Killing an innocent is not justify, everybody is equal. On chapter 9, Atticus introduced his new client to Scout. He explains to Scout the importance about his new trial. In chapter 9 of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird the author Harper Lee uses the Setting, character, and conflict to create the theme, it is not right to punish innocent people. To start of, Harper Lee uses the 1920's setting to illustrate segregation and the conflict of the novel. On chapter 18 page 25 Msyellea Ewell was on trial and Atticus doubted Mayella's protest. Mayella got angry and quoted this "that nigger yonder took advantages of me an; if you fine fancy gentleman don’t want to do nothing about it then your cowards" On my commentary, this states how racism was still a thing and how a colored person had to put in a lower society because a white women has the thought to think, just because she is white, she has the right to throw a colored man in jail. Another key point is when Atticus steps out of his way and explains how negroes are portrayed in the 1930's society. Chapter 20, page 273. "the evil assumption that all negroes lie, that all negroes men are not to be trusted around our women , all negroes are immortal." In effect, in the 1930's white and blacks don’t get along this is another example on how the 1930's setting …show more content…
Mayellla starts on chapter 18, page 241. "'Fore I knew it, he was on me. Just run up behind me, he did. He got me round the neck, cussin me" . In reality, this would be impossible, Tom Robinson lost all muscle and bones in his left hand, when he was 12 years old. He couldn't have her grounded if she was putting up a fight. In the same fashion, Scout explained on chapter 18, page 298, how Tom isn't the person that raped Mayella. "He looked oddly off balance but it was not from the way he was standing, his left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his
Mayella Ewell is a woman in the 1930’s and yes, women back then were not treated as citizens. As Atticus is delivering his closing argument on how the person who beat Mayella with his left, Tom cannot use his left due to a job accident. By contrasting the difference in race and gender, in the 1930’s these were a big thing, To examine the results of race, gender are way different. Mayella may be white, but in her role as a female, it just goes downhill from that. Although it is different from Tom Robinson point of view. As Atticus is delivering his closing argument after proving that Bob Ewell is left-handed and Tom Robinson is not able to use his left hand. ‘“...What did her father do? We don’t know, but there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone who led almost exclusively with his left…’”. Tom Robinson is unable to use his left hand due to a job accident. Mayella took advantage of Tom, she knew he would help her because he is a nice man. Mayella was not taught respect while growing up, Tom on the other hand was amiable. Mayella is anxious of her father and what he does to her. Some readers might be anxious too, but might confess up to what their father is doing to them. Since she was not taught respect from her father, she would not know much about it. “Won’t answer a word you say long as you keep on mockin’ me,’Mayella said.
To Kill a Mockingbird "I simply want to tell you that there are some men in this world who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your father's one of them." – Miss Maudie The quote above states that Atticus Finch was a man who did unpleasant things, but this quote is false. Miss Maudie had every good intention when she told Jem and Scout this and her point was taken in the way she intended it to be taken by the children. Her point could have been better worded if the portion that reads "our unpleasant jobs" were replaced with "what is right." Atticus did unpleasant things only because he knew that they were the right thing to do. Miss Maudie told the children about their father in this way only to avoid saying that the rest of the town was wrong.
Students today should be informed about the racials tensions and struggles that black people faced in the 1930s. To Kill A Mockingbird explains the difficulties of the racial divides of that time. In the book there were several different racial
Every day when Tom walked by Mayella’s home, he helped her since he felt sorry for her. During Atticus’s speech at the courthouse, “And so a quiet, respectable, humble Negro who had the unmitigated temerity to ‘feel sorry’ for a white woman…” (Lee 204) If Tom Robinson felt sorry for what her father has ne to her, he wouldn’t attempt to harm her. When he stood on the witness stand, he described the story in his own words, Tom remarked, “She reached up and kissed me ’side of th’ face…” (Lee 194) Tom didn't follow Mayella and kiss her, however she kissed him. Since this is against the rules of society, she made it have the appearance that he disturbed her so she wouldn't be in trouble for kissing a black
The book, To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the Early 1930’s. The 1930’s was a decade of racism,pain and struggle. However, this decade soon became the new beginning. To escape the horrendous reality of being unemployed and unable to provide for their families, many turned to entertainment to escape the hardships and realities that they were going through. Many families went to church regularly to ask for forgiveness and to hope that things would change for the better. Many churches seen about a 5 percent increase in the amount of members attending church when the Great Depression had started. Also, the 1930s was a time where there was a lot of tension between the races. Discrimination against blacks was not yet illegal, and therefore
different social class were crucial. Class structure exist in the novel during the 1930s from the Finches who are in the highest class in the black community who are at the bottom. Atticus Finch, a character from To kill a Mockingbird defends Tom Robinson, an African American, who is
The highest level of courage is staying true to yourself. Being honest to yourself and standing up for what you believe in takes great courage. Unfortunately, being courageous comes at a high cost and you may not always be rewarded for it. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, many characters show courage at the topmost level. Their acts may seem foolish and immoral to others, but they do what they believe in. The book shows that true courage is fighting in what you believe no matter what the consequences. We see this type of courage in Jem, Scout, Atticus and even Boo Radley throughout the course of the book.
The novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee is a simplistic view of life in the Deep South of America in the 1930s. An innocent but humorous stance in the story is through the eyes of Scout and Jem Finch. Scout is a young adolescent who is growing up with the controversy that surrounds her fathers lawsuit. Her father, Atticus Finch is a lawyer who is defending a black man, Tom Robinson, with the charge of raping a white girl. The lives of the characters are changed by racism and this is the force that develops during the course of the narrative.
“‘Old Mr. Bob Ewell accused him of rapin’ his girl an’ had him arrested an’ put in jail---’” (Lee 164). To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, takes place in a settled town called Maycomb in Alabama. It is based during the early 1930’s when the Great Depression hit. Poverty reaches everyone from families like the Finches to the “white trash” Ewells. Soon the settled town Maycomb gets into conflict characterized by poverty, racism, and domestic violence.
In this book Harper Lee promoted change by making people think about social injustices while they were reading her book. She did this by using scenarios of social injustice in her book that related to real life and the Jim Crow laws. This allowed people to reconsidering their standing on race. In her book there are many examples of social injustice. One example of injustice is when Dolphus Raymond is disrespected and disapproved by the whites in Maycomb because he socializes with black people and has had children with a black woman. He even pretends to be a drunk so people can accept him and why he had kids with a black women. He says the he’s trying “to give ‘em a reason” (Lee 200). This section of Harper Lee’s book shows the Jim Crow laws that disapproved interracial marriage. In some states interracial marriage was even outlawed, those states saying “It shall be unlawful for a white person to marry anyone except a white person.” (Jim Crow). This promotes change by showing people that there is nothing wrong with the people interracially marrying, it is just
Jill McCorkle's Ferris Beach, a contemporary novel, shares numerous characteristics with Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel written in the 1960's. Like To Kill a Mockingbird, McCorkle's novel documents the life of a young girl in a small southern town. The two narrators, Kate Burns and Scout Finch, endure difficult encounters. A study of these main characters reveals the parallels and differences of the two novels. Jill McCorkle duplicates character similarities and rape from Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird to show the reader how young girls think and develop.
The first witness called to testify was the Sherriff of Maycomb; Mr. Heck Tate. During his testimony he depicts how Mr. Ewell called out to him, “get out to my house quick, som nword had raped my girl.” When he arrived at the scene, he found Mayella lying on the floor in the middle of the room. He then proceeded to describe her injuries. She was beaten around the head, had bruises on her arms, her right eye was black, and there were finger marks around her neck.
The 1930’s were a time in which blacks faced many hardships. It was a time in which the Ku Klux Klan had its peak. However, most importantly, it was the time when Nelle Harper Lee, the writer of To Kill A Mockingbird, was being raised. She was raised in a world where “niggers'; were the bottom class in one of the most powerful countries in the world. She was also being raised during the Great Depression, a time when the attacks on blacks were intensified, as they were the scapegoats of the immense downfall of the US economy. However, she was only a small, innocent child who believed in equality for all. Thus, Harper Lee expressed her disapproval over the treatment of blacks in her Award-Winning novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, through the eyes of a fictional character called Jean Louise Finch, better known as “Scout';.
I chose to write a thank you letter because it seem to fit my writing style. This fits my skills because I’m not a big writing person and this feels like it was the easiest for me to do. The easiest part about writing a letter is knowing the characters well enough that you can talk about their personality and how they have impacted Maycomb. The most challenging part is going to be citing the story at least 3 times because I’m not going to know exactly where a character said something or remembering an episode. This project will help me with improving my skills by learning how to write a more complex letter and with higher level words. I want to improve my skills on citing the text by going back and finding 3 or even more events or dialogues from
Scout Finch, the youngest child of Atticus Finch, narrates the story. It is summer and her cousin Dill and brother Jem are her companions and playmates. They play all summer long until Dill has to go back home to Maridian and Scout and her brother start school. The Atticus’ maid, a black woman by the name of Calpurnia, is like a mother to the children. While playing, Scout and Jem discover small trinkets in a knothole in an old oak tree on the Radley property. Summer rolls around again and Dill comes back to visit. A sence of discrimination develops towards the Radley’s because of their race. Scout forms a friendship with her neighbor Miss Maudie, whose house is later burnt down. She tells Scout to respect Boo Radley and treat him like a person. Treasures keep appearing in the knothole until it is filled with cement to prevent decay. As winter comes it snows for the first time in a century. Boo gives scout a blanket and she finally understands her father’s and Miss Maudie’s point of view and treats him respectfully. Scout and Jem receive air guns for Christmas, and promise Atticus never to shoot a mockingbird, for they are peaceful and don’t deserve to die in that manner. Atticus then takes a case defending a black man accused of rape. He knows that such a case will bring trouble for his family but he takes it anyways. This is the sense of courage he tries to instill in his son Jem.