In ancient times, if a doctor injured the patient during surgery, his eyes will be gouged out. Reciprocation has been present through the ages, though varying severities have been implemented for the same crime. During Hammurabi’s reign (1792 BC to 1750 BC), he executed a code of laws with his main policy being “an eye for an eye”; if a person stole a piece of bread from someone else, the arm they used to steal the bread would be cut off. An eye for an eye was later known as the golden rule. Other rulers in the future, such as Laozi the Taoist (604 BC - 531 BC), believed in policies similar to that of the golden rule, but it was not the core belief. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee depicts a mannerless society where only one person has proper …show more content…
A person born in Maycomb has different manners than others in different societies. For example, the citizens feel no need to reciprocate to the same degree if a black man did the same act as a white man. The golden rule is no longer relevant due to more lenient methods of parenting and less empathy in today’s society. The lack of integrity in today’s society is attributed to the golden rule’s irrelevance. In modern societies, the intolerance of cultural differences accounts for almost all the clashes throughout history. Many of the most horrible acts in history are caused by the bigotry of religion or attributes that a person cannot change, such as skin color. Hitler’s persecution of Jews forms the basis of modern hatred towards religion. Since the golden rule was based off of religious beliefs, there is a direct connection between religious activity …show more content…
Societies around the world have different sets of ethics and moral codes. While one may agree to some of these codes, he may not agree with another. When the golden rule is executed, one moral code that would be appropriate for one society would not be appropriate for another; the whole system begins to break down. Apart from separate societies having different viewpoints on ethics, the harshness of parenting also has a role in determining the righteousness of the child. In Asian countries, ancestors play a brobdingnagian role in upbringing, and every action taken is directly related to family honor. As a softer style of parenting is present in today’s modern society, the current generation has less empathy than previous generations. When Jem talks to Atticus about the Tom Robinson case, he gains insight on Atticus’s view of the people of Maycomb. "There's nothing more sickening to me than a low-grade white man who'll take advantage of a Negro's ignorance. Whenever a white man does that to a black man, the white man is trash." (Page 224-225). Atticus is the only one in a town of many that contains what is typically a fundamental human emotion- empathy. By taking advantage of another race, the white men elevate their position in society. The white men need to be respected to maintain their position over those who are inferior. The idea of
There are many racism problems in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus is a lawyer in the racist state of Alabama and he is trying to defend a man by the name of Tom Robinson after he got accused for raping a white woman. Atticus knows that nobody is going to believe Tom’s side of the story because he is black in the racist state of Alabama. Through Atticus’s morals the reader learns that he feels obligated to help this
(DD1) In Mesopotamia, The Hebrew Torah outlines the specific ways for people to live their life to the fullest. One rule explains, “Honor your father and your mother so that your days may be long in the land that Yahweh is giving to you” (Document B). If people honor their parents, then they will somehow be rewarded. If people do not honor their parents, then their days may be cut short as a way of punishment.
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird demonstrates how it is a sin to kill or hurt an innocent being. Yet, throughout the novel, many innocent individuals are being injured either physically or mentally. They key symbols in the story reinforce its main theme: prejudice and ignorance tend to harm innocent beings. These lessons are taught by Atticus to his children and are frequently mentioned throughout the novel. He teaches the children about stereotyping, prejudice and racism. Other residents of Maycomb might think that Atticus is not a good father, for instance, he lets his children go to court the day of Tom Robinson’s trial. However, a brief character analysis of Atticus reveals that through Scout’s internal dialogue, Atticus is, in fact, a good role model and father.
Imagine being a white lawyer in the 1930s and being asked to defend a black man who has been accused of raping a white woman. This is exactly what occurs in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, when Atticus Finch, a white lawyer, chooses to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell, in 1935. Many people may believe Atticus Finch was wrong to have defended Tom Robinson because it put him and his family in harm’s way. However, Atticus was right to have defended Tom Robinson because Atticus knows very well that all people must be treated equally. and Atticus has to set a good example for his children.
Atticus is a firm believer in equal rights and to show this he did his best to treat everyone fairly. He has noticed the racism going on in the town and he is not okay with this, to show this, Atticus teaches his kids that racism is unfair and unreasonable “ “As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men everyday
White or colored, superior or inferior, and important or invisible are the different categories society imposes on people. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the narrator Scout is a part of the Finch family. They are white people with good morals due to Atticus Finch, Scout’s father. He guides his children to seek equality and treat others equally regardless of their class, gender, or race. Atticus tries to enforce his beliefs by taking on the Tom Robinson case. Tom Robinson is an honest, hard working black man accused of raping a white woman known as Mayella Ewell. Although there was evidence to prove his innocence, Mayella’s dirty lies were placed above his innocence. This situation is clearly an example of the ideals society
Being at the top of the social hierarchy has been a must for every American of past generations, but can lead to fatal damages for some trying to obtain that goal and a cause to ruin people’s lives. In a remarkably triumphant story on compassion, Harper Lee explored the horrors of racial prejudice in the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Set in the 1930’s, the poor town of Maycomb, Alabama has been hit by the depression hard, which created a vast, complex social pyramid, with distinct families and lifestyles. At the Finch household, composed of a little nine year old girl, Scout, a twelve year old boy Jem, and their father Atticus, proceed through a whirlwind of events throughout the next few years. Atticus, a lawyer who is a hardworking, honest man at the top of the social hierarchy of Maycomb, has to defend a colored man by the name of Tom Robinson. This happened to be very unusual for the time period, as the family has to transcend through the struggles in a racial prejudice town and learn the raw nature of the worst in humans, thus trying to overcome these events through compassion. The author utilizes metaphor, characterization, and mood to describe the situation of Maycomb, it soon then becomes very clear that the dangers of ruining innocence can lead to a vast road of horrors and evils.
Unlike Dimmesdale, Hester accepts her sins, and therefore thrives and becomes a contributing member in her Puritan community√. Since she wears the scarlet letter, Hester initially faces judgement from most of the members in her community, but eventually, she helps benefit her society. After a few years, Hester walks around the town, and townspeople remark, “‘do you see that woman with the embroidered badge?’… ‘It is our Hester, - the town’s own Hester, - who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted!’”(134-135). In this case, she sacrifices her dignity by wearing the scarlet letter, and she helps the “poor,” “sick,” and “afflicted” people in her town. Also, since Hester accepts her penance, she flourishes
Discrimination and prejudice against blacks was a huge point in this story with blacks being considered animals and trash and anyone who defends them such as Atticus to be given the same treatment from the people who discriminate blacks.
Importance of education is another theme that is explored in the novel. Atticus is characterised as education. The point being made is that to be educated is that if you are educated then you can make you’re own moral decisions that are not as biased. In the novel this is portrayed by the white people of the town as they have always been told that black people are bad people no matter what, but
In the country town of Maycomb, people were easily influenced so prejudice was shown by most. The citizens knew that the colour of your skin determined your place in life and that Negroes were to be treated differently. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, there was only one true character that portrayed the true essence of tolerance. Atticus Finch stood on his own two feet, and never formed an opinion unless he had prior knowledge on the particular person or situation. Throughout the entirety of this novel, it was Atticus alone who not only was tolerant, but set an exemplarily example to his children, and the town, of how knowing before judging is not only important, but vital to society. “First of all…if you can learn a simple trick Scout, you’ll get along better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person till you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (p.33). This is a perfect example of how Atticus passes on his knowledge to his children, and educates them on how respect
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
Atticus speaks to Jem about the Tom Robinson case and says; “I don’t know (how they could convict Tom Robinson), but they did it. They’ve done it before and they did it tonight and they’ll do it again and when they do it – seems that only children weep”. This refers to how white people have more authority than the blacks. Tom Robinson was the perfect example of how innocent people can be injured or destroyed through contact with evil. A great life lesson was learnt and racism could be eliminated if we all took heed of Scout’s simple but powerful quote towards the end of the novel “I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks”.
When a historian looks over a primary resource there are several questions that they need to think about before they can even begin to do an analysis of it. There are four important questions to be asked. These questions are, what kind of document is it, who wrote it, who the audience was intended for and why it was written, as well as where and when it was written.
In Six Characters in Search of an Author, Luigi Pirandello presents the problem of identity in a dramatic life. The successive layers of personality conflicts among the various characters and the simultaneous existence of multiple perspectives shape an identity that is always changing. This identity escapes the grasp of onlookers and subjects alike and expresses a basic incongruity in human existence that challenges the most earnest attempts to create a unified self. Sometimes his protagonist finds that what "he"depends on the viewpoint of a great number of people. Such incongruity can be tragic or comic--or both at once--according to one's attitude, a topic that echoes in the double-edged humor of his plays. These themes of ambiguous identity, lack of communication, and deceptive appearance reach a particular intensity in this play.