To Kill A Mockingbird Good Vs Evil
The text, "To kill a mockingbird" broadens our understanding of people and the world around us. It does that by presenting to the reader a number of important issues which are relevant to us today. These issues include racism, prejudice, and the co-existence of good and evil.
Racism is an important issue that is still present in today's society and relevant to the community. This is also one of the most important theme presented in the book. Racism is seen when Scout is ridiculed by her cousin, who said "Your dad is nothing but a nigger-lover!' Level of language is used here to show contempt. This is accentuated by contrasting the fact that its spoken out of the mouth of a child, which symbolises purity, with the influence of racism, showing the reader how widespread racism is in society. …show more content…
Another example of this would be Tom Robinson, who was destroyed as a result of racism being present in the society. His case, which had evidence clearly in favour his innocence received the verdict of Tom being guilty, as the consequence of him "feeling sorry" for a white woman. This action caused an uproar in the jury, and he was convicted not based on the evidence, but because he assumed that he was on equal levels with a white person. The unfairness was made more clear by the juxtaposition of the evidence that would definitely prove him innocent, and the verdict which was handed down. This broadens our understanding of people and the world, as it depicts accurately what the human community was like at that time, and lets the reader learn from it.
Prejudice is another significant issue that broadens the understanding of the reader. It is one of the most commonly seen events in the book. This issue is seen in the duration of the court hearing, where the corruption of the legal system is laid bare by the events that occur, pointing to the obvious racial discrimination of the jury, the Ewells, and the audience.
One of the events that show corruption is the change in mental state of Mayella Ewell when she was meticulously cross-examined by Atticus. Her emotions changed dramatically as she was being challenged, moving from a grudge to a fury to not answering, as her lies were being broken down by Atticus' carefully planned questions. Level of language is used here to show her agitated and confused emotions, seen in the quote "I don't know how he done it, but he done it...".
She was also shown lying, when she was being pinged with a flurry of precise questions from Atticus. Repetition of the line "no answer" when Atticus was deconstructing her alibi, depicted clearly that she was lying, as she had no answer to any of the questions that he asked. The evidence of her not speaking the truth is further built upon by her desperate attempt at winning the case with a speech that inclines the jury to be racist. Juxtaposition of Atticus' questioning and her response to it highlights the fact that she is lying, contrasting the truth that was found out by the questions, and Mayella's answer that pleads for racism in order to avoid getting caught being untruthful. This broadens the understanding of the reader, as it contrasts the supposed Rigidness of Law "The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth," and the obvious corruption of the system, letting the reader understand the effect of prejudice.
The co-existence of good and evil is the most important theme in the book, as it encompasses nearly everything that the book is about.
This broadens the understanding of the reader, as they view the differences between good and evil, and absorbs the challenges that the characters faces .The text shows the reader this by recounting the transition of Jem and Scout from a time of childhood innocence where they assume that all are good because they have never seen evil, to a more adult perspective, where they confronted evil and can incorporate it into their understanding of the world.
Evil is seen where the 'mockingbird' symbols are destroyed due to hatred, and prejudice. One example would be Tom Robinson, symbolising the Mockingbird that "does nothing but sing their hearts out for us." He is destroyed by the racial discrimination and the ignorance of the corrupted juries. Mr. Underwood refers to Tom being shot as the "senseless slaughter of songbirds," using alliteration to increase the impact of the phrase. Jem and Scout bear witness to the court hearing, and acknowledge unwillingly the ugly side of humanity lay bare before them, symbolising the "Sin" of killing a
mockingbird.
However, they also come to terms with the good side of humanity, symbolised by another mockingbird symbol, Boo Radley. Throughout the story, Boo has shown himself to be of kind nature, achieved by repetition of events such as mending the pants, and stashing lollies in the tree hole, fitting into the mockingbird ideal of "singing their hearts out for us." In the last chapters of the book, he comes out of his house and saves the children from Bob Ewell, a display of his righteousness. Contrast with the wickedness of Bob Ewell, who tried to kill innocent children, is used here to heighten the status of Boo. In saving the children from Bob Ewell, Boo is proven to be the ultimate symbol of good.
From the above paragraphs, it is seen that the text "To Kill a Mockingbird", depicting racism, prejudice, and co-existence of good and evil. These are issues which are still relevant to us and present in the society. From this we can see that texts truly do broaden our understanding of people and the world around us.
Racism is an important issue that is still present in today's society and relevant to the community. This is also one of the most important theme presented in the book. Racism is seen when Scout is ridiculed by her cousin, who said "Your dad is nothing but a nigger-lover!' Level of language is used here to show contempt. This is accentuated by contrasting the fact that its spoken out of the mouth of a child, which symbolises purity, with the influence of racism, showing the reader how widespread racism is in society. …show more content…
Another example of this would be Tom Robinson, who was destroyed as a result of racism being present in the society. His case, which had evidence clearly in favour his innocence received the verdict of Tom being guilty, as the consequence of him "feeling sorry" for a white woman. This action caused an uproar in the jury, and he was convicted not based on the evidence, but because he assumed that he was on equal levels with a white person. The unfairness was made more clear by the juxtaposition of the evidence that would definitely prove him innocent, and the verdict which was handed down. This broadens our understanding of people and the world, as it depicts accurately what the human community was like at that time, and lets the reader learn from it.
Prejudice is another significant issue that broadens the understanding of the reader. It is one of the most commonly seen events in the book. This issue is seen in the duration of the court hearing, where the corruption of the legal system is laid bare by the events that occur, pointing to the obvious racial discrimination of the jury, the Ewells, and the audience.
One of the events that show corruption is the change in mental state of Mayella Ewell when she was meticulously cross-examined by Atticus. Her emotions changed dramatically as she was being challenged, moving from a grudge to a fury to not answering, as her lies were being broken down by Atticus' carefully planned questions. Level of language is used here to show her agitated and confused emotions, seen in the quote "I don't know how he done it, but he done it...".
She was also shown lying, when she was being pinged with a flurry of precise questions from Atticus. Repetition of the line "no answer" when Atticus was deconstructing her alibi, depicted clearly that she was lying, as she had no answer to any of the questions that he asked. The evidence of her not speaking the truth is further built upon by her desperate attempt at winning the case with a speech that inclines the jury to be racist. Juxtaposition of Atticus' questioning and her response to it highlights the fact that she is lying, contrasting the truth that was found out by the questions, and Mayella's answer that pleads for racism in order to avoid getting caught being untruthful. This broadens the understanding of the reader, as it contrasts the supposed Rigidness of Law "The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth," and the obvious corruption of the system, letting the reader understand the effect of prejudice.
The co-existence of good and evil is the most important theme in the book, as it encompasses nearly everything that the book is about.
This broadens the understanding of the reader, as they view the differences between good and evil, and absorbs the challenges that the characters faces .The text shows the reader this by recounting the transition of Jem and Scout from a time of childhood innocence where they assume that all are good because they have never seen evil, to a more adult perspective, where they confronted evil and can incorporate it into their understanding of the world.
Evil is seen where the 'mockingbird' symbols are destroyed due to hatred, and prejudice. One example would be Tom Robinson, symbolising the Mockingbird that "does nothing but sing their hearts out for us." He is destroyed by the racial discrimination and the ignorance of the corrupted juries. Mr. Underwood refers to Tom being shot as the "senseless slaughter of songbirds," using alliteration to increase the impact of the phrase. Jem and Scout bear witness to the court hearing, and acknowledge unwillingly the ugly side of humanity lay bare before them, symbolising the "Sin" of killing a
mockingbird.
However, they also come to terms with the good side of humanity, symbolised by another mockingbird symbol, Boo Radley. Throughout the story, Boo has shown himself to be of kind nature, achieved by repetition of events such as mending the pants, and stashing lollies in the tree hole, fitting into the mockingbird ideal of "singing their hearts out for us." In the last chapters of the book, he comes out of his house and saves the children from Bob Ewell, a display of his righteousness. Contrast with the wickedness of Bob Ewell, who tried to kill innocent children, is used here to heighten the status of Boo. In saving the children from Bob Ewell, Boo is proven to be the ultimate symbol of good.
From the above paragraphs, it is seen that the text "To Kill a Mockingbird", depicting racism, prejudice, and co-existence of good and evil. These are issues which are still relevant to us and present in the society. From this we can see that texts truly do broaden our understanding of people and the world around us.