Good Judgement In To Kill A Mockingbird

“I want you to understand that courage isn’t a man with a gun in his hand,” (Lee 112). This is a quote spoken from a courageous man who put himself in other people’s positions and did not believe he was superior to African Americans like many in that time period. Atticus Finch is a lawyer, and also the father of Jem and Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The finches live in a small town called Maycomb during 1933, also known as the Great Depression era. Throughout the book, the town faces many racial discrimination issues, especially when an African American man named Tom Robinson is falsely accused of rape of a white female.

In To Kill A Mockingbird, Tom Robinson is a black man who is wrongly accused and tried for the crime of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman, and is being defended by his lawyer, Atticus Finch. According to the book it’s written “I guess Tom was tired of white men’s chances and preferred to take his own.” This shows how Tom struggled emotionally because Tom was emotionally tired of being controlled by others, letting others have the opportunity to control his life and what happened to his family. Deciding to take matters into his own hands, Tom ran for it even though he knew there were high risks of him being killed, which shows how the caged bird in the poem “Caged Bird” is much like him. In the poem “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou, the caged bird is compared and contrasted to a free bird and by examining the circumstances of Tom Robinson’s life, I say that he is very much like the caged bird. For instance, in stanza two it’s stated “His wings are clipped and/ His feet are tied/ So he opens his throat to sing.” If we compare the bird’s wings to Tom Robinson’s hope, the feet to his heart, and his action of  running to the action of opening his throat to sing, we can visualize the song that Tom Robinson would sing, one about him losing hope and not wanting anyone to control his life anymore, and so in this manner he is very much like the

“He also is willing to stand up against the odds-he knows he’s ‘licked’ before he even begins” (Text 2). Atticus knows he will not be able to win this case even if Tom Robinson is innocent. Unfortunately the town and the jury are corrupt and will not give Tom a fair trial. Almost anyone can see that Atticus Finch defends Tom Robinson to show compassion through the “Golden Rule” and set an example for his children. Atticus is an idealist and knows what is right and what is wrong.

They soon have bigger problems than rude teachers or peculiar neighbors when Jem and Scout’s father, Atticus, takes a case defending a black man accused of rape. In Mark Twain’s LYNCHING Moral Cowardice, Twain talks about the reasons behind

This incident shows the reader that she wants to be taken seriously by her colleagues. It also displays that Hilly deeply treasures her reputation because of her reaction towards the situation. On the other hand, Aunt Alexandra has also shown the reader signs that she values her family’s reputation. In chapter 23 of To Kill a Mockingbird, Aunt Alexandra did not allow Scout to play with Walter Cunningham because of his poor background. She said, “Because-he-is-trash, that’s why you can’t play with him.

This just shows that Bob was trying to get back at Atticus for trying to defend a black man against him and his daughter in court. Mr. Ewell was furious and took his rage out on two children that weren’t as near as strong as he was. So, in the end everyone realizes that Atticus was right to stand up for Tom Robinson. Although Atticus did possess great power at the end of the book, he didn’t have this power in the beginning when basically all the odds were against him. “ ‘You know what we want,’ another man said.

In To Kill A Mockingbird they make it a struggle for the jury to choose the right decision of who’s guilty and innocent, or the skin color in which they like or dislike. Mayella lies about Tom Robinson because of her bad decisions she’s made. A decision Mayella has made was just having Tom Robinson doing work for her. She should know better that it wouldn’t settle well with her father. After Mayella had Tom help her get rid of items, she began to like Tom.

This essay will explain Atticus's strengths and weaknesses in To Kill a Mockingbird. I believe that Atticus’s best strength is being an excellent father to his two kids Jem and Scout. Atticus helps his kid with important life lessons. He told his kids the truth instead of avoiding their questions or lying to them like what most parent would do if something bad happens. One example of this is when Tom Robinson had died in prison.

Being Brave To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is a tale of two children, Jem and Scout. This powerfully inspiring and educational story entails daily life of the children, as well as the struggles they faced while their father is defending a black man’s case during a racially segregated time period. As an author, Harper Lee developed multiple themes throughout this story. These themes include good, evil, justice, fear, family, forgiveness, and compassion. Atticus illustrates the characteristics of bravery in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird by choosing to defend a black man in court, and shooting a rabid dog in Maycomb.

In the South, it was very rare for anyone, especially, during his era to represent and understand that colored people and every type of person deserved equality. Atticus represented Tom Robinson, an African American male, who was said to of raped a white woman. Even though, the whole town of Maycomb resented and malignantly talked about Atticus and his family for his actions. Consequently, Atticus was bashed for representing Tom, and his children often got into confrontations with other Maycomb residents, and even fights. However, Atticus knew the consequences of acting upon this case and that it was only right to represent Tom as his attorney, for Tom had rights to have someone appointed to represent him in court.

All she had to do was look at what Atticus had to go through but through his eyes and she would have understood a little better. Last Scout learns not to judge people because of their past and the stories you heard about them. Scout heard bad things about Boo and immediately thought he was a scary monster. After she got older she finally realized everything she learned was very important life lessons. To Kill a Mockingbird was full of lessons to learn about life.

There are many characters throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird that have good intentions. Some characters include Atticus, who always has his children and the town of Maycomb in mind and is willing to take the Tom Robinson case, despite the fact that he knew he was going to lose. Scout, a young girl who learns quickly about how her town works. As Scout grows, Harper Lee shows a more mature side of her.

In the novel A Lesson Before Dying, written by Ernest J. Gaines in 1993, Grant Higgins struggles with the idea of criminal justice in the south during the 1940s. During this time in Bayonne, LA African Americans did not receive the same justice as whites. In this quotation one can see the discrimination, “Twelve white men say a black man must die, and another white man sets the date and time without consulting one black person. Justice?” (Gaines 157). This quotation shows how African Americans had no say in what happened in the American criminal justice system and were treated unethically.

The blacks and whites had different bathrooms, seats on the bus, schools, restaurants, drinking fountains, and etc. Blacks were treated equally in the book. Tom Robinson was accused of rape but he truely didn’t do. The reason why people thought he did do it was because of his race. Tom Robinson was a black worker that had an arm that didn’t work so he couldn’t use it.

This case involved a black man named Tom Robinson who has been accused of raping white girl named Mayella Ewell. During the time period the novel takes place African American people were no longer slaves but were still denied a lot of rights that white people had. So one can only imagine how this whole town would react to someone who would help a black man who was accused of rape. This is why the novel contains vulgar language, racial comments and words like “nigger” and Negro, and to some people this is a problem. “To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the most widely read novels of all time.