Society had a major impact on the creation of this book, inspiring Harper Lee to focus on the racism and judgment during the time period. Growing up in a time where trials such as the Scottsboro Boys were plentiful, Lee wrote of her experiences, and through her characters, showed how society played a role in their lives. Just as society influences her characters for better or for worse, we see in everyday life today how much society plays a role in our lives. Shaping us into one person, then changing us to another, society tells us what is right and what is wrong. It’s up to you to decide which is which.
Harper Lee grew up during the Great Depression and lived through the time where racism was especially big. The main influence of her novel was the Scottsboro Boys Trials, as she incorporated a similar case with Tom Robinson. Both were wrongly accused of rape and both were found guilty. The way she describes racism throughout the novel was also influenced by society, as she must have seen and heard the racism first-hand growing up. To Kill a Mockingbird was Lee's way of telling her story, though it doesn’t say in the novel that Lee is Scout, she writes of her life experiences and feelings through her.
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If she were truly influenced by society, the majority of which was racist, she herself would have sided with Bob Ewell during Tom Robinson's case. However, she saw herself that Robinson was innocent, and was influenced mostly by her father in that sense. As Atticus raised her to "climb into [someone’s'] skin and walk around in it" she saw how society acted and judged for herself that their behaviour was wrong. Society influenced her by showing her the wrong they caused to Robinson and the whole African American community, and offering her the choice to truly be influenced for the worse, or for her to see the influence as wrong and chose to be
The first influence on Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is the Jim Crow laws. The Jim Crow laws were a set of rules that perpetuated racism and segregation. These rules were sickening and appalling. The Jim Crow laws were made to keep Blacks from interacting with Whites. For example, if a white woman were to fall a black man could not offer her, his hand to help her up because it was considered rape (Pilgrim 2). Many scientists and religious leaders justified these laws. One reason was that scientist thought that black peoples brains were inferior to those of white people. Also, many religious leaders believed that Whites were the chosen people and Blacks were just there to serve them (Pilgrim 2). If you were not following these laws, there were sever consequences. People believed these punishments were necessary to “keep Blacks in their place”. One example is mass lynching. This punishment is when a mob of people would take a black person, accused of breaking a rule, and beat them, torture them, and kill them. The police didn’t just not stop these rampages, often they would participate. The Jim Crow laws can be seen in To Kill a Mockingbird in many ways. One of the laws was that a black person could not say that a white person was lying (Pilgrim). This is shown in the book when Tom is accused of calling Mayella a liar, by Mr. Gilmer (Lee 224).
In To Kill A Mockingbird, the ignorance seen throughout the novel conveys how expectations set by society affects the important events of life. The trial of Tom Robinson exemplifies how the recurring beliefs on race affected the outcome of the trial. The ideas of social class in Maycomb determined the way the Cunningham's were treated. Aunt Alexandra´s visits to Atticus's house and her gender view towards Scout. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee reveals how society sets expectations of how people should treat others based on race, social class, and gender.
Racism, Segregation and ill-treatment of coloured is major theme explored in the text by Harper Lee. This problem in the little town of Maycomb is just a tiny reflection in the corner of the mirror, of America at the time. And even the world, with references to Nazi Russia in the novel also bringing to light segregation in other parts of the world. She comes right out to say that the world is a racist world, with this novel and she writes to show others what is happening and that it is actually not right. And she does so in a great way by highlighting one great injustice rather than the many and bringing to a realization how irrational and unfair the entire American Justice system was. But we also see a development in the white characters which a representative of the entire America in a sense (and the world) as thoughts and ideas change and people’s views about coloured people change, not abruptly but slow of course. The black characters in To Kill A Mockingbird contribute to the development of the white characters rather than appearing as individuals in their own right. Racism is learnt, and with this we can see that Racism can
Mahatma Gandhi lead India to independence, Martin Luther King Jr spoke out against segregation, and Rosa parks stood against racism. All three of these influential leaders followed their beliefs against society. Just as these three leaders stuck to their morals, Harper Lee displays a similar message. In the realistic Fiction novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, By Harper Lee, the story is about an older brother and a younger sister experiencing life in a racist, southern town. In ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ Harper Lee asserts that following self morality will allow one to have a deeper understanding of themselves and society. This motif is shown through the slang diction of the town, the symbolism through the mockingbirds, and the Bildungsroman of Scout.
Harper Lee is well known for her great contributions towards modern society through her astounding book, To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel is read world-wide, in high schools and colleges because of its in-depth look at the social classes in the south during the 1930's. The book was influenced by society, in particular the social order of the south during her childhood. Lee grew up during this time of controversy which is why she writes so passionately about the topic. Lee wrote the novel to make a point about race while basing much of the plot off a trial from her young age, her own father, and the society she grew up in.
The choices that Atticus made at home changed society as well. He teaches jem and scout important lessons that help the next generation change discrimination. For instance, when he says, “you never really understand a person until you consider things from their point of view…” (30) Atticus teaches his children never to judge people. People never know what others are going through. Try to take a walk in their shoes and experience what they are going through. Atticus also teaches his children not to hurt or hate anyone that has done nothing them. When Atticus explains “It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird…they do nothing… but bring joy to others” (90) He explains to his children that it is never right to kill someone. If somebody is a joy to others then that person should not be harmed in any way because they make others happy.
Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch is the main character in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and is the narrator of the story. She starts the novel at the age of six, and over the course of the novel, grows to be nine. Racism affects Scout throughout the story mainly because of her father, Atticus Finch, being involved with defending a black man in court that was accused of raping a white woman. Scout also resides in a small Alabama town called Maycomb. This also leads to much prejudice throughout the book.
Imagine being persecuted your entire life. Having to constantly respect someone even though they were rude to you. This is what many African-Americans had to go through during the 1930’s. Racism is a major aspect in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The main character, Scout, has to deal with this problem everyday. Bob Ewell, Mr. Cunningham, and other characters are very racist, and don’t approve of Atticus defending a “Negroe”. This causes Scout to be bullied in school and even attacked by Mr. Ewell. Also, characters such as Tom Robinson are negatively affected by racism in Maycomb. Tom is killed just because of his skin color. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee’s use of point-of-view, irony, and symbolism help to develop
Society influenced every character in To Kill a Mockingbird in many more ways than one. People in the everyday world feel the stress and pressure of the world to conform to its standards, even if those standards aren’t who the people see themselves as being. Harper Lee and her protagonist, Scout, in To Kill a Mockingbird truly capture how, in such a short time, society can pressure playful girls into becoming the standard southern bell or rowdy boys into men. In the days of this setting, people weren't always given a choice or option of who they wanted to be. Too often in that time children were pressured to be exactly how they were expected to be in society. Men and women traded the flow of children's creativity for conformity instead.
tries to give us an insight into what it is like for these very civil
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.
To Kill a Mockingbird was written and published in 1960, “in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement” (Carolyn Jones). This time was just a few years after events like the murder of Emmett Till, a fourteen year old boy accused of whistling at a white woman, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and the ruling in Alabama that segregation on buses is unconstitutional happened (PBS African American World). This goes to show that the time period had some effect on Harper Lee at the time.
To Kill a Mockingbird taught many lessons, but the most important lesson that Harper Lee implied was regardless of people’s race or social class, people are all the same. You should always look at things from the other person’s perspective before you discriminate them. Discrimination was a key factor to all aspects of the story. “I wants to know why you bringin’ white chillun to nugget church” (Lee 158). Lula said this to Calpurnia when she brought Jem and Scout to her church. This falls under the category of discrimination because Jem and Scout should not be treated like this, they should be treated the same, regardless of the color of their skin. “I
Have you ever noticed how similar Harper Lee is to the character, Scout? To start, they both grew up in a small town in Alabama, both Harper Lee and Scout’s fathers were Lawyers and they served as state legislators. Scout and Harper Lee grew up watching two seperate cases where white voices were deemed more valuable than the evidence and black voices given to say otherwise. Scout and Lee both came into school as really good readers, and they knew how to read ever since they could last remember. Finally Harper Lee and Scout both got read to by their father out of a newspaper. The character, Scout, has several similarities to her author, Harper Lee.
It is commonly acknowledged that Literature is the reflection of the society. It is indeed true that literature reflects the attitude and perception of the society where it is written. Literature mirrors the vices of the society with an intention to make the society realize its mistakes and make amendments. The vast literature, produced from time to time, bears evidence to the fact that man is prone to discrimination. Treating a person or particular group of people differently, especially in a worse way from the way in which you treat other people, because of their sexuality, skin, and class has, been core theme of the Harper lee’s master piece To Kill a Mocking Bird. The novel is told from Scout’s perspective; through Scout, we witness the social construction of race, class, and gender. The novel continues to be taught in classrooms due to its illustration