When she drew it away, it trailed a long silver thread of saliva. “Your fathers no better than the ******* and trash he works for!” (Lee 117) 1. (analysis)This quote said by Mrs. Dubose towards Jem and Scout shows how racists she is. Mrs. Dubose and most of the towns people dislike the Finches because Atticus is a white man defending a black man. Jem and Scout stats to become aware that all this is caused by segregation.
Atticus Finch is ridiculed by the townspeople for being a moral human being and sticking to his beliefs in defending an innocent colored man. As explained by Lee through her characters Tom Robinson, Boo Radley and Atticus Finch, the mockingbird is a symbolic representation of innocence, purity and virtue. To begin, the community of Maycomb basically indirectly murdered Tom Robinson. Despite the fact the man was helpful and kind - especially toward Mayella, who charged him of raping her - Tom was sent to trial and then found guilty even after Atticus Finch had verified his guiltlessness. His responsibility was all based on the color of his skin, not his true moral character.
The lack of knowledge in Maycomb about the outside world and their opinions about black people ingrains ‘Maycomb’s usual disease’ into their minds as they have no other opinions about black people. This is shown by the crowd’s outrage as they gather to lynch Tom, not knowing that he was innocent, but blinded by ... ... middle of paper ... ...sirable traits to have as they can motivate you through the toughest tasks and drive you to do what should be done instead of abandon your duties. In conclusion, Harper Lee’s book To Kill a Mockingbird highlights the horrible prejudice and ignorance towards black people in the southern town of Maycomb, but also shows wisdom and compassion as not only desirable but necessary traits to have to withstand the bombardment of pre-conceived ideas from the people surrounding you, and also portrays these qualities as a shield to people around
Her father, Atticus Finch, plays an important part in the story by defending a black person in court. This novel presents two children growing up in a biased community, often discriminated themselves, because of their father's views. Lee portrays courage in the characters of Atticus Finch, Mrs. Dubose and Boo Radley. It takes courage for Atticus Finch to go against people's beliefs in order to do what he believes was morally right. The racist views of the town are against Atticus defending Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman, and Atticus is often discriminated against for not agreeing with them.
The Montgomery Advertiser is also trying to mock how Atticus is toiling away to represent a defendant, Tom Robinson, who has little to no hope in being freed from the accusations of rape made on him. This is not only an extremely rude gesture, but it is also a sign of prejudice, because they are basing their inferences of the future of the case simply on the fact that Tom Robinson is a Negro, and Negroes are always “the bad guys.” Another case where unjustness is shown is when Lula is spiteful towards Calpurnia for bringing Scout and Jem along to the Negro church. Lula says, “‘I wants to know why you bringin’ white chillun to nigger church’” (Lee 119). Prejudice does not occur only when a white person looks down upon a black person; it happens vice versa as well. Black people may not be allowed to attend the same churches as white people, but that does not mean white people prohibited from black people’s churches simply cancels out the act of prejudice.
To Kill a Mockingbird also portrays the uniqueness of our world and how human nature is to accept certain beliefs and not others. Another important message conveyed by the novel is that people are essentialy good or essentially evil, which is necessary knowledge for adulthood and is shown through the book’s exploration of the moral nature of human beings. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a book which exposes it’s reader to many lessons about human nature. Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the audience is exposed to the tendency by people to attempt to justify another persons thoughts or actions with made up excuses. An example of this taking place in the novel is how Boo Radley chooses to live in the Radley house in complete peace and quiet, however members of the town have a very hard time understanding it.
Tom Robinson was blamed for raping Mayella Ewell because her father has caught her kissing a black man, Tom Robinson, and at that time it was unacceptable to do so. The reader feels bad for Mayella because she is so lonely and Tom was the only one who was kind to her but from the other side the reader doesn’t like Mayella because she blamed an innocent man who was just trying to help and by doing so she symbolically killed a mockingbird. After being put to jail due to his skin colour, Tom Robinson tries to run away but gets shot. Later on Mr. Underwood “linked Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds...” Because it was obvious that he just like the bird did no harm to anyone but only tried to help. Another mockingbird in the novel is Boo Radley, "Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were bloodstained – if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus defends Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman, in a court trial. The town of Maycomb turns against him due to this. Atticus, furious about the reaction from his town, explains, “…why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a negro comes up, is something I don’t pretend to understand” (Lee 88). Atticus does not have any racial biases, and he does not agree with the views of the majority of the people of Maycomb. Atticus, describing his beliefs to Jem, “…The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be
Another method is the children’s way of thinking and how they use the information from what they see and not what they are told. The last way she displays contrast of how empathy can prevent prejudice is with a distinct character named Mr. Raymond and his relations with coloured people. Using empathy in the things you perform can prevent discrimination and ill understandings of a person. As the book progresses Atticus displays that empathy will prevent prejudice and that he has a great knowledge of its effects. When Jem became very angry at Mrs. Dubose, their old and mean neighbor, he chopped down her shrubs in front of her house in a fanatical rage.
Perhaps the most relatable event to the symbolism, the Tom Robinson case depicts the destruction of innocence first hand. Robinson, a respectful black man, is wrongly accused of raping and beating Mayella Ewell. Atticus clearly shows the whole courtroom that Tom is incapable of this crime, and even brings light to the person who actually beat Mayella. Instead of recognizing Tom Robinson's innocence, the jury was blinded by racism and found him guilty. This directly relates to the symbolism Harper Lee implemented previously in the book, showing how wrong it is to harm something, or someone, that did nothing but sing, and in Tom’s case, help Mayella.