In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s word, the white always wins. They’re ugly, but these are the facts of life” (Lee 252). 2. (analysis)The speech that Atticus shares with his children proves how much injustice and racism goes on in their town. Atticus tries to tell Jem and Scout that whatever happens between a white man and a black man, the white man will always win.
This essay aims to show how these characters display courage, and why courage is so important. Through many incidents in the book, Atticus, a white layer and a father of two, is shown to be extremely courageous. One such incident is him taking up Tom Robinsons’ case. Tom, a morally upright Negro, was accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman from a family with ‘no background’. In a racist society like Maycomb, the verdict of this trial is a foregone conclusion the moment Mayella opened her mouth to scream rape, as the cowardly white jury of the court would never admit a black man’s testimony is true.
Such a strong proclamation cost King his life but we still recognise his actions today as a main factor for the equality of African-Americans, and many other races. This shows that King prioritised the wealthfare of his family and loved ones over himself to achieve equality for them all. Similarly in Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’, the character John Proctor casts aside ‘[his] good name’ in order to save the community of Salem from the injustice of the witch trials. Proctor believed that the group of girls who were making the accusations were all lieing in order to divert the attention from themselves to everyone else. The only way for Proctor to stop the ‘crazy little children’ from ‘jangling the keys to the kingdom’ and show how the law has been corrupted by Danforth was to sacrifice himself.
Atticus shows respect to others, courage ,non-violent behavior. As they both mature they then realized why Atticus behavior that certain way. One way that Atticus influences his children is by treating both Negros and whites- even the one that disrespect him- with respect . As Atticus is getting persecuted by others so is Scout, at school, Cecils Jacob kept telling Scout that her dad was a Nergo-lover ,fought him, but she herself didn’t even know what that meant. When Scout asked Atticus what it meant he said it in a way she couldn’t understand and also told her he didn’t want to see her in a fight ever a again.
In the beginning, Atticus is being assertive towards his sister, Alexandra. He says to her, “ Alexandra, Calpurnia's not leaving this house until she wants to” ( Lee 182 ). This shows that even the predigest ways of his own family members will not change his mind about the black community, and he isn't afraid to speak up and defend them. Next, Scout listens to her father be steadfast, and tell her his opinion on the racist ways of the people around them. He tells her that “ white men cheat black men everyday of your life...whenever a white man does that...no matter who he is, that white man is trash” ( Lee 233 ).
He thought ‘kids like him’, the defendant, should be punished, because he sees his son in the 16-year-old defendant. Although he asserts, “I have no personal feelings in this case”, the audience realize this is untrue, especially in his last monologue when he shouts, “I know him”. Clearly, his personal feelings cause him to vote ’guilty’. However, when the 8th Juror reminds Juror 3,” It’s not your boy”, the 3rd Juror finally understands he was wrong not to consider there was any reasonable doubt about the evidence because of his weakness of selfishness. 3rd Juror recognize himself due to his prejudice.
When the option to choose a black over a white counterpart the black race still to this day fear being looked over; only because of skin color. Some blacks in authority do the same discriminating practice when given the opportunity to be in authority; for fear their supervisor will think they are being partial to their race. It should be who would fit in the organization with the right attitude, the right qualifications, & capabilities to adjust to the task at hand. This also, brings into play so many aspects of why do gangs exist at all? In the film they pointed out that the majority of the young men were raised and mentored by their mothers, grandmothers & aunts.
Although it seems so simple, Atticus redressing Scout about using this contemptuous term is a big step in helping her understand that African Americans are human beings. Some of the best examples of racial prejudice are revealed in the trial of Tom Robinson. During his trial, Tom Robinson is misjudged mainly because he is black. Mr. Gilmer, Tom's prosecutor, calls Tom "boy" to make him seem as though he is of lesser equality than others in the court room. Another example of racial prejudice in Tom Robinson’s trial is the verdict.
Although learning to read was very important for Fredrick Douglass’s path to freedom, his battle with Mr. Covey was the most important part of his journey because it marks the point when he stopped thinking of himself as a slave. Mr. Douglass’s education allowed him to learn about abolitionism and even teach others so that they too may be free men. Although this is an important skill,
This is not disregarding the teenager, but an effective violence prevention strategy should work like the "public health model" and address the primary issue of prevention before the problem has been identified. More aggressive strategies of conflict resolution and self-esteem building should be instituted at the adolescent level. This approach must include mentoring programs so that fatherless young men can have role models that are supportive and exemplify African-American adult survivors. Many would agree with the teachings of Martin Luther King Jr., who reminded us that those who have been constantly abused and humiliated can still hold the moral high ground. We can either choose the path of acting out, and respond to violence with violence… which will then likely lead to more violence, what Dr King referred to as the path of mutual destruction.