Examples Of Literature In To Kill A Mockingbird

The act of prejudice is one that everyone experiences. Whether it be, a person who is distributing hate, or a person who is receiving hate, everyone has contact with it. Although it is present all over the globe, it is prominent in the United States. Both in the present and the past, endless acts of discrimination have taken place and left a monumental impact on the country. The effect that it leaves can be seen in the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. In this story, sexism, racism, and isolation, are demonstrated in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930’s. As the story progresses, Lee compares these concepts to one another and uses them to make a statement about the problematic nature in America.

White people believed to treat them like “trash” and they are influencing their kids to do the same which puts an impact on the community . The white people in Maycomb , Albama believe that black people are “ Filthy Beings” . Tom Robinson is a prime example in this book because , just because he’s an african american he loses the case of raping a white girl by the name of Mayella Ewell . Tom was given an defense attorney , which is Atticus and he was chosen by the judge . The law and system is so messed up that the judge picked a white man to be his attorney . Atticus Finch is a white man who is an experienced lawyer . Atticus is trying his best to win Tom’s case . All of a sudden he immediately loses the case . When the trial was over , Mr . Underwood said “Atticus has used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson , but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case . Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed . “ (241)

Atticus is appointed to defend a black man named Tom Robinson who has been accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman. She is a member of the Ewell family, who is looked down upon by Maycomb society and referred to as "white trash." Atticus knows that Tom has almost no chance because he is black and will be tried by an all white jury. Nevertheless, he wants to help him reveal the truth.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a witty and well-written account of the realities of a “tired old town” (4) where there was “nothing to buy and nothing to buy it with” (4). Purposefully, it comes across not merely an innocently portrayed, yet eye-opening, story of a young girl start to grasp the inequalities of her society. Rather, it is accompanied by recollection of the unfortunate pillars of hate of the places Harper Lee matured in. We now perceive this account as an ‘archaic” and “ancient” recount of some historically frowned upon mindsets in an enthralling atmosphere upon which we pin historical quantities of prejudice, racism and most of all, bigotry. The unfortunate reality is that we look at history in a vacuum and ignore the occurrences of our own times. So although we, like Scout’s teachers teaching about the horrible acts of the Holocaust while being outspokenly racist, are able to analyze social inequalities in other places in time or the world yet refuse to open our eyes to the same prejudice, racism and bigotry today. To instance, when reading To Kill a Mockingbird , we often frown upon citizens for judging “folks” based on their family name and race, although, everyday, some member of our current society, such as police officers and employers, do the same thing and no one bats an eye. Alternatively, the issue which we definitely desperately desire to avoid, racism, is explicitly tackled in To Kill a Mockingbird to the point of viral awareness of the problem in

Atticus decides to take on a highly controversial case in Maycomb, where Mayella Ewell, a 19 year old white female, accuses Tom Robinson, a black man in his thirties, of rapeing her. During the trial, Mayella, Bob, and the sheriff state that Robinson hit her on the right side of her face; however, Atticus contradicts the Ewell’s story by showing the jury that Tom Robinson only has one useful hand. Jem then whispers, ‘We’ve got him’” (Lee 202). Although, Maycomb’s society would never allow for Tom Robinson to win the trail, Jem’s innocent perspective enables him to believe that race does not come before the facts. Shortly after the trial, Jem says, “‘Doesn’t make it right. You can’t just convict a man on evidence like that-—you can’t’” (Lee 252). Jem displays an understanding of the racism and divisions in society within Maycomb in this quote. He knows that the conviction of Tom Robinson is bias and that the treatment of all blacks is unfair. Jem shows moral growth in this quote and has a more mature mindset about equality than most of the folks in Maycomb.

After Tom Robinson is convicted guilty of raping Mayella Ewell, Atticus begins to explain to Jem that they did not win the case because of having an all white jury. Atticus explains that once the children grow older, they will realize that white men do not treat black men with respect and “no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family comes from, that white man is trash” (187). Atticus does not try to hide his disagreement of racism, which displays that he is socially aware and knows that everyone deserves to be treated equally. Scout starts her first grade year at school and comes home complaining to Atticus that she never wants to go back to school, like Walter Cunningham. Scout’s father makes her feel compassionate by saying “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” (22). Atticus making Scout understand that everyone may have different hidden conflicts to deal within their life reflects Lee’s views of treating everyone fairly. Atticus’s sister, Alexandra, moves into the Finch’s house and does not approve of having Calpurnia, a black maid, around the children. Angered by Alexandra’s disprovement, Atticus tells her that Calpurnia is “a faithful member of this family and you’ll simply have to accept things the way they are” (115). Atticus standing up to Alexandra’s remarks about not wanting to have the children raised by a black maid show’s Lee’s views on how all races should receive the same treatment. The characterization of Atticus emphasizes Lee’s strong feelings about how standing up for the equality and justice of people makes our society

Lastly, a black man named Tom Robinson is also destroyed by racism. Tom Robinson is falsely accused of raping Mayella Ewell who is a young white women. In the novel he is accused of raping Ewella simply due to his skin colour. Mayella’s abusive father, Bob Ewell uses Tom’s ignorance as an advantage, he proclaims that Tom Robinson is the guy who sexually assaults his daughter. Atticus decides to defend Tom Robinson because he believes that he is innocent. As he provides strong evidences that proves that Tom is innocent. At the trial, Atticus closes his argument with an outstanding closing statement that expresses his feelings towards the white jury’s view. He declares “ ‘(…) The witnesses for the state, with the exception of the sheriff of Maycomb County, have presented themselves to you gentlemen, to this court, in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted, confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption--the evil assumption--that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber.’ ”(Lee 273) Atticus speech illustrates what the mind set of the people in Macomb is.

As the United States “progresses” in economic, educational and technological advancements we still are fighting for racial equality. With more than 50 years since the brown vs. board of education case there is still incidents like Ferguson, Baton Rouge, and Phiando Castile where many questions are still unanswered. However, Harper Lee dealt with these same problems in 1960 when she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee created an emotionally confronting story. Lee writes through the eyes of “Scout” a lawyer’s daughter in a small sleepy town of Maycomb in Alabama during the great depression. Throughout the book “Scout” learns coming of age lessons from Atticus and her own experiences. But when Atticus takes on a case defending a black man (Tom Robinson) convicted for rapping a white woman (Mayella Ewell) and is found guilty. “Scout” her brother Jem begin to understand the effects of the prejudices in society. Therefore, Lee applies the literary concepts of diction and tone to revel the truth that prejudices in society negatively affect the way people treat each other in To Kill a Mocking Bird.

Throughout the second section of the book we experience a shift in perspective, as the author changes focus from Boo Radley and the children to Atticus and his court trail. The second section starts off with Atticus accepting a case to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman. As, in that day and age the black race was heavily frowned upon by the white community, with Atticus accepting a court case to save a black man, the people of Maycomb start to mock and ridicule the entire Finch family. Even Atticus believed that it would be nearly impossible to save Tom because of the white jury. Throughout the chapters the Finch family also starts to grow apart from each other as Jem starts to resent scout and tells her to start

I am reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The previous chapters talk about Atticus taking a black man’s case. The rumor was that a black man named Tom Robinson raped Mr. Ewell’s oldest daughter, Mayella. Everybody from Maycomb county knows for a fact that a negro has not nor will ever win a case. On the other hand, Tom said that Mayela told him to come into her house and then all of a sudden kissed him; however, who is going to believe him. Atticus is trying to walk in Mr. Robinson’s shoes. Mr. Finch does not care what color Mr. Robinson is, all that matters is that he is an innocent man who is loyal to others. In this journal I will be characterizing Tom Robinson and evaluating the reasons why Mayella Ewell lied in court.

In the riveting coming-of-age novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee projects the idea of acceptance of all people, through the eyes of a child. Harper Lee combats the prejudice of social standing when she proves that some of the poorest people have the best of character traits. While racism of African Americans is first and foremost in this novel, the acceptance of white people into the African American community shows racism can be beaten from both point of views. Finally, the disabilities that Arthur Radley portrays, is forgotten, when his actions help him soar above the bigotry of the people of Maycomb County. The most obvious topic is the overt racism based on a person's skin color, however, Harper Lee takes us beneath the skin to show that discrimination occurs in other ways.

Another presence of judgment in the novel is present in the character of Bob Ewell, an oblivious, grimy, abusive father, who looks down upon Negroes, believing he can take full advantage of them because he is of the white race. Scout declares that, “all [Bob Ewell] had that made him any better than his [Black] neighbors was, that if he scrubbed with lye soap in very hot water, his skin was white” (Lee 229). This indicates that the population of Maycomb judges primarily on race instead of morals, ethics, income, personality, or lifestyle, which further proves the segregation occurring within the South. This excerpt means that the community is more accepting of an unmannerly, poor, and often-drunk man rather than an honest, harmless black man, such as Tom Robinson. Skin color is the main eparation of the people for it determines who are neglected and who are treated like royalty. Furthermore, Mr. Ewell verifies his prejudiced nature, when, “[h]e stood up and pointed his finger at Tom Robinson. ‘I seen that black nigger yonder rutttin’ on my Mayella’” (Lee 231). This further reveals Mr. Ewell’s biased behavior because it presents him mistreating Tom Robinson. Lee uses words

     Racial prejudice runs deep in this novel. It is shown throughout the Tom Robinson trial. Even before the trial begins people were ridiculing the Finch family by calling them 'nigger-lovers,'; and other epithets associated with this form of negativity. The town verbally attacks a white family just for defending a black person. More evidence of this extreme racism is found at the outcome of the trial. It is clear that Atticus proved Tom Robinson did not rape Mayella Ewell, and have been

“To Kill a Mocking Bird” is a novel which was written by Harper Lee. In my essay I will discuss how Harper Lee explores the theme of prejudice by looking at the writing techniques and how they affect people.

Maycomb may be a small town, but as a result, it’s a racial town as well. Since the town is divided, people see racism everyday. That’s why when it came to Tom Robinson’s case, they chose Atticus to represent Tom. Tom Robinson is a black man who was said to sexually assault Mr. Bob Ewell’s daughter, Mayella, even though Tom was crippled from an accident as a child. “In our courts, when it 's a white man 's word against a black man 's, the white man always wins. They 're ugly, but those are the facts of life…” said Atticus while he was explaining what had happened to