Theme Of Southern Hospitality In To Kill A Mockingbird

He has put himself, and his family at the top, and black people at the bottom. Throughout the book, Harper Lee there introduces the Cunninghams, who are more poor than Finch’s, and then the Ewells, who are the poorest, living behind the dump. On the other hand, Miss Caroline, an outsider from northern Alabama, does not understand the social ranks in Maycomb. Scout tries to explain to her, ‘“That’s okay, ma’am, you'll get to know all the county folks after a while”’ (Lee 22).

First Lady of the United States Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “True hospitality consists of giving the best of yourself to your guest.” Offering the best of their self to someone else does not come easy. Southern generosity compels people to offer more than normal often sharing their personal possessions. Harper Lee author of To Kill A Mockingbird ensures her characters based in the south demonstrates the southern hospitality that the south is known for. Characters such as the Finch family, Miss Maudie, and the rest of the Maycomb community all live their life based on the souths well known generosity. Southern hospitality shows itself all over the book whether the people allow someone to stay in their house, use their belongings, or host a party.

In the story “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, the main character Scout realizes the town she lives in is full of bias and prejudice toward negros. Scout, the only daughter of lawyer Atticus Finch, is faced with the activism that follows this prejudice when her father decides to defend a negro, Tom Robinson, in the court of law. She is constantly harassed and tormented by the residence of their small town, Maycom. What Lee is trying to show through these events is that people are always going to have prejudices, and sometimes these prejudices come from the people you least expect it form. In the story, neighbors, friends, and family all show their prejudices about the defendant Tom Robinson to Scout, who finally realize the world isn’t perfect but is, in fact, full of flaws and prejudices.

The setting of the book To Kill A Mockingbird has a huge role on the conflicts, outcome of the trial, and Jem and Scout’s development. The book takes place in Maycomb county Alabama, in the 1930’s during the Great Depression. Since Alabama is in the south, and was before the Civil Rights Movement, most of the white residents in the town were racist. In the book, the town of Maycomb is almost like a character on its own. It is a small town that had lots of farmers who were struck hard by the Great Depression. Scout, who is the narrator of the book describes it by saying, “Maycomb was a tired old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square”(Lee 6). Scout even goes on to say, “People moved slowly then. They ambled across the square, shuffled in and out of the stores around it, took their time about everything”(Lee 6). In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the conflict of racism is shown through the trial, Atticus, and Jem and Scout’s uprising in a non-racist home but in a prejudice town.

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

In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, prejudice and racism are embedded in the regional psyche of Maycomb, a miniscule town in Alabama. The narrator interpolates injustice and racism in Alabama during the 1930s, largely through the eyes of Scout, who was a child during this time, however, the adult Scout occasionally interjects with some adult observations. Furthermore, the citizens of Maycomb are stereotyped pervasively throughout the book. In Harper Lee’s To Kill Mockingbird, examples of racism, sexism, and social class are used to demonstrate how prejudice can corrupt a community.

Good old southern hospitality, everybody loves it. What does southern hospitality mean? It describes the stereotypical southerner as a kind, respectful,welcoming person. In To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel written by Harper Lee, the people of Maycomb exemplify southern hospitality. When Calpurnia talks to Scout about criticizing Walters eating habits, the black folks giving Atticus and his family food, and Boo's actions towards the kids, are the examples of southern hospitality that will be displayed in this essay. Southern hospitality also shows how Christians should treat people. As Christians, people need to treat people with respect and show them kindness.

Decades ago, in the 1930s, people of color were not treated fairly. Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird took place in the 1930s in the fictional place of Macomb County, Alabama. It was narrated through a young girl named Scout Finch. Throughout the novel, Scout, her older brother, Jem, and their good friend Dill discover realities of society. Scout and Jem’s father, Atticus, was appointed to be the attorney of a black man. Because of the time period, the case was almost hopeless, but Atticus fought anyway. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird displays universal themes such as racial intolerance and innocence of youth.

Prejudice means an opinion that is not based on reasoning or actual experience. In To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, prejudice is portrayed in many ways. For example, when the townspeople of Maycomb hear that Scout Finch’s dad, Atticus, is defending a black man in a court case, the kids in school began to hector Scout for his Dad’s actions. “This order, given by me to Cecil Jacobs was the beginning of a rather thin time for Jem and me.” (Lee, pg 99) says Scout after the long school day. “My folks said your daddy was a disgrace an’ that nigger oughta hang from the water-tank!” (Lee, pg 102) said, Cecil, after Scout confronted him about it the next day. This is an example of prejudice because even though the trial hasn’t begun yet, people are already against Tom Robinson. By looking at his dark skin color, the townspeople already believe that he is guilty. Even after Atticus Finch brought in evidence and strong arguments that Bob Ewell was really the one who had done harm to Mayella Ewell. But the all-white jury still believed that Tom was responsible for Mayella’s abuse. “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…” (Lee, pg 292).

Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is a harsh criticism of Southern prejudice. However, Mockingbird focuses not on this prejudice, but on how to fight it. Throughout the novel, Atticus Finch tries to prevent his children from succumbing to the bigotry that plagues Maycomb County. Atticus's lessons teach us that by standing in other people's shoes and exposing ourselves to other people's views we can fight our own prejudice.

In to Kill Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout dislikes Aunt Alexandra who tries to make scout more ladylike which results in Scout following the social expectations of Maycomb county. Atticus a loving and caring father, tells her children about Aunt Alexandra’s mission. He tells them about how they are Finches and are different from other people. “Your aunt has asked me to try and impress upon you and Jean Louise that you are not from run-of-the-mill people, that you are the product of several generations’ gentle breeding-.”

In Harper Lee’s classic, To Kill A Mockingbird, “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed” (Lee, 245). As To Kill A Mockingbird takes place in the 1930’s, for a white woman to accuse a man of color of committing a crime would mean that the man has been declared guilty before they are given a chance to defend themselves, leading to false convictions. Even if they were to be given the chance to try to save themselves from an unjust verdict, the juries normally consisted of white men, consequently leading to an inevitable conviction. With Tom Robinson being a black man and Mayella Ewell being a white woman, this was the reality for Tom when he was accused of raping Mayella. With this accusation, it became very clear who exactly had been infected with “Maycomb’s usual disease”(Lee, 91) especially Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father. Racism and injustice are both heavy influences in To Kill A Mockingbird as the story takes place in 1930 where many white people had racist views towards people of color, giving white people a higher status in Maycomb County, Alabama, thus giving them more power than people of color. This played a large role in one of the bigger conflicts in the story with Bob Ewell and Tom Robinson as the two men hold to different social statuses showing everyone their true colors. Throughout the novel we are presented with numerous quotes showing how Tom Robinson and Mr. Bob Ewell acted before the trial and how the trial has showed us what their true intentions are.

In the book TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee, the mockingbird is a symbol of fairness and respect for people who do things for you. It symbolizes that people can be righteous even if they have different political and moral views from you. Just like “shootin’ a mockingbird” is a sin because it sings its heart out (pg. #), similarly it is a sin to do something bad to someone who does good. general town

“Back in ninth grade when every other American kid read Harper Lee’s novel of racism, moral courage and coming of age in 1930s Alabama.” (Lanham) The story is written from the perspective of a girl named Scout and the conflicts that accrued in this time period. Readers explore the understanding of Scout and her brother Jem and their moral growth. This particular conflict involving a black man “Tom Robison” against the victim “Mayella Ewell” and her bitter father “Bob Ewell” is one of the main topics. “Tom Robison,” defender “Atticus Finch” also Scout and Jems father shows his kids the principled path through life. The Finch’s cook, Calpurnia, treats Jem and Scout as if they were her own. Calpurnia can be harsh at times but is still like a motherly figure. Scout has chosen to follow her father’s advice and in her novel Harper Lee states, “-Until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” In the end Scout stands on Boo’s porch and witnesses Maycomb through his eyes. But in reality not all her decisions lead to marvelous outcomes. From all of the above the most important thing to remember is the lesson she learns from it. This particular lesson of Lee’s novel, acquiesce to the books moralists propulsive strength lawyer Atticus Finch, is to put yourself in other people’s skin and walk around in it. Prejudice also plays a serious role in telling the trail

Taking place in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s, Atticus Finch a well-known attorney and father, guides his children through the tough period of racism while helping them perceive the importance of understanding and accepting others. The award-winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, demonstrates how a broad perspective and the growth of knowledge can contribute significantly to one’s opinion and judgement of others, resulting in increased empathy. As Scout begins to mature, she gains knowledge and experience and learns to demonstrate compassion for the citizens of Maycomb while she experiments with putting herself in their situations.