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Racism in literature
Critical race theory in literature
Critical race theory in literature
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“Mr. Bob Ewell stopped Atticus on the post office corner, spat in his face, and told him he’d get him if it took the rest of his life” (Lee 217). In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird Bob Ewell reacted to Atticus Finch after opposed him during a court case, of his daughter being raped by an African American, by defending the clearly innocent black man. Bob Ewell is the father of seven children, has a drinking problem, and doesn’t have much money to sustain either of them. He beats his children after drinking to the point of idiocy. He takes advantage of things, like him being a white in an extremely segregated era, and uses them for his own benefit. Him being one of the most racist people in the town, and accusing a black man of rape, he made
life extremely difficult for the Finch family, particularly Atticus, as he was the one defending the black man in the court case.
The town gossip, Miss Stephanie Crawford, tells Atticus’ children what she overheard in downtown Maycomb: “Atticus was leaving the post office when Mr. Ewell approached him, cursed him, spat at him, and threatened to kill him.” This shows that he is furious with Atticus that he would go so far as to curse and spit and threaten him in broad daylight where anyone could watch and hear. Atticus then explains why Bob Ewell did these horrible things: “Jem, see if you can stand in Bob Ewell’s shoes for a minute. I destroyed his last shed of credibility at the trial, if he had any begin with. The man had to have some kind of comeback, his kind always does. So if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take. He had to take it out on somebody and I rather it be me than that household of child.” This explains why Atticus did nothing at the post office and will do nothing against Bob Ewell. Later, Bob realizes that Atticus is not about to do anything back at him, so he kicks it up a notch and goes after his children instead. He almost got his revenge, but Arthur Radley came and saved the children from
The actions Bob Ewell displays throughout the novel help emphasize the actions Atticus displays. For example, Atticus wants justice for Tom Robinson so he takes his case because he knows no one else will even try to defend him. “ Do all lawyers defend n-Negroes, Atticus? Of course they do, Scout…. If you shouldn’t be defendin’ him, then why are you doin’ it? For a number of reasons, the main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town”
In To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Bob Ewell assumes the racist, biased, and unjust motivations in order to retain any scrap of dignity in Maycomb County. Bob Ewell sees that he has been bested, and that the town knows the truth, however, he is able to abuse his racial standpoint, using racism to scapegoat his actions. The town, even though they all are aware that Bob Ewell is guilty, has been racially obligated to oppress Tom Robinson, due to the racist roots embedded in the town.
Another consequence of defending Tom Robinson in court, aside from being known as a "nigger lover" and opening himself to several other forms of racial hatred from the good people of Maycomb, Atticus was also arguing against a man who was known to be a violent drunk. Bob Ewell was a frightening man and it was noble of Atticus to put himself in a position of opposing such an unstable individual. Atticus remained a gentleman when Ewell confronted him at the post office. Most men in his position would have violently lashed out at Robert E. after being spat upon. Atticus did the right thing and remained a gentleman throughout the confrontation.
The story To Kill A Mockingbird has a wide variety of characters and situations that make it an all-time favorite. The ever-growing popularity of this story has caused a movie version, based on the book, to be showcased. There are noticeable differences between the two that could change the entire feel of the story. The omitted scenes from the book, that are never shown in the movie, include: Jem and Scout going to church with Calpurnia, the school scene in which the Ewells, Cunninghams, and Scout’s teacher and classmates are introduced and talked about, and how Aunt Alexandra, the great influencer of the children in the book, never appears in the movie along with other Finch family members.
Evidence: In Harper Lee’s To kill a Mockingbird Bob Ewell is a main antagonist against Mr. Finch who one of the protagonist. Bob Ewell is a man who is controlled by his alcohol. His wife died so he ended up getting relief checks. Instead of using this money responsibly for his kids, he would go out into the woods after he had bought liquor with the money from his relief checks and drink until he got sick then came home. Bob Ewell has hurt his kids because of his drinking habits. He doesn't want them to go to school. He likes them to stay home and work around the house so he doesn't have to do anything.
As most everyone knows, there are differences between a book and it’s movie adaptation. This is applicable to the book and it’s movie counterpart To Kill a Mockingbird, as well. But aside from the differences, there are also similarities between these two.
Throughout the novel we see the abusive behaviors of Bob Ewell towards people, especially to his daughter Mayella. When Bob Ewell saw what he did from the window he screamed “you goddamn whore, I’ll kill ya” (Lee 198). This inferred that Bob Ewell was talking to his daughter and not Tom, who later testified that when Bob yelled this he was looking right at Mayella. Atticus also makes a case on page 127 about how no one, not even Bob, called a doctor to check on Mayella. By not calling a doctor it proved Bob Ewell was only concerned for himself, not even for the own well-being of his daughter, he was a selfish and horrible father. Also, the Ewell family was one of the lowest whites in Maycomb they had no money and no education, the children only attended the first day of school every year. Bob Ewell wanted the people of Maycomb to view them higher than they do now, but was too lazy to do it himself. Mr. Ewell believed that pinning his own abusive behaviors on Tom Robinson would make people believe he saved their town from dangerous man, and they would now think highly of him. Bob Ewells selfish behavior and poor parenting skills lead to him being a responsibility in the death of Tom
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.
Throughout the book, Atticus interacts with many people of the town, some nice, and some mean. One example of a mean townsman would be Mr. Bob Ewell. In the text the reader sees that , “...this morning Mr. Bob Ewell stopped Atticus on the post office corner, spat in his face, and told him he’d get him if it took him the rest of his life” (Lee 290). When Bob does this, this proves that he does not like Atticus and is a very rude and mean person. On the next page, the reader sees how Atticus reacts. He reacts by saying, “‘I Wish Bob Ewell wouldn't chew tobacco…’” (Lee 291). When Atticus says this, the reader is shown that Atticus does not get phased by physical assault. He plays the bigger man in the situation and ignores the hate that is directed towards him and shuts down Bob with no
In the novel, one of the main characters is the father of the narrator, Atticus Finch. He is portrayed as a just character with common social grace. As the novel develops, Atticus begins to portray courage and sacrifice that goes against all common propriety. The beginning of his bravery is defined by the offering of his services to a local African American man, Tom Robinson, something unheard of in 1930’s southern Alabama. Robinson gained much prominence during the trial, due to the accusations against him paired with his ethnicity. The entire town was aware of the accusations made by the plaintiff, Bob Ewell. Ewell stated that Robinson deliberately took advantage of Ewell’s nineteen-year-old daughter. Mayella Ewell states in court, "I got somethin' to say an' then I ain't gonna say no more. That nigger yonder took advantage of me an' if you fine fancy gentlemen don't wanta do nothin' about it then you're all yellow stinkin' cowards, stinkin' cowards, the lot of you”. Though Ewell’s daughter knows she is lying, she allows everyone to go on with the outrage toward Robinson, to leave...
Through the development of characters that are outsiders, literature is a way of questioning the values of society which is recognized throughout, Harper Lee’s novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and J.D. Salinger’s novel ‘The Catcher in the rye’. These two stories feature completely different plots, although the two books show multiple overlapping themes. Outsiders are often perceived to be the odd one out, and they show this by the way they act, and the way they make themselves known. Both Scout from ‘To kill a mocking bird’, and Holden from ‘The Catcher in the rye’ are seen as foreigners but for wholly different reasons.
There are no two characters in To Kill a Mockingbird that differ in identity as much as Atticus Finch and Bob Ewell. Atticus is a man of the law. He defends Tom, an innocent man wrongly convicted, despite the flack his family get from it. “‘ My folks said your daddy was a disgrace an’ that nigger oughta hang from the water tank!’” (Lee 76) He sets a good example for his children. He calls everyone he know ‘Sir’ or ‘Ma'am’.
Bob Ewell is an obnoxious and mean person. You can not help an Ewell because they do not want any help. Mr. Ewell is not happy about the Tom Robinson case; he wants to seek revenge. Mr. Ewell wanted to get revenge on Atticus, so one day when the Finch kids were walking home, he attacked them. He wanted revenge so bad that he had to go to the kids to show Atticus pay back. He
In Harper Lee's novel To Kill A Mockingbird the protagonist Scout face offenses by others because of her father's justice for defending an African American in court. Scout Finch lives with her brother Jem, and their father Atticus, in the sleepy town of Maycomb during the Great Depression. As Atticus, the father of the protagonist faces the moral dilemma in chapter 29-30 of the incident with Bob Ewell. Atticus moral dilemma will reveal his character and his beliefs. Bob Ewell attempted to hurt Atticus children in order to get revenge on Atticus for defending the African American who was accused of raping his daughter in court. Atticus has a hard time of choosing whether to tell the town that Bob Ewell died of an accident, or his son or Boo Radley killed Bob Ewell. Atticus is a famous lawyer in Maycomb and he believes in legal justice.