying to prove that this man is innocent. Scout who is the main character in the story tells her story of 3 years. Throughout this three year period scout finds a man who has been in his house for a long period of time named Boo radley who eventually saves…
To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is a parallel story about two young children who grow up in a racist southern town and learn that life is not all fun and games. In the beginning of the book the main characters Scout and Jem spend their days playing together and exploring their hometown of Maycomb, Alabama. They are especially intrigued with their mysterious neighbors, the Radley's. Later on in the novel, Scout and Jem’s father Atticus is appointed to defend a black man and the children realize how unfair and prejudice the townspeople of Maycomb really are. The trial of Tom Robinson and the mysterious Radley house come together in an action packed ending.…
As stated above, the story takes place during the Great Depression. Although the Finch family is less affected by the economic downturn due to Atticus’s profession, the rest of Maycomb, Alabama is devastated with hard financial times. The farmers, such as the Cunningham family, were the most affected, as Atticus explains to Scout, “The Cunninghams are country folks, farmers, and the crash hit them the hardest” (pg. 23). Along with the Great Depression, the book speaks of the racism that was prominent in this era. The Finches even had a black cook named Calpurnia, whom they treated as family. The rest of the town, however, treated the blacks in hateful, demeaning ways. During the Tom Robinson trial, these feelings of hatred towards the black people are heightened. Derogatory terms, such as “nigger”, are associated with not only Robinson, but any other black member of the community. Because of his ethnicity, when he is accused of raping a white woman, he is found guilty, even though he was completely innocent. The book’s author, Harper Lee, does a wonderful job of conveying the thoughts and…
In the little town Maycomb the commune mindset of people, tents to put women down as inferior. One young girl named Scout, learns the about gender bias from contently being left behind by her brother. One instance where this takes place is in the court house. “Jem scowled furiously at me, then said to Reverend Sykes, “I think its okay, Reverend, she doesn’t understand it.” (231). The action of Jem clamming that his…
Some could argue that racism is just another part of Maycomb’s culture and that is just how they run things, also that they turned out just fine and it might have even boosted their self esteem. However, in today’s society, racism and segregation are frowned upon and despite it being a “tradition”…
Taking place in the small, peaceful town of Maycomb, Alabama, To Kill a Mockingbird is set in a time when racial tension is high. After Scout's father Atticus takes the job of defending a black man in court, Scout is teased by the other children in school. When she asks her father about the names he is called, Atticus tries his best to explain the situation. Scout has faith her father will win the case, even when he admits it would be unlikely. But when Atticus loses, Scout becomes discouraged and starts to question the ways her world works, and eventually experiences the terrors of racism.…
To Kill a Mockingbird tells the story of life in the 1930’s from Scout Finch’s point of view. In any story there are problems and situations that nee to be dealt with. Atticus, being a defense attorney, shows Scout a first hand view of what really goes on in the little town of Maycomb, Alabama. This sparks her curiosity in her father’s newest case, which is Tom Robinson a middle aged black man with a wife and kids. He was arrested under the accusations of beating and raping Mayella Ewell a white female of the age of 19. Many don’t realize that segregation was beginning to heat up in the South during the 30’s, but that is the cause of tense controversy in Tom Robinson’s case.…
“Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts.” (John Wooden). To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is primarily a novel about growing up under extraordinary circumstances in the 1930s during the Great Depression. The narrator, Scout Finch, lives with her older brother Jem and father ,Atticus, in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. Maycomb is a small, close-knit town, where everyone knows each other. Atticus is a highly respected and responsible citizen of Maycomb County. He constantly tries to instill good values and a sense of moral decency in his children. As a widower, Atticus raises his two children on his own with the help of his kind neighbors and Calpurnia, his loyal housekeeper. Atticus, Maycomb’s best lawyer, is appointed to defend Tom Robinson, who is a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman. During the trial, Atticus balances what is morally right and what the local community desires. Tom Robinson is innocent, but he is proven guilty because he is black, and the girl he was accused of raping, Mayella Ewell, is white. Maycomb’s society turns a blind eye to the case and allows Mayella to win because of the inequality between whites and blacks. Tom is found guilty and is then placed in prison. While in prison, Tom attempts to flee, but is shot to death. Because of the trial, Atticus exposes himself and his family to the anger of the white community. Atticus is portrayed as a compassionate, wise, and courageous man who accepts everyone as they are.…
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel about growing in the 1930s in the Southern United States. Scout Finch lives with her brother Jem and their father Atticus (a lawyer) in the town of Maycomb, Alabama. Maycomb is a small town, and every family has its social standing depending on where they live, who their parents are, and how long they have lived in Maycomb. Atticus raises his children by himself, with the help of neighbors and a black housekeeper named Calpurnia. Scout is a tomboy who prefers to solve her differences with her fists. She tries to make sense of a world that demands that she act like a lady, a brother who criticizes her for acting like a girl, and a father who accepts her just as she is. Scout hates school, gains most of her education on her own and from her father. Scout and Jem understand their neighborhood and town. The only neighbor they do not understand is Arthur Radley, nicknamed Boo, who never comes outside. When Dill, another neighbor's nephew, starts spending summers in Maycomb, the three children begin an obsessive quest to lure Boo outside.…
To Kill a Mockingbird is a book that was written in 1960. It focuses on a six year old girl named Scout who lives in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s and her perspective about her father taking on a case to defend a black man in court in a racist town. You also get to see her perspective change as she gets older. To kill a Mockingbird must be taught in high schools so teenagers are exposed to important themes and ideas like racial injustices and parenting roles that are still relevant in today’s society.…