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To kill a mockingbird a character study essay
What does harper lee’s novel portray about inequality and its effects on people
Social equality and inequality in to kill a mockingbird
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In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird three characters, Scout, Jem, and Atticus Finch, experience the many hardships and difficulties of human inequality in their community, Maycomb County. Scout, the narrator, gives insight to readers about the many different characters of Maycomb, yet two are alike in many ways. Mayella Ewell is a 19-year-old girl who is considered white trash and lacks education, love, and friends. Dolphus Raymond is a wealthy white man who is married to an African-American and has mixed children. Although these characters may seem different, they share many of the same advantages and disadvantages of human inequality. In chapter 16, Dill observed that in a far corner a bunch of African-Americans were sitting together and Dolphus was sitting with them drinking out of a sack. “Mr. Dolphus Raymond seemed to be so doing: two yellow drugstore straws ran from his mouth to the depths of a brown paper bag” (214). Later on at the courthouse, Dill starts to feel sick and runs out with Scout following him. Mr. Raymond is not too far behind and suggests that Dill take a sip out of his sack. Dill was appalled “‘Scout, it’s nothing but Coca-Cola’” (267). This shows that Dolphus Raymond gets to drink Coca-Cola everyday just to fool the people of Maycomb County into thinking he is drinking alcohol because of his life choices, and who doesn’t love Coca-Cola? At the same time, Mayella Ewell also has the advantage of being white. In chapter 21, the entire town of Maycomb is at the courthouse to see with their own eyes the case against Tom Robinson. Mayella Ewell is accusing Tom of rape, when in fact he did not rape Mayella, Bob Ewell, her father did. “‘...there’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads—they cou... ... middle of paper ... ...lla Ewell was a lonely girl and she did not know how to control herself. Everyone in the town feels a great remorse for Mayella because not only is she lonely, but condescends to grow up as white trash and act as a mother towards her younger siblings and a wife towards her father. Dolphus Raymond and Mayella Ewell are two characters of To Kill a Mockingbird that share the same advantages and disadvantages of human inequality. Dolphus and Mayella are both white citizens of Maycomb County giving them many advantages that African-Americans do not have. Although they are white, they both show some sort of compassion for an African-American, Mrs. Raymond and Tom Robinson. They cannot express this because it is wrong in the racist community, and they stifle from they’re love being shown or seen. If only the community of Maycomb could learn how to kill human inequality.
...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.
In the town of Maycomb, a man who stands up against racism forever changes people’s views on racism. Scout, Jem and Atticus Finch all stand together against racism and prejudice in the tiny town of Maycomb. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, in the town of Maycomb, prejudice is a disease, but Jem, Scout, and Dill are immune to this illness because of the people who raise them. For example, when Cecil and Francis told Scout that Atticus is a disgrace to defend Tom Robinson, even though Francis is Scout’s cousin. When Scout and Jem hear the verdict of Tom’s case they both cry and are angry about the sentence while the rest of the town is ecstatic. And finally when Scout doesn’t want Walter Cunningham to come over for dinner because she thinks that he is a disgrace. For all of these reasons, the Finch family must not be racist or prejudiced.
One of the principal aims of To Kill a Mockingbird is to subject the narrator to a series of
In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the main characters: Atticus, Scout and Jem were faced with many losing battles such as Tom Robinson's case, the "mad dog incident" and Mrs. Dubose's addiction to morphine. This builds on the theme of there are things in life that won't go your way. The book takes place in the 1930's or 1940's in a small town in Alabama called Maycomb. The novel takes us through the life and perils that the main characters undergo and teach us about growing up and being mature.
To Kill A Mockingbird displays an environment where one must be inhumane to another in order to become socially compatible. Maycomb has established a hierarchy where social compartmentalisation is the way of life. Men with a profession and a career are superior, while the farmers are near the bottom of the social strata and are considered inferior. No matter which remarkable qualities Negroes possess, they are always s...
Childhood is a continuous time of learning, and of seeing mistakes and using them to change your perspectives. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates how two children learn from people and their actions to respect everyone no matter what they might look like on the outside. To Kill A Mockingbird tells a story about two young kids named Scout and her older brother Jem Finch growing up in their small, racist town of Maycomb, Alabama. As the years go by they learn how their town and a lot of the people in it aren’t as perfect as they may have seemed before. When Jem and Scout’s father Atticus defends a black man in court, the town’s imperfections begin to show. A sour, little man named Bob Ewell even tries to kill Jem and Scout all because of the help Atticus gave to the black man named Tom Robinson. Throughout the novel, Harper Lee illustrates the central theme that it is wrong to judge someone by their appearance on the outside, or belittle someone because they are different.
Racial discrimination, although not the main focus of To Kill a Mockingbird, plays a large role throughout the novel. Many characters in To Kill a Mockingbird are affected by racial discrimination, whether they are the cause or not. Throughout the novel, three characters stand out as being affected by racial discrimination the most. These characters are Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, Atticus Finch, and Tom Robinson.
In the book, To Kill a Mockeningbird by Harper lee, Charles Baker Harris, also known as Dill, is one of the most important character. He’s curious, wants attention, and he can be dishonest.
Hypocrisy is as much a part of Maycomb’s society as church and community spirit. For example, Mrs. Merriweather talks about saving the poor Mruans from Africa, but she thinks black people in her community are a disgrace (p.234). The hypocrisy of this teaching is shown as soon as she mentions the word ‘persecution’. This is due to the fact that she herself is persecuting the black people of Maycomb by not raising an eyebrow at the killing of innocent black men. Furthermore, it is obvious Bob Ewell is abusive to his daughter, Mayella, and that he is the one who violated her, not Tom Robinson (p.178). Since there is such hypocrisy in Maycomb, there are excuses made for whites. The jury probably thinks that if they pronounce Tom innocent the citizens will mock them as they do to Atticus. Harper Lee uses hypocrisy to show how the people of Maycomb are so engulfed in a variety of elements that they unknowingly complete acts of unjustified discrimination.
One of the values of Maycomb is racism. However, there are a few that does not believe in this value, including Mr. Dolphus Raymond. Mr. Dolphus Raymond is a white man married to a black woman and has mixed children. He does not believe in society’s ideology regarding racism and knows that some citizens of Maycomb antagonize him. However, he does not care, as he prefers the colored people over white. He knows how unfair society is, from the way he gets treated. Moreover, Jem realizes the falsities of society, due to the injustice he sensed. After Tom’s verdict, Jem’s first clear sense of injustice provided a new perception on the world. When he was young, he believed that the people of Maycomb are the best folks, but the outcome of the trial changed this thought. Furthermore, Scout’s realization of the falsehood in society is with the hypocrisy of Miss Gates. She was taught by Miss Gates how Americans do not believe in persecution. However, Scout saw Miss Gates talk about the African Americans in an adverse way. Learning about the falsehood in society is part of
Growing up in Maycomb, Southern Alabama in the 1930s was not an easy thing. Amid a town of prejudice and racism, stood a lone house where equality and respect for all gleamed like a shining star amid an empty space. The house of Atticus Finch was that shining star. Jean Louise Finch, also known as “Scout”, is given the opportunity of being raised in this house by her father, Atticus. I stole this essay from the net. As she grows, Atticus passes down his values of equality and righteousness to Scout and her brother Jeremy Atticus Finch, also known as “Jem”. In “To Kill a Mockingbird”, by Harper Lee, we see Scout learns many lessons about dealing with prejudice by observing the behavior of other characters in the story.
Racism presents itself in many ways in the town of Maycomb. Some are blatant and open, but others are more insidious. One obvious way that racism presents itself is in the result of Tom Robinson’s trial. Another apparent example is the bullying Jem and Scout had to endure as a result of Atticus’s appointment as Tom Robinson’s defense attorney. A less easily discernible case is the persecution of Mr. Dolphus Raymond, who chose to live his life in close relation with the colored community.
Few people are the same as they are on the street in their homes. Few people can treat others equally; no matter what colour their skin is. Atticus Finch is one of those precious few. Racism in the town of Maycomb is nothing but disguised by the polite smiles and ladies missionary meetings; although it is the strongest belief that each person of the town holds apart from some such as Atticus. Racism is an issue of great importance, yet to the eye of a visitor waltzing through, it's just a slight whisk of air.
Therefore, through the uses of character foil, characterization, and the theme of society in equality, Lee was able to accurately depict her view of the white society in Maycomb by the characters in this novel. The difference in level of politeness, occupation, and behaviors implies how people like the Finches are representing higher social class in Maycomb, because they do not prejudge people based on their skin color.
The Ewell’s perspective would be similar to those of the black race as their family had no money, education or resources. The only aspect that elevated them above black people was the fact that they were white. Like many others, Bob and Mayella who were often referred to as ‘white trash’, would prefer to rise in social class. But Bob Ewell, the father of Mayella, put forth no effort to better his situation in life for his family often shown when he spends his already low income on alcohol to feed his addiction. After Mayella’s mother died she became a surrogate wife to Bob and mother for her younger siblings, causing her to become powerless in changing her life. The red geraniums Mayella lovingly grows is evidence of her want for a better life, as it is the only beauty is her filthy shack. Mayella’s perspective of inequality would be very similar to Tom Robinson's as she has no power and is controlled with no voice to speak up. She is also discriminated against for being poor but yet she still has privileges over Tom. Mayella’s advances towards Tom Robinson could possibly be to have a sense of power in her life. She is constantly controlled and looked down on by all those in upper classes so she attempts to seduce someone who is a lower class than her to regain some power. Mayella’s ‘power’ is tested by Tom when he denies her advances and she is caught by her father. It is then assumed Bob Ewell abused Mayella and used their