Because he took a stand for a black man, he is forced to deal with the resentment of the racist white community. Jem's full name is Jeremy Atticus Finch and is Scout's four year older brother who gradually detaches himself from her games as he grows mature. However he remains her good buddy as well as her protector. He is crudely rattled by the evil injustice witnessed over the course of the trial of the black man. To kill a Mockingbird is about growing up and thus, the genre is a "coming-of-age story" blended with drama.
The story is narrated from the perspective of six-year-old Scout Finch, who lives with her older brother Jem and their widowed father Atticus, a middle-aged advantageous lawyer. Atticus is assigned to defend a black man named Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a young white woman. Although many of Maycomb’s citizens disapprove with his decision, Atticus agrees to defend Tom to the best of his ability despite putting his family and himself in jeopardy.
When asked to defend a black man in a controversial trial, he accepts and through this trial works to teach his children the importance of equality, acceptance and fair treatment. Atticus’s teachings are always subtle but throughout the book it can be seen that the majority of Scout’s actions are based on what Atticus has taught her. One such lesson occurs in chapter three. After Scout beats up a poverty-stricken boy named Walter Cunningham for having gotten her in trouble, her brother Jem intervenes and invites Walter to have lunch at their house. This upsets Scout greatly and during lunch she acts very rudely to the boy, an action for which she is scolded by Calpurnia, the children’s African-American nanny.
Chapter One: "Nightmare" The Autobiography of Malcolm X begins with Malcolm Little telling about his years as a trouble-making but clever child in the 1930s. His father, Earl Little, is a Baptist preacher who advocates the "back-to-Africa'' philosophy of black activist Marcus Garvey. Once, their house is burned down, and another time it is damaged—both times by groups of white men. His mother, Louise, is made a widow when Earl is murdered; then the state welfare agency tries to break up the family. Eventually, fighting against the state and struggling to keep her children fed becomes too much for Louise, and she is committed to a mental asylum.
I can relate to Scout in this manner, because I I too am protective over my family, but not as aggressive as Scout. Atticus is called a disgrace and "nigger-lover" a number of times by a number of people. One day in the schoolyard, Cecil Jacobs tells Scout that his family says Atticus is a disgrace and that Tom Robinson should hang from the water-tank (pg 102). This got Scout upset, but it was the only time she walked away form a fight because influenced by Atticus, he told her not to fight anymore and she knew if she did he would wear her out. On Christmas day Scout, Jem, and Atticus visit the Finch's Landing.
He opens his eyes and looks at the big picture instead of narrowing in on one small idea planted in ones brain that everybody else so ignorantly believes. African-Americans are no differant than us other than the shade of their skin. Still, the evils of human nature guide you to thinking something is wrong with them. Atticus Finch teaches his children from day one, that there is no human being on this earth that isnt equal to any other.In the beginning of the novel, Scout Finch starts her first day at school. She finds herself being taunted by students who call her father names for defending an African-American in court.
In the film Stand by Me, the quest to see a dead body leads a group of four friends on a two day adventure. Gordie, Vern, and Teddy are struggling with the transition from grade school to junior high in summer of 1959. However, Chris Chambers has already had to face one of the toughest parts of growing up: breaking out of stereotypes. The Chambers family members are known to be troublemakers to everyone in town. Gordie’s father refers to an incident where Chris stole some money at the school, and says of Chris that “he's a thief in my book.” Over the course of the film, Chris acts as a protector and leader to the rest of the group, seemingly out of character for a poor kid from a no-account family.
An example of this behavior is how Atticus Finch defends Tom Robinson, a black man accused of rape, despite everything he has been taught, and despite the children and townspeople who antagonize his two children. Atticus believes that Tom is innocent and continues to fight for his rights. Another example is when Bob Ewell, the man accusing
Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird takes place during the 1930s in the town of Maycomb, Alabama. The novel’s genre is a coming-of-age story in which the main character, Scout Finch, experiences the many truths about life and learns lessons important to her maturation process. Over the course of a few years, Scout, her older brother Jem, and their friend Dill learn to deal with the criticism and prejudice brought on by the people of Maycomb. When their father Atticus Finch defends Tom Robinson, a black man, in court, Jem and Scout struggle to face the hatred and remain strong throughout the whole experience. One of the main adventures Scout and Jem experience is the mystery of their neighbor Boo Radley, whom at the end of the novel they discover to be nothing like the evil figure Maycomb’s rumors portrayed him to be.
Prejudice is portrayed in many forms in the novel. Characters in the book suffer discrimination due to race, age, social status and sex. This racism appears to be a normal thing to the people of Maycomb. In the novel, Scout runs into trouble with both a classmate and a cousin when the two boys taunt her about her father, whom they call a "nigger love". Atticus explains to Scout that he will be defending a black man named Tom Robinson.