Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Situations of injustice in the story mockingbird
Situations of injustice in the story mockingbird
Situations of injustice in the story mockingbird
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Situations of injustice in the story mockingbird
Injustice paper “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy………they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (119) In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee we see the theme of injustice woven throughout this whole book which takes place in the 1930’s. We see injustice in our world today, which is why it is easy to relate to Lee’s book. The theme of injustice is shown in the stories about Boo Radley, the case against Tom Robinson, and the attack on Jem and Scout. The first person who is treated unjustly is Boo Radley. The townspeople told rumors about him that he was a ghost who haunted the Radley Place and peeked in children’s windows. When unfortunate things happened in town, the people blamed Boo even though they never knew him. “Once the town was terrorized by a series of morbid nocturnal events: people’s chickens and household pets were found mutilated...although the culprit was Crazy Addie…people still looked at the Radley place, unwilling to discard their initial suspicion (Lee 10). Boo Radley was just a man who was afraid of the world so he shut himself up in his house but Boo looked after Jem and Scout. The townspeople never knew Boo Radley so they made of stories about him. Boo Radley is a mockingbird because he is innocent but everyone …show more content…
accuses him of doing wrong. The second person who is treated unjustly is Tom Robinson.
In the court Atticus presents evidence that shows that Tom is innocent yet the jury still says that he is guilty. “I shut my eyes. Judge Taylor was polling the jury: Guilty…….guilty…..guilty…..guilty….” (Lee 282) Even though Atticus showed that Tom was guilty the Jury still voted him guilty because he was a black man. That is a perfect example of injustice in this book. They couldn’t say that he was innocent just because he was a different race. Tom Robinson is a mocking bird because he is innocent but everyone accuses him of wrong even if they know in their hearts that he is
innocent The third person who is treated unjustly is Atticus Finch. When Bob Ewell attacked Scout and Jem he was trying to get back at Atticus for destroying his reputation. Bob Ewell was so angry at Atticus but he knows he can’t have his revenge on him directly so he goes after the kids. Atticus did nothing to deserve this treatment but Bob Ewell had an immoral mindset and he just wanted to get revenge.
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.
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a perfect example of how people like Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are pushed to the bottom of the ‘social hierarchy’ while others that may be less deserving are put higher. It shows that simply things you encounter in your everyday life can steal your innocence, and that moral laws that have been created are both fulfilled and neglected.
Sometimes, people discriminate one thing, but strongly oppose the discrimination of another thing. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, this issue is very much expressed throughout the story. This thought-provoking story takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during a time when there’s a rape trial against a falsely accused African American named Tom Robinson. There is also a discrimination, of sorts, towards a man named Boo Radley, by three young children named Jeremy “Jem” Finch, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, and Charles “Dill” Baker Harris. Both Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are similar in their own ways through their inherent goodness.
Injustices There have been many famous pieces of literature, but one that stands out is the 1960's classic To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee. Lee, who only wrote one book in her life time, wrote of prejudice, injustice, and racism in the 1930's. To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the Deep South in the 1930's. To Kill a Mockingbird is a story in which a black mad is accused of doing something he didn't do. During the whole story some of the two of the main characters, Jem Finch and Jean Lousie Finch, grow up in there mind
After the trial was completed and Tom was convicted guilty, Jem was devastated due to the realization that the court which was supposed to be “the one place where a man ought to get a square deal… be he any color of the rainbow”(pg.220,paragraph 3) was corrupt with racial prejudice and segregation. Atticus explains to Jem that “The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box. As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don't you forget it- whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.” (pg.220,paragraph 3) Atticus foreshadows to when he said that it was a sin to kill a mockingbird in this quote because he is saying that it is wrong to kill a mockingbird no matter who you are. This also helps the reader understand the racial segregation going on at the time. Lee once again reveals the dangers of being vulnerable and innocent by having Atticus say “As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life.” It shows how often white men take advantage of blacks who are vulnerable individuals
How would you like it if someone walked up to you and berated you based on the color of your skin? A characteristic like that isn’t even something you can control, so an insult of that nature can leave one furious and oppressed. Discrimination is inevitable in any culture, throughout history, in modern times, and even in ancient times. For example, the oppression and murder of 6 million Jewish people during the Holocaust, the African Slave Trade which occurred for multiple centuries, and more recently, the “ethnic cleansing” of Rohingya people in Myanmar, brought on by the government of the Asian nation, all of which are tragedies doomed to happen when history repeats itself and people do not learn
The book “To Kill a Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee is the story with a moral of innocence. “To Kill a Mockingbird” is a book based around several important moral values. A young girl named Scout portrays the lessons that are learned in the book. In the book, Scout learns many lessons about people and the world, mostly taught by her father Atticus. Scout learns one very important lesson from Atticus, the lesson about “Mockingbirds”. Atticus explains to Scout, “It is a sin to kill a mockingbird. Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. That is why it is a sin to kill a Mockingbird”. The metaphorical “Mockingbird” is portrayed by a variety of Characters in the story. Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson and Arthur “Boo” Radley all represent the characteristics of a mockingbird, as they have been mistreated in their own way. As Atticus was criticized for defending Tom Robinson, Tom Robinson was a victim of racial prejudice and Arthur “Boo” Radley is a victim of stereotypical intolerance, these characters are the metaphorical mockingbirds throughout the story.
Throughout History, men have looked down on blacks and women. But this does not justify the view that blacks and women are below white men. When people look down on blacks and women, they preform injustice. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is full of injustice. During this time period, everyone looked down on blacks and women, which makes Maycomb one in the same with the discriminators. In particular, the people in Maycomb looked down on Tom Robinson, and many others looked down on Scout. Around the Finch household, Aunt Alexandria always tries to do away with Calpurnia, the black housekeeper and cook as Alexandria says, “We don’t need her (Calpurnia) now.” (182). Injustices in Maycomb include the case of Tom Robinson, the way Aunt Alexandra treats Calpurnia, and the way people treat Scout.
The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box”(Lee 220). This is how Atticus described the trial to his son Jem because he could not comprehend how unjust the trial was unfolding on a daily basis. The proceedings were not equitable towards Tom Robinson because everyone should have realized at the trial that he had not done anything wrong. In the end, Atticus lost the trial. Not because the jury and judge thought Tom Robinson had committed the crime, but simply because he was black and they were racist.
The story, "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee is set in the South of Maycomb, Alabama. It portrays a deteriorate society which is segregated by the racial and social actions of the people in Maycomb. In the novel Atticus claims that “it is a sin to kill a mockingbird”, because they do not do any harm to us humans, they are harmless, gentle and they only sing their hearts out to us. There are three people that the author, Harper Lee depicts as a mockingbird; Boo Radley, killed by society's bias views towards those who don’t think he is sane. Tom Robinson, killed by inequality, no respect and racial prejudice shown by the people; and
“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (p.90) Miss. Maudie, one of the main protagonists in To Kill a Mockingbird, warns the young girl Scout that mockingbirds should not to be killed or hunted down because they represent those who are kind and innocent. So, on a broader spectrum, the term “to kill a mockingbird” symbolizes cruel and improper behavior towards people with good hearts and intentions. In the town of Maycomb, unethical behaviors, such as prejudice and gossip, are most commonly used against the “mockingbirds”. Three of those “mockingbirds” that are featured in this novel are Arthur “Boo” Radley, Tom Robinson, and Atticus Finch. Due to the depiction of the mockingbird symbol in the novel, the reader understands the consequences that immoral attitudes have towards those who are innocent and kindhearted.
In a desperate attempt to save his client, Tom Robinson, from death, Atticus Finch boldly declares, “To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white” (Lee 271). The gross amounts of lurid racial inequality in the early 20th century South is unfathomable to the everyday modern person. African-Americans received absolutely no equality anywhere, especially not in American court rooms. After reading accounts of the trials of nine young men accused of raping two white women, novelist Harper Lee took up her pen and wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, a blistering exposition of tragic inequalities suffered by African Americans told from the point of view of a young girl. Though there are a few trivial differences between the events of the Scottsboro trials and the trial of Tom Robinson portrayed in To Kill a Mockingbird, such as the accusers’ attitudes towards attention, the two cases share a superabundance of similarities. Among these are the preservation of idealist views regarding southern womanhood and excessive brutality utilized by police.
There is an old saying that claims that it is better to risk saving a guilty person than to condemn an innocent one. While many choose to follow unjust traditions, others choose to pursue the path of justice. In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, the mockingbird is a symbol of innocence that should never be killed; It is harmless and provides a song for the enjoyment of others. Furthermore, three characters from the novel are considered symbolic mockingbirds. Boo Radley, not convicted of any real charges, has fallen into a trap of rumors that have gone around the town. Tom Robinson is accused of raping a white woman with no substantial evidence proving him guilty. He is shot down while trying to escape prison. Lastly, Scout, the narrator of the book, is an innocent five-year-old girl. As the novel progresses, she starts to witness racial prejudice; which is something that no minor should come in contact with during her childhood. By exposing their innocent natures, we see how Boo, Tom Robinson and Scout are the mockingbirds in this novel.
In this world, everyone has an equal right; however, many people are getting falsely accused of acts they did not commit even though they are innocent. Mockingbirds, one of the most innocent birds, sing their heart out for people to enjoy, however, they getting killed every day. In this novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, there are many racial prejudices going on. Finches stand near the top of the social hierarchy, with Cunningham and Ewells underneath. Black community in Maycomb is even below the Ewells, even if they were a hard worker; they were not treated equally. The “mockingbirds” represents the idea of innocence, so killing a mockingbird is to destroy innocence. Throughout the book, many characters are considered a mockingbird. Three examples are Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and Mr. Dolphus Raymond. Those three characters are innocent; they are kind and were never harmful to others. However, they were destroyed through contact of evil. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the mockingbirds symbolizes the idea of innocence, and Tom, Boo, and Mr. Raymond are considered one of it.
“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest” Ellie Wiesel. Readers may find the amount of injustice in Harper lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird a little shocking. This could be why it’s such a popular book. People like the suspense of knowing someone’s right, but still being found guilty for something they did not do. There are many times throughout the book when people are powerless to prevent injustice but they still protest it. This shows that even when people unjustly punish there should always be someone to protest it. The theme of injustice is a common one in harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, whether it be through racism, misinformation, or Arrogance.