In Harper Lee’s “To kill a mockingbird” there is a few main themes. These themes are apparent throughout the entire novel and can be applied to multiple characters and situations. The story that is focused around the trial of an innocent black man accused of raping a white girl in a time of racism and discrimination on an Alabama town gets its name from the relation of killing an innocent mockingbird and killing innocent Tom Robinson. One of the most prevailing themes in this story is how you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. This story is set during a time where no matter the circumstances the if it was the word of a black person against the word of a white man no matter the evidence to prove the white man
In society today there are those that are pushed out of the crowd because of what they look like, how they act, and what others say to be true about them. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows that unselfish, kind hearted people can experience prejudice from others. Always wanting to be the better person, Atticus Finch is like the mockingbird when taking the responsibility of defending Tom Robinson, who is a black man. Once Atticus gets the news that he will be defending Tom Robinson, who is accused of rape, he is very stressed until the end of the trial. Harper Lee shows this when she says, “It’s this Tom Robinson case that’s worrying him to death...”
Imagine everyone hating you for doing something bad when you think it’s good. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, she tells the story about how Atticus Finch a lawyer defends Tom Robinson a black man in court,in the town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. This trial is about how Tom Robinson is being accused of raping a white woman. Everyone is blinded by the color of his skin, so no matter what they uncover they only believe that he is guilty. Atticus is defending him because he believes people shouldn’t be judged on the color of there skin.
On the surface Maycomb County might seem like quiet, nice place to live, but deeper into the town hidden identities are discovered, courage is needed, and the maturation of characters is crucial to unearthing the truth about life in the 1930s. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, readers learn about a small town named Maycomb County and the struggles that occur within it. During the Great Depression and a peak of Southern racism, readers met the main character Scout. Scout, a girl ages six to nine, narrates this story for years and the happenings in the town. Years pass and different incidents arise including a court case about rape, a mean old neighbor, and the mysterious man next door.
As children, innocence is the very basis of life; however, one thing lead to another, and that innocence is lost and replaced with a new outlook, a new sense of maturity. Harper Lee’s novel, ‘To Kill A Mockingbird,’ takes place during the Great Depression in a small southern town called Maycomb. Starting from the beginning, the symbolism of mockingbirds and their innocence is revealed. As the story progresses, we get to see through the eyes of Scout Finch, the racial injustices the town bears through a court case involving a false accusation from Mayella Ewell, a white woman, and Tom Robinson, a black man. Though, as the trial progresses to an end and the verdict of Tom Robinson is decided by the all-white jury whilst disregarding the very
The Portrayal of ‘Relative Justice’ in To Kill a Mockingbird The correlation of justice and prejudice dwell as a perpetuating conflict in the United States. Case in point is racism, which is deeply analyzed on the 1960 Pulitzer-awarded novel, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee focalizes this novel upon the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man charged by the rape of a white girl, Mayella Ewell. Racial prejudice is thoroughly presented in the novel, but what originally transpired as discrimination evolves into an inferno of injustice, particularly in the debasement and death of one of the ‘Mockingbirds,’ the impoverishment of his family, and the humiliation of his race.
A white man's word against a black man's word, a white man's word will always win—the unfortunate reality of black people in the 1930s. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is an ideal example that demonstrates and illustrates the racism and prejudice of black people back then. The book consists of a white girl named Scout Finch who grows up in Maycomb a place where racism is normalized and taught throughout generations. We see how the black community is treated unequally and where the recurring theme of white privilege comes up one being when the case of Tom Robinson comes to light. We see a black man with no rights, no voice, and no hope being persecuted by an all-white jury.
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it”(Lee 30). These are the words of Atticus Finch, the wisest character in the famous novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. He is a fictional man that embodies human traits that all people should strive to emulate. In the novel; narrated by Atticus’ daughter Jean Louise Finch, more often referred to as Scout; Atticus defends a black man, Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping a white female, Mayella Ewell. The main message of the text is the prominence of racial injustice, specifically in the 1930’s, the era the novel takes place in.
Lee uses Miss Gates’s ironic views of Hitler and Tom’s trial to show how racial prejudice causes crimes against African Americans to be considered less than crimes committed against white people. A mockingbird is then used to symbolize Tom Robinson as an innocent person wrongly convicted of a crime because of his skin color. The misunderstood characterization of Arthur Radley shows how society will let prejudice guide their imaginated view on the lives of people they don't understand. All three characters provide examples of how a preconceived opinion of one person or a whole race can cause drastic misunderstandings and
To Kill a Mockingbird Argumentative Essay Racial equality and discrimination is a founding issue that has been spread throughout every part of the world, To Kill A Mockingbird was written and published by Harper Lee in 1960, this time was dominated by civil rights protests and some of the first hippie movements following the crushing reality of the Vietnam War, the 60s also saw the struggle against segregation and racial equality. It is no surprise that the extreme political conflict affecting her life and world would greatly impact her writing and influence how she perceived the world during the writing of To Kill a Mockingbird. the influence of the fight for racial inequality is shown greatly in her book as she depicts the everyday life
Perception defines the world around you. It affects every aspect of your being: your thoughts, actions, beliefs, etc… In the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch begins to understand just how impactful perception can be as she witnesses the deterioration of the dignity of Tom Robinson, a black man who is being tried for the rape of a white girl. In this intriguing read, Harper Lee demonstrates the theme of inaccurate allegations very effectively. More specifically, when inaccurate allegations that are solely based on perceptions are presented, the consequences can be significant, for others may suffer at great lengths.
Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird. ”(Lee,page 103). In To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel by Harper Lee, the main focus on the book is to show various forms of discrimination, narrated by a young Scout Finch. The main point of the book is to portray what life was like in the 1930s for people of all social classes, and show how people were treated differently for things that were not under their control. To Kill a Mockingbird is about an unfair trial that occured in the 1930’s on a black man named Tom Robinson that was under the impression that he had raped a white girl, while it was all consensual, the trial occurred due to the stigma of a black man and a white woman in a relationship.
In society, there are very few people who have the unwavering dedication to stand up for what they believe. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, a black man was convicted and accused of a crime he didn 't commit, raping a white women, which is not in anyway tolerable in society. In Harper Lee 's To Kill A Mockingbird, the author used point of view and symbolism to acknowledge how the the several social divisions which make up much of the adult world are shown to be both irrational and extremely destructive. To begin with, the short story To Kill A Mockingbird, used point of view to show how the many social divisions in the world are irrational and destructive. Scout; a first grade student at the time, was telling the story from her point of view and what had occurred from her childhood perspective.
Judging a book by its cover is an often used term that people use to describe a situation where many people are stereotypical. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, a book written about racism and discrimination, is projecting this lesson. This story is written in the narrative of a woman named Scout, who tells her tale of a specific story when she was a young child. It takes place in the 1930’s in Maycomb County of Alabama, where discrimination is typical and normal for the town to do. Jem, a mysterious, curious, and maturing brother to Scout, gets fascinated by what Atticus, his father, does for a living.
As can be seen, Lee’s usage of Tom Robinson’s trial and the racial discrimination and prejudice seen throughout it helps reinforce the theme of social injustice throughout To Kill A Mockingbird. Another encounter that the
Essay In the novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee, there are many important messages shown throughout the book. However the primary focus was set on racial prejudice that existed in the 1930s-1940’s in the fictional town of Maycomb County. The racism in the novel was very much a reality in 1930s-1940s America. A very good example of the racial prejudice that existed was in the courtroom during Tom Robinson’s trial, an innocent Negro man held against his will for a crime he did not commit.