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TKAM Essay topic 1
Mockingbirds are innocent animals. “Mockingbirds don't one thing but make make music for us to enjoy.” Miss Maudie. Some of the characters in harper lee's To Kill A Mockingbird relate to this innocents. If people choose to “kill a mockingbird” it can cause to injustice which can lead to a society of corruption. The truth of this statement can be proven by Tom robinson, Scout and Jem Finch and Boo Radley.
Corruption rises when innocents are killed. Tom Robinson is a “mockingbird” because all he ever did was help people, and he caused no harm. An example of this is when Mayella Ewell asks Tom to help her chop up a chiffarobe. Tom happily does this an for his work he did not take anything in return. However this innocent man is treated with injustice when he is accused of sexual and physical abuse. Both crimes he did not commit. Injustice rises further when Tom fights against white men both in the prosecution and in the jury. This shows injustice because in the 1930 when the book takes place black people always got convicted by white people. Inevitably the jury finds Tom guilty. Injustice climbs to its peak when he gets shot by white men trying to get rid of evidence even though they knew he wasn't
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guilty. Corruption can be seen as the men who shot Tom come up with an excuse to make it legal. In conclusion Tom Robinson can be seen as a symbol of a “mockingbird” because of his innocence and the society of unjust corruption that forms after his death. Much like Tom Robison, Scout and Jem Finch can be seen as the “Mockingbird symbol.
This can be seen as they are innocent children who don't understand the world fully. These siblings are surrounded by corruption which can be shown as maycomb is infected with the disease of racism. The incident with Bob Ewell can prove this. Although bob was targeting atticus he knew that he couldn't get to him, so instead Bob went after the children. By attacking the children bob is “killing a mockingbird” although the kids survive this isn't because bob realized his wrong doings and stopped. This can show injustice because Bob only attacked the children because he is a corrupt racist. In conclusion The Finch children are mockingbirds because of their
innocence. The last person to add to the list of mockingbirds is Boo Radley (Arthur Radley). This character fits the bill of mockingbird as he is only ever helping and not hurting. Contrary to all of the rumors spread about Boo this character performed many things that helped especially the Finch children. The first act Boo does to show this is putting a blanket over Scout during Miss Maudie's fire, Next he fixes Jem's pants after he rips them on the wire fence. These are just some of the many things that Boo does to prove to the reader that he represents a Mockingbird. However the injustice snowball was already rolling when the rumors started. It only rises when Bob Ewell attacks the children.
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.
All three of these people are innocents that have been done wrong, rumored about or made fun of. All of the mockingbirds are truly good people that either know no better or they can’t help whatever the problem is. “Mockingbirds” are good people but everyone makes mistakes.
...markings of an innocent childhood no longer. After Tom Robinson is shot, his murder is compared to “the senseless slaughter of songbirds”. Their hearts do nothing but sing out, making beautiful music for all to hear. This is why it is considered a sin to kill one. Jem Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley can all be seen as “mockingbirds”. They never attempt to hurt anyone, yet Tom Robinson was framed for rape, Boo Radley was unlawfully labeled as a vague recluse and the innocence of Jem Fitch was unfairly stolen due to the evil nature of society.
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
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
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.
In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem and Scout grow up learning how people in Maycomb treat one another. In a large portion of the novel, characters of the rich and the poor are involved in Tom Robinson’s case. Some characters are mockingbirds (someone or something that only does good), but nobody was able to see how they could be. Maycomb is infected with racism and prejudice affecting how people view one another including the mockingbirds and the innocent: Mr. Dolphus Raymond, Mayella Ewell, and Walter Cunningham.
“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.
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch shows us how to balance the pressures of being a lawyer and a moral teacher while teaching his kids. It takes courage to do something that is morally good, but is worthy of making someone shunned. That is exactly what Atticus displays when he accepts Tom Robinson’s case. Robinson is on trial for rapping and beating Mayella Ewell. He was innocent of the charges brought upon him, but being an African-American in their society, not many people took Tom’s side. Atticus knew that the jury would be stacked against him. ”Confident that you gentlemen would go along with the assumption--- the evil assumption--- that all negroes lie.”(273)
Steven Heidenreich Mr.P Freshman English May 16, 2017 Racisms Error Throughout the book To Kill a Mockingbird there are many morals but, the moral of the story that prevailed was racism. The Author for this book Harper Lee, is a well known author for books on social injustices. In this book, To Kill a Mockingbird, there are injustices talked about such as ageism, sexism, and racism.
Since the dawn of the United States of America, we face a major issue that will never go away: racial and social inequality. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the author constantly analyzes the theme of discriminatory racial and social equality throughout Maycomb County in southwestern Alabama during the Great Depression in the 1930s. We see Scout Finch discover the disgusting racial prejudices toward black people as she unravels the inequitable Tom Robinson case. We also see the inhuman social prejudices toward Arthur “Boo” Radley due to his differences with the rest of Maycomb County. In “The Farmworkers’ Movement” by Jose Vasquez, we see another prime example of inequality in modern-day America: the harsh conditions and treatments
Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corn cribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” This conveys the loss of innocence in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and thus killing a mockingbird is to destroy innocence. A number of characters (Jem, Tom Robinson, Dill, Boo Radley, Mr. Raymond) can be identified as Mockingbirds who have been injured or destroyed through their contact with evil.
To Kill a Mockingbird revolves around a family living in a small town in the midst of the Great Depression and times of racial tension. Scout Finch is a quirky and bright young girl that lives with her younger brother Jem, and her widowed father Atticus who is a lawyer. Atticus is one of the few men in town who stands up for racial justice, and throughout the story instills morals of justice and fairness in his sharp minded children. When he takes on a case of a black man, Tom Robinson, accused of raping a white woman, Atticus shows his children what it means to be just, even in the face of the unsupportive town members.