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“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” (Lee 226). Throughout the story of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the citizens of Maycomb to show the diversity and isolation of specific groups or individual people. In the book, there are many different perspectives about people who have been shunned or isolated due to peoples views or opinions. There are also some people that try to break stereotypes and help these people fit in. Black or white, Finch or Ewell, everyone should be accepted no matter who they are. The method Harper Lee uses to explain the isolation is characterization. The reader first learns about the Ewells during Scouts early life. She first talks about them while explaining her first day at school. The first Ewell child encountered during the story is Burris Ewell. He is portrayed as a problem child just like …show more content…
Through the entire story, they are seen as lesser beings to most of the town. Even the Finches, who are the most morally just and who strive for racial equality, have an African American working for them. Up to, and during the trial, Tom Robinson is portrayed as a horrible person who is guilty no matter the evidence. Because of his skin color, Tom Robinson was either going to be found innocent and therefore acquitted, or put to death. There wasn’t an in between, “Tom Robinson’s a colored man, Jem. No jury in this part of the world’s going to say, ‘We think you’re guilty, but not very.’” (Lee 219) Even when the contradictory evidence points to him being innocent, he is found guilty. This is most likely due to the way people thought of people of African American descent. So in the end, Tom Robinson never stood a chance of winning. The jury had made its decision before the trial even started, all based on skin
Luckily for Tom Robinson, Atticus was a very dedicated lawyer and did not care for what type of ethnicity he was defending “I’m simply defending a Negro” (Lee 86). Even though Atticus had proven all the facts to the jury, “... this case is as simple as black and white” (Lee 231) they still voted Tom guilty of all charges. The jury was all white making it so that the colored man, Tom Robinson, would be guilty. Because of this Tom Robinson would die later in the book.
Nearly the whole last half of the book is about racism. The attitude of the whole town is that Tom Robinson, because he is black and,"…all Negroes lie,…all Negroes are basically immoral beings,…all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women…"(Lee 207), will be found guilty regardless of how good a case Atticus makes for him. There was substantial amount of evidence that suggests his innocence. Even the prosecution's two witnesses' stories contradicted each other. The jury did not give a guilty verdict it gave a racist verdict. Not a verdict based on fact, but a verdict based on the color of a man's skin. This is important because the author was not making this racism up; it was what it was like in those times. She is trying to show how ignorant and blind people can be just because of differences between them, as well as how society treats racial minorities.
Tom Robinson’s trial, and in fact his entire life, was badly affected by racism. It is truly a testament to the corruption of society when a person who has earned a bad reputation is held in higher esteem than a person who was born with it, as is the case with Bob Ewell and Tom Robinson. Even though Tom was obviously honest in his testament, the jury sided with Bob Ewell because he was white. They made this decision despite the fact that the Ewell family was widely known to be a worthless part of society. Jem, not being racially prejudiced, could not understand this mentality. As Atticus pointed out, “If you (Jem) had been on the jury, son, and eleven other boys like you, Tom would be a free man.”
In Harpers Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Lee has created three unique families. The Ewell’s were a family who lived like slavish animals, a perfect t mold of a stereotyped redneck. The Cunninghams too, are a poor family but they are very proud, much like a farmer type of stereotype who never took anything that they could not repay. The Finches are the most distinct and well respected by the whole town of Maycomb and have lived their life according to a code of values that they apply equally to everyone. Having said this, the Ewells, the Cunninghams and the Finches were three very distinct families with a differing code of values.
In the book "To kill a Mockingbird", isolation is presented to be a very sorrowful thing through the use of imagery. "How'd you know he don't feel good? Well how'd you feel if you'd been shut up for a hundred years with nothin' but cats to eat." This quote shows the maturity of a child- to understand the situation better than the adults of May-comb. Also, it hints the reader about the feelings of Boo. The words "Shut up" suggests force, making Boo seem defenseless. Furthermore, the word "cats" is a metaphor for all the rumors and hatred towards Boo, and the fact that the word "eat" is used indicates that, by force, Boo has to take in these harmful things- close to his heart. Since Boo is trapped and judged, lee indicates that Boo thinks it
The prejudices of 1930s Maycomb in To Kill A Mockingbird are accentuated through Harper Lee’s in-depth analysis’s and descriptions of social, gender and racial discrimination, which allows the reader to experience the acrimony of this time.
Harper Lee has a number of characters that contribute to the novel and violent scenes in To Kill a Mockingbird, some that have meaning and some that do not. Some characters that appear often and some that have a minimal role in being seen in the novel, but the characters that do not appear often seem to have the biggest impact on the novel. There are three characters that are looked down on by society around them, one because of race and two because of their morals. Society disregarded these people simply because they were afraid that they could be like them and the unknown. Lee uses violence and alienation to help depict the things that are wrong within the small society.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee exemplifies the effects of prejudice on innocent people, while others develop sympathy on the people of Maycomb, a world punctuated by the death of the Mockingbirds. Arthur Radley and Tom Robinson go through many difficulties throughout the book as people are prejudiced against Arthur for his eccentricity, and Tom because of his race. When Atticus tells his kids, “You never really understand a person. . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” This is the one of the most important lesson Atticus tries to teach Scout and Jem because everyone is always deserving of that consideration. The Mockingbirds in this story are Arthur Radley and Tom Robinson who hold a very important meaning
In J.D. Salinger’s coming of age novel, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, the main protagonist, feels very isolated in a world full of phonies. He views the adult world as corrupt, which makes him not want to mature. He finds very few people who aren’t phony, and they all happen to be children because he idolizes their innocence. Furthermore, his isolation leads to very little development of other characters in the story, even though they can be very important characters. Throughout the novel, Holden only occasionally addresses some characters, such as his father and Allie, who actually have large roles in his development, actions and overall themes of the novel.
During the Tom Robinson trial, the readers distinctly see the evidence showing that Tom Robinson is not guilty of raping Mayella Ewell. At one point during the trial, Judge Taylor says, “People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for” (Lee 174). This is proven when Tom Robinson is found guilty by the jury. The people saw a black man and automatically declaredsaid him guiltye was guilty because of his skin color. They only saw the inefficient evidence pointing to Tom Robinson, and only heard the false testimonies committing Tom of this hateful crime. The verdict greatly impacts Jem in multiple ways. When he hears of the unfair decision by the jury, he indignantly states to Atticus, “It ain’t right” (Lee 212). Later on, while trying to make sense of the racist verdict, he cries, “How could they do it, how could they?” (Lee 213). Jem now clearly sees the racism in the people of Maycomb firsthand and how horrible it can be. This particular event even cost a man his life. Jem realizes how villainous racism and discrimination can be, and he does not want to live like that. Jem became very adamant towards racism and prejudice after the trial. He is so hurt by this unfair decision, to the point of even crying, and wants it to stop. His morality changes because of this and is now very different from the people of Maycomb. The citizens can be defined as racist and not being able to see past someone’s skin color. But for Jem, he is passionate and disappointed towards the racism because of the Tom Robinson trial and the guilty verdict. When all is said and done, the Tom Robinson trial and the guilty and racist verdict associated with it exceedingly shapes Jem’s
He is claimed to have been given a fair trial, although he is convicted even though everything pointed to his innocence. Tom Robinson told the truth and every piece of evidence aside from the prosecuting testimonies proved him to be innocent. He was found guilty only because during that time period, the truth of his innocence was not acceptable to the majority of the white people. Atticus Finch, Tom’s lawyer, explains that it is true that some black people are liars, immoral, and that they should not be trusted around women. Atticus also explains how just as many white men are like this, as “this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men.” (Lee 208) Tom claimed to have been just helping Mayella Ewell because he felt bad for her, a white woman. During this time, and especially in the South, it was inconceivable that any black person would ever feel pity a white person, widely considered to be their superiors. In addition, Mayella kissed Tom, as she was unhappy at home because her husband often beat her. No one would believe this could be true, so the jury convicted Tom of rape and sentenced him to death. Tom Robinson, an innocent man
In the novel “ To kill a mockingbird” By Harper Lee there are many characters who are social outcasts in the story. These characters give us an understanding of the storyline and help develop ideas about other characters. These characters are brilliantly crafted to create parts of the setting and show the true injustices of the town. The three social outcasts i will be using for examples are the Ewell family, Dolphus Raymond and the entire black community. All these characters in the story have completely different reactions to being social outcasts and reasons for being apart of the storyline.
In the court, the director leaves out the systemic racism that Harper Lee claims is the reason Tom Robinson is convicted of rape (Dave). The racist community, and a mob of white men, make up the deciding factor of the court. However, for someone watching the movie it would not be understood that the hatred expressed towards Atticus is for supporting a black man ("Overview: To Kill a Mockingbird"). The only reason Tom loses the case is because he is black and the movie underplays this as the reason.
To Kill a Mockingbird, a book written by Harper Lee, takes place in the era of the Great Depression. Many people are struggling, and race discrimination is prominent. Many events throughout this book evince social inequality within this time period, such as when Jean Louise Finch is repeatedly suppressed by her aunt and told to act like a girl. When Tom Robinson is charged guilty just because of his skin tone, social inequality is also evident. The different families that appeared in the book also depicts social inequality when one could be defined by his family name, for instance, the Ewells who are known for being filthy and disrespectful. Though the importance of morality is stressed by Atticus, Jean Finch’s father, the constancy of social
Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird highlights the theme of prejudice. In the novel, this theme contrasts the social hierarchies and false stereotypes that reek the town of Maycomb. Many citizens of Maycomb bear the burden of being accustomed to stereotypical beliefs due to their role in society, wealth or race. Though the status of certain individuals is highly considered in Maycomb, it is moral strength that truly makes a person admirable, and is shown through the actions of Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson and Boo “Arthur” Radley.