“Cry about the simple hell people give other people—without even thinking. Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they're people, too.” pg 205 (digital text). To Kill a Mockingbird was written by Harper Lee in 1960. The book takes place in the 1930s in a small town called Maycomb, Alabama. This book shows the life of Scout and her family and how her father Atticus risked everything to defend a Black man named Tom Robinson in court. The symbol of the mockingbird stands for innocence. We know this because mockingbirds don’t harm anything in their surroundings, so to kill one would not only serve any purpose, but it would be morally wrong. In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses Atticus, …show more content…
His major relationship in this book is the Black man on trial. This wasn’t his first time being in trouble with the law. He was accused of beating and taking advantage of a young girl named Mayella Ewell, who is 19 and a half. When really, Mayella Ewell was the one who tried to take advantage of Tom Robinson. Atticus asks Tom on page 195 (digital text) “Did you ever, at any time, go on the Ewell property—did you ever set foot on the Ewell property without an express invitation from one of them?” Tom answered, “No suh, Mr. Finch, I never did. I wouldn’t do that, suh.” Every time Tom came on the property, he was invited by Mayella. Tom tells the court that one day when Mayella asks him to come in he notices the nun of the kids are around so he asks her to quote him on page 196 (digital text) “Where the chillun?” continuing on page 196 “She says they all gone to town to get ice creams. She says, ‘took me a slap year to save seb’m nickels, but I did it. They all gone to town.” This can show that Mayella could have been planning to do this to Tom for some time now. Going on, Mayella asked Tom to get some boxes off the top of a chiffarobe so he …show more content…
However, Tom was still arrested, not because he was guilty, although the jury’s final ruling was that he was guilty; most people chose that he was guilty because of the color of his skin, which is unfair and unfair. Shortly after Tom was arrested, he was shot and killed. He had lost hope and tried to make a run for it. The weird thing is, he was shot 17 times. Tom was arrested for something he didn’t do, which is why he is one of the Mockingbirds in his case. He committed no crime, but still had to pay a price. Next, moving on to Harper Lee, uses Jem as one of the Mockingbirds. Jem is a kid and throughout the whole book, he is rarely seen being harmful. Jem is a simple, all-American boy. He is white and is the son of Atticus and brother of Scout. For most of the book, he was about 10 years old. Jem was always seen helping with most of the problems that occurred in the book, and he always tried to listen to his father. Anytime Scout got into trouble, Jem was always there to help her. Like when Cecil Jacobs was giving Scout crap about Atticus defending Tom. Jem was there to break up the fight between the
In the 1930’s, turmoil has erupted in Maycomb, Alabama all because the young lady Mayella Ewell has accused African-American Tom Robinson of raping and sexually assaulting her. Yet, Mayella Ewell has no power because of her race, class, and gender. At the time, Maycomb, Alabama was at the peak of segregation against African-Americans. Mayella Ewell may be white, but that does not mean her class, gender, nor her race give her power.
In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus, a lawyer and the father of Jem and Scout, displays great courage, loyalty, and patience in every situation.
“To Kill a Mockingbird” is a novel by Harper Lee, that teaches many themes, one of which being very important is courage. Many people think that courage is a man with a gun in his hand, but Lee’s definition is much different. She thinks that courage is when you know that you’re beaten before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what. The first quote I have to further explain this is early in the story when Atticus tells Jem and Scout about the court case he is handling. “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win” (Lee 101). Atticus knows he won’t win the court case, but he still tries his best and doesn’t falter whatsoever. Many people scrutinize him for defending a negro, but he ignores them like he should, and shows maturity and courage.
Tom Robinson is a kind black man whom Atticus is defending against the charge that he raped Mayella Ewell. Atticus knows that he will lose because Tom is black, but he also knows that Tom is innocent and that he has to defend him. Tom Robinson is portrayed as a hard-working father and husband in the novel and he was only attempting to help Mayella since no one else would, but she made advances that he refused and her father saw them. On the witness stand, he testifies that he helped her because, "'Mr. Ewell didn't seem to help her none, and neither did the chillun.'" (256). Even though Tom helps Mayella out of kindness and pity, Mayella is trapped and must accuse him of raping her to save her own life. Shortly after being wrongfully convicted
“Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird." A quote from the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. To Kill a Mockingbird depicts the hardships of growing up and seeing the world around you being controlled by prejudice and racism. Lee implies that innocence is not seen as the assumption that people are naturally good but is more of a mature perspective gained from facing immorality.
Marcus Aurelius once said, “Life is neither good or evil, but only a place for good and evil.” In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the character of Maycomb was living proof of this quote. Elderly and stubborn, he refused to change no matter how much time went by. The days moved slowly for him, though. Always merciless and harsh, he was stuck in an era that had long been passed in other parts of the world. Maycomb refused to believe that people unlike him were still equal to him. The characters of Mrs. Dubose, Bob Ewell, and Miss Gates showcased the aspects of Maycomb. Mrs. Dubose was wrathful and brutal to Scout, Jem, and Atticus when they tried to be kind. Bob Ewell attempted to kill Scout and Jem just to get revenge on Atticus. Miss Gates was a hypocrite, pitying the Jews, but being cruel to African Americans. Maycomb was old, hateful,
“We see the town of Maycomb in its worst light, willing to execute an innocent man for a crime he did not commit rather than question their belief in black inferiority and their social taboos about interracial relationships” (Felty 299). This quote may seem extreme, but it is completely accurate in Scout’s hometown Maycomb, Alabama. In the town of Maycomb, prejudices and discriminations are a common idea in the life of its citizens. This is shown in various ways. For example, African Americans are treated as lower class citizens because they are discriminated by white people. Scout perceives these prejudices and discriminations in different ways throughout the book. Scout’s views on the prejudices and discriminations in her society evolve
Confidence is a feeling of self-assurance and trust in yourself. A responsible act is an act that someone commits that serves their role or purpose, it is acting on your obligations. Some characters that develop confidence to act responsibly are Jeremy “Jem” Finch and Jean Louise “Scout” Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Awasin Meewasin in Lost in the Barrens by Farley Mowat shows this confidence. The Narrator in “The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant,” by W.D. Wetherell shows the confidence to act responsibly. Rolfe Carlé in “And of Clay are we Created,” by Isabel Allende and translated by Margaret Sayers Peden also shows this confidence. Growing in confidence to act responsibly results in completing an obligation to care for something or fulfill a role.
a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but
Throughout the books Huckleberry Finn, Othello, and To Kill a Mockingbird certain characters challenge what the status quo was at that time. They go against what the norm was and go against what other characters think. This causes controversy and is a major part of the plot in all three books. The main way that these 3 books challenge the status quo for that time is through race. Many of the characters are against what is viewed as normal and have views that were known as radical at that time. The main way their views are different is certain white characters view black people in the books in a positive way and are willing to associate themselves with them even though that is against what most people thought was right. Throughout each
“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 94). This quote, delivered in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, introduces the mockingbird which is incorporated symbolically throughout the novel. The mockingbird, in presenting its gifts of music and beauty, is the symbol of Atticus’s practice of altruism because he believes in society’s responsibility to protect those who are vulnerable and innocent.
“ ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.’ ” This quote, by Nelson Mandela, is a very powerful line. It states that with education, you have the most potential to change the world. Education is something that is, sadly, denied to many people. Education, or lack of, can change the path you take in life. In To Kill a Mockingbird, there are many different people in it. Some with and some without education. Yet, even if you have education, the color of your skin might make that fact seemingly unimportant.
Tom was very confused when he was accused of this incident because he had never been anything more to Mayella Ewell than an acquaintance. “The older you grow the more of it you’ll see. 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”(Lee 220). This is how Atticus described the trial to his son Jem because he could not comprehend how unjust the trial was unfolding on a daily basis. The proceedings were not equitable towards Tom Robinson because everyone should have realized at the trial that he had not done anything wrong. In the end, Atticus lost the trial. Not because the jury and judge thought Tom Robinson had committed the crime, but simply because he was black and they were racist. Tom was sent to jail for doing absolutely nothing wrong, except being black. He never had the luxury to grow into old age, as his life was taken from him when he was shot seventeen times during his attempt to escape from jail. Tom Robinson’s life would have been completely different if he had not been black. The discrimination would not have occurred and the accusations would not have been leveled or
Level Headed- It has been a few days since poor Tom’s trial, and I had an encounter with Mr. Ewell today. I was leaving the post office when he approached me. He was really mad and he started cursing at me, he then proceeded to spit on me, and then he threatened to kill me. I just sat there and took it, he needed to get his anger out somehow, so why not let him. I understand why he was angry, who wouldn't be in his situation.
The contribution of city dwellers whom fall under the category of the “creative class,” to the development of the city has brought upon many different ideas. In 2002, Richard Florida introduced a new concept in his book, “The Ride of the Creative Class,” regarding the rise of a different kind of class in connection to social and economic aspects. Creative class, as Florida explains, “brings about conceptions and new methods instead of industrial goods and is seen as the motion behind post-industrialism” (Florida, 2004). Florida’s emphasizes that if we still incorporate Marxist groupings of the proletariat or industrial working class into our understanding of class, we’re still focused on the past. In the new way of thinking, those part of the