"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” (295). Atticus Finch states this to explain to Jem the importance of fairness and acceptance, which is something many members of Maycomb do not understand. To summarize, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a classic American novel about the social struggles of a small town in Alabama around the time of the Depression. The story is told by a young girl, Scout Finch, as she goes into detail about how citizens with different social class standings are affected when a very controversial event takes place in their town.
One family that is strongly affected by class
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Although they are very poor, they are still respected by their peers because of their hard work ethic. Initially, people understand when the Cunninghams deny help because they never take more than they can pay back. One example of this is when Miss Caroline offered Walter Cunningham a quarter for lunch, but he would not accept it because he knew he had no way to pay her back. When Miss Caroline insists that Walter take the quarter, Scout has to explain to her, “They never took anything off anybody, they get along with what they have” (26). To the citizens of Maycomb, it is common knowledge that one should not force help on the Cunninghams because they do not want to receive charity. Furthermore, the Cunninghams always make it their top priority to reimburse people, even if it is not with money. For example, when Atticus helps Mr. Cunningham, he has to pay Atticus back with firewood and other goods. After Scout asks Atticus how Mr. Cunningham will be able to pay him back, Atticus responds, “Not in money, but before the year is over I’ll have been paid. You watch” (27). Atticus trusts that Mr. Cunningham will pay him back because he knows his intentions are to fully repay Atticus no …show more content…
To begin with, citizens of Maycomb have given up on trying to help the Ewells because they abuse the help that is provided for them. For instance, while Atticus is questioning Mayella Ewell, Scout explains, “Their relief check was far from enough to feed the family, and there was a strong suspicion that Papa drank it up anyway” (244). For reasons like these, people have given up trying to help the Ewells because they will take it and waste it, instead of being thankful like the Cunninghams would. With this in mind, since the Ewells rely on help from others and do not work to support themselves, they have to find unusual ways to get what they need. To demonstrate, during the trial, Scout describes, “The varmints had a lean time of it, for the Ewells gave the dump a thorough gleaning every day” (228). Considering Bob Ewell has many children to support, but no logical way to do it, he must use methods like these to ensure he and his children will survive. In contrast, although the Ewells are definitely respected less than the Cunninghams, people respect them more than the Robinsons solely based on race. As an example, to end his closing statement, Atticus announces, “I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence you have heard, come to a decision, and restore this defendant to his family. In the
The Ewells were very hard to work with in court because they were seemingly very uncivilized people. They are not used to Atticus’ way of speaking and addressing others, so they feel offended and misunderstood when he questions them.
The town gossip, Miss Stephanie Crawford, tells Atticus’ children what she overheard in downtown Maycomb: “Atticus was leaving the post office when Mr. Ewell approached him, cursed him, spat at him, and threatened to kill him.” This shows that he is furious with Atticus that he would go so far as to curse and spit and threaten him in broad daylight where anyone could watch and hear. Atticus then explains why Bob Ewell did these horrible things: “Jem, see if you can stand in Bob Ewell’s shoes for a minute. I destroyed his last shed of credibility at the trial, if he had any begin with. The man had to have some kind of comeback, his kind always does. So if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take. He had to take it out on somebody and I rather it be me than that household of child.” This explains why Atticus did nothing at the post office and will do nothing against Bob Ewell. Later, Bob realizes that Atticus is not about to do anything back at him, so he kicks it up a notch and goes after his children instead. He almost got his revenge, but Arthur Radley came and saved the children from
Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, Harper Lee's, To Kill a Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior, to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, and the struggle between blacks and whites. Atticus Finch, a lawyer and single parent in a small southern town in the 1930's, is appointed by the local judge to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, who is accused of raping a white woman. Friends and neighbors object when Atticus puts up a strong and spirited defense on behalf of the accused black man. Atticus renounces violence but stands up for what he believes in. He decides to defend Tom Robinson because if he did not, he would not only lose the respect of his children and the townspeople, but himself as well.
Despite all bad or good qualities anyone truly has, one should always try to fight for what’s right and not punish someone who truly doesn’t deserve it just to save themselves. This is evident between Walter Cunningham Sr. and Bob Ewell. Walter Cunningham Sr. is a poor farmer who has to pay those who he owes with supplies rather than money. He also happens to be in a mob, which is trying to kill Tom Robinson [the innocent black man] before his trial. Bob Ewell is part of Maycomb’s poorest family and is also a drunkard. Something both Mr. Cunningham and Mr. Ewell have in common is that they are both white men, who are not the wealthiest and are both trying to put Mr. Robinson in jail. Despite the similarities these characters may seem to have, there are a lot differe...
The Ewells are viewed as the dregs of local society, as even "Atticus said the Ewells had been the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations" (Lee 21), during which they had "lived on the same plot of earth behind the Maycomb dump, and had thrived on county welfare money" (Lee 91). The lack of social exposure due to where and how he lives justifies Bob Ewell's lack of even the slightest form of respect in any scene in which he speaks. Atticus even passively allows Ewell to...
The Ewells are immensely poor, so the city gives them special privileges that not everyone has. They are allowed to hunt wherever they like and whatever they please. Another interesting concept about the Ewell’s that is unlike any other family in Maycomb is they only go to school the first day, then they are marked absent the rest of the year. This keeps them out of trouble because they have no manners and are highly underprivileged. Calpurnia, the Finches caretaker lived in the black community just outside the town of Maycomb. Most African Americans do not get to have an education. They are not allowed to go to school and aren’t remarkably smart and can’t read. In their church, they do not have bulletins or a music program because they are not able to read it. Instead, one man would go up to the front of the church and sing a verse and the blacks would repeat it. All the blacks live in the Quarters. The black community can only acquire exceptional jobs from whites. Calpurnia is the Finch’s nanny and
They Cunningham are a hard-working family. The family as a whole works hard on their farm for food and they use their produce as payments for anything they might need. They are a polite family who has been taught their manners. They also of proud of everything they and they are proud of who they are. On the other hand, there are the Ewells. The Ewells are a very lazy family. They never bother doing anything and are constantly looking for handouts. Based on details in the book the town of Maycomb is quite social. However, it seems that the Ewells aren’t like the rest of Maycomb being quite anti-social. Lastly, the Ewells are straight up nasty people. They are dirty, uneducated, and think a lot of themselves. They are people that have such bad character that you don’t want to meet
Atticus treats them as he treats everyone and how he would like to be treated. Atticus should defend Tom Robinson because he prides himself on following the Golden Rule, and if he does not defend Tom Robinson, he could not live with himself. Atticus tells Scout he would not be able to show his face in town if he does not defend Mr. Robinson because he would be going against everything he believes in for what others want him to do. The people of Maycomb trust Atticus to stand up for what is right when no one else has the courage. Miss Maudie says, "Whether Maycomb knows it or not, we're paying the highest tribute we can pay a man."...
Walter Cunningham Sr. is a caring and sweet person. He can also be very shy and quiet. His family and him are farmers and don’t repay anything that they can’t afford to give back. In the book, Walter Sr. is a client of Atticus and always gives him goods and different services in order to pay Atticus back since the family can’t afford to pay back in cash. The Cunningham’s are low-class town people because they have to rely on Government welfare and services to keep the farming business going.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus speaks to the people of Maycomb about the unfairness of this trial. Throughout the book we see the complexities of the people of Maycomb, which just happens to be the people that Atticus is talking to in the courtroom. In chapter 15, we see that Mr. Cunningham was standing against Atticus because he was defending a black man. He was standing against him, even though Atticus has helped him and his family in the past. This shows that Walter Cunningham’s values overlook the most important things to life such as kindness and loyalty to another.
Throughout the novel we see the abusive behaviors of Bob Ewell towards people, especially to his daughter Mayella. When Bob Ewell saw what he did from the window he screamed “you goddamn whore, I’ll kill ya” (Lee 198). This inferred that Bob Ewell was talking to his daughter and not Tom, who later testified that when Bob yelled this he was looking right at Mayella. Atticus also makes a case on page 127 about how no one, not even Bob, called a doctor to check on Mayella. By not calling a doctor it proved Bob Ewell was only concerned for himself, not even for the own well-being of his daughter, he was a selfish and horrible father. Also, the Ewell family was one of the lowest whites in Maycomb they had no money and no education, the children only attended the first day of school every year. Bob Ewell wanted the people of Maycomb to view them higher than they do now, but was too lazy to do it himself. Mr. Ewell believed that pinning his own abusive behaviors on Tom Robinson would make people believe he saved their town from dangerous man, and they would now think highly of him. Bob Ewells selfish behavior and poor parenting skills lead to him being a responsibility in the death of Tom
During this time period, everyone looked down on blacks and women, which makes Maycomb one of the same as 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.
Mayella Ewell is white and therefore her claims against a black man are automatically believed. The vast majority of the people in the town feel that the incident occurred and harass Atticus for his legal support of Tom. “Francis looked at me carefully, concluded that I had been sufficiently subdued, and crooned softly, “Nigger-lover . . .”(Lee 84). This statement came from Francis Hancock when he first realized Atticus was Tom’s lawyer. Atticus would not have to go through all of this harassment if he refused to accept this role, but he wanted to help Tom Robinson. This is a clear case of discriminatory language, as Francis was showing his hatred for African Americans by using such a derogatory term. Atticus can control his emotions very well in response to these scenarios, unlike Scout. The things people are saying do not affect him one bit. “According to Miss Stephanie Crawford, however, Atticus was leaving the post office when Mr. Ewell approached him, cursed him, spat on him, and threatened to kill him” (Lee 217). Bob Ewell is Mayella Ewell’s father and he wanted to see Tom Robinson convicted. Atticus was able to walk away from this provocation without reacting in a negative manner. He was strong enough to ignore this negativity. During the trial, the jury and the judge also displayed a prejudicial belief system. The unfair attitudes and ideas of the townspeople towards were
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 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.