One example in which the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird displayed a sense of calmness that led to benefits and maturity was when Scout prevented herself from fighting from Cecil Jacobs. Cecil called Scout’s father, Atticus, out for supporting Tom Robinson in the upcoming trial. Tom Robinson, who is an African-American man, is accused of raping the oldest daughter of Bob Ewell, Mayella Ewell. Cecil had said in the schoolyard that Atticus was defending niggers as if it was a bad thing. Scout is about to fight him through physical means, but she went home to ask Atticus about the case before she did anything. Atticus explains the case and how people are going to start treating her differently, and, more importantly mentions that she should show respect to others without lashing out. Scout is thoroughly influenced by this talk, as she remembers that although people may judge her for not fighting back, she should control her behavior for the wellbeing of herself and others. …show more content…
The reason of which Ewell spat in his face being that he figured out that he himself attacks his daughter and that Tom Robinson never really rapes Mayella. During the chain of events, Atticus, again, shows how he stays calm to prevent the situation from escalating beyond proportion. Rather than spitting back in Ewell’s face, he does the right thing. Atticus is showing that he knows the right way to handle a situation, and that is to walk it off and that it can be better to be quiet in a rapid
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the character Scout has the personality trait of being aggressive. Scout also has a character trait of being unladylike. An example of how Scout is aggressive is that after Scout and her brother Jem had gotten there guns for Christmas they were headed to “the Landing”. Before they left their father had said they couldn’t take the guns with, she had already been planning on shooting her cousin. “ He declined to let us take our rifles to the Landing. ( I had already begun to think of shooting Francis)…” (Lee Pg. 106). This is an example of Scout being aggressive because she was thinking about shooting a family member. Shooting someone is considered aggressive behavior because it is purposefully causing
Another character that helps Scout to become accepting is Tom Robinson. He teaches Scout how pervasive racism is and the importance of fighting it. When Tom Robinson gets shot by trying to escape, Scout begins to experience for the first time, how strong racism and prejudice is between whites and blacks. After reading Mr. Underwood’s article, she realizes that Tom Robinson is a “dead man” once Mayella Ewell “open[s] her mouth and scream[s]” (Lee 241). Society is so unjust; Tom is stuck in a situation, where it is impossible for him to win the case, since a black man’s word will never be more respected than a white woman’s. After the trial, Scout is more aware of the need to treat all races equally. One day after Scout and Jem visits Calpurnia’s church, Scout asks if she can “‘come see [Calpurnia] sometime’” (Lee
Bob Ewell was infuriated with Atticus after he defends a black man, and causes Bob Ewell to lose his job. Bob then cursed at Atticus and spat on him as a result. With that being said, Bob Ewell is very hostile in this type of situation, but Atticus does not do anything to him when he challenged Atticus to a fight. Atticus claims to Jem, “So if spitting on my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I will gladly take.” (Lee 211). Atticus tells Scout that walking away from a fight stops the violence. Atticus is not retaliating after Bob spits on his face because it protects his children. Even though Bob wanted to fight with him, Atticus wanted to take the blame because it is harder to ignore people if you fight with them.
Moreover, Atticus reinforces this lesson when he defends Tom Robinson, a black man wrongly accused of raping a white female. Despite dealing with criticism and threats from around the metropolis, Atticus remains steadfast in his belief in justice and equality for all. An example of this would be when the text states, "“The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.” Through this trial, Scout and Jem witness firsthand the outcomes of prejudice and the significance of standing up for what's right, even when it's far unpopular. However, Atticus continuously reminds them that, “You just hold your head high and keep those fists down.
As a child, Scout experienced injustice. Since she was just a child, it was very easy for others to treat her unjustly. Her classmates, Mrs. Caroline, and Mr. Ewell criticized and harmed her for unjust reasons. Cecil Jacobs, one of Scout 's classmates, said, “Scout Finch 's daddy defended niggers.” (Lee 99). Cecil insulted Scout, making her upset. Scout wanted to start a fight, but was stopped by her brother, Jem Finch. Even as a child,
Ewell spit in Atticus’ face, Atticus told Jem to walk into Mr. Ewell's shoes. Later, Jem realizes why he spit into Atticus' face. The reason why was because he was mad that Atticus embarrassed him at the trial. When Atticus comes home, Jem is shocked and asked why Mr. Ewell spit on Atticus. He later explains, "Jem, see if you can stand in Bob Ewell's shoes a minute. I destroyed his last shred of credibility at that trial, if he had any to begin with. The man had to have some kind of comeback, his kind always does. So if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that's something I'll gladly take. He had to take it out on somebody and I'd rather it be me than that houseful of children out there" (Lee 292). Atticus looked in Mr. Ewell's perspective and explained to Jem why Mr. Ewell had spat in his face. This relates to the theme that we have to look into other people's aspects, because Atticus tells Jem to walk into Mr. Ewell's shoes and make him realize why Mr. Ewell did what he had done. Before, Jem was really mad at Mr. Ewell, but when he looked in his perspective, Jem realized why Mr. Ewell spit in his face and was not as mad. He did that to Atticus' face to take out all of his anger, and Jem sees
Atticus teaches Jem and scout a number of important lessons which will help them in life. However tolerance is one of the most important, because if people tolerate one another then things like war or racism will not exist, and they are two of the biggest areas of conflict in the world. Atticus models tolerance for his children by taking the case of and accused rapist. He defends a black man even though most of the town is against it and treat him discourteously because of it. Scout went against her father’s wishes by not
“Real courage in To Kill a Mockingbird is not always readily seen.” Representing a valid point and providing a thinking statement, this example represents a fantastic way to get an opinion. Scout is a 6 year old girl with a bowl full of fight. She seldom lets anyone tell her off, the exception being Atticus, her father and Calpurnia, their cook. So when somebody attacks her father or family with names and harsh word, she is bound to strike back, a bold but almost normal move.
Throughout this novel, Scout gains insight into herself by learning to cope with racism. Scout first discovers that her father is defending Tom Robinson, an African American in the Maycomb community after she gets into a brawl with Cecil Jacobs when he calls her father a “nigger-lover”. “Atticus had promised me he would wear me out if he ever heard of me fighting anymore … the sooner I learned to hold in, the better off everybody would be”(Pg. 74). This quote shows how Scout has to cope with different ways to deal with the racism directed toward her father for defending a black man. Moreover, Scout learns to refrain from showing belligerence to those who insult her family and, instead turns to ignoring them and not giving them a reaction. When Scout acts out and harms those who are racist toward her family, it shows how she finds racism morally incorrect. Though she does not know what the term nigger-lover means, she still acts out because she is aware that it is an offensive term. Scout believes that people should not be discriminated against and her bursts of anger support this concept. Racism provides maturing children insight into themselves because whilst Scout
“A man’s worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions.” (Marcus Aurelius) Can ambition provide a driving force for something good? Or is it manipulated by powerful people who have desires for evil? In this quote, Marcus Aurelius, former Roman emperor, is trying to say every person has the ambition to do something; however, whether it’s for good or evil is up to them. Also, when he says a man's worth, he does not mean only men’s worth, but that all men and women are portrayed by their ambitions.
The novel “To Kill a Mocking Bird” is based in the fictional small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. When slavery and the Civil War were still present in the people’s way of living and the civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s are far from close. The novel focuses on the Finches: Scout, her brother Jem, and their father Atticus, and the trial of Tom Robinson and how it affected them and the town. Witnessing the injustice of Tom Robinson’s trial changed Scout Finch in many ways. Scout learns that there is more than one type of courage, she learns about race and its complexity, and she also changes how she views the people around her by putting herself
Today’s society is damaged with the results of people doing terrible things to each other. Peoples actions can make or break lives.The novel To Kill A Mockingbird, is about a little girl, her Brother, their Dad, and the negro they all fight to defend. The main character scout and her older brother Jem, get into all sorts of dilemmas in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. As they learn new valuable lessons about life, they also pick up that the small town they grow up in is not as clean and safe as it seems. The father, Atticus Finch is a kind hearted soul who was given the case of Tom Robinson, a negro accused of Raping a white woman. As soon as Atticus was given the case he aimed to defend Tom but a faulty jury made sure it did not happen.To
This is shown in the scene where Scout is being teased by Cecil Jacobs because Atticus is defending Tom, Scout states in this scene that "My fists were clenched and I was ready to let fly" (Lee 74). Although Scout was tempted to fight Cecil she did not because she made a promise to Atticus that she would stop fighting. Scout 's actions throughout these scenes show how she is beginning to mature. Although Scout shows development in her maturity she is still lacking in it. This is seen all throughout the scene of her cousin Francis stating "If Uncle Atticus lets you run around with stray dogs, that’s his own business, like Grandma says, so it ain 't your fault if Uncle Atticus is a nigger-lover besides, but I 'm here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family--" (Lee 83). Scouts loses all sense of her actions in this point in time and pounce on Francis but he just manages to escape her grasp and escape to the kitchen, so Scout sits on the steps and waits for him. A few moments later Aunt Alexandra comes in and asks what is going on, and Francis says that Scout is holding him hostage and says that she beat him up, but Scout shows a lot of maturity by owning up to her actions and not lying to Aunt Alexandra. Scout 's maturity has really started to develop as she is faced with the judgements of others during the Robinson case.
Throughout the book To Kill A Mockingbird Lee discusses the effects of ignorance and the toll it takes on people such as Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, Scout herself, and many more. Through her examples of sexism, prejudice, and racism, from the populist of poverty stricken Southerners, she shows the readers the injustice of many. The victims of ignorance are the ‘mockingbirds’ of the story. A good example of this injustice is the trial of Tom Robinson, who is falsely accused of raping a white girl and is found guilty. The book is from the point of view Scout, a child, who has an advantage over most kids due to her having a lawyer as a dad, to see the other side of the story. Her father tells her in the story, “you never really know a man until
No matter what anybody says to you, don’t you let ‘em get your goat. Try fighting with your head for a change...it’s a good one, even if it does resist learning’”(Lee 101). Atticus believes in pacifism and teaches his kids to behave the same way. He thinks Scout has the potential to be an intelligent child, but she needs to avoid physical confrontation and instead focus on using her mind to learn and mature. When Bob Ewell spits in his face, Atticus encourages his children to put themselves in the shoes of the Ewell family, saying, “‘If spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take. He had to take it out on somebody and I’d rather it be me than that houseful of children out there’”(Lee 292, 293). This exemplifies Atticus’ lessons on empathy, teaching his children that “‘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 39). By encouraging his children to resist fighting and instead use their sense to feel for others, Atticus teaches lessons on empathy and pacifism. In addition, Atticus’ teachings also include racism and morals.