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Roles of the family towards education
The Theme of Prejudice in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
How does harper lee present the theme of prejudice in to kill a mockingbird
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An ideal father would be able to solve problems properly, support their children's thoughts, consider their feelings and treat all their children equally. In particular, Atticus Finch of “To Kill a Mockingbird”, by Harper Lee proves himself to be the perfect example of a better father in contrast of Baptista Minola from "Taming of the Shrew" by William Shakespeare.Although both fathers want a stable future for their children, Atticus Finch's teachings are considered more valuable by treating his children equally, and setting good examples such as promoting equality, and to not become prejudice.
As Lee Haney has quoted, “Parents must lead by example. Don't use the cliche: do as I say and not as I do. Parents are children's first and most important role models,” it is important for a parent to set healthy and positive examples throughout a child's development stage. In a small town of social division through prejudice and intolerance, Atticus teaches to Jem and Scout his values and beliefs through setting examples. Atticus teaches them that prejudice is bad by going against societal norms, such as taking a black man's case in a dominating “white society” and standing up for the African-American community to defend their equal rights. When Scout questions, "...Why did Cecil say you defended niggers? He made it sound like you were runnin' a still," Atticus then responds, "I'm simply defending a Negro...they're clean living folks. Scout, you aren't old enough to understand some things yet...there's been some high talk around to the effect that I shouldn't do much about defending this man." (Lee, 75) This is important in the novel because Atticus demonstrates tolerance to his children when he receives the Robinson's case and decides t...
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Lee, Harper. "Chapter 3, Chapter 9." To Kill a Mockingbird. New York, NY: Warner, 1982. N. pag. Print.
"Lee Haney." BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2014. 22 January 2014. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/l/leehaney295618.html
Shakespeare, William, and Ken Roy. "2.1.69-70." The Taming of the Shrew. Toronto: Harcourt Canada, 2003. N. pag. Print.
"Taming of the Shrew." SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2014. .
"To Kill a Mockingbird By Harper Lee." To Kill a Mockingbird: Summary & Analysis. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. .
Although Atticus is not like every other parent, he shows his love to his kids in his own ways. He does not need to be kissing them, hugging them or buying them things to show his affection for them. His ways are unique ways that show that Atticus is a positive parental figure. Another good piece of evidence that shows that Atticus is a positive parental figure is that he sets a good example for the children. He sets a good example by being honest and telling them why he has to defend Tom Robinson even if that decision jeopardizes his reputation and the family. When Atticus was talking to Scout about defending Tom he said, “The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this county in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again” (100). These words show that Atticus values equality and justice and it is setting an excellent example for the kids to follow at such a young age. Atticus defends Tom Robinson, an African American man, because he believes in equality for all. Atticus also mentioned that before he tells the children to do something or follow values he, Atticus, must display them first, and he
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York, New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1960. Print.
Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, Harper Lee's, To Kill a Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior, to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, and the struggle between blacks and whites. Atticus Finch, a lawyer and single parent in a small southern town in the 1930's, is appointed by the local judge to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, who is accused of raping a white woman. Friends and neighbors object when Atticus puts up a strong and spirited defense on behalf of the accused black man. Atticus renounces violence but stands up for what he believes in. He decides to defend Tom Robinson because if he did not, he would not only lose the respect of his children and the townspeople, but himself as well.
Atticus was by that definition a very good father. Whenever Scout was mislead by anything, like the legend of Boo Radley or about how grown ups are, or why certain people feel prejudiced about certain people, Atticus was always right there to guide her. Atticus was also a good father because he knew right from wrong. He was different then most of the men in that town, as hard to find as a needle in a haystack. He saw people as people, not black or white. He defended Tom Robinson without caring that everyone in Maycomb was a calling him a “nigger lover'; and many other racial slurs. All Atticus did was shrug them off. When Bob Ewell spit in Atticus’s face, Atticus still did not retaliate. Instead, he wiped the spit off of his face and kept walking minding his own business. This showed Scout and Jem that there was no reason to worry themselves with other peoples opinion’s. When Mrs. Dubose called Atticus a nigger lover to Jem, Jem got angry and went home and asked Atticus if he really was a nigger lover. Atticus said straight out with no thought, “I certainly am. I do my best to love everyone…I’m hard to put, sometimes-baby, its never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is , it doesn’t hurt you. So don’t let Mrs. Dubose get you down.'; This qoatation shows exactly how Atticus in influencing Scout and Jem to be good people. He gave his, what may be called lessons on life, so fluently that it seemed less like a lecture then it really was. He tried his best to teach his children that some people can only feel good about themselves when they attempt to make someone else feel bad.
Atticus is a great leader of his family, teaching his children morals and life lessons. He makes them better people by showing them how to deal with the trial and people making fun of them. Atticus teaches Scout how to respect other people. First, Scout learns to respect Atticus, then to respect "Boo" Radley, and finally to respect a whole race of people, negroes. He makes it a common practice to live his life as he would like his children to live theirs, and thus displays the attributes of an honest, respectable, and kind man. Throughout the trial process, Atticus shows Jem and Scout that true courage is standing up for what you believe in and that all human beings, despite their race, deserve respect. "You never really understand a person until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." This quote shows that Atticus wants his children to get along with people, and so other people will respect them for whom they are.
During a time when black people were thought to be lower than white people, Atticus defended a black man in court. He said to his children, "I'm simply defending a Negrohis name's Tom Robinson," (pg. 75). It required a lot of confidence and caring for Atticus to defend Tom, and the black community knew that Tom did not stand a chance without Atticus' help. They respected him and looked to him as a hero. They showed this when they stood up for him in the courtroom. Reverend Sykes said to Scout in the courtroom, "Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father's passin," (pg. 211). The entire group of black people who were there stood up for him. Also, the parishioners at Calpurnia's church made Jem and Scout feel welcome when they visited their church. This showed that the black people also respected Atticus' family. If Atticus were just trying his best in a difficult circumstance, then he would not be as respected as he was by the black community. The black people greatly acknowledged the qualities that Atticus displayed by defending Tom and looked to him as a hero because of these qualities.
Shaw-Thornburg, Angela. “On Reading To Kill a Mockingbird: Fifty Years Later.” Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird: New Essays. Meyer, Michael J. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press, 2010. 113-127. Print.
When most people were against him and are trying to convince him not to, Atticus was determined to continue defending Tom Robinson (an African American who was accused of raping a white lady name Mayella Ewell - Mr. Ewell's daughter). (Make it active voice ?) Due to his good morals, Atticus felt like he needs to help Tom Robinson “This case, Tom Robinson’s case, is something that goes to the essence of a man’s conscience --- Scout, I couldn’t go to church and worship God if I didn’t try to help that man” (108). As addressed in To Kill a Mockingbird, Jim Crow laws manipulated individuals ethics to think that blaming African Americans is fine since all they do is not good (change the wordings). This type of discrimination made African American victims of jails and crimes that they did not even consider doing but were thought of doing because of racial segregation enforcement (popularity?) within the Southern society of the US. However, Atticus was different and believed that Tom robinson is innocent since he understood (understands?) how people discriminate others and was aware (is aware) of different types of prejudice (in that time period). So, due to Atticus’ good morals and values, he was willing to try his best to support the truth (who was right or something) and help Tom Robinson which makes him a great parent because (he is a person of morals?) of his good morals and values (delete morals and values?). Atticus (atticus’s ?) belief (of noting using one’s power to hurt each other … ?) that people should not harm each other should be admired. For instance, Miss Maudie (Atticus neighbour) was confirming to Scout that what Atticus said about Mockingbirds is right “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They
Lee, Harper. "Chapter 11." To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: Harper & Row, 1960. 113. Print.
As previously mentioned, the point of view in this narrative is from Scout. Her upbringing has been respectful to the African-Americans in her society and she shows this with her relationship with her maid, Calpurnia. Other children her age have adopted their parents' racially prejudice views, causing her of many problems. Atticus's lawsuit seems to isolate his children and Scout is taunted with remarks in the playground. Her only retort is violence and Atticus, as an virtuous father, does not condone this behaviour either: "My fists were clenched I was ready to make fly. Cecil Jacobs had announced the day before that Scout Finch's daddy defended niggers."
Throughout the novel, Atticus’ assistance to Jem and Scout’s development becomes evident. Atticus takes every opportunity to attempt to teach his children the importance of having an open-mind. For instance, when Scout queries Atticus about Maycomb’s prejudice perspective, he tells her, “You never really understand a person until…you climb in their skin and walk around in it.” (Lee 30) Even during the early stages of the novel, it is apparent that Atticus endeavors to instill the values of empathy and tolerance within Jem and Scout by teaching them how to have multiple perspectives on a situation. In addition, Atticus also attempts to enlighten his children about peaceful resolution in society. For example, when Atticus is chosen to defend Tom Robinson, Atticus tells Scout, you might hear some ugly talk about it at school but…you just hold your head high and keep those fists down.”...
Thompson, Ann (ED.), The New Cambridge Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, (Cambridge University Press, 1984).
Baxter, Roberta. "Harper Lee." Harper Lee (2006): 1-2. History Reference Center. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.
Atticus taught Jem and Scout to respect people, even if they didn’t respect them back, he taught them to understand that you never know what a person is going through to make them how they are so you shouldn’t judge them or hold it against them. Because Atticus taught his children these lessons they were able to recognize the injustices found throughout the town of Maycomb and sometimes when they spoke out, they would make a little change in someone’s ideals (for example, scout talking to Mr. Cunningham at the jail house, or Jem spending time and reading to Mrs. Dubose.) Whereas, the children of Bob Ewell wouldn’t recognize injustices because Bob Ewell didn’t teach them about morality, he only taught them how to be like him—which is a liar, a slacker, and a rude hurtful person. The same goes for the rest of the children; Cecil Jacobs referred to Black people as “niggers” (Lee 99) because that’s how his father and the town taught him to refer to black people as, whereas Atticus tells Scout to never say that word because its “common” (Lee 99) meaning uneducated. Even though Atticus wasn’t confronting everyone with racist views, what he was doing was way more effective than going for to door educating people, he was educating his children, educating the next generation on how to act in the face of racism and he showed them what was right from wrong. By teaching his kids these important lessons he is making sure that they pass their knowledge on to everyone else and that by doing that the next generation won’t be as ignorant as the previous one. Atticus didn’t have an insufficient response to racism; he just understood that he couldn’t change the town, but the children
Wade, Charles, "William Shakespeare" on The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespearean Literary Criticism Vol. IX, Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Co., 1983. Webster, Margaret, "William Shakespeare" on The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespearean Literary Criticism Vol. IX, Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Co., 1983.