In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the angry mob in chapter 15 is fueled by an absurd amount of ignorance and righteousness. Ignorance is the lack of knowledge or information and righteousness is the right of being morally right or justifiable. The angry mob’s ignorance is driven by racism and prejudice. The men believe that they are right and that they are protecting their community, but nobody sits and questions who is really right in the situation. People believe Tom Robinson committed a serious crime because he is black. They believe a white family’s word without any evidence to back them up. One example of the town of Maycomb showing ignorance is when people made up rumors about Boo Radley without knowing if the assumptions
U3EA2 The“Queen of the Tomboys” grew up during the Jim Crow era; seeing justice unsatisfied in the Scottsboro trial at the tender age of five. Her father is a lawyer who was given a case to defend two African Americans in court, but he was unsuccessful due to racial norms in their home of Monroeville, Alabama. Many years Years later she was known by her peers as an individualist at the University of Alabama. While staying there she started by studying law but; first studying law and then then switched ing majors to become the aspiring writer known as Harper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird (TKM). In Chapter 9 of said novel, Lee’s young character Scout confronts a classmate who had “announced in
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, a man named Tom Robinson was accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Until Tom was placed in front of a judge, he had been forced to be held in the Maycomb jail. While he remained there, an angry and ignorant mob went to jail to kill Tom. Ignorance is the absence of knowledge on a subject, which is like how the mob lacked knowledge on how being black does not cause Tom to be guilty. The mob is not the only instance in which ignorance is used; it occurs regularly in Maycomb.
Ignorance is defined as “lack of knowledge, education, or awareness” (Merriam-Webster). When present in a society, this idea can be very dangerous. Ignorant societies aren’t aware of the struggles of its marginalized citizens. In Maycomb, compassionate characters and actions are shut down by the town.
“Everyone wants the truth but no one wants to be honest.” In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird hypocrisy is used throughout the novel. Harper Lee uses multiple cases of hypocrisy in the novel including Scout’s teacher, Miss Gates and Mrs.Merriweather to reveal how people acted in 1935 and 1960. Miss Gates, Scout’s teacher taught her students about Hitler and the persecution of the Jews and how Germany is different from the United States. Miss Gates says,”Over here we don't believe in persecuting anybody who are prejudiced.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, there are many examples of misunderstood characters and the ways in which other characters respond to them. One of the most prominent examples is Boo Radley. An outcast in the town, Boo Radley is the subject of many urban legends and rumors in Maycomb. Many believe that he stabbed his mother with scissors when he was a child, and most believe him to be dangerous and unpredictable. Scout and Jem Finch are no exception to this.
One glance at someone new forms all different opinions and judgments of their character. Justice is known to be equality for all and due to preconceptions, justice is not being served. Preconceptions stiffen the air as justice becomes tangled in with the prejudice in peoples’ minds. Whether a person assumes someone is smart or someone engages in poor behavior because of their race is the same. From the 1930s to the 21st century, preconceptions formed by personal events, the news, and the environments children grown up in, have created an unfair justice system in and out of court.
Lee Harper’s novel exhibits the results of the great depression and prejudice in the southern states. To Kill a Mockingbird, is a novel loosely based on Lee Harpers life and struggles and takes place in Maycomb county, Alabama in the 1930’s. Lee explores the concept of prejudice throughout the book with many different characters. The characters are judged by society even though no one knows all the facts, this portrays prejudice. Prejudice is the preconceived opinion on something or someone not based on reason or actual experience.
All due to the fact that the people in Maycomb, the fictional town in which the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird live, are so used to discriminating against Black people that none of them think to question their beliefs, choosing to stay ignorant. A prime example of this is before Tom Robinson’s trial all of Maycomb was rooting against him, hoping that he would be ruled guilty, but no one even considered that he may be innocent. Everyone assumed that since he was Black he must have committed the crime, not taking a minute to learn the facts, or lack thereof, and decide without prejudice whether or not he deserves to be in jail. Even during the trial when all the information was released and every testimony was given, the jury still decided to rule Tom guilty simply because to them, even if it was clear as day that Tom Robinson was innocent, there was no way a Black man had done nothing wrong. Despite Atticus’s attempt to defend Tom in the best possible way he could by stating, “You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women.
"Ignorance is the root and stem of all evil." - Plato. Throughout history, the true depths of prejudice and discrimination have been tested in all aspects of the world. The main goals of people in societies have been to climb the ladder of social hierarchy; however, many times people don’t realize that they are subconsciously contributing to this prejudice. This theme of ignorance on behalf of discrimination is represented in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The story explores themes of prejudice and outlines developments in the perception of one’s community’s discrimination.
To Kill a Mockingbird Literary Analysis What is ignorance? Ignorance is a lack of knowledge, understanding, or education. Throughout this book, ignorance plays a key role in the major events which occur. Harper Lee’s
Ignorance versus knowledge is a recurring theme throughout To Kill a Mockingbird. People in this time tend to jump to conclusions based on race, rather than seeking out the truth. In this particular situation in the book, the jury is provided with all the information necessary in order to clearly see the correct verdict. However, despite the knowledge provided they chose to act purely on ignorance.
Prejudice was a serious issue during the Great Depression. In To Kill A Mockingbird, there are all kinds of discrimination and prejudice shown through the eyes of a young girl named Scout. Through her perspective, we get an insight on her everyday life and the type of prejudice she sees and faces. In To Kill A Mockingbird, there are many kinds of prejudice that change the everyday lives of the people who are affected by it.
Everyone has a story with a lesson; this is Scout Finch’s story. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout, Jem, and Atticus experience countless situations where they are forced to grow. It is mainly focused on people maturing and on what being ignorant can do for one and others around them. With so much misunderstanding, the weight is on their shoulders to see clearly. In this novel, there are numerous examples that the only way to understand a person is by looking at things from their viewpoint.
Kid’s make mistakes. Helping a child solve a problem instead of harsh punishment is making a child suffer for having a problem. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, a young girl named Scout is faced with punishment after beating an immature boy named Francis for making rude remarks about Scout’s father, Atticus Finch. Atticus is a lawyer; he is supposed to support and defend a helpless black man in a case. In the 1930’s this was unacceptable, so in their small town in Maycomb Alabama, the Finch family received many disputing and hostile comments for Atticus’s actions in court.
“Ignorance, Prejudice, and Innocence” “I was born good but had grown progressively worse every year” (Lee 83). Author Harper Lee continues with this idea, spoken by Scout Finch, in Chapter 17 of her book To Kill a Mockingbird. Scout Finch, age six, is stripped of her innocence in a mid-20th century Alabama courtroom. On trial is a black man accused of rapping a young white woman. Scout’s father, a lawyer, is unaware of her presence during the interrogations and cross-examinations.