“Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority.” – Thomas H. Huxley The novel To Kill a Mockingbird told an unforgettable story of doing what a person thought was right no matter what the cost. Author Harper Lee used the character Atticus Finch to show a rejection of authority when he went against the social codes in his town and defended a black man in court. Lee showed Atticus’s penetrating defense that ended up revealing the town of Maycomb’s inherit racism. Atticus Finch challenged social justice and prejudice by defending Tom Robinson just as he would any other person. Atticus’s whole town went against him because he was defending a man of a different race.
To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel by Harper Lee, had a lot to say about injustice, prejudice, stereotypes and racism among people in a town. The town that this took place in is called Maycomb and is located in southern Alabama. This took place during the 1930’s. These acts make people react negatively towards others and this kind of discrimination many Maycomb citizens engage in is blind, and inconsiderate of other people’s feelings. To kill a mockingbird is a sin because they don’t harm anyone at all; all they do is sing and make beautiful tunes so why should they be killed?
The men in both cases were thought to be guilty simply because they were black. Mayella Ewell was Bob Ewell’s abused, lonely and unhappy daughter. She was the women who Tom Robinson was accused of raping. Like many other southern blacks, toms was not educated and thought to be less of a person by whites. Whether Mayella knew it or not, her accusations against Mr. Robinson were like picking a fight with a man who is not capable of fighting back.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee tells the story of Tom Robinson. A black man falsely accused of raping a white woman, Mayela Ewell, through the eyes of Atticus’ daughter Scout. Atticus Finch chooses to take his case and defend him. Although the case was lost from the beginning, Atticus masterfully used logos, pathos and ethos in an attempt to win over the jury so they would declare him innocent. Atticus used logos to attempt at logically convincing this racist jury that there was no way Mr. Robinson could have committed the rape.
Writing Prompt To Kill a Mockingbird In To Kill a Mockingbird, a character who stands up for what they believe in is Atticus. He stands up for what he believes in by defending Tom Robinson. He defends Tom in the case that Tom is accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Atticus stands up for what he believes in and defends Tom Robinson to his fullest extent. Atticus is a father and a lawyer; he is not like a regular dad and does not like doing the things that normal dads would do.
The people of Macomb’s jury during the trial choose to find Tom Robinson guilty even thought the evidence strongly suggests he is innocent. They do this because of their racist opinions and hatred towards the African American community. In contrast Atticus stands up to a mob for what he believes because he holds no prejudices. During the summer night when Jem, Scout, and Dill get shot at, Mr. Radley automatically assumes that it was a black man who was trying to steal from his garden. This shows that even thought Mr. Radley had no proof he assumed that it was an African American only because of his racist opinions towards blacks.
All Boo did was mind his own business and got punished and judged for it. Boos innocence was hidden behind his way of protecting himself from turning into a cruel citizen of Maycomb like the rest. Boo was judged unfairly his whole life but in the end the only thing he did was save two young lives, this making him a representation of the mockingbird. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee there are several people symbolized by the mockingbird. The mockingbird symbol is used to represent innocence and people getting judged unfairly which teaches those who read the novel, empathy and not to judge others by things heard by a second-hand
He's my son! He'd rather see these no-good punks than his own mother? You scum…” Mrs. Cade. The reason for his low self-esteem and him losing his innocence by killing Bob is because he has to deal with lack of parental love. The extent of your loss of innocence also depends on the environment you are raised in.
First of all, the Ewell family takes Tom advantage of. He is accused that he rapes and harms Mayella who is Mr. Bob Ewell’s daughter. As Mayella says, “That nigger yonder took advantage of me an’ if you fine fancy gentlemen don’t wanta do nothing’ about it then you’re all yellow stinkin’ cowards” (Lee 188). This situation shows that black people in that period of time has no right in the same level as white people. If they get too close to white people as Tom Robinson does, it would bring their lives into disaster.
A few things that I think are unjust in the book were Tom Robinson’s trial and the teachers. Some things that are just in my eyes but were not legal was when Boo Radley killed Mr. Ewell, it was just because he saved Jem and Scout’s lives, but unjust because he did not abide by the legal system. First, Tom’s Robinson’s trial was completely unjust. Tom Robinson was falsely convicted of rape. He was wrongfully convicted by an all-white jury, which at that time, racism was the norm.