Examples Of Appearances In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Illusory Appearances and Hidden Internal Realities Deluded people can often make automatic judgments concerning physical appearance of women and men in society, without understanding the victim’s inner disposition. Boo Radley, an isolated citizen of the Maycomb county, experienced this victimization in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Boo Radley faced discrimination from younger people in Maycomb. He often got targeted for being a dangerous and mysterious individual according to others. Jem Finch and Scout Finch, children of lawyer named Atticus Finch, dedicated their time into judging Boo Radley. Their actions display ignorance, which lead to many unwanted further generalizations about Boo Radley. It was not until Jem and Scout Finch …show more content…

Ms. Dubose, a neighbor of Jem and Scout Finch, had expressed prejudice towards the negro community. Jem and Scout had criticized her because she proclaimed many degrading statements about Atticus by emphasizing, “Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for!” when Scout and Jem stood outside her house (Lee 135). Ms. Dubose was a product of the Maycomb environment that had different views installed in her mind. She was judged solely by her slurs rather than her actual character. Jem and Scout realized this as they got to spend personal time with Ms. Dubose. They both have figured out that everyday, she revealed was becoming more of an acceptable person, when they had to read to her. Additionally, Atticus interprets Ms.Dubose as being a strong woman, by explaining to Scout and Jem that “She was the bravest person I ever knew” after the Finch family received the news of Ms. Dubose’s death (Lee 149). Ms. Dubose died as a morphine addict, which explained her random tantrums and fits when she was alive. When Ms. Dubose was fighting her addiction, it coincides with the time that Jem and Scout had to stay longer at Ms. Dubose’s house because they were forced to read to her. Every day she was holding back her addiction, for a longer periods of time because the Finch brothers were reading longer to her. She had the mindset to change her unhealthy habit, which earned …show more content…

Tom Robinson, a black man, in Maycomb, went through this struggle caused by the citizens of Maycomb. He was accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell, although he has been the only person who treated her with respect in the past. During the trial, Tom Robinson was asked by Atticus Finch, if he had ever took advantage of Mayella Ewell and Tom declared, “No suh, Mr.Finch, I never did. I wouldn’t do that, suh” without a sense of hesitation or guiltiness shown in his voice (Lee 257). Revealing that Mayella was using Tom as an easy target to accuse of rape because she thought that people would believe her, since the rest of Maycomb are mostly composed of racist people. These racist people would most likely choose the side of a white woman and think that Tom is guilty man. The jury picked for the trial were also composed of biased and racist people. This made it difficult for Tom Robinson to win the case; however, Tom further revealed the unpredictable actions of Mayella. During the intense trial, Tom Robinson was asked about what Mayella did to him, he confirms, “She reached up an’ kissed me’ side of th’ face” after Mayella asked Tom to fix something in her house, in the past (Lee 259). This contradicted Mayella’s statement, showing that she has not only lied, but she had done something a white person may never do. People

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