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Problems with racism in literature
How does harper lee cover racism and sexism in to kill a mockingbird
How does harper lee cover racism and sexism in to kill a mockingbird
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Authors use many different ways to develop themes within a work of literature. Within Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Lee uses the character Atticus Finch to develop one major theme within the story. That theme is: not to judge a book by its cover. Atticus Finch is used to draw a very vivid picture of this theme all throughout the book. This book tells the story of two young children and their father interacting with many people within their hometown of Maycomb, Alabama during the mid 1930’s. A few examples of the theme being shown throughout the story are when Atticus’ children, Jem and Scout interact with Boo Radley and Mrs. Dubose. One other example is how the town treated Tom Robinson during his court case. Atticus is used within …show more content…
the story to teach his children, and ultimately the reader the life lesson of not judging a book by its cover. Lee firsts develops this theme through Jem and Scouts interaction with Boo Radley. Throughout the children's early years they like to pester Boo and his family trying to get Boo to come out of his house. Boo Radley, a recluse, is accused of many things that he may or may not have done. One thing was stabbing his father in the leg with a pair of scissors (53). Some people within the town also believed that he only came out at night, ate cats and squirrels (52), and looked through your window while you were sleeping (60). Even if Boo Radley does these things he is very nice to Jem and Scout and he saves their lives towards the end of the book. During the winter on pages 92-95 there is a fire that burns down Ms. Maudie's house. Ms. Maudie’s house is close to the Finch’s house so Atticus tells his children to go stand in front of the Radley’s place. On the previous day it had snowed and the temperature was still extremely cold. The children, in pajamas, stand in front of the Radley’s gate watching the fire all night. While Jem and Scout watched the fire, Boo Radley comes up behind them and puts a blanket around Scout without her noticing (96). This was only the first instance of Boo Radley being nice to the children. Boo also leaves many gifts for the children on their walks to and from school. At the edge of the Radley’s property, there is a tree that has a hallowed part in it. When the children walk by the tree they will find small gifts and trinkets that Boo had leaves for them. “Jem and I were trotting in our orbit one mild October afternoon when our knot-hole stopped us again (79). … One was the figure of a boy, the other wore a crude dress(80)”. Now onto the part of the book where Boo saves the children's lives. This instance is documented on pages 350-353. Boo saves the children from being murdered by Bob Ewell with a kitchen knife, he does this by stabbing Mr. Ewell with the knife. When the Finch’s call Mr. Tate, the local sheriff to investigate he determines that Mr. Ewell fell onto his knife and that he was not stabbed. Atticus has a different way of processing the crime. He says it was Jem who stabbed Bob Ewell. The reason why they both give different stories is because they want protect Boo. Mr. Tate and Atticus both know that he was the one who killed Bob Ewell and that he would be found guilty if this case went to court because of the towns perceived notions about him. Within this passage Atticus sees past what others say and he knows that Boo Radley is a good man, that is why Atticus and Mr. Tate make up a story to cover for him. Harper Lee also uses the children’s interactions with Mrs.
Dubose to teach the reader about not judging a book by its cover. The children’s first major interaction with Mrs. Dubose was one day after Jem’s 12th birthday. He decides to take his birthday money to town and buy something with it. On the children’s way to town they pass by Mrs. Dubose house and she starts yelling at them, this is usually of her. She then says this to the children, “Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash that he works for! (135)”. This irritated Jem greatly. When the children return from town Jem decides to do something very unexpected, he cuts down each and everyone of Mrs. Dubose’s flowers in her yard. For his punishment he has to read to her for the next month. The reason that Atticus make him read to her is because she is dying. Everyday that Jem reads to her she sets up a timer to tell the children when they can stop reading and go home. Each day Mrs. Dubose sets up the timer to go later and later into the day. One day after reading to Mrs. Dubose, the children find out that she passed away. This is when Atticus explains to the children what the timer was for. “Her whole mind and body were concentrated on the alarm clock. (148)” Before this Atticus stated, “Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict… “She took it as a pain-killer for years… but she was too contrary--- (147)”. Even though Mrs. Dubose was not afraid to share her opinions with anyone, right or wrong, Atticus tells Jem this; “She was. She had her own views about a lot of things… I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. …She was the bravest person I ever knew. (149)” Through this Atticus teaches the reader a different form of not judging a book by its cover, which is this. You don’t know what people are going through in life so you should still treat them with the utmost
respect. Lee teaches the reader one final lesson on not judging a book by its cover through Atticus’ actions during Tom Robinson's court case. Tom Robinson, a kind, black man is accused of taking advantage of Mayella Ewell on November 21st and Atticus is called to defend him. The court case is finishing up and Atticus states this, “And so a quiet, respectable, humble Negro who had the unmitigated temerity to ‘feel sorry’ for a white woman… the evil assumption --- that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber.” “You know the truth, and the truth is this; some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women --- black or white. But this truth applies to the whole human race and to no particular race of men. (273)” Atticus indirectly states not to judge a book by its cover. Metaphorically speaking Atticus is saying that if some books by a particular author are not that good that does not mean all of his books are bad. Harper Lee uses the character Atticus Finch to help develop the theme of the story which is to not judge a book by its cover. Lee does this by having the Finch family interact with many people in their hometown of Maycomb, Alabama. Atticus teaches his children and ultimately the reader the life lesson of not judging a book by its cover through the children's interaction with Boo Radley and Mrs. Dubose. Atticus also teaches the whole town of Maycomb this lesson with his closing statement at Tom Robinson's court case. Harper Lee placed Atticus within this story so that he could teach the reader the life lessons that she wants them to know. There are many people in this world, good and bad but never judge them without getting to know them first.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic novel written by Harper Lee. The novel is set in the depths of the Great Depression. A lawyer named Atticus Finch is called to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. The story is told from one of Atticus’s children, the mature Scout’s point of view. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, the Finch Family faces many struggles and difficulties. In To Kill a Mockingbird, theme plays an important role during the course of the novel. Theme is a central idea in a work of literature that contains more than one word. It is usually based off an author’s opinion about a subject. The theme innocence should be protected is found in conflicts, characters, and symbols.
Atticus Finch is a very essential character in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. He is not only the father on Jem and Scout, but he is also defending Tom Robinson. Along with all of the obstacles and challenges that Atticus faces he is still an exceptional role model for the children. He also overcomes the diversity of Negroes and whites that is displayed during his time by standing up and fighting for Tom Robinson and his triumph in court against Bob Ewell. Lee presents Atticus Finch as understanding of Tom Robinson, caring with the children, and calm throughout the Tom Robinson trial.
Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird was published in the year of 1960, and is one of the few American classic novels awarded the Pulitzer Prize. The racism that is prevalent in many southern American towns in the 1930s is brought to life with profound imagery in To Kill a Mockingbird. There are several characters in the book, yet the true main character is the narrator's father, Atticus Finch. He is a man of great integrity and intelligence. A very heroic figure in more ways than one, Atticus possesses traits like being principled, determined, and, more importantly, he teaches others. When looking at To Kill a Mockingbird, one can see that Lee uses lots of description, dialogue, and actions to portray Atticus as a heroic individual.
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, there are many themes that are portrayed in the novel. Some of these themes include courage, social inequality, and more. Harper Lee develops the theme of a loss of innocence in To Kill a Mockingbird through Jem Finch and Boo Radley in many different ways.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, by author Harper Lee, several of the characters in the book share a similar character trait. Atticus Finch, Mrs. Dubose and Boo Radley all show courage throughout the book in their own individual ways. In different events, all three characters were faced with a challenge that they could either turn away from and accept or try to defeat. In Lee’s novel, a few of the main events that occur in the book include Atticus Finch defending a black man, Mrs. Dubose is challenged with overcoming an addiction, and Boo Radley must brave the outdoors to save the Radley children. Throughout the book, the characters change and one begins to understand what life in the small town of Maycomb is like, as the Finch family and friends grow and mature throughout the events happening while encountering social prejudice, courage, and the mockingbirds of life.
When Atticus discovered what Jem had done, he was furious and punished him by making him go read to Mrs. Dubose everyday. He knew, though, in his heart that she had it coming. Atticus had told Scout that "when summer comes you'll have to keep your head about far worse things it's not fair for you and Jem, but
In chapter 11, Mrs. Dubose says some hateful words about Atticus, which leads Jem to smash her flowers. As a punishment, Jem had to read to her every day after school for two hours. A conversation between Atticus and Jem shows how he felt about her in the beginning, “Did she frighten you?” Said Atticus.
Dubose was not very important in the grand scheme of things but her actions towards the children taught them a lesson. Near the end of Mrs. Dubose's life, she made Jem read to her for varied amounts of time even though Jem did not want to because he felt as though Mrs. Dubose was not a very nice person. It was told to Jem later that, “Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict” (Lee 147), and that Jem reading to her was how, “she meant to break herself of it before she died” (Lee 148). This dishonest deception in the novel was how Jem came to realize that what his actions with Mrs. Dubose were not a punishment but a safe haven for Mrs. Dubose. She may have deceived Jem but it was for a good reason. It would have made her death a lot harder on Jem if he would have know about her addiction and how his actions were affecting
Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is an astounding portrayal of Southern tradition and human dignity, a novel whose themes and lessons transcend time and place. The book is narrated by a young girl named Scout who matures over the course of the story from an innocent child to a morally conscience young adult. The cover of the novel displays a knot-holed tree containing a pocket watch and a ball of yarn, accompanied by the silhouette of a mockingbird soaring over the trees through a twilight sky. The portrait on the cover is an emblem that signifies the nature of Scout's maturation and the underlying themes presented by Harper Lee. Lee's signified themes, ethically rich and profoundly humane, epitomize traditional Southern mentality.
To Kill A Mockingbird is a heroic tale of leadership and courage during racial times. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Atticus, To, Jem and Scout are unfortunately exposed to a really racist and prejudice society and town. Which ends up causing them to lose a case and really confuse Jem and Scout when they are young. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird it uses characterization to help show a theme which is loss of innocence when people are exposed to surprising and unfair situations.
They saw Mrs.Dubose more as Tom Robinson’s case outbreaks into court. Tom Robinson is the black man Atticus is defending, so every work day Atticus walks past Mrs.Dubose house. Which is “two doors up the street… with steep front steps and a dog trot-hall.” It was not until Jem needed to read to her, when him and Scout got to go inside of her house. “An oppressive odor met us when we crossed the threshold… In the corner of the room was a brass bed and in the brass bed was Mrs.Dubose… There was a marble-topped washstand by her bed.” In her house, Jem begins to leave his safety at home and face society's disapproval, which is symbolically represented as Mrs.Dubose. She represents the racism of the Old South, and Jem had to face his problems as he begins to come of age as a mature man.
Mrs. Dubose is overtly racist, representing the ‘bad’ part of the town. In chapter 11 of To Kill a Mockingbird, Mrs. Dubose repeatedly insults Jem and Scout because their father, Atticus Finch, is defending a black man, Tom Robinson, accused of rape. The theme is revealed in chapter 11.
The first theme is the coexistence of good and evil throughout the story. The way the book shows the moral nature of people, essentially their good and bad sides. The book further promotes this theme by using the transformation of Scout and Jem view of childhood innocence, in which they believe that everybody is good, because they have never been exposed to evil, to a more adult view, in which they have been exposed to many types of evil and have to apply it to their thinking. An important subtheme of this book involves the danger that, hatred, prejudice, and ignorance pose to many innocent people. The people in the book affected by this are Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. These two are unprepared for the evil they were exposed and as a result they were mentally destroyed. Jem is also experiences the same affect when he discovers the evil of racism, in which his faith in justice and humanity is lost. However, Scout retains her faith in justice and humanity, because the case had no effect on her. In this book, the voice of morality is Atticus Finch, who already experiences and understands evil, but does not lose faith in humanity’s capacity to be good. He understands that everybody basically has both good and bad qualities, but it is more important to appreciate the good ones. The view of the world is the ...
To Kill a Mockingbird “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view. Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it” (Lee 30). Atticus Finch teaches his children to look at life and people in a different way, and he also practices what he preaches to his children. By focusing on the coexistence of good and evil, the importance of moral education, and the existence of social inequality, one could argue to prove these points and how they form the themes of Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird. Throughout the novel, readers see the good and the evil come out of most people.
“You never really understood a person until you consider things from his point of view—until you climb into his skin and walk around it.” Atticus Finch is a man of extreme integrity. He, as both a lawyer and a human being, stands up for his democratic beliefs and encourages his children to stand up for their own, though they may stand alone. Harper Lee showed how far respect went in To Kill a Mockingbird when Atticus defended Tom Robinson in his rape trial. He did not think twice about being ridiculed by th...