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To kill a mockingbird analysis the ewells
Racial bias in the us
Racial bias in the us
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In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, the most important character trait portrayed by Bob Ewell is prejudice. Throughout the book, Bob Ewell demonstrates how prejudice has been kept alive through ignorance and fear. First, by blaming Tom Robinson for beating Mayella. During the trial, Bob Ewell stood up and pointed his finger at Tom Robinson "I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin' on my Mayella"(84)! Bob Ewell emphasizes Tom’s race over everything else. He doesn’t care who he is as a person all he cares about is the color of his skin. Towards the end of the trial, Atticus has one last chance to prove the Ewells wrong. Atticus asks: “About your writing with your left hand, are you ambidextrous, Mr. Ewell? I most positively
Tkam Essay Moral cowardice has been around since the beginning of mankind. In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee there are many examples of people who do stuff that is morally wrong because they do not want to stick out and be pointed at. This essay explains how Bob Ewell is the biggest moral coward, and Atticus is the bravest character. First of all, in To kill a Mockingbird Bob Ewell is the biggest moral coward because his actions are not based on his beliefs and morals but because he does not want to be caught and is too afraid of the truth. He will not do what is right because he know he will be shunned and laughed at.
One of the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird is Bob Ewell. Bob Ewell is a selfish drunk who doesn't know how to control himself. He beats his children and he can’t hold a steady job for long. He is obsessed with revenge for Atticus for making him look like a fool at the trial of Tom Robinson, whom Ewell’s daughter is accusing of rape. Because of his false testimony, he can never be trusted again in front of the whole courtroom. He will do anything to get back at Atticus, and is willing to go as far as going after his children. He also has a grudge against the judge in the trial, and against the wife of the accused. Bob is crazy and delusional and is trying to gain back his reputation by taking down all the people that went against him in
In To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Bob Ewell assumes the racist, biased, and unjust motivations in order to retain any scrap of dignity in Maycomb County. Bob Ewell sees that he has been bested, and that the town knows the truth, however, he is able to abuse his racial standpoint, using racism to scapegoat his actions. The town, even though they all are aware that Bob Ewell is guilty, has been racially obligated to oppress Tom Robinson, due to the racist roots embedded in the town.
Another consequence of defending Tom Robinson in court, aside from being known as a "nigger lover" and opening himself to several other forms of racial hatred from the good people of Maycomb, Atticus was also arguing against a man who was known to be a violent drunk. Bob Ewell was a frightening man and it was noble of Atticus to put himself in a position of opposing such an unstable individual. Atticus remained a gentleman when Ewell confronted him at the post office. Most men in his position would have violently lashed out at Robert E. after being spat upon. Atticus did the right thing and remained a gentleman throughout the confrontation.
Atticus Finch is another victim of prejudice in the novel. After accepting to defend Tom Robinson, the town doesn't treat Atticus as an equal. The people of Maycomb believe that Atticus should not present a proper defense for a black person. Atticus doesn't care for this because he believes in equal rights. Atticus does not believe in racism or prejudice. Many people believe that Atticus should not defend a black person in court. This is because many people in Maycomb think a black person is guilty before anything is announced. While Atticus is defending Tom, Atticus makes the jury think differently about Bob Ewell. This makes Bob threaten and disrespect Atticus and his family. Atticus is not bothered by this because he knows he is doing the
In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, racism is a major theme. Atticus Finch, the narrator’s father, defends a negro, Tom Robinson, in the court of law against a white man, Bob Ewell. Robinson had reportedly raped a young white girl, Mayella Ewell. But according to Robinson he had gone to help Mayella, as he often did, with work around the house. As he starts helping Mayella, she tries to get Tom to kiss her and will not let him out of the house. Bob Ewell sees this and chases Tom out of the house and accuses him of raping his daughter. Atticus goes against almost everyone in Maycomb County’s opinion in defending Tom Robinson. Throughout the course of the novel, racism effects many characters such as Tom and Helen Robinson, Scout and Jem Finch, and Mayella and Bob Ewell. All these characters had there lives
Imagine a world where anyone who was born with brown hair got to give orders to anyone born with blonde hair. If you're born with brown hair, you could have better careers and the better education whereas the blondes wouldn’t even been given a fair court trial. If something like this happened overnight, there would be a huge uproar, but what if it happened over time and generations grew to accept it? Eventually, people would start to argue that brown haired people were naturally superior to blondes. If you were living in a tiny town in the Deep South, such as Maycomb, you’d have even less of a reason to question the status quo. Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird is trying to teach his kids, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view- until you climb in his skin and walk around in it.” Furthermore, the largest forms of discrimination in the novel are racism and classism.
Bob Ewell is afraid that Blacks will take over or gain higher power over Whites so he works to keep the Black population suppressed by the Whites. One way that he showed this was by falsely accusing Tom Robinson of a crime that he never committed. He accused Tom of raping his daughter, Mayella, because he was ashamed that his daughter attempted to kiss a black man. Because of Bob’s fear of Blacks, Tom is dead....
Tom Robinson is at the stand being questioned by Mr. Gilmer. Dill starts to feel sick because of how Mr. Gilmer is treating Tom. The narrator explains, “Well, Dill,after all he is just a negro” (Lee 266).This piece of evidence shows that prejudice is used as an antagonist in the novel by giving an unfair trial to Tom Robinson. The quote states “he is just a negro,” which shows that the trial is unfair just because of the towns racial views on people of color. The jury is all white and the case is black versus white. The jury is very biased towards the case. The prosecuting lawyers and defending lawyer are giving their closing statements. Atticus ends with a powerful speech that prove Tom is innocent and his views on race. The jury thinks over all the evidence for a long time and come to a verdict. The author of To Kill A Mockingbird quotes, “Guilty...Guilty...Guilty...Guilty…” (Lee 282). This quote shows the jury is very prejudice. There is more than enough evidence to prove Tom did not rape Mayella and that Bob Ewell beat her. Even though there is enough evidence to proves Tom’s innocence the jury’s verdict is guilty just because of their hate and their prejudice towards African Americans. Ultimately, prejudice is being used as an antagonist is very thoroughly shown throughout the entirety of the
Atticus Finch, an outstanding role model for any person trying to become a perfect father and outstanding citizen. Atticus’s actions differ from social norms so much that he is considered “too good to be true”. Atticus rushes home to word of a rabid dog, Atticus drops his glasses to take his shot and breaks the lens. Atticus “stooped and picked up his glasses, ground the broken lenses to powder under his heel” (80). Atticus taking the time to grind his glass lenses into powder so no one got hurt represents his astounding thoughtfulness for other people. Atticus has an outstanding ability to step back and observe his reality. Atticus while already knowing the outcome of the trial takes on the challenge and defends Tom Robinson to the best of his ability despite ridicules from the town. Atticus explains to Scout that “ In our courts when it 's a white man 's word against a black man 's, the white man always wins. They 're ugly, but those are the facts of life” (187). Atticus knowing this going into the trial shows his dedication and conscious decision-making skills unparalleled to anyone in the novel. Finally, Atticus’s ability to stay calm in intense situations perfectly develops his outstanding personality. Bob Ewell, the father of Mayella Ewell, confronts Atticus about the trial. Bob, with Atticus“ was a veteran of an obscure war which Atticus 's peaceful reaction prompted him to inquire. Too proud to fight you nigger-lovin’ bastard? Nope too old.” (185). Atticus’s calm reaction and ability to walk away from a fight develops Atticus’s character even further. Atticus corrects his mistakes, stands up for others, and controls himself in high-intensity situations. Lee Develops Atticus’s character to explain that even people with the most upstanding features and qualities, still fail. Lee does this to tie her philosophy on how people should be treated together with a
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
Prejudice is arguably the most prominent theme of the novel. It is directed towards groups and individuals in the Maycomb community. Prejudice is linked with ideas of fear superstition and injustice.
In the novel, one of the main characters is the father of the narrator, Atticus Finch. He is portrayed as a just character with common social grace. As the novel develops, Atticus begins to portray courage and sacrifice that goes against all common propriety. The beginning of his bravery is defined by the offering of his services to a local African American man, Tom Robinson, something unheard of in 1930’s southern Alabama. Robinson gained much prominence during the trial, due to the accusations against him paired with his ethnicity. The entire town was aware of the accusations made by the plaintiff, Bob Ewell. Ewell stated that Robinson deliberately took advantage of Ewell’s nineteen-year-old daughter. Mayella Ewell states in court, "I got somethin' to say an' then I ain't gonna say no more. That nigger yonder took advantage of me an' if you fine fancy gentlemen don't wanta do nothin' about it then you're all yellow stinkin' cowards, stinkin' cowards, the lot of you”. Though Ewell’s daughter knows she is lying, she allows everyone to go on with the outrage toward Robinson, to leave...
In a racist town where people are overly judged based on rumors spread around. A man who has yet to be seen named Boo Radley is made into the town monster. Little do they know that Bob is one of the only people in Maycomb who does not judge people by their race. In the book “To Kill A Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee, the main character Atticus Finch is a lawyer in the little town of Maycomb. Atticus Finch the father of Scout and Jem has been faced with one of the hardest cases of his life. Atticus is forced to defend a black man named Tom Robinson on the fact that he raped a white girl named Mayella Ewell. Some people may argue that it does not make sense for Atticus to take a stand to defend Tom Robinson, because he will lose his trust
There are no two characters in To Kill a Mockingbird that differ in identity as much as Atticus Finch and Bob Ewell. Atticus is a man of the law. He defends Tom, an innocent man wrongly convicted, despite the flack his family get from it. “‘ My folks said your daddy was a disgrace an’ that nigger oughta hang from the water tank!’” (Lee 76) He sets a good example for his children. He calls everyone he know ‘Sir’ or ‘Ma'am’.