Examples Of Rationale To Kill A Mockingbird

Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird occurs during the Great Depression. Despite the setting taking place fifty years after slavery had officially ended, Maycomb County is depicted as an immensely segregated and prejudiced town. As a result, many of the townspeople assume the characteristics of other residents through town gossip and rumors. Because having a strong opinion on controversial issues in the town could lead to cruel consequences, many of the residents’ opinions and ideas are greatly influenced by others. The fear of being judged and rejected from society causes many of Maycomb County’s people to conceal the truth about the false gossip which hoodwinks the others into misinterpreting and believing the gossip. Miss Maudie Atkinson, a young widow, is one of the few characters in the novel that displays her own individuality and protests against what she does not believe to be true. Miss Maudie's positive trait of bravery makes her an asset to the Maycomb community because through her distinctiveness, she becomes a role model for individuals such as Scout Finch.

Children are not as oblivious as adults may believe they are. Even though they may have a lack of knowledge, and are not as smart as adults they can certainly listen and observe. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the town of Maycomb has hypocrites walking around town everyday. Scout and Jem are among the mixture of them not only at school, but also at home. People they are taught to respect and love are putting the wrong thoughts and ideas in their small developing brains. Hypocrites walk around acting like they are such good people, when in reality they really are nowhere near it.

As children, people learn to never judge a book by its cover. But they are also taught other things through their societies—that all black men are violent, that all Muslims are terrorists, that all Hispanics are illegal immigrants—that a single glance can determine who a person is. So, which is it? How can a society be so contradictory? In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee used hypocrisy and characterization in the tea party scene to develop the theme that appearances do not reveal a person’s true character.

Prejudice is a very prominent motif throughout To Kill A Mockingbird. Harper Lee conveys the message that prejudice deprives us of understanding reality and the world around us. One of the most noticeable cases is the prejudice against Tom Robinson due to his skin color. In the trial, the jury had agreed Tom was guilty because of his race, even though there was no substantial evidence to prove so. Atticus knows the men on the jury are blinded by prejudice and racism, so he says to them, “The witnesses for the state...have presented themselves to you gentlemen...in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted...on the assumption that all Negroes lie” (273). Although the men of the jury understood that the Ewell’s testimonies

Another example of how Maycomb is ugly is when Francis calls Atticus a Nigger lover, and ruination of the family. He was being very childish, he was being nice near the grownups and mean away from them. He says things to get Scout like “Dill gets passed around from realitive to realitive, and if Uncle Atticus let’s you run around with stray dogs that’s his own business like grandma says it ain’t your fault.” These comments Francis makes are things saying that Atticus isn’t a good parent and that he is runining the family to where there not gonna be able to walk the streets of Maycomb anymore. While Dill is making these horrendous comments, Scout is the one getting punished for it.

“Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 119). After Scout and Jem get a gun for Christmas, Atticus reminds them not to shoot at mockingbirds, as they are as innocent as can be, a lesson teaching them and a powerful statement that also signifies Tom Robinson’s innocence. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Harper displays Atticus as a man who defends Tom Robinson, a black man, in a court case through Scout’s perspective both as a child, as well as an adult. The defendant is accused of rape and is in need of a lawyer until Atticus accepts to secure him and his case, as no one is willing to protect a black man when against anyone white,

To Kill a Mockingbird is a book centered around prejudice. The three main prejudices it shows is class, gender and race. Harper Lee is trying to teach everyone that these prejudices are very bad and that we need to learn to not judge someone by their looks or by male or female. In the beginning of the novel, the story begins by the kids trying to get Boo Radley to come out of his house. They think that Boo was being punished by staying in his house. Later in the novel it switches gears to the Tom Robinson trial. Tom was a black man accused of rape which he didn’t commit. Because of the color of his skin the jury ruled him guilty. Finally, at the end of the story Bob Ewell tries to murder or kidnap Jem and Scout to get revenge at Atticus for going against him. Later that night, they meet Boo for the first time and learned that he saved them and killed Bob Ewell.

Prejudice should not exist in this world. But unfortunately, it does and it always will somehow. The book, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is an inspiring book and brings out hard truths about how the world used to be, about the great depression, and in some aspects how it still is today. It follows a girl named Scout and her family through three years of her childhood. Her father, Atticus Finch, took on a very big challenge to defend a negro for raping a girl. The book sort of revolves around this event. Prejudice is in many different forms of discrimination. Throughout the book it is demonstrated by race, class, and gender.

“’Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced. Prejudice.’ She enunciated carefully” (Lee 329). The teacher in this primary classroom scene exists in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.

Believe it or not everyone's a hypocrite at some point in their lives. Throughout the whole book, “To kill a Mockingbird” hypocrisy is shown. In Maycomb county there are some people who are more hypocritical than others. Hypocrisy is shown from Maycomb's homes to in their schools. In the book, “To kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee hypocrisy is a big characteristic for most people in Maycomb and it is shown through characterization.

To Kill A Mockingbird Argumentative Essay While Atticus may make mistakes as a parent, but overall he is an admirable father. “Not only a Finch waiting on tables but one in the courthouse lawing for niggers!” (Lee 135) As Jem and Scout journeyed into town, they had to go through the gauntlet of constant jeers and insults of their father and family. Even though Atticus might’ve put his children and family name through a horrid time, he taught his children very important lessons. Atticus doesn’t teach by telling, but by showing.

To Kill a Mockingbird Argumentative Essay “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win” (Lee 101). In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus, Scout’s father, is willing to defend Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson is an African American that is charged with raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell, daughter of Bob Ewell. Although, Atticus lost the trial, he gave his best effort by showing that he wanted to help Tom Robinson.

The most shocking and impactful revelation for the Finch children is the existence of prejudice in adults they had grown to trust and respect. Atticus’ principles and fair upbringing of Jem and Scout shielded them from prejudice in the time before the trial, and their views regarding the basic equality of all humans remain nearly pure. The children’s exposure to some form of prejudice begins directly after Atticus takes the case defending Tom Robinson, with Atticus having to explain that “’nigger-lover is just one of those terms that don't mean anything—like snot-nose…ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody's favoring Negroes over and above themselves. It's slipped into usage with some people like ourselves, when they want a

Prejudice: noun. “Preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience” (Dictionary). Prejudice is one of the most relevant things in the lives of two children, Jem and Scout, in a small town, Maycomb, Alabama. It’s the 1930s, the Great Depression has already hit, and racism has already impacted this small, innocent town. Jem and Scout learn what their town is hiding by finding out who their neighbors really are. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, prejudice is like a second language to the people of Maycomb. It is shown by gender, race, and social status.

There comes a point in life where you have to make a decision. That point is actually a lot earlier than you think, seeing as almost everything we do boils down to making a decision. As a child, you have to decide whether or not you are going to ask your mother for a toy again, even if she already said no the first four times you asked. Even right now, as I am writing this essay, I could easily make the decision to not do my best and write down a bunch of junk that won’t have anything to do with the prompt. Yet, I’m not.