Often times, literature reflects the problems within a society. An author finds their character’s struggles and triumphs in the people of each era. Inspirations from real life events fuel not only great literature but also books that become remarkable social pieces. A perfect example is Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. This novel is reflective of the 1930’s era. In the story racism runs rampant through society with only a noble few trying to stop it. The racism that is apparent and a focal point for the novel is, although fiction, closely matched to that of a racist era in America. Racism represents fear of the unknown in many themes in the book as well as in the daily aspect of life.
Racism is something that has always existed, exists now and will most likely exist in years to come. Although it has diminished a great deal since the beginning of the 20th century, it is still a problem in today’s world and many feel that it may always be a problem. Civil rights movements have helped ease the sting of racism. For example, Martin Luther King Jr. was a black man who fought for civil rights in a peaceful and non-violent way, by giving powerful and persuasive speeches. “Non violence is a way of humility and self-restraint. We Negroes talk a great deal about our rights, and rightly so. We proudly proclaim that three-fourths of the people of the world are colored” (King Jr. 220).in fact, his lectures and dialogues “sparked the conscience of a generation“(King Center-1). Even after civil rights movements there are still so many people in the world that cannot see through race, gender and ethnic background. Stereotyping and poor judgment are still very active in people’s minds today. Black people were and in some instances still are discriminated against and looked down upon because of the color of their skin. One saying “Never judge a book by its cover” goes along with the idea to judge people by their character rather than the way they look.
Additionally in To Kill a Mockingbird, the plot is mainly based on the trial of a black man, Tom Robinson who is wrongly accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. The main character, Scout, is just beginning to figure things out. All evidence leads to prove he is innocent, yet just the fact that he was a black man living in a southern racist town where white people are superior to black people is enough to get him c...
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...rdict it is clear as day that Tom Robinson is an innocent man.
Yet, that is not enough to convince the judge or the jury to release him. Even though Atticus , his lawyer as well as Jem and Scout’s father is able to tell the jury that “Lying…this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men”(Lee 204). Tom Robinson a day later makes a desperate flee to try to escape from prison but is shot down and dies. After being killed attempting to flee from the confines of prison life, Tom, in an editorial by Mr. Underwood, is compared to, “a harmless songbird killed by senseless hunters” (Lee-242). Here again, the image of the mockingbird is raised; sighting another individual's discontent with the treatment of Tom by the town of Maycomb.
In a nutshell, To Kill A Mockingbird is about racism and prejudice, both themes that have been very harmful to society. These elements have run through society and have been represented equally in the book also. Racism and Prejudice haunt ignorance and vice versa. By writing this novel Harper Lee fought her own battle and raised awareness not only of racial prejudice that occurred in the 20’s and 30’s but also in today’s world.
Scout learned a number of things in the book, but most of them all refer back to a statement that Atticus and Calpurnia said, which goes, “It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird because all they do is sing their hearts our for us.” (Lee, pg. 90). Scout learned that about people, too. She learned that some people don’t do anything to you, so it would be a sin to do something mean in return. Over the course of the story Scout becomes more mature and learns the most important facts of life. She was living through a very difficult time and most of that helped her get through.
Atticus Finch is a man who fought for what he believed in. He stood up for what he
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee seems like a complete replica of the lives of people living in a small Southern U.S. town. The themes expressed in this novel are as relevant today as when this novel was written, and also the most significant literary devices used by Lee. The novel brings forward many important themes, such as the importance of education, recognition of inner courage, and the misfortunes of prejudice. This novel was written in the 1930s. This was the period of the “Great Depression” when it was very common to see people without jobs, homes and food. In those days, the rivalry between the whites and the blacks deepened even more due to the competition for the few available jobs. A very famous court case at that time was the Scottsboro trials. These trials were based on the accusation against nine black men for raping two white women. These trials began on March 25, 1931. The Scottsboro trials were very similar to Tom Robinson’s trial. The similarities include the time factor and also the fact that in both cases, white women accused black men.
To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee sheds light upon the controversy of racism and justice in his classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. The notion of equality in accordance with the law and the pursuit of justice are hindered by racial discrimination. The essence of human nature is pondered. Are we inclined to be good or in the wrath of evil? The novel reflects on the contrasting nature of appearance versus reality.
The theme of these two chapters is that Dill, and Jem wanted to go to the Radely house to get a peep at Boo Radely through the blinds. Scout feels uneasy about it but despite Jem’s wishes refuses to go home. He gets shot at with a gun while trying to escape. He lost his pants while escaping and when he went back to get them they where laid out on the fence like they where expecting Jem to come back. The next day every body was talking about it, they all thought Mr. Radely shot at a black man but missed. It seemed like Mr. Radely knew it was Jem though. Jem and Nathan Radley each said hi and Mr. Radely was talking about filling his tree with cement even though it was perfectly healthy. Jem found this strange.
Fiction usually based on what happened in real life. This novel, Harper Lee based on what she seen and writes about it. Racism was quite popular that moment. At the start of the story Harper doesn’t want to go directly into the problems but wanted it grows slowly through a vision of a little girl – Scout. It begins with the memories of a child “when he was nearly thirteen”. This is another interesting way from style of writing, beginning slowly and calm yet deeply meaning in the end. In this novel and all above 15 first chapters, racism exist in people’s mind, on actions and mostly from dialogue, questions they’ve been asked by people around. Relationship in social also causes the problems like this to happen too.
The novel TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee has numerous accounts of racism and prejudice throughout the entire piece. The novel is set in the 1930's, a time when racism was very prevalent. Although bigotry and segregation were pointed in majority towards blacks, other accounts towards whites were also heard of, though not as commonly. There are acts that are so discreet that you almost don't catch them, but along with those, there are blatant acts of bigotry that would never occur in our time. Lee addresses many of these feelings in her novel.
1. Show how at least two individual episodes, sections or events in your studied text held your interest as a reader.
Scout Finch is not the stereotypical girl from the 1930’s. Agents the wishes of everyone around her, she grows up in overalls instead of dresses. Scout plays in the dirt and sand, instead of in the kitchen. In the novel To Kill a Mocking Bird, by Harper Lee, Scout is the wild spirited narrator, growing up in the small town of Maycomb. As she gets older, she learns mostly from her father Atticus how to interact with people. Scout learns to show dignity and respect to everyone, under any circumstances.
Mood helps in creating an atmosphere in a literary work by means of setting, theme, diction and tone. Throughout the book To kill a mockingbird the author wanted the mood to be sorrowful or vexed or just fret about how the people are acting because seeing how things were being treated or how people acted would be enough to make you feel angry or sad or worried for the people who were in the book. You always wanted to know what was going to come next or how something would end. Vex was a very prominent mood in this story and is definitely the most relevant.
In the opening chapters of “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Harper Lee introduces several subtle instances of racism. However, when Jem and Scout are welcomed into Cal’s Church in chapter 12, the reader really gets to travel behind the false disguise of Maycomb County’s white society to see the harsh realities of the injustices suffered by the blacks. The black community is completely separate from the whites -- in fact, Cal lives in a totally different part of town!
The theme of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mocking Bird is the existence of racism and prejudice in the 1930 – 40's. Harper Lee succeeds in presenting the topic in a manner that is not overly simplistic and thus achieves the task of allowing the reader to fully appreciate the complex nature of unjust discrimination. Harper Lee's inclusion of characters such as Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, Dolphus Raymond and many others, aid the reader to grasp the concept of racism and its central role in the town of Maycomb.
Tom is a black man who would never harm anyone. This man is everything that a good person is, honest, kind, and he would put others before himself, and even worked to help a woman for free. Tom Robinson represents the innocence of the Mockingbird. Although being almost the definition of innocence, he is blamed for assaulting and raping a white woman, when, in reality this was not the truth. He tries as hard as he can to convince the jury with lines such as “Mr Finch, I got down offa that chair an’ turned around an’ she sort of jumped on me,”(Lee 259) trying to tell the jury that it was Mayella that assaulted him, not the other way around. With Tom found guilty, another form of innocence was killed in Maycomb
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is widely celebrated due to the novel’s contemporary commentary on racism. Although the novel obviously discusses racist attitudes, it is really about stereotyping. While racism is one the the main focuses, many groups of people in the novel face harsh, inaccurate stereotypes. Women are expected to be “proper” and “ladylike”, African Americans are seen as deceitful and untrustworthy and the mentally handicapped are portrayed as freaks and monsters by the town’s people. Harper Lee not only addresses racism in her novel and the focus may seem to be only about the trial of Tom Robinson, but Lee portrays a deeper understanding of stereotyping as a whole throughout the entire novel.
“Opinions founded on prejudice are always to sustained to the greatest violence.” In To Kill a Mockingbird prejudice is a blanket that embraces the town of Maycomb. To Kill a Mockingbird is about two children, Scout and Jem, in which Scout, a little girl, is the narrator. The children learn through many experiences throughout the book about how prejudice overcomes their home, Maycomb. Atticus, their father, who fights the injustice as a lawyer tries to defend an African-American man, Tom Robinson, convicted falsely of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. Throughout the duration of the case, the three, Atticus, Scout and Jem go through harsh circumstances. The children see as prejudice has even influenced the other children of Maycomb as they