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How Hypocrisy Plays Out in To Kill a Mockingbird
Write an essay about hypocrisy in To Kill a Mockingbird.
If you were to look up the word “hypocrisy” in a dictionary, you would find that it is the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which the person’s behavior does not follow. You can picture this as a person saying one thing that they believe but turning around and doing something that totally contradicts it. This happens in society a lot of times and we can find examples of this in the book, To Kill a Mockingbird.
In the town of Maycomb, Alabama during the 1900s, people are extremely hateful towards all the black people in their society. People in Maycomb want nothing to do with them and if they so much as lay a finger
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on them, they will put them in court. This does them no good because they are blacks with no rights and nobody will support them. This brings us to one example of hypocrisy. The whole purpose and reason for the court in our society is to be just and fair. Court decisions are supposed to be based on what the law says and what the evidence proves. It claims that there is no place in the courts for suspicion, bias or favoritism. But, when Tom Robinson is accused of taking advantage over Mayella Ewell, he is brought to face the court and sadly the opinions of the community. Atticus was appointed to defend this man and he does absolutely everything in his might to succeed. In court, he lays out the evidence, plain as day. Atticus’s own words were, “This case should never have even come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white.” (page 203) His words were true and everybody sitting in the seats of the courtroom would have agreed easily. The evidence was not hard to understand. It was simple, the negro, Tom Robinson was not guilty of committing the crime. But when the jury of white men came back through the doors of the courtroom and gave the judge their verdict, they proclaimed Tom Robinson guilty. This shows the hypocrisy that the men of Maycomb brought into the courtroom. The courtroom was a place that claimed to bring justice and fairness, but the opinions of the Tom Robinson’s race completely contradicted its assertions. Atticus even states this. He says sadly, “I am no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system – that is not ideal to me, it is a living working reality.” (Page 205) The courtroom is an appalling place to find hypocrisy hiding, because of the power it holds. It has the power to put the guilty behind bars for their entire life and even to end their lives. This rips apart families and causes pain that is unbearable. This is an example of the cruelty that hypocrisy can bring to the lives of people. Scout as a young girl is surrounded by the hypocrisy in the lives of the ladies at the missionary meeting.
Miss Merriweather gets all weepy-eyed and soft-hearted at the thought of the poor Mrunas in their deplorable situation, yet she does nothing more than put on a show of sympathy. Nearly in the same breath of air, she turns around to gossip about the black people in her own neighborhood, people who also have a deplorable situation that she could truly do something about. Instead, she proclaims to the black people, "you live your way and we'll live ours." (page 234) These actions show her hypocrisy because she flaunts virtue and charity, but does not act on or even care about a nearly identical situation in her own …show more content…
community. One day, when Scout is at school and everyone is reading about current events, the subject of Adolf Hitler and his actions against the Jews is brought to focus. Mrs. Gates, while telling her class about the misfortunes in Germany says, “Over here we don’t believe in persecuting anybody. Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced.” (page 245) This puzzles Scout, because she remembers overhearing a conversation in which Miss Gates said "It’s time somebody taught them Negros a lesson, they were gettin' way above themselves..." (page 247) She recognized how prejudiced her teacher sounded and there was no difference in the people’s view on the black people in Maycomb and the Jews in Germany. Mrs. Gates said that there in Maycomb they did not believe in persecuting people when they did it every day. They had just recently seen it happen in court. This shows how much people can be caught up in their own morality that they do not even stop to examine their actions. One more person who portrays the characteristic of hypocrisy in this book is Bob Ewel.
This man beats his children, is a drunkard, is racist and ignorant, and yet he claims to be a hard-working, family-oriented man with total honor and morals. He gets up on the witness stand and continues to claim that he is on the high ground, all the while lying through his teeth and doing a dreadful job of covering up his more dishonorable qualities. His character and actions are built on what the people in the community think of him. The entire time that he was being questioned in court, he acted like a know-it-all, making him seem like the superior one in the situation. Having this kind of attitude made him feel as if he were the one doing the questioning and that he was in control of what happened in that courtroom. He wanted to come across as an innocent citizen, while hiding his home life behind lies. Later, after the trial when Atticus made him out as the liar that he was, Atticus explained the motives behind Bob Ewel’s threats. He said, “See if you can stand in Bob Ewel’s shoes for a minute. I destroyed his last shred of credibility at that trial, if he had any to begin with. The man had to have some kind of comeback, his kind always does.” (page 218) Bob Ewel was out to regain his credibility but Atticus had already revealed the hypocrisy in his character to the people of
Maycomb. In this book, we can see the absurdness of hypocrisy and all the harm that it can cause to people and to a society. In Maycomb, it cost the life of an innocent man. In life, it can cost us many different things. It can make us lose sight of morality. Too many people learn the benefits of hypocrisy and use it to yield themselves more wealth, fame, or whatever they desire. Then they also feel they have a right to be angry and accuse those who also engage in hypocrisy. This self-justification stems from hypocrisy and affects all people very negatively. Hypocrisy affects not only us, but our whole community.
In the novel, ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee some characters suffer in the hands of justice and fairness more than others. Many characters in the novel are discriminated against such as Calpurnia, Dolphus Raymond, Helen Robinson, Burris Ewell and more. However I will be focusing on the discrimination against Tom Robinson for his race, Walter Cunningham for his low socioeconomic status and Boo Radley for the rumors and supposed mental instability he holds. I chose those three because they are the most prominent and I will discuss how the discrimination against the characters therefore leads to their injustice or unfairness.
In the 1930’s, turmoil has erupted in Maycomb, Alabama all because the young lady Mayella Ewell has accused African-American Tom Robinson of raping and sexually assaulting her. Yet, Mayella Ewell has no power because of her race, class, and gender. At the time, Maycomb, Alabama was at the peak of segregation against African-Americans. Mayella Ewell may be white, but that does not mean her class, gender, nor her race give her power.
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is a remarkable novel following the childhood of Jem and Scout, the son and daughter of Atticus Finch. Living in a small and drama filled town of Maycomb County they encounter a great deal of people who do not stand by their word. Hypocrisy occurs throughout this novel first by a man named Dolphus Raymond, then by two women Mrs. Merriweather and Miss Gates.
This unfair prejudice was widespread throughout the south. " Maycomb" didn't actually exist but was meant to be the embodiment of a typical town in the south at that time. In Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, she has created characters who seem a little different and thus, isolated from the rest of Maycomb's. mainstream society. Prime examples of this isolation are Atticus and the Ewells; particularly Bob Ewell.
The Ideas of Hypocrisy, Prejudice and Dignity in Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird In Maycomb, the town in which Harper Lee's book 'To Kill a Mockingbird' is set, hypocrisy and prejudice are prevalent in most of its citizens. Although many of the characters morals are admirable, you soon realise that what people say and what people do are not always related. Mrs Grace Merriweather falls into this category. She is seen to be 'the most devout lady in Maycomb' and her eyes 'always filled with tears when she considered the oppressed' yet she is just as prejudiced to the black citizens or 'darky's' as the majority of the ladies of the 'Maycomb Alabama Methodist Episcopal Church South' are. Mrs Merriweather appears to be the most hypocritical character in this chapter.
Hypocrisy is as much a part of Maycomb’s society as church and community spirit. For example, Mrs. Merriweather talks about saving the poor Mruans from Africa, but she thinks black people in her community are a disgrace (p.234). The hypocrisy of this teaching is shown as soon as she mentions the word ‘persecution’. This is due to the fact that she herself is persecuting the black people of Maycomb by not raising an eyebrow at the killing of innocent black men. Furthermore, it is obvious Bob Ewell is abusive to his daughter, Mayella, and that he is the one who violated her, not Tom Robinson (p.178). Since there is such hypocrisy in Maycomb, there are excuses made for whites. The jury probably thinks that if they pronounce Tom innocent the citizens will mock them as they do to Atticus. Harper Lee uses hypocrisy to show how the people of Maycomb are so engulfed in a variety of elements that they unknowingly complete acts of unjustified discrimination.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, many things occur to be simple and everyone’s happy, but it’s not always peachy in Maycomb Alabama. To Kill a Mockingbird tells of a little girl’s love for her family and life living in a racist community filled with judgmental people (Shackelford). This was the time where black people were treated unfairly in courts, especially in Alabama (Johnson). Alabama was the most racist part of the south, everything was separated and blacks were treated like dirt that the whites walked on. In the book, blacks did not have many rights and had to be servants and workers for the whites.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, many different themes come into view. One major theme that played a big role in the character’s lives is racial prejudice. Racism is an unending problem throughout the book. The song “Message from a Black Man” by The Temptations has many similarities to the theme of racial discrimination. Therefore, both the novel and the song prove that racism was a great obstacle for some people at a point.
Tom Robinson, the man falsely accused of raping the poor, white woman, Mayella Ewell instills a sense of abject horror in most Maycomb citizens. Most of the irrational fear of Robinson is simply that, a fear. In the eyes of the residents in Maycomb, Tom resembles a snake in the grass, waiting for the right moment to strike and injure as many Whites as possible. Emancipation in the 19th century, still fresh in many Southerners’ minds, had already threatened to maneuver the black man socially ahead of the white man with its ongoing momentum. Ewell, therefore, relishes the opportunity to slander Robinson as well as to free himself of abusive charges towards his daughter and condemn a black man with the supportive racism of his peers. The accusation of being innately malicious, ignorant and spiteful is ironically how the black man appears to the vast majority of Maycomb's population. Most of those who describe Tom in this manner would fit that very description, waiting only to suppress Blacks and prolo...
As Scout grew up in Maycomb, she learned about the people who live in Maycomb. By being exposed to events with explicit discrimination, judgment, and racism, Scout has become aware of the negative aspects of Maycomb residents. Scout’s visit to First Purchase African M.E. church, showed her how discrimination impacts the lives of African-Americans. As justified by Dolphus Raymond, the people who live in Maycomb are awfully judgmental, and the lack of fairness and justice caused by racism affects serious situations, as demonstrated during the Tom Robinson trial. All of these experiences have opened up Scout’s eyes, giving her a better understanding of the residents of Maycomb County, and how negative many people can be.
Have you ever judged someone because of their race or how they live? If so, It means you are prejudice and there are plenty of examples of it in To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee began To Kill a Mockingbird in the mid-1950s, after moving to New York to become a writer. She completed the novel in 1957 and published it in 1960, just before the peak of the American civil rights movement. Critical response to To Kill a Mockingbird was mixed: a number of critics found the narrative voice of a nine-year-old girl unconvincing and called the novel overly moralistic. Nevertheless, in the racially charged atmosphere of the early 1960s. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, prejudice is described as judging someone without knowing them, and Racial and
1. In your own words, please summarize the author's main points. It talks about having unethical behavior, and embezzling money as a Girl Scout, and in turn suffering the consequences in the long run. The lesson taught her how to resist the temptation to embezzle money. It also taught her to never set unrealistic goals, and to always take responsibility for your own actions.
Webster dictionary defines prejudice as a feeling of dislike for a group because of sex, race, and religion. It’s when a person doesn’t like another person because of something beyond their control. “A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.” said Edward B. Hurrow, American Journalist and Broadcaster. People will base their opinions off of other people's opinions. They think they’re forming their own opinions when in reality they’re following other people’s prejudices. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, there are many instances of prejudice such as Black vs. White, judgement of Boo Radley, and criticisms made by Mrs. Dubose.
One of the most prevalent themes is social inequality and racism. These ideas affect everybody in Maycomb and this is evident when Jem says “There’s four kinds of folks in the world. There’s the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there’s the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes”(302). When Jem divides “the Negroes” from everybody else, it shows that even though Jem is not racist, there is inherent racism in the town of Maycomb.
Sins of the People In To Kill a Mockingbird, many people in the early 1900’s were extremely strict about what the laws were. Especially when it comes to colored people. People believe everyone is respectful and nice. Until it comes to the laws that were made. Everyone's true intentions come out and not some people would initially think of them.