The story is shown through the eyes of Scout and Jem Fintch who are both growing up with the debate that involves her fathers Atticus Fitches lawsuit. Her father is a white man defending a black man by the name of Tom Robinson who is accused of raping a white girl. Racism plays a huge factor on the lives of these characters living in the town of Maycome. For the African Americans living in Maycome county it was much different then the whites. Black and whites were completely segregated.
Scout mostly tells of her own thoughts but also devotes considerable time to recounting and examining Jem’s thoughts and actions. The childhood innocence with which Scout begins the novel with is threatened by numerous incidents that expose the evil side of human nature, in particular the injustice of the guilty verdict in Tom Robinson’s trial and the ruthlessness of Bob Ewell. As the novel steps forward, Scout and Jem struggle to maintain trust in the human ability in doing good things. This is mainly, as a result of these recurring instances of human evil. Lee using Scout as the narrator also highlights how Scout learns about life and the negativity of discrimination throughout her childhood years.
“And then if they were dirty, mean, and imprudent, why did Momma have to call them Miz?” she asked herself after seeing her Momma treat the young girls respectfully. All of this helps to exhibit her young ignorance when it comes to the separation between blacks and whites; she knows that it is there and that it affects her negatively but at this time in her life she is unsure as to why. A more obvious separation to Maya is a physical one, the one between herself and her brother Bailey and their parents. Even though she has been with Momma in
It wasn’t until her mother had died that she actually became exposed to the cruelty of slavery. Jacobs was a house slave and was taught to read, write and sew by her mistress. When Jacobs was about fifteen years old she began to experience a sexual relationship with a white man named Mr. Sands in order to escape from her Master Dr. Flint. Harriet Jacobs’s became a slave of Dr. Flint when her mother died. She desperately wanted to escape from Dr. Flint because he wanted to make her his concubine and she very much disapproved of such a thing.
In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout learns many things. We meet Scout and her character when she is aged 6. She has grown living with a prejudice of Negro’s; she has an impulsive character and a tendency to say inappropriate and childish things. She also has a short temper and is unaware of these problems and unaware of her character. As she progresses, she grows, matures and soon learns different things from the ever present mentors and guides.
Sample outline for essay about mockingbirds: While one of the main themes of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is understanding another human's perspective, it is also important to look at how people treat each other. The story's protagonist, Scout, is a young girl from Alabama whose father, Atticus Finch, is asked to defend an African-American man who is charged with rape. The southern way of life during The Great Depression won't allow Tom Robinson a fair trial, and Scout and her brother Jem are forced to deal with a county's ignorance and racist attitudes. Atticus and a compassionate neighbor, Miss. Maudie, try to teach the children not to hurt mockingbirds as they don't harm anything and "...don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy" (90).
Scout never wanted to be a girly girl when she grew up. The influences of being around boys all the time she was almost raised like one. This is proof Scout is starting to lose her innocence because normally she would have never thought of acting like a lady. The loss of innocence is hard because the world is viewed in a completely different manner, and start to question things that were accepted before. Viewing the world is especially hard when World War ll is going on and discrimination against black people is overtaking the country.
Racial prejudice was a way of life in the deep south of the United States in the 1930’s and it dictated what people thought, how they acted, and what they believed in. Despite efforts to initiate change, most peoples’ repugnant attitudes towards African Americans in the South remained the same. After being badgered by numerous residents, Scout asks her father, Atticus, “Do you defend niggers?” prompting Atticus to explain, “Of course I do. Don’t say nigger, Scout” (Lee, 75). 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.
In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus portrayed his courage time and time again throughout the novel. He showed his bravery and will to do what was right when he took the Tom Robinson case. Tom was a negro (sic) man accused of raping the daughter of Mr. Ewell. Atticus took the case because he needed to uphold his sense of justice and self-respect to model for his children. Since the story took place in the thirties, racism was heavily prevalent and even children as young as six use the “n” word.
Originally meant to create an equal foothold for everyone, the Jim Crow laws came to be known as living proof of day-to-day racial discrimination. Blacks were not allowed in restaurants, could not drink from the same water fountains as white people and suffered humiliating injustices at the hands of white people in the south. It was the experiences of these early childhood days that led him to fight for equality. King’s education began at a very young age. His mother was a schoolteacher who taught him how to read before he entered school.