Growing up, it is something kids often talk about. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird is a Bildungsroman, a coming of age novel. In To Kill a Mockingbird the reader is told the story of a brother and a sister living in the south during the 1930’s. The book is told in the perspective of Scout who is six years old at the start of the novel. To Kill a Mockingbird is an example of a Bildungsroman because Jem, Scout's older brother, grows up and has to learn some very harsh lessons at a young age. Jems and Scout's father, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer who is assigned to a case where he has to defend Tom Robinson, a black man being accused of rape. Jem has to learn about racism, the class system, and injustice.
Jem is forced to learn about racism when his father is assigned to defend Tom Robinson in court. Tom is being accused of raping a white girls. Atticus does not receive any support from his neighbors and the people of Maycomb county. The people in Maycomb call Atticus names such as n-word lover, he had to explain to his children that it isn't a bad think to him. “I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody... I'm hard put, sometimes baby, it's never an insult to be
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Tom was accused of rapping a white women, but he was innocent. “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed (Lee 241).” Jem knew just as well as anyone that Tom never rapped Mayella Ewell, but because she was white and Tom was black he was guilty from the minute he was accused. Mayella admitted in court that Tom never touched her or beat her but her father and sheriff Heck Tate testified that Tom did in fact rape her. Mayella knew that by accusing Tom of rape he would be killed for a crime he never even committed. Jem had to witness these horrific events happening and he truly saw how the society he lived in was built off of the idea that white people are better than black
Atticus Finch 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.
Atticus Finch is a lawyer and father of two children whose names are Jem and Scout. In the novel, Atticus chooses to defend a black man named Tom Robinson who is accused of raping a white woman, even though most of Maycomb is against Tom Robinson due to its racist time setting. He understood that racism was inhumane and innocent people must be defended no matter what race they are. Atticus holds his ground and tries his best to defend Tom Robinson in court, despite the community being against him. Atticus even reminds his children to steadfast during this time of challenge regardless of what other people tell them.
Atticu Finch is one of the key characters in the book who leads by example and shows what courage is. In chapter nine, Atticus takes a case to defend a Negro who has been accused of raping Bob Ewell’s daughter Mayella444. Atticus, the father of main characters Scout and Jem Finch, loves and cares for his children, although since the children’s mother passed away when they were at a young age, Atticus is not always sure of how to fill her role. In chapter thirteen, Aunt Alexandra stays with the Finch family so that she can help them if anything happens while Atticus defends the black man, Tom Robinson. Atticus has always been respected in the town of Macomb, until he takes the Robinson case, which leads to controversy within his friends and his family.
This was a time of racial segregation, where blacks were not permitted to go to the same schools as the whites. They could not sit in the same restaurants, sit in the same part of the courthouse, use the same public restrooms or drink at the same water fountains. Everyone in Maycomb, from children to adults, accused Atticus and his children of being "black lovers." Atticus, with all this turmoil, stayed calm. He taught his children to accept the differences between one human being and another.
Lee uses Scout and Jem’s tumultuous childhood experiences to... has had many trials through her life, and on was in fact a trail of Tom Robinson, a black man accused in raping Mayella Ewell, one of the daughters of Bob Ewell, the town’s idler. Atticus, the children’s father, was defending Tom Robinson, and the case seemed to be in favor of him, all the way to the point of Jem stating, “He’s not leaning, Reverend, but don’t fret, we’ve won it..Don’t see how any jury could convict on what we heard-”(Lee 176). Jem is very confident in his father’s argument, and believes that the case will lean to Tom,
Atticus Finch,is the father of Jem and Scout Finch. A man named Tom Robinson was accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Atticus, knew that this was wrong, and made his choice to defend Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson was later found guilty and sentenced to death. Atticus, disappointed at the jury and himself, whispered something to Tom Robinson and then left the courtroom. He spoke nothing of the trial. Scout, angry and filled with melancholy, demanded answers. Atticus then explained his representing Tom Robinson. Atticus replied to Scout, “For a number of reasons. The main one is, if i didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town. I couldn’t represent this country
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee tells the story of the struggle of a white family facing discrimination for defending a black man. Scout and Jem are two young children living in Maycomb, believing that everyone is like their father, Atticus, who embodies justice and equality. Atticus takes on the case of defending Tom Robinson, a man who is being charged with raping a white woman. Before the trial, the Finches are forced to withstand torment from the townspeople. Their beliefs are shaken when a black man is given a rigged trial and he is innocent.
The main victims of this inhumanity are the Blacks, who are seen to be the lowest of the low. This is visible when despite the fact that Calpurnia is a great housekeeper and has done nothing wrong, Aunt Alexandra still insists on Atticus firing her, just because she is black. This brings to light the deep-rooted racism in Maycomb. There are many other characters that are loathsome and act brutally towards others such as Mrs. Dubose when she shouts horrible things about Atticus to Scout and Jem “Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for!” This shows that she is not afraid to voice her opinion about the hatred she feels towards people and that she certainly doesn’t care about how her words could hurt others.
Atticus Finch is a lawyer in the town of Maycomb In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, he is a father of two children, Jem and Scout Finch. He is a man of wise character and considerate soul. He knows his morals and tries to help his children grow up to be successful and happy. Throughout the novel, Atticus acts justly, loves tenderly, and walks humbly by the way he perceives the people in his life, how he succeeds in his job and treats his family.
In the courtroom that night it is revealed that the alleged crimes of Tom Robinson, a decent Negro man, most likely did not happen. As Atticus says in his closing argument, "The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence to the effect that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place. It has relied instead upon the testimony of two witnesses whose evidence has not only been called into serious question on cross-examination, but has been flatly contradicted by the defendant. The defendant is not guilty, but somebody in this courtroom is” (Lee 271). Showing the clear innocence of Tom Robinson due to lack of evidence, Scout thinks that the white jury will do the right thing only to find out that they still, unfairly, accuse him of being guilty. Scout and her brother, Jem, get very upset when they hear the verdict, however, it allows them both to learn the lesson that the county is unfair towards anyone who is not white. The county demonstrates this evil racism due to the social divisions in Maycomb between the whites and the blacks and because the whites see the blacks as unworthy of rights and freedoms. It was not just the trial itself that displayed evil in the world, but the comments and arguments surrounding the case did
Atticus is a good father for teaching his children to respect everyone. Scout asks Atticus if he is a “nigger lover” and he simply replies, "I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody... I'm hard put, sometimes—baby, it's 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." This shows that atticus is not like the other people in Maycomb he considers every man to be equal to one another. Judge Taylor comes to Atticus to defend Tom Robinson because he knows he’s the only man in Maycomb that is fit to do to the job, and do it fairly. While thinking about taking the offer Atticus firsts thinks about his kids and how it will affect their lives. Atticus says “…do you think I could face my children otherwise? You know what’s going to happen as well as I do, Jack, and I hope and pray I can get Jem and Scout through it without bitterness, and most of all, without catching Maycomb’s usual disease. Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anythin...
Atticus is the father of Jem and Scout he was a lawyer in Maycomb Alabama he was very respectful to blacks and taught his kids the same values. Some kids were not like Jem and Scout and didn’t believe in respecting blacks they were very disrespectful. Atticus once talked about that children might need police because some of them were wild and didn’t know how to act towards blacks but that they could be stopped by evasive action (Atticus Chapter 16). Scout thought there was only one kind of people and that’s people regardless of race (Chapter 23, Scout) from what her dad taught her.
Throughout the novel, learning and growing is a key theme, but as Scout and Jem grow Atticus does also. Atticus starts out as the lawyer of Maycomb, the best one around, unlike the other children’s parents who are farmers and mostly uneducated southerners. Atticus looks at things a little bit differently than most. Later on he chooses one of the most daring things he could do, defend a black man in court. He takes on the case of Tom Robinson, who allegedly raped Mayella Ewell, and had a little chance of getting free considering his race. Most people thought he was rightfully accused and some just thought he was a lost cause. This is the story of Atticus Finch, told by his daughter Scout, a story of strength and dignity.
The morals for Scout and Jem to live by come from their father, Atticus Finch. He has experienced evils in his life, like the death of his wife, but he never lost faith in the good of people. He taught Scout and Jem right from wrong when they were young, because their mother was no longer around to teach them. Atticus understands that people have good and bad inside of them, but he feels that the good side can always overcome the bad side. This is true when he backed Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping Mr. Ewell’s daughter. Even though no one else helped Atticus out, he never gave up on Tom Robinson no matter how hard things got.
Recalling her experiences as a six-year-old from an adult perspective, Jean Louise Finch, nicknamed “Scout,” describes the circumstances involving her widowed father, Atticus, and his legal defense of Tom Robinson, a local black man falsely accused of raping a white woman.