Similarities Between 12 Angry Men And To Kill A Mockingbird

Every second of everyday people talk. When people talk they spread their owns beliefs and most of the time they don't usually match up. People interact with others whom they disagree with often, reacting in different ways that are shown in literature. More specifically, To Kill A Mockingbird a novel by Harper Lee, Twelve Angry Men a play written by Reginald Rose, and Ronald J. Allen’s “American Flag Stands For Tolerance” which is his response to the Supreme Court's decision to consider flag burning an act of freedom of expression. All of these pieces of literature show how people act when faced with others whom they disagree with. Most people either accept or reject others with whom they disagree, whereas some are undecided. The decisions

are based on the person’s character traits: people who accept are respectful and understanding, people who reject are close minded, and people who are undecided do not fully understand the situation.
People accept others whom they disagree with because they are considerate. When responding to the Supreme Court decision about the Texas Vs. Johnson case, Ronald J. Allen speaks of the flag symbolizing tolerance. He states his opinion about the flag, showing his acceptance towards the decision even though he was against the flag burning. His opinion is shown when he states, “More than anything else, the flag stands for the free expression of ideas, no matter how distasteful”. Allen understands that a core value of the flag is freedom of expression, regardless of how much he disagrees with the content. Even though he thinks flag burning is horrible, he respects the Supreme Court Decision because he is considerate of the others point of view. People tend to accept those whom they disagree with because they are an understanding person. Another source that supports this claims is To Kill A Mockingbird. After Mrs. Dubose, a neighbor that Jem did not like died, Atticus talks to Jem about her. He mentions how even though he and Mrs. Dubose disagreed he still accepts her. Atticus shows his acception when he says, “ ‘She had her own views about things, a lot different from mine… She was the bravest person I ever knew’ ” (Lee 149). Atticus accepts Mrs. Dubose despite the fact that she has certain views he disagrees with. Atticus is a considerate man which is why he accepts Mrs. Dubose. He looks past their disagreements and chooses to see the good, respecting Mrs. Dubose by calling her courageous. Humans who are respectful are able to accept those with whom they have a disagreement with. When faced with someone whom they disagree, people who are tactful still accept them.
People who are stubborn reject those whom they disagree with because they believe they are infallible.

Francis speaks of Atticus in a condescending way to Scout. He insults Atticus because he heard Aunt Alexandra disagrees and does not support Atticus’s trail case. He then builds off what he hears and forms his own opinion, taunting Scout, which results in her objecting his claim. He shows his opinion to Scout when he says, “ ‘He’s nothin’ but a nigger-lover,” Scout opposes saying, ‘He is not!’ ” (Lee 110). Francis dislikes Atticus because of what he heard from Aunt Alexandra. He is unwilling to open his mind and take different ideas in. He does not think his opinion could be wrong, which is why he rejects Scout when she disagrees with him. Others who are close minded are rejecting of others’ input with whom they disagree with since they do not believe they can be wrong. An additional source is Twelve Angry Men. When the evidence for the trail was being sifted through by the jurors, a lot of jurors put in new ideas that proved the defendant to be not guilty. Jurior #3 did not take into consideration of any of the other jurors’ input and rejected them all. His rejection is shown when he states, “I’m ready to walk into court right now and declare a hung jury” (Rose 246). Juror #3 was so set on his own opinion that he rejected all of the other jurors’ input, ready to end it all by proclaiming a hung jury. He is close minded and believes that it is impossible for his judgement to be wrong, which is why he rejects any ideas that contradict his stance on the defendant being guilty. Stubborn people who think their reasoning is flawless, reject everyone else who disagrees with them. Narrow minded people are rejecting of those whom they disagree with since they believe their own thought are

impeccable.
People are undecided about others who disagree with them because they don’t fully comprehend their own opinions. Aunt Alexandra comes to live with Scout to influence her more to be a lady. She disagrees with Scouts ways, but is undecided about Scout as a whole, because she is trying to accept her. Aunt Alexandra shows her indecisiveness when Scout states, “When I appeared in the doorway, Aunty would look as if she regretted her request” (Lee 176). Aunt Alexandra gives the effort to call Scout to join her, but then is starts to regret her decision once Scout fulfills her request. She is undecided about Scout because she doesn’t understand how she feels about Scout. She doesn’t understand her own stance because sometimes she is accepting but other times she is not. The reason people are undecided about others they disagree with because they are confused about their own stance. Furthermore, Jem is also undecided about Scout. As he matures his views are changing, he finds himself starting to reject Scout when they get into a disagreement, when he use to accept her. His rejection is shown towards Scout when he says, “ ‘I declare to the Lord you’re gettin’ more like a girl every day!’ ” (Lee 69). Jem is started to see Scout in a different light and is insulting her by calling her a girl when he disagrees with her, but he still hang around her and plays with her. Jem does not understand his own opinion about Scout anymore because he is being pulled in two different directions whenever he interacts with her. He does not know how he truly feels about Scout after his disagreement. Humans that are not able to fully grasp how they feel are undecided about others with sime they have a disagreement. When people do not fully understand their own beliefs they are undecided towards other who they disagree with.
In general, people either are accepting, rejecting, or undecided about others who they disagree with because of their personality traits. People that accept others are understanding and respectful, people who reject are small minded, and people that are undecided do not know what they truly believe. Every person reacts and handles themselves differently when faced with those whom they have a conflict with. These different reactions are what give humans individuality. It differentiates any two people, making every person unique.