Slavery-- in laconic terms-- is the censuring, and antipathy of a human just due to their skin color. It is macroscopic and patent that it is wrong but nobody will admit it. In The Hypocrisy of American Slavery, Frederick Douglass talks about the current state of the US and why The 4th of July means nothing to him. He is trying to convince the American people that celebrating the freedom of their country is ironic because everyone is not free as they claim. Overall, Douglass uses Word Choice, Emotional, and Ethical Appeal to support his claim that there should be no celebrating being a free country when all of the country is not free.
When the phrase Jim Crow is uttered, many people feel a rush of inept thoughts and bad memories due to the social taboo against talking of the lowest point in America’s history. Jim Crow was not just a set of laws aimed to oppress the lives of all black people, but a movement by the citizens, black or white, that caused a corrupt mindset in all men and women. Many people tried to stop the social force from continuing in individual spurts of courage, but they were not able to stop Jim Crow as individuals. An individual’s own personal courage cannot fight against Jim Crow, because a single person would not be able to stop an entire movement embedded into the minds of millions of people, not to mention how the social pressure against it was too strong to even fathom fighting against it. One main reason why it was unable for Jim Crow to be fought by a single person is because there was no feasible way in which one person, no matter how powerful, rich, or socially accepted, could have changed the entirety of
We see clearly that white people in Maycomb have all the power. Even white trash like Bob Ewell is given the power to accuse an innocent black man simply because of the power the color of his skin has. Even though African Americans like Tom Robinson have better qualities as human beings than the Ewells they are under them because of the social inequality in Maycomb. These social divisions are destructive and irrational as it gives power to people like Bob Ewell to persecute Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson is not guilty but suffers death only because of the color of his skin and the racial segregation of the time.
This means that those two boys couldn’t have done it. This is similar to the book because during the case, Atticus made a point that Mayella was most likely harmed by a person who was left handed, but we are also told that Tom cannot use his left arm at all. So Tom couldn’t have given Mayella the injuries that she had received. Along with similar disabilities there
In chapter nine when Scout asks Atticus why he is defending Tom Atticus responds, “‘the main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold my head up in town, I couldn’t represent this country in legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not do something again” (Lee 100). Atticus did not care about all the hate he would receive because he felt deep down that if he did not follow through with defending Tom, he would not be able to live with himself. Tom deserved just a fair of a chance to be defended with passion as the next criminal despise his skin color; even though as the book goes on we realize Tom really was not the criminal but the victim. Atticus knew that your skin tone should not determine your fate but also knew that they were in harsh, prejudice times.
He represents how Caucasian slave owners use their slaves for their own advantage, and take into no thought about how it feels on the other side. The one thing that Jim doesn’t represent is an actual person. One example of this is when Mrs. Watson frees him, but takes no consideration towards the rest of his family, because she believes that they aren’t people so they must feel no attachment towards each other (Lester
Atticus had told Scout that,“‘The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this country in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again’”(Lee 100). Unlike most people in this time period, Atticus can see through the black and white all the way to justice;he believes that anyone and everyone should be entitled to having a fair trial. Atticus knew it was not going to be easy, but as he told Scout here that even if he did not try, he would not be able to hold his head up in Maycomb. This next character that values respect and has shown it in a few different chapters is Calpurnia. Calpurnia is an African American woman who is the Finch’s mother figure.
Additionally, To Kill a Mockingbird includes very socially progressive ideas, also portrayed through Atticus. Atticus is defending an African American man in court, something that could get him socially shamed or even threatened. However, he defies the social norms and tries to get the town of Maycomb to accept his modern views. Before the jury announces the verdict, Atticus gives a grand speech to the courtroom: “‘...the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women--black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men”
"History inevitability", "Dred Scott Case" which is the immediate flashpoint of American Civil War, can be avoided? If you bring a case to the court today, you will get a fair trial, because equality has become a social consensus. However, what would happen if an American slave bought a case to the court for freedom-seek in slavery-legal period? In fact, he had no rights to get freedom for he was not regarded as an US citizen or even a human being. "Dred Scott Case" is not an occasional misunderstanding in that case pronounced by the United Supreme Judicial Court.
The Right Thing “Sometimes it is better to lose and do the right thing than to win and do the wrong thing.”-Tony Blair. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch realized this very truth. When someone approached Atticus about defending a black man named Tom Robinson, Atticus had a serious decision to make. MayElla Ewell recently accused Tom of raping her, and Atticus would have to prove otherwise. In this time, white people thought of black people as lower than them and did not treat them fairly.