Two Birds with One Stone
In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee unmasks the harsh reality of racism that still lives on today. The reader sees a town filled with racial bigotry and division and a courtroom with a simple case of black versus white. In the trial a negro man is accused of raping a young white woman. There is clear evidence that he is innocent, but that cannot be the verdict since he is black. The story tells the timeline of this court case and the upbringing of the children whose father is defending the accused rapist, Tom Robinson. The children are raised with strong morals and beliefs. Because they are very grounded, they understand this case is not just to prove Tom innocent, but also to potentially change the hearts
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and minds of the people in Maycomb County. Atticus Finch, the father and lawyer, says that defending this negro is a moral duty and that he could not live with himself if he did not. Unfortunately the rest of the town does not seem to like that very much. In the same fashion today, this is still a reality. Recently NFL players have taken a stand by taking a knee during the national anthem. In hopes to raise awareness about racial injustice in dealing with police officers. But this is something that has been going on since the beginning of time and continues to be more prevalent in the news throughout the world today. Hopefully one day everyone will look at each other and treat each other with equality. Unfortunately, this will still take time. During the course of the story, Atticus teaches his kids to treat others how they want to be treated, telling them about the hostile world of adulthood.
For Christmas, the children receive air rifles and Atticus says “I would rather you shoot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you will go after birds. Shoot all the Bluejays you want if you can hit 'em, but remember it is a sin to kill a mockingbird” (119). In order to truly comprehend what he means here, readers must understand what a mockingbird represents. In this book, to kill a mockingbird is to kill innocence. Certain characters such as Dill, Boo Radley and Mr. Raymond can be seen as mockingbirds throughout this story. These are some of the characters whose innocence have been corrupted by the contact of evil and persecution. Today a mockingbird could be a child, a student or even a police officer. Most police officers perform duties that no one wants to in order to provide protection. While doing so, they are often stereotyped due to negative actions by a select few when dealing with different races. Lately, people are afraid of what cops might do and it blinds them to the good they are doing to keep communities safe. A lesson can be learned from this story that assumptions cannot be made about others until the truth is known. “You will never fully understand a person until you consider things from his view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it”
(39). Additionally, Tom Robinson is a mockingbird. He is blamed for something just because of his race and yet he has done nothing wrong to deserve hatred. While the story of the case develops, the subject of what hand was used to hit Mayella Ewell was brought up. Her and her father testify that the bruise on her face was present on the right side. This accusation suggests that the person that swung had to have used their left hand. This eliminates the possibility of Tom Robinson, seeing that his left arm is handicapped at a young age from a cotton gin accident. The Ewell family did not know this about Tom when they accused him. Now the reader sees the clear setup of the innocent black man who did nothing. The truth comes out when Tom is asked to come to the witness stand to testify. The fact is revealed that Mayella was the one who had made an advance at Tom. “I got down offa chair an’ turned around an she sorta jumped on me” (259), says Tom when asked about the events that occured. If anything, it shows that she is the one taking advantage of Tom and not the other way around. “She reached up and kissed me”, says Tom, “kissed me ‘side of th’ face, she says she never kissed a grown man before an she might as well kiss a nigger. She says what her papa do to her don’t count” (260). Tom Robinson is an innocent man who was accused of doing something terrible that her father did instead. Lastly, the question of Mayella being a mockingbird could be raised. While on trial, she acted out of fear of what would happen to her father if the real story was leaked. A father abusing and raping his young innocent daughter would be a shameful and a disgrace in a town where family reputation is everything. This was all a cover story to divert people from the truth. Insest would surely ruin the little respect people had for the Ewells. Blaming it on a negro would be easy because after all, they're just negros right? The shadows of hatred have penetrated the hearts and minds, causing humanity to go blind. While talking about people of Maycomb, Aunt Alexandra says, “There is a handful of people in this town who say fair play is marked white only; a handful of people who say fair trial is for everyone, not just us; and a handful of people with enough humility to think when they pass a negro, but for the lord’s kindness I am” (316). Upon hearing the verdict, it is clear that the townspeople are acting out of loyalty to their own race, rather than siding with justice. Their prejudice keeps them from doing the right thing and freeing an innocent man. But as Tom is depicted as a crucial mockingbird in the plot, many do not even think to categorize Mayella as one. Mayella Ewell is a mocking bird simply because she is looking for attention and this was a cry for help. She wanted something more and meaningful in order to forget what her father had done. The evil of her father had taken away her innocence. “She must put Tom away from her. He was her daily reminder of what she did. What did she do? She tempted a negro. She was white, and she tempted a negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man. Not an old uncle, but a strong negro man. No code mattered to her before she broke it, but it came crashing down on her afterwards.” (272). Additionally, she was forced to lie to protect the family name, and to make things worse, she was alone in this process. “She was the loneliest person, lonelier than Boo Radley… the loneliest person in the world” (256). After looking at all the evidence, Tom Robinson is an obvious choice to be called a “mockingbird”, but the unexpected mockingbird in the story is Mayella Ewell. The evil of the town destroys both of their innocence, but in two different ways. Tom’s literal innocence in the case, and Mayella’s more figurative innocence and purity. All of this is a lesson to the world that society should not judge one by the color of his skin or the cloths on his back, but rather get to know him and appreciate one’s morals and focus on what is inside.
In the book, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” a lawyer named Atticus Finch attempts to convince a jury that a Negro should be found innocent in a case of lies and prejudice. The Negro, Tom Robinson, was sent to court because a man, Robert Ewell, accused Tom of raping his daughter, when in fact, he beat his own daughter for trying to kiss Tom. Atticus strives to change the stereotypical minds of the jury by looking past race. Atticus uses ethos, connotation, and a simile to challenge the jury’s pre-existing minds about race.
On March 25 1931 a group of nine boys were charged with raping two girls aboard a train traveling from Paint Rock Alabama across the state’s border. The trial of these boys had become collectively known as the Scottsboro case. Several years later Harper Lee wrote her famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird. In this story a young male Tom Robinson is charged with raping a white female. It is by understanding the parallel between Tom Robinson’s case in To Kill a Mockingbird and the Scottsboro case that can be understood that a fair trial was unlikely and that because of Tom Robinson’s race he was presumed guilty before his trial.
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
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.
Throughout time the weak and innocent are often picked on for many reasons this is best explained by Atticus, “It is a sin to kill a mocking bird.”. The central idea of this book is not to prey on the innocent and harmless because they are often misunderstood. This idea is illustrated, and developed through many different characters such as Boo Radley, Scout, and Tom Robison all harmless characters, but misunderstood like the mockingbird.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper lee in 1960. The novel tells the story of Atticus Finch, a white lawyer, and Tom Robinson, a black servant, accused of raping a white female. Finch defends Robinson in court arguing lack of evidence as his main point. However, the judge and jury still believe the woman’s testimony and orders Robinson to be killed. The novel has been praised for its outstanding literature since its publication. However, it remains a banned book by the American Library Association for its use of racial slurs and profanity. Due to it being banned, many high schools have reconsidered the notion of teaching it to their students. Two prominent authors wrote articles pertaining to this piece of literature: Angela Shaw-Thornburg wrote an article on her re-reading of the novel and her opinions on it; while Malcom Gladwell wrote an article comparing Atticus Finch to a state governor liberalist, James Folsom, and the restraints of liberalism in the south. In addition, Rebecca Best contributes her thought on how the novel should be taught by introducing the idea of “the other.” Regardless of the modern day political arguments surrounding this piece of literature, this novel contains a large insight into the time period of the 1960s which is an influential topic that should be taught to young high school students.
Growing up in a prejudiced environment can cause individuals to develop biased views in regard to both gender and class. This is true in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, where such prejudices are prevalent in the way of life of 1930s Maycomb, Alabama. The novel is centered around the trial of a black man who is accused of raping a white woman. The narrator, a young girl named Scout, is able to get a close up view of the trial because her father is defending Tom Robinson, the defendant. The aura of the town divided by the trial reveals certain people’s prejudices to Scout, giving her a better perspective of her world.
This is a crucial time to have gained the children’s respect – just before the trial began. However, the main example of innocence in the novel is also in Chapter 1. 10, when the children are given air rifles for Christmas. Atticus says ‘Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but. remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird’. The mockingbird represents innocence.
To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee's only novel, is a fictional story of racial oppression, set in Maycomb, A.L. in 1925 to 1935, loosely based on the events of the Scottsboro trials. Unlike the story however, the racial discrimination and oppression in the novel very accurately portrays what it was like in the 1920's and 1930's in the south. Tom Robinson, the black man accused of raping a poor low class white girl of 19, never stood a chance of getting a fair trial. This can be supported by giving examples of racially discriminatory and oppressive events that actually took place in the south during the time period in which the novel is based. In addition to actual historical events, events and examples from the book that clearly illustrate the overpoweringly high levels of prejudice that were intertwined in the everyday thinking of the majority of the characters in the book supports the fact that Tom Robinson never stood a chance of getting a fair trial.
“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (p.90) Miss. Maudie, one of the main protagonists in To Kill a Mockingbird, warns the young girl Scout that mockingbirds should not to be killed or hunted down because they represent those who are kind and innocent. So, on a broader spectrum, the term “to kill a mockingbird” symbolizes cruel and improper behavior towards people with good hearts and intentions. In the town of Maycomb, unethical behaviors, such as prejudice and gossip, are most commonly used against the “mockingbirds”. Three of those “mockingbirds” that are featured in this novel are Arthur “Boo” Radley, Tom Robinson, and Atticus Finch. Due to the depiction of the mockingbird symbol in the novel, the reader understands the consequences that immoral attitudes have towards those who are innocent and kindhearted.
In a desperate attempt to save his client, Tom Robinson, from death, Atticus Finch boldly declares, “To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white” (Lee 271). The gross amounts of lurid racial inequality in the early 20th century South is unfathomable to the everyday modern person. African-Americans received absolutely no equality anywhere, especially not in American court rooms. After reading accounts of the trials of nine young men accused of raping two white women, novelist Harper Lee took up her pen and wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, a blistering exposition of tragic inequalities suffered by African Americans told from the point of view of a young girl. Though there are a few trivial differences between the events of the Scottsboro trials and the trial of Tom Robinson portrayed in To Kill a Mockingbird, such as the accusers’ attitudes towards attention, the two cases share a superabundance of similarities. Among these are the preservation of idealist views regarding southern womanhood and excessive brutality utilized by police.
In To Kill A Mockingbird Lee tells the story of a Mr. Tom Robinson who is an African American who is being charged with rape against a white women. Atticus is the lawyer who must defend Robinson in court. In the Scottsboro case a central figure was a heroic judge who overturned a guilty verdict against the young men. The judge went against the public in trying to protect the rights of the African American men. In reading the novel you learn that Atticus arouses anger in the small community when he tries to defend Robinson.
In a society surrounded by corruption, racism, and cruelty it is rare to find purity. Innocence is constantly being destroyed. For this reason, the harmless citizens need to be treasured and protected. Harper Lee 's classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird portrays the injustices of the 1930 's that expose the innocent to the mal of the society’s intentions. Some characters in the novel are characterized as harmless and pure and are symbolized by mockingbirds. It is then stated that killing a mockingbird is a sin, therefore meaning that killing innocent people is also sin. Lee’s eye-opening novel reminds the reader that one should protect the beauty of the innocence by not allowing
In 1960, a novel was written to outline injustices and racism against those who were innocent, though unfairly judged because of social expectations and prejudiced beliefs. This novel not only presented these issues, but is also considered a revolutionary piece of literature, still being read by many people today, more than 50 years later. The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, has caused some controversy about the intents of the book and the way certain people or groups are presented. Whether To Kill a Mockingbird as a narrative outshines the issue it presents is a debatable argument. However, I believe that the narrative of the novel supports the concerns exhibited for numerous reasons. In what follows, some of these are presented: the historical
Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corn cribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” This conveys the loss of innocence in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and thus killing a mockingbird is to destroy innocence. A number of characters (Jem, Tom Robinson, Dill, Boo Radley, Mr. Raymond) can be identified as Mockingbirds who have been injured or destroyed through their contact with evil.