In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee presents a life of Jean Louis Finch, also known as Scout, growing up in a small town. The setting of the story takes place in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1960’s. Life for Scout growing up appears difficult because of the Great Depression, racial inequality, white supremacy, and peoples’ prejudiced mindset. In the beginning of the book, Scout’s character shows her innocence, her tomboyish side, her adventurous personality, and her ability to question and observe the goodness and evilness of society. By the end of the novel, Scout learns fighting does not fix everything, possessing lady-like characteristics obtain value and holding prejudiced thoughts reflects in every person’s life. Atticus Finch and Calpurnia instill fundamental advice into Scout that she needs for development and success in life.
“To Kill a Mockingbird” was set in the Great Depression. During the Great Depression money was hard to come by, and with racism still lingering people were not the kindest. In the novel Scout’s father, Atticus, was a lawyer.
In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird there are some very courageous characters. The most courageous would be Atticus Finch. Atticus is one of the main characters in the book. He is the father of the narrator. He is also one of the best lawyers is the county.
We live in a society today where judging others is a regular, everyday activity. Many people may blame a significant amount of this issue on the excessive amount of technology we have access too, but this problem has been around for much longer. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, it shows the ugliness that can come from judging others, but it also teaches two young children, Scout and Jem, to listen to others, so that you can have the opportunity to learn from them. Throughout the story many characters were able to demonstrate this lesson for the kids, but three that were true examples of it were Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch and Boo Radley. With only aiming to stand up for what they believe in and not worrying what everyone
To Kill a Mockingbird is a book about a lawyer that has to try and save a man named Tom Robinson,because he has accused of something he didn 't do. To Kill a Mockingbird is an award winning book written by Harper Lee. Tom Robinson is a black man that was accused of raping a woman and a lawyer, named Atticus Finch, has to try and save him. Atticus is a kind and selfless man that likes to help people like Tom Robinson.
In Maycomb County, the Negroes are viewed as inferior, and in addition, the Jim Crow laws are enforced to ensure segregation. As a result, they do not have equal rights as the other citizens. When Atticus is asked to defend Tom Robinson, a Negro man accused of raping a white girl, he accepts. To the community this was improper. The community’s disgust at Atticus’ decision is expressed when Scout is irked by Cecil Jacobs, a boy in her class, when he announces that, “Scout Finch’s daddy defended niggers.” (p. 82). Perplexed by what he means, Scout asks Atticus, who explains that he is “simply defending a negro” (p. 83). When questioned by Scout why he is defending Tom, Atticus replies, “For a number of reasons…The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this county in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again.” (p. 83). Furthermore, he states that this case is one he is affected personally by, and that even though he knew that they were not going to win, he agreed because, “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.” (p. 84). This example reveals that even though Atticus knows he is going to lose, he wants to do everything in his power to give Tom the best chance in case justice prevails. Also, he was emotionally invested in this case, and he knew that his conscience would not allow him to do what was not right, regardless of others’ opinions. Heroes generally go against what is expected, stay true to their morals, and always persevere, no matter how dire the outcome is expected to be. These are the exact traits that Atticus exhibits by representing Tom, which is why he is a modern-day hero. Despite Atticus’ best efforts, and Tom’s apparent innocence, Tom is found guilty of rape. Atticus
A small town called maycomb is home to the characters of To Kill A Mockingbird. The scout, Jem, Atticus, and Boo Radley are a few of the many characters in the book. Each individual character has many of their own traits, but one that runs through all four of them is they are passionate about the things they believe in and love. Each character grows and so does their passion throughout this novel.
Furthermore, the most reoccurring character trait that Atticus portrays is empathy. For instance, Atticus shows Scout how he understands and share the feeling of others when Scout had trouble adapted to a new teacher in Maycomb. Atticus shows empathy towards Radley family because he understands that rumors relating to the Radley family causes the family a great deal of trouble and unwanted attention from curious youngsters such as Jem, Dill, and Scout. An instance in the novel when Atticus showed empathy towards the Radleys is on page 65 “I’m going to tell you something and tell you one time: stop tormenting that man.” Atticus says this quote to Jem when he was trying to get Boo Radley outside. This quote deduces that Atticus
Atticus Finch, a father and lawyer has two children he teaches valuable lessons to and gets different perspectives of the ways of the world from being a lawyer. Atticus is talking about Tom Robinson’s case and says “The one thing that doesn 't abide by majority rule is a person 's conscience”(105). Atticus thinks people should respect others and stay true to yourself even if the flow is going a completely different direction. Lee takes an adults point of view to give a thoughtful lesson to the younger generation who are finding their way in the world. As a lawyer Atticus also has an outlook from his courtroom dealings. Regarding Tom’s case and society as a whole, “ The one place where a man ought to get a square deal… in a courtroom… he any color….. people… carrying their resentments right into the jury box” says Atticus (220). The jury is not going to say Tom is not guilty and Atticus knows this, but he still think a man should get a fair deal no matter his skin color. Lee stresses the wrong doing in this courtroom, and makes Atticus’s point of view being on another level than his kids. Rather than develop a different outlook after the events, Atticus gets more evidence for why he sees the world
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee contains various examples of racism and prejudice throughout the novel. The story takes place in the 1930's, a period when racism was a part of everyday life. Prejudice and racism in this book are represented by acts of hate towards others because of the color of their skin. In this novel, prejudice and racism was dominantly pointed towards blacks. Acts of racism can be discreet to the point that you can easily miss them. Yet alongside those, there are conspicuous demonstrations of racism that would never happen in today's society. Lee illustrates many of these behaviors in her novel.
Literature can be analyzed with many different critical lenses. While analyzing To Kill a Mockingbird, one may use a critical lens to recognize the different ideas throughout the novel. Harper Lee’s novel demonstrates her perspective on intolerance and discrimination within the early twentieth century.
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee takes place in the town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. The author Lee demonstrates some major themes such as social inequality, intolerance, education, legal justice and bravery through this character. The title To Kill a Mockingbird symbolises innocence where Lee explores this through the eyes of Jem and Scout who are kids of Atticus Finch. He is one of the most honest, patient, kind, fair, respected and admired men in Maycomb during the Great Depression. Atticus is known for his moral character throughout the book. He is a talented man, he is good at a variety of things from being the best checker player in the town to being an honest and fair lawyer, and he can even play the Jew’s harp. Atticus is seen as a great father even though the odds are against him he does not give up therefore he is admired and respected for his courage. His attitude and personality does not change. For instance Miss Maudie says, “Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets”
What makes a good father? It is someone who is a leader, someone who always wants what is best for you. Especially when times get rough. Over time parenting has changed and grown in many different ways. Authors tackle the ideal parent and different parenting actions and views. Harper Lee in, To Kill A Mockingbird shows many different types of parents. As a single father, character Atticus Finch stands out the most. He shows he is a good parent as he provides important life lessons to his children and others. He shows fairness to others and his kids especially. Lastly he shows that you should always stand up for others no matter what.
A mockingbird is a harmless songbird that offers only its beautiful voice. To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming of age novel written by Harper Lee. This story took place in a small rural town called Maycomb County, in the 1930’s where everyone knew each other and all the townspeople were infected by a disease called gossip. This gossip harmed the “mockingbirds”, because all of them were “shot down” physically and metaphorically. Harper Lee implied that there were distinct characteristics that parallel mockingbirds. Arthur Radley, Tom Robinson, and Atticus Finch each represent mockingbirds in their own ways.
Father, lawyer, and friend, the gentlemanly Atticus Finch hopes to shape the character of his children. The novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is the story of the childhood of the young girl named Jean Louise “Scout” Finch. Throughout the book, Scout’s father, Atticus, tries his best to raise her and her brother, Jem, the right way as a single parent. To Kill a Mockingbird exemplifies the way the character of Atticus Finch either uses ritual or abandons it in order to develop certain character qualities within his children. He is specifically focuses on the development of honesty, courage, and humility.