In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch says, “...You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.” This quote applies many times in the book where the narrator, six year old Jean Louise (Scout) Finch, tells us the story of her father, Atticus Finch, who tries to prove the innocence of Tom Robinson, a black man charged with rape of a young girl in the town. Though Atticus tries his best to convince the jury that Robinson is innocent, he is still convicted of the crime. The story shows the root of humanity including kindness, cruelty, innocence, and more to the townspeople, including the young, like Scout and her older brother, Jem. Throughout To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows how prejudice …show more content…
Because of this prejudice, Tom’s ideas, actions, and life is affected. In Chapter 23, when Atticus and Jem talks about how the jury chose Tom’s sentence, Atticus explains why Tom had gotten such a harsh sentence and relates it to how Ewell used Robinson and knew how it would work in his favor. In addition, Lee writes, “ ...they couldn’t be fair if they tried. 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” (295). In this quote, it is seen that Ewell knew the jury would see Robinson as inferior and subordinate compared to him because of this color, which means the jury send would send Tom Robinson to jail. This is unfair because Robinson has a better character and personality than Ewell, but society will prefer Ewell over Robinson because of his skin color. This prejudice against African Americans like Tom Robinson affects them in many ways and in Tom Robinson’s case, sends him to jail and death. The prejudice against Robinson makes him desperate to a point where he sees no future to himself and tries to escapes, but dies. This quote also shows how the white men in this story and this time period can be as fair as they can, but they can’t truly fair. This is because racism and its ideals are rooted into them from a young age and it can be hard, or even impossible to get rid of these ways. Next, in Chapter 6, Atticus explains in the same conversation to Jem that how white men cheat others out of things and that they are trash. To support this, Atticus says, “As you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don't you forget it—whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is
Power, it is something that everyone wants, it classifies us. “To Kill a Mockingbird” is about a powerless black man, Tom Robinson, accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. Because of Mayella’s class and gender she is powerless, but her race makes her have a little more power.
Lee (1960) explains a story to oppose racial discrimination by using Scout’s perspective who is a 6 year-old girl in the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”. The center person is Atticus, Scout’s father and a virtuous and impartial lawyer. The climax of this story was appeared when Atticus defended for a black man in the court. The black man is Tom who was accused of raping a white girl. In final presentation, Atticus said that “What was the evidence of her offense? Tom Robinson, a human being. … In the name of God, do your duty.”(p272-p275). This a great presentation by using clear organization to persuade people to believe that Tom is innocent.
“Thomas Jefferson once said that all men are created equal, a phrase the Yankees and the distaff side of the Executive branch are quite fond of hurling at us.” A quote from Atticus Finch, a firm believer of equal rights for all races. A lawyer, Atticus has taken up the case of Tom Robinson, who has been charged with the rape of Mayella Ewell. A jury, made up by white men of the southern county of Maycomb, listens to Atticus’ argument that Tom Robinson, a black man, is not guilty of Mayella Ewell’s wrongful accusation of rape. Atticus Finch attempts to persuade the jury to find his client innocent of a heinous crime through employing devices such as repetition, similes, sincere tone, and a strong appeal to pathos all of which contribute strongly to Tom’s case. .
The ability to do something that frightens one: courage. This definition is shown throughout Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird. In the town of Maycomb, Alabama there are many types of people. And within each action people view it differently. They might see it as breaking the “rules” or they might see it as courage. In the book the kids, Jem and Scout see courage demonstrated in their town. In To Kill A Mockingbird courage is shown in making moral decisions individually. These events show courage: Miss Maudie's fire, Atticus taking the case, and on Halloween night.
Tom Robinson’s case, in which we see in that time period how a white man’s word goes against a black’s, is perceived as unfair by Scout, Jem, Atticus, and many of their neighbors. As Atticus says to Jem, “As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it–whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.”(295) This quote explains that there is great injustice and extortion for personal gain. This is disturbing in its own right; The fact that Atticus needs to even make a comment like that is disturbing in its own right, let alone that any person would do that to another, also tells Jem this: “So far nothing in your life has interfered with your reasoning process. Those are twelve reasonable men in everyday life, Tom’s jury, but you saw something come between them and reason. You saw the same thing that night in front of the jail. When that crew went away, they didn’t go as reasonable men, they went because we were there. There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads–they couldn’t be fair if they tried. 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.”(295) Even a man like Atticus, a sort of rebel in that time period, accepts that the system is
Tom Robinson’s role in this book shows a lot of prejudice. He is a black man convicted of raping a white women. This book is set in the 1930s, during this time period the Jim Crow Laws were still in place and racism was big. ‘You felt sorry for her, you felt sorry for her?’ Mr. Gilmer seemed ready to rise to the ceiling” (Lee, pg 197). Tom Robinson is talking about how he felt sorry for Miss Mayella, who is white. Mr Gilmer gets very upset stating that a nigger should not feel sorry for a white woman. "There's something in our world that makes men lose their heads -- they couldn't be fair if they tried. 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 fact of life.” (Lee, pg.220) Atticus is talking to the kids about how Tom Robinson will get the death sentence because of the color of his skin and how the jury looks at him. He talks about there is no court in Alabama that would’ve gave him something less. Basically it was Tom against a town full of white folks. Tom is a big symbol of prejudice in the book.
In the book To Kill a Mockingbird in chapter fifteen it says “you got 15 seconds to get them outta here” this quote explains by saying that they have 15 seconds to do something and using it as a threat is showing that they currently have more power then the people that they are threatening. If they don't have power, they wouldn't be threatening someone higher in power than them. The Maycomb jail was the most hideous and bad. This is explaining what it actually looked like historically. The boom is saying and explaining what the jail actually looked like back then.
The book “To Kill a Mockingbird”, by Harper Lee is about Scout Finch and her older brother Jem living in Maycomb, Alabama during the great depression. Scout and Jem spend a lot of their time watching over Boo Radley's house with Dill, their friend. Scout and Jem's Dad, Atticus, agrees to help a black man, Tom Robinson, by being his attorney where Tom is accused of Rape. The theme, Do not judge a person before actually getting to know them, is show in many different ways.
Firstly, Tom Robinson is just one character that is prejudged in the novel. He is accused of raping a white girl named Mayella and it is a problem to the jury that a black man is trying to defend himself in court. Atticus realizes how Tom is being treated unfairly and that it is uncommon for African Americans and white people to associate with each other. During Atticus’s speech, Mayella is accused of lying in her testimony when “she kissed a black man [which is] something that in our society is unspeakable” (Lee 272). The black man who Atticus refers to is Tom. He is ridiculed and judged by several people in the book and he gets all this
To Kill a Mockingbird Many people were disturbed to see a video where a canadian women said racial comments which were driven on her emotions, theses emotions are also seen in To Kill a Mockingbird. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows that prejudice is based on emotions rather than reasoning. There are many examples such as the mob that wants to hurt Tom Robinson and the hatred that Lula has against Scout and Jem. As well of attempted murder on the children by Mr. Ewell. Theses are some of the cases where emotions took over rather than proper reasoning.
“Knowledge is power” Sir Francis Bacon. Atticus, a character in To kill a Mockingbird, understands that his knowledge has the power to do many things, including influence the lives of many people. Atticus does his best to influence his children, and educate them every chance he gets. Atticus does his best to teach his children what is right and what is wrong, and in doing this Atticus made one point immensely clear. It is a sin to kill a Mockingbird.
Do you know what it feels like to be powerless? A white nineteen year old woman named Mayella Ewell Falsely accuses a black man of raping her in Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930’s, and is rendered powerless, due to being recessive in her social class, race, and gender. She does so in hopes of escaping her abusive father, and a chance to have a better life. Although Mayella is white, she has been shunned by African Americans and other white people. Mayella is a very young woman that does not own anything nice, nor clean, besides geranium flowers. During the 1930’s, men were the dominant sex, as a female, Mayella has to obey her father, Bob Ewell. As a result, Mayella was mistreated and abused.
Who would destroy something that contained a heart filled only with good? The answer to that can be found in the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee in an unjust time of unequal opportunity. The story follows the retelling of an 8-year-old girl named Jean Louis and those around her moral growth. She lives in Maycomb Alabama during the Great Depression. She has many chapters of growth including changing from afraid of a person to wanting to meet them, seeing people put on masks in order to avoid judgment, and watching an innocent man go to jail. Scout learns that to Kill a mockingbird is a sin for they have done no wrong, that people make that most meaningful mockingbirds, and the true significance of them because of the moral growth they bring about in people.
In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, the atmosphere of discrimination normalizes the use of slurs, and the ostracization of certain members of the community, for the children in the novel. To Kill A Mockingbird, written in 1960, set in the fictitious town of Maycomb, Alabama. This novel, from the perspective of the character Scout, is a tale of identity, injustice, and inequality in a time of heavy discrimination. In Lee’s novel, the use of slurs is a common occurrence in the town of Maycomb. Scout, as well as the other children in the novel, are exposed to adults and their peers using these slurs, and, consequently, slurs become a desensitized part of everyday language. From the beginning of the novel, Boo Radley is an enigma to Scout,
heads- they couldn’t be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it’s a white