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.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird Jean “Scout” Louise Finch is greatly influenced by the world around her. The novel is written in the 1930’s in a time period of injustice, segregation, and the Great Depression. In Maycomb County, Scout lives with her brother, Jem, her father, Atticus, and their maid, Calpurnia. Atticus is a lawyer who is assigned a case to defend Tom Robinson, an African-American man, accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a 19 year old girl. Scout’s character traits are greatly influenced because of the trial and everything she learns from it.
Many people in this region thought they had good reason for the laws including the belief that. “Whites were superior to Blacks in all important ways” and many Christian churches taught that blacks were meant to serve whites and it was the will of God (Pilgrim). The Jim Crow laws can be seen in To Kill a Mockingbird in many ways. One Jim Crow law was that a colored person could never assert that a white person was lying (Pilgrim). The law was referenced in the trial seen of Tom Robinson when Mr. Gilmer was furious with Tom asked if Tom was lying ( Lee 224).
"Knowing is not understanding. There is a great difference between knowing and understanding: you can know a lot about something and not really understand it" once said by Charles Kettering. In the town of Maycomb, Atticus defends a black man from being convicted of rape. His children Scout and Jem grow up from as innocent children to understanding racism within their community. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee informs the readers that growing up can teach you how understanding other people can make you a better person through symbolism, characterization, and dialogue.
To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the small, rural town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the early 1930s. The character of Atticus Finch, Scout 's father, was based on Lee 's own father, a liberal Alabama lawyer and statesman who frequently defended African Americans within the racially prejudiced Southern legal system. Scout and her brother Jem are raised by their father and by Calpurnia, an African-American housekeeper who works for the family. Scout and Jem meet and befriend seven-year-old Dill Harris, a boy who has arrived in Maycomb to stay with his aunt for the summer. Lee has stated that the character of Dill is based on young Truman Capote, a well-known Southern writer and childhood friend.
Introduction: To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee in 1961 which depicts social problems such as prejudice and racism against African Americans in south of the United States in 1930’s. The protagonist in this story is Atticus Finch, a father of two children, a lawyer in Mayacomb city and a hero in defending an African American accused man against the wave of oppression and racism of the time. Atticus Finch characterization by Harper lee lets the reader fully immerse in the story which is told by his daughter, Scout, as the first person narrator. In this thesis we will examine Atticus Finch character as the main character of the novel to whether he is a “white savior” or not. For determining this matter we should carefully
Atticus risks his reputation by showing empathy towards the black community by trying to help their community to be treated equally, he is rewarded with empathy by telling Walter Cunningham that he does not need to pay back his debt, and his final reward of empathy is teaching Scout and Jem the importance of empathy. Atticus risks his reputation that he has built up in the caste system when he takes on the case of working to defend Tom Robinson in attempts to gain equality for the black community. He knows that by defending a black man it will bring judgement down on his family, because many of the white citizens of Maycomb are racist and disagree with his beliefs. Atticus strongly
EXTENDED ESSAY How are African American Characters portrayed in: To Kill A Mockingbird? TUSHAR MANEKLAL CANDIDATE # ENGLISH LITERATURE SUPERVISOR: MR. SHAWN SKINNER DATE: November 2014 WORD COUNT: 3739 Abstract This essay explores the portrayal of African American’s in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. It investigates the depiction of African Americans through the lens of different characters. It is clear that Lee condemns the behavior of white people in the South towards the blacks and urges the reader to look at the plight of the blacks through her two main characters, Scout and Atticus Finch. The character of Scout Finch is rather autobiographical giving us vision into Lee’s own childhood and upbringing.
Understand, Don’t Underestimate Life, the building block for all humans, is the concept that gives each person his or her own unique personality. Although many people attempt to judge one another based on what they see, being able to truly understand somebody who is different deeper than how he or she appears to be is rarely ever done. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee expands on the idea of understanding different people as readers follow characters struggling with that same idea. One character, Dolphus Raymond, a man who is seen as disturbing since he lives with negroes is not cruel and awful as most people imagine. Another man, Atticus Finch, attempts to teach his children not to judge people if you cannot apprehend and feel exactly what that person is feeling, the idea Lee tries to get across.
Other incidents lead the children to believe that Boo Radley may not be the evil person the rumors suggest. Atticus, a prominent lawyer, agrees to defend a black man named Tom Robinson, who has been unjustly accused of raping a white woman. As a result of Atticus’s decision, Jem and Scout are harassed by other children, while their father faces disapproval and angry mobs. Atticus does his best to defend Tom Robinson. Scout has faith in the goodness of the people in her community.