A major theme from To Kill A Mockingbird is life is not always fair, and justice does not always happen. This theme is recurring throughout the whole book, and shows true aspect and troubles of the past and present.The first piece of evidence I have is when Bob Ewell attacks Jem and Scout after the play “Jem was lying on his back. There was an ugly mark along one side of his face. His left arm lay out from his body; his elbow was bent slightly, but in the wrong direction”(355). Bob said he would “get atticus” after he spoke against Bob’s word at the trial. When the kids were walking home from the play, Bob attempted to harm or maybe even kill Jem and Scout, he did break Jem’s arm in the act. Another more major event of injustice was when Tom …show more content…
was “guilty”. “She was white, and tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man. Not an old Uncle, but a strong young Negro man. NO code mattered to her before she broke it, but it came crashing down on her afterwards”(272).
Tom had all the right reasons to win the case. He had one not well working arm, and more solid evidence than the Ewells, but because of prejudice he lost. It was a white women against a black man during a very racist time in history, of course he would not even get a chance to win the case.The last unfair part of the book is Boo/Arthur Radley getting discriminated against. It happens from the beginning of the book with the whole town thinking he is a monster, and terrorizes the neighborhood, to the end where even the sheriff does not want it to be known that Boo saved the children and killed Bob Ewell. On page 47 it says, “Before Jem went to his room, he looked for a long time at the Radley Place. He seemed to be thinking again.” This quote shows how The Radley’s life is such a mystery and people just like to assume to worst of them by over thinking. From minuscule problems like Boo’s to major life threatening problems like Bob attacking Atticus’ children, this book really portrays the world today. African Americans are still mistreated and even lynched and hurt in some cases, it is still a huge problem several decades …show more content…
later. Outcasts like Arthur Radley are treated differently because the do not want live the same as others may want to. These examples from To Kill A Mockingbird shows just how timeless this book is and will be for many years to come. Throughout To Kill A Mockingbird, we see a lot of characters change and grow for better or worse, but the most noticeable is definitely Jem.
I think that Jem changed the most, even though Scout is the main character, her mind set and her view of everything is mostly just her innocent self not understanding most things as well as Jem. Jem starts out as innocent as Scout but he becomes more knowledgeable on many subjects as the book goes on. We experience his body changes and Jem going through mood changes. “Jem was twelve. He was difficult to live with, inconsistent, moody” (154). To calpurnia calling him “Mister Jem” which makes Jem treat Scout less as an equal to him. (chapter 14) Jem also decides to punish Scout on his own because his sees himself superior and so much older than her now, which Scout does not stand for. (chapter 15) Jem also shows his maturity and loyalty to his father when the lynch mob came for Tom in the jail cell, he stood by his dads side the whole time to make sure nothing happened to him. “I was getting a bit tired but Jem had his own reasons for doing as he did, in view of his prospects once Atticus did get him home” (204). These reason make Jem seem way more mature and that he has grown more throughout the book than
Scout.
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.
Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird Jem and Scout change tremendously. They do not change physically, but rather mentally. Their maturation can be seen as the novel progresses and by the end of the story they seem to be two completely different people. As the novel goes on, the reader can see that Jem and Scout mature even when the rest of the town does not.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, the main plot, the Tom Robinson case, parallels that of the Boo Radley subplot in many ways. In the Tom Robinson plot, Tom, a black man, gets falsely accused of savagely beating and raping Miss Mayella Ewell, a 19 year old girl who lives in poverty with her father, Bob Ewell, and her many younger siblings. Though the evidence points to Bob Ewell as the abuser, the townsfolk, including the jury, take the Ewell’s word over Tom’s purely because of his skin color. The subplot in this novel is focused on Arthur “Boo” Radley, the mysterious neighbor of the Finch family. They know very little about him, as he hasn’t left his house in many years. In the midst of the Tom Robinson case, the Boo Radley subplot trails off, almost
The characters in To Kill A Mockingbird change a lot throughout the book.Some changed for good and others for bad but in my opinion jem has changed the most. Jem has changed the most in this book because he becomes more mature and starts seeing boo radley for who he really is.
The next most obvious person in the book that drastically matures is Jem. At the beginning of the book Jem is much like Scout in that he has the innocence of a young child. For example Jem tells Scout and Dill various made-up stories about Boo Radley to satisfy his need for excitement in his life and for the childish need to scare Scout and Dill. His immaturity is also mirrored when he makes up a game in which he puts Boo’s “… life’s history on display for the edification of the neighborhood.” After that he shows his lack of being able to control his temper and lack of respect when he destroys Miss Dubose’s camellias. There is no doubt that Jem was immature at the start of this book but as the book progresses we see a drastic change in him.
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
Even though, Atticus’s case was clearly outlining Tom’s innocence the jury could not overlook the fact that he was black and Mayella Ewell was white. Sitting in the stands Scout sees that the Jury consists of “.. twelve good men and true... Then Mr. Underwood 's meaning became clear. Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men 's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.” The decision made Jem question the need for juries if they will not be fair to everyone and treat them equally. The outcome of the trial made both of the children grow up a little more quickly, once exposed to the real world where life isn 't always fair and just. The trial changed Jem 's mindset towards everything in life which is evident when Scout finds a roly-poly bug, and amuses herself by poking it so it rolls up, waiting for it to unroll and start walking, then poking it again. She 's about to squish it when Jem stops her. Jem, being older, is able to see that this is a thoughtless act of cruelty and there is no need for it. The roly-poly bug is used to symbolize the Mocking Bird and also Tom Robinson. Miss Maudie point’s out to Scout and Jem the innocence in Mocking birds when she says “Remember it 's a sin to kill a mockingbird. ' That was the only time I ever heard Atticus
Many of the other townspeople respect how Atticus treated all people and colors the same. Atticus sees people as themselves while society judges them. In the Tom Robinson case he earns some support of the townspeople by his fair ways and taking a stand. Atticus is an honest man who says the truth to anyone if they ask. During the Tom Robinson case, Atticus is trying to get the townspeople to see everyone should be treated equally no matter their color, size, or shape. Both Atticus and his children face challenges after Atticus defends Tom Robinson. For example, Atticus is treated horribly by Bob Ewell. He spits in his face and Atticus still treats him with respect. Jem and Scout face problems by people calling Atticus a “negro lover”. People calling Atticus this strongly upsets Scout. Bob Ewell wants revenge and he threatens his children one Halloween night on the way home from a Halloween pageant. Bob attacks Jem and Scout and gives Jem a broken arm and concussion. Luckily, Boo Radley steps in and stabs Bob Ewell. The officer concluded that Bob Ewell fell on his knife. In the end Atticus is a fair, honest, and kind man. He teaches all of these things to Jem and Scout throughout the entire
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
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.
First, the trial of Tom Robinson is an eye-opening experience for Jem and Scout; there they discover hatred, child abuse, and lying. Seeing pure hate is new and strange for Jem and Scout. They know that prejudice does exist, but listening to and watching Bob Ewell during the trial is astounding to them because Bob Ewell abhors all blacks, especially Tom Robinson. Bob’s daughter, Mayella, makes an advance on Tom, which is absolutely unspeakable and shameful at that time. In addition, Bob Ewell’s hate grows (especially for Atticus) because after the trial his reputation and respect is ruined, even though he does not have a high degree of integrity to begin with. Also, through the
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.
During Christmas one year Scout is unjustly punished for hitting Francis when he deserved it. Scout is nicely talking to Francis when he calls Atticus a “nigger lover.”(110) Scout having a quick temper punches him in the nose, and is unjustly punished for it. Uncle Jack only listens to Francis’s side of the story before unjustly punishing Scout. Since Uncle Jack only listens to half the story he unjustly punishes Scout. This is another example of injustice in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Injustice is a theme that reigns in the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Injustice is evident in many aspects of life. The trials the characters in the book face are very different from most of the situations people endure right now. A few of the trials faced in the story are racism, and judgment. The theme of injustice is displayed in the judgment of Arthur Radley, in Tom Robison's trial, and Jem and Scout's life-threatening encounter.
In the novel "To Kill A Mockingbird" each of the main characters changed quite a bit. Through the experiences each character went through and the natural maturing that occurred in each of them, the characters were altered from the way they were at beginning of the book. The children, Scout and Jem, were the two most dramatically changed characters. However, Scout showed much more change than Jem did because of his mysterious hidden attitude. Scout matured from a helpless and naïve child into a much more experienced and grown-up young lady.