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Many characters in To Kill A Mockingbird are isolated from mainstream society. Discuss the ways in which Atticus Finch and one other character are set apart from the society of Maycomb To Kill A Mockingbird was set in the 1930s in the south of USA, Alabama. At that period, slavery had already been made illegal. But people in the south were a bitter about it because they still believed that they needed the slaves to maintain their cotton farms. They didn't treat the blacks as though they had the same social status as them and basically still treated them as though they were still slaves. This unfair prejudice was widespread throughout the south. "Maycomb", didn't actually exist but was meant to be the embodiment of a typical town in the south at that time. In Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, she has created characters who seem a little different and thus, isolated from the rest of Maycomb's mainstream society. Prime examples of this isolation are Atticus and the Ewells; particularly Bob Ewell. Probably one of the most important and obvious point to Atticus Finch's isolation is his lack of prejudice towards black people. Although this might not be seen as something unusual at the present day, it was at that time. More obviously so because the story was set in the south where prejudice against the blacks was something that was taken for granted. The people in Maycomb knew that prejudice was wrong and yet, they didn't think that prejudice against the blacks was wrong. They saw it as a separate matter. An example of this would be the teacher telling the children that "Over here we don't believe in persecuting anybody. Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced." The irony in it is that the reader knows that the majority of Maycomb are prejudiced against the blacks and to say that Hitler was wrong in being prejudiced was hypocritical. Atticus though, wasn't prejudiced and this was what made him different. He lets Calpurnia, a black woman, take care and act as a mother to his children. This though is not really seen by the people of Maycomb. To the people of Maycomb, Calpurnia is merely a housekeeper; but she's actually much more than that. As he told Aunt Alexandra when Aunt Alexandra wanted to dismiss her, "She tried to bring them up according to her lights, and Cal's lights are pretty good." Unlike others, he appreciates what Calpurnia did for him. "We couldn't operate a single day without Cal, have you ever thought of that? You think how much Cal does for you?" He says this to Scout when she wanted Atticus to
...uth to fully understand that it is typical to act superior to those with colored skin. All Dill sees is a man being rude to another, just because of his skin color. While Atticus clearly shows everyone in the court that it was almost impossible for Tom Robinson to have beat Mayella, he still loses the case just because he was a black man against a white woman. Lee includes, “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.” (Lee 323) This enforces how it didn’t matter what Tom was really doing or why Mayella was screaming, but just by the way Tom looked they were able to essentially pin the rape and the beatings on Tom. Of course this was not true and he did not receive the justice he deserved, but that didn’t matter to Maycomb. All that mattered was the color of his skin and what the teenage white girl named Mayella Ewell said about him.
This shows that Atticus and his family are put on a lower level than normal citizens. Pre-conceived opinions are able to make people opposed to changing them as well, with the ideas sticking in Maycomb. The hierarchy or order of people is severely deformed in Maycomb, as normal, well-meaning people are discriminated against and put at the bottom of the pack simply because of the colour of their skin.... ... middle of paper ...
The characters of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird are all different in their own way. Sometimes they can seem like the most infuriating people in the world, but then again they can be helpful, loving, and caring. The citizens of Maycomb County are stereotyped a lot throughout the book. They are labeled as many different things, but some of the stereotypes made aren’t entirely correct. A lot of people in To Kill a Mockingbird stereotype others by the way they look or talk based on what society considers normal. Two of the main characters in the book are stereotyped; Scout and Atticus Finch.
This was a time of racial segregation, where blacks were not permitted to go to the same schools as the whites. They could not sit in the same restaurants, sit in the same part of the courthouse, use the same public restrooms or drink at the same water fountains. Everyone in Maycomb, from children to adults, accused Atticus and his children of being "black lovers." Atticus, with all this turmoil, stayed calm. He taught his children to accept the differences between one human being and another.
Atticus must live with himself before he can live with others. In the novel, Atticus even says, "Before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience." This clearly illustrates how Atticus must do what he thinks is right, because he can only live for himself and not others. Atticus demonstrates this when he refuses to treat African Americans with disrespect, as many other people in Maycomb do.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”-Martin Luther King Jr. This quote shows how racism is like darkness and hate and love and light are the only way to drive racism out. The story takes place at the time of the great depression. Scout lives in a very racist and judgement city in the south. A black male is accused of raping a white woman. Scouts dad Atticus gets appointed to be the defendant's lawyer. Racism is an antagonist in To Kill A Mockingbird because the white people of Maycomb discriminate the blacks and make them feel lesser. The theme racism can be harmful to everyone is shown by many characters throughout the book.
are referred to in the novel. As I mentioned above, there are a lot of
Sometimes, people think that other people from different races can’t or can do something simply because the people heard or saw the other race do it. People have sometimes believed that all black people are athletic or that all white girls like starbucks. Movies these days are almost always filled with stereotypes. I think that this story is from a child’s point of view is because some kids can be more observant of events that happen around them. Kids may see racism and people that were labeled.
“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.
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…Until you climb his skin, and walk around in it.” (Lee 30) The story takes place in a small town called Maycomb, which is in Alabama. It happened and started in the late 1930s in “The Great Depression”. The main characters are Scout, Jem, and Atticus . Scout is the youngest and the most maturing one, the perspective was from her point of view. Jem is the eldest and cares a lot about everything that Scout faces. Atticus is the father of Jem and Scout, and he works as a lawyer in Maycomb, who helps black people. The trail in the novel “To Kill A MockingBird” affect Scout, Atticus and Jem because it taught them bravery, equality, and how to face injustice.
The film To Kill a Mockingbird is based on a book by harper Lee. The film To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. During this time many people were suffering from the Great Depression. The film is being narrated by the main character, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, but as an adult who is recalling events of her childhood from when she was nine years old. Her father is Atticus Finch, who is a town lawyer with high moral standards. Scout, Jem, and their friend Dill are spying on their repulsive mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley who has not left his home for many years and about whom many rumors circulate. The movie covers the undergo change in Scout and Jem lives. Atticus is appointed by the local udge to defend a black
Outcasts have very influential roles in the development on children’s thoughts and values. For example in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout’s current and former neighbours give her valuable insight into the lives of others from the perspective of an outcast by showing her how they see the world. In particular, Dolphus Raymond and Arthur Radley demonstrate the importance of treating others as equals. Dolphus Raymond, a white Negro-lover, explains to Scout that Maycomb County’s prejudice forces him to constantly fake being drunk so others do not challenge him on his non-racist views. In addition, Arthur Radley’s contrasting lifestyle teaches Scout that rumours do nothing but harm.
Society leads to conform and people who choose not to conform appear as outcasts. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by harper lee, the idea of conformity is understood by the town of maycomb. Scout, a tomboy who is by maycomb because of her view of society, is misunderstood in her personality and independent ideas. Scout changes throughout the story, growing to recognize that Maycomb is a corrupt society and how the values of a conformist community negatively affect its people.
Muhammad Ali proclaims, “Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn’t matter which color does the hating.” He is explaining to not discriminate others no matter what race. Although, in To Kill a Mockingbird there’s prejudice because of people's races. In Maycomb County, most white and black people dislike to be associated with other races which shows hate against the color of people’s skin. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird shows racism and discrimination are present.
For all of my elementary school years, I moved places a lot. I started at a new school every year. I never had my own bedroom. I was always leaving friends. I had to learn to adjust to my environment about 6 times, once a year. I left things unfinished. School years, sports seasons, and relationships. I was never sure whether or not this was common, but I just went with it. I never liked it, but had to go with it, the way Scout had to go with going to school.