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The problems of African Americans in To Kill a Mocking Bird
Harper Lee's life and writing
Consquences of racism in to kill a mockingbird
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To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a story of a young black man convicted of assault by a girl that he helped and her father who are white in Southern America. At that time racial prejudice was accepted in the modern society and no one opposed it. The story takes place in Maycomb, Alabama where Scout Finch and her brother Jem overcome many troublesome events and experience improbable situations. The children are exposed to the reality outside of their childhood, and they discovered the truth about their community and the lies that they tell the children. By brainwashing them with diabolical disinformation about black people and how they should be treated. They also witnessed how the community segregated and confined people like Boo Radley and Tom Robinson because of their colour and how they acted. It portrays that once people had an idea or a belief about a certain thing, they wouldn't second guess it and question if it's right or not.In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee develops the idea that prejudice is contagion, and that leads to more people following and believing in that an idea whether if it's true or not. As Scout and Jem Finch grow up they are exposed to a distressing controversy about her fathers lawsuit that he is defending. Scout's father Atticus Finch is defending Tom Robinson a southern black man who is accused of assault. The entire community are against Tom because he is a black man and agrees he should spend time in a solitary confinement even though he is innocent. While the case is going on Scout get's teased in class from other students because her father is helping a black man. Scout was raised to respect everyone regardless of their colour and that everyone is equal and has the rights o... ... middle of paper ... ...e. Not the lies that the other white people say from the community about them and accuse them of crimes that they didn't do. Atticus proved with real In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee presents the idea that people can be consumed and overwhelmed by power over long periods of time. They corrupt other people of their beliefs and teach their children that same concept. This effects other people who don't share the same opinions and they may be dismissed for refusing to accept their false beliefs caused from being consumed by power for so long. Those people who are unaware of the dangers of a power consumed person experience thralldom and may suffer for a long time because they are subjected to servitude. It is hard for a person to break” a tradition they have been believing in for so long, and reject any other people opinions if they are not their own.
“I’d rather you shoot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you’ll go after the birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mocking bird.” Atticus Finch recites these lines to his two children, Jem and Scout after he gives them air-rifles for Christmas. Scout is curious, as this is the first time that she has ever heard her father refer to anything as a sin, Scout asks Miss Maude what Atticus meant by this. Miss Maude tells Scout that mocking birds don’t rip up people’s garden’s or annoy them in any way, all they do is play beautiful music for us to listen to.
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.
In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus is an ideal father, who sets a great example for his kids. A picture of Atticus is important to Scout because Atticus teaches Scout many important life lessons about life. Firstly, as Atticus talks to Scout about Miss. Stephanie, he states “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee,30). Scout realizes that one can never feel someone’s pain, happiness, or glory until she looks at their point of view of things; she learns to consider other people’s situation and feelings. She also understands that she will never know what goes in other people’s lives, and therefore she cannot judge anyone. Scout matures as she learns to apply Atticus’ wise advice to understand Mrs. Dubose and Boo Radley, who are individuals that are misunderstood by the community. Furthermore, as Miss Maudie talks to Scout, she states “Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets” (Lee, 46). Miss Maudie knows about Atticus’ personality quite well. Miss Maudie explains to Scout Atticus is a man with moral principles, he does what he believes is right even if others are not there to praise him. Through Atticus’ exemplary role, Scout understands the importance of integrity, and strong moral values. Finally, when Scout questions her father about the possible outcome of the trial, Atticus states “simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us to try to win” (Lee, 76). Atticus teaches Scout toleration, determination and moral courage. He already knows he is going to los...
In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the protagonist, Scout, and her family face many challenges as Atticus defends Tom Robinson against a charge of the rape of Mayella Ewell, and they defy social norms in their town. The central theme in the story is the Finch family define of racist prejudices held by their community that all comes together in Atticus’s case.
In the classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, an ongoing theme throughout the book is it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. This theme comes from Atticus instructing Jem not to shoot mockingbirds with his air rifle, because it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. Miss Maudie tells Scout that Atticus is correct; mockingbirds don’t do anything to disturb people, all they do is sing beautifully for everyone to hear. Author Harper Lee shows this theme using characterization.
There has always been a strong intuition like belief, that Harper Lee used true accounts from her own childhood as an inspiration to create her credible award-winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee retells the events that she encountered during this time of prejudice through the eyes of an innocent child, Scout Finch. Lee uses her childhood and the events surrounding her juvenile years to construct many aspects of To Kill a Mockingbird: primarily, the main character, Scout Finch, Tom Robinson’s unfair trial, and the racism occurring in the Southern states.
The Gender roles in society have greatly changed throughout the years of America from puritan women who thought that showing skin was undoubtedly a sin from the flapper era in american history that welcomed the idea of women showing more of their sexuality. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird which depict the events that occur when a white man who defends an african american man during the era of the great depression and what results from the story. Gender roles are a prevalent theme in the story. Through the characters dialogue and Scout's narration, Miss Maudie is characterized as a modern women while aunt Alexandra is characterized by her adherence to tradition.
Maturity and change comes with age. Whether the change is due to certain events, or simply because that person has grown up and been exposed to the real world. That maturity comes from learning life lessons. Learning what is right from wrong and being exposed to new things. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch goes from a young innocent five year old to a mature, understanding young woman.
Scout Finch learns about human nature while facing difficulties such as social inequalities, the coexistence of good and evil and trying to understand difficult topics such as social injustice and rape as she grows from a naïve child to a more solicitous person. Scout watches as Tom Robinson is disrespected and discriminated against, she also questions how people like Judge Taylor and Bob Ewell could coexist as she matures. This book was written in a child’s point of view because Harper Lee wanted her audience to create their own ideas of what happened not just what the narrator says. To put it briefly Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird was written in order to critique the way of life in the Southern United States including their social standards.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee portrays racism that Scout a young girl, witnesses in Maycomb during the 1930s and demonstrates how her father , Atticus Finch influences his daughter in a positive manner of viewing the world in the novel . Thanks to moments of inspiration and acknowledging racial differences , Scout develops as a person both mentally and physically by the guidance of her dad. Thus, she gains understanding about the world around her through her lens of life as being a little white girl in the South. Harper Lee's portrayal of herself as a girl encountering racism and being influenced by others while experiencing new aspects of life , inspired her to write To Kill A Mockingbird.
Looking down on others where some people think others are inferior, brand the people who associate themselves with the inferior people a term or name, which should mean nothing in reality. Atticus also says on page 295, "As you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don't you forget it- whenever a white man does that to a black man no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.” Atticus firmly
The novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a novel about a girl growing up in a white house in the racist town with a father who defends a black man. Throughout the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee develops the theme that even though equality is given to all, if you are different person you are not treated equal. This theme Harper Lee creates still matters because it connects to the real world because even today, as colored people are treated as non equal to the whites, such as the story of Michael Brown and Donald Trump making racial marks on Latinos.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel about racism in a small southern town in Alabama. Its about this little girl and her friends and how they deal with being bullied because of their color. Its thrilling in the ways that they have town drama. The town Maycomb is suffering through Great Depression. Scout has a rough time with not wanting to act or dress like a girl, she much rather be one of the guys. She gets bullied for her actions which is the main plot of the story. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” ― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
There is some evidence that shows that Atticus could be racist. ¨You never really understand a person until
The title the film I chose to critique is To Kill A Mockingbird. To Kill A Mockingbird is a courtroom drama about a black man who was accused of raping a white women. To Kill A Mockingbird was released in 1962. This was a blockbuster film and This movie is told the point of view of a six year old daughter of the lawyer of the black man, her name is Scout. This movie has amazing Aesthetic choices, an amazing cultural impact, and personal impact in my life.