ipl-logo

Overcoming Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

399 Words2 Pages

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee conveys the message of overcoming inequality and discrimination against people of color during the 1900s through the eyes of a white, six year old girl nicknamed Scout. Scout lives with her father Atticus, her brother Jem, and their housekeeper Calpurnia in a small town fictionally located in Maycomb Alabama. Growing up with a lawyer for a father, Scout is able to learn things that were beyond her age and thus making her mature faster, in a sense. Her involvement in the case exposes her to the bigotry views of those in her time, yet her young and uninfluenced mind helps her outgrow these ‘views’. Scout may have her intelligence, but she is still a child, a child that has a very different

Show More
Related

  • How Does Atticus Finch Show Courage

    756 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the classic novel To Kill A Mockingbird, author Harper Lee takes on the malignant impact of racism, a deeply rooted problem, from a different perspective and teaches readers what it truly means to be a good person as she brings to life one of the most virtuous characters in American literature-Atticus Finch. Told through the eyes of a young child, readers learn about the heavy prejudice embedded in the people of Maycomb County and the loss of innocence that is brought upon the kids as a racial conflict spurs a series of significant events in their quiet town. Taken place during the early years of the Great Depression, Maycomb must face its biggest problem-racism. Atticus Finch is the lawyer who defends this case and ultimately brings a

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Cross Character Analysis Essay

    336 Words  | 2 Pages

    To Kill a Mockingbird is told from the perspective of Jean-Louise “Scout” Finch, a young girl of Maycomb County. As Scout grows older, she witnesses or is subjected to the harsh realities of life: racism, prejudice, small-mindedness, traditional gender roles and expectations, social hierarchy and the coexistence of good and evil. First-person narration is a technique that effectively enhances how the reader, through Scout’s eyes, learns about those realities. “‘Your father does not know how to teach. You can have a seat now.’

    Read More

  • Theme Of Social Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

    910 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Preconceived notions are the locks on the door to wisdom” (Mary Browne)... In To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel by Harper Lee, Lee exemplifies the issue of social inequality through the characterization of Atticus, a lawyer defending a black man accused of rape in the 1930s in the rural South. Atticus knows that this man—Tom Robinson—is clearly innocent, and that if judged fairly, he would be found innocent too. Through the actions of the town that Atticus lives in, Maycomb, Lee shows how social inequality and preconceived notions lead to injustice and ignorance, and ultimately lead to harm. Social inequality is made of an intertwined combination of preconceived notions and opinions, integrated structure, and resistance to change.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Education In To Kill A Mockingbird?

    1163 Words  | 5 Pages

    “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it”(Lee 30). These are the words of Atticus Finch, the wisest character in the famous novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. He is a fictional man that embodies human traits that all people should strive to emulate. In the novel; narrated by Atticus’ daughter Jean Louise Finch, more often referred to as Scout; Atticus defends a black man, Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping a white female, Mayella Ewell. The main message of the text is the prominence of racial injustice, specifically in the 1930’s, the era the novel takes place in.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Racial Inequality Essay

    738 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the world right now, there is still inequality for all. People are criticized everyday because of how they look, speak, dress, act, etc. In America, although there is people that are changing, there with always be that small group of people that won’t change their views on what they believe is right and wrong in our society. You can also see this in the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, written by author, Harper Lee. All throughout the novel, you can see how white people are superior to the African Americans that live in the same town.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Conflict Analysis

    1099 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the book, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” by Harper Lee, the author writes about what happens in the small southern town of Maycomb, in Alabama. Lee uses the influence of belief in traditions such as roles and family bonds to show that they are causes of conflict. Throughout the book, roles such as gender, age, race, and family confines characters to act, look, and even speak certain ways, causing internal, external, and family conflicts. This theme that different types of roles and family bonds are the root of conflict is developed through the use of physical setting, anti stereotype, and historical setting The author shows that Scout faces external conflicts caused by the pressure to fit into the stereotypical gender roles accustomed to girls at this time in history.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Argumentative Essay

    976 Words  | 4 Pages

    To Kill a Mockingbird Argumentative Essay Racial equality and discrimination is a founding issue that has been spread throughout every part of the world, To Kill A Mockingbird was written and published by Harper Lee in 1960, this time was dominated by civil rights protests and some of the first hippie movements following the crushing reality of the Vietnam War, the 60s also saw the struggle against segregation and racial equality. It is no surprise that the extreme political conflict affecting her life and world would greatly impact her writing and influence how she perceived the world during the writing of To Kill a Mockingbird. the influence of the fight for racial inequality is shown greatly in her book as she depicts the everyday life

    Read More

  • Examples Of Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird

    860 Words  | 4 Pages

    The novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” was written in 1960 by Harper Lee in the point of view of a young innocent girl named Scout. One of the main messages that Lee has (need a new word than – indicated or set out) is racism, it plays an important role which strongly impacts many character’s lives unfairly and changes the relationship between two. Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” shows that it is wrong to hurt someone who does no harm to you, for example, black people are innocent but no way did they have as many rights as white people did. Black people lived hard lives because society was judgemental, irrational and most importantly, racist. As Scout and Jem grow older they learn to cope, take responsibility and are introduced to new aspects of life, one of which is racism.

    Read More

  • Social Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird Analysis

    1108 Words  | 5 Pages

    Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird famously said in his closing arguments: "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- black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and no particular race of men." (pg 232) What Atticus is trying to convey is a foreign concept to most people in Maycomb county. Atticus is trying to convey a point of equality and no prejudice in a world of social inequality which, as one can imagine, didn 't go over so well.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Racial Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

    754 Words  | 4 Pages

    Race has always been a part of history, from slavery to MLK, to Barack Obama. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee defines race in the south during the 1930’s. Jean “Scout” Finch, is the narrator of the story. Her brother Jeremy “Jem” and her dad, Atticus, are both main characters. Calpurnia is their house cook and helper, she is also black.

    Read More

  • How Does Miss Maudie Use Discrimination In To Kill A Mockingbird

    416 Words  | 2 Pages

    Prejudice and discrimination had a major impact on societies, all around the world in the 1930's. Throughout Harper Lee's novel To Kill A Mockingbird there is evidence that Maycomb citizens are morally blinded and are callously indifferent due to the social setting of the town. Lee uses the voice of a young girl names Scout Finch, to highlight the racist and judgmental perspectives of the white community towards the black, during the Great Depression in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama. As the innocent girl matures she starts to learn of the reality around her through, race, gender discrimination, and social prejudice. Gender discrimination is a large issue in the plot of the book, especially when it came to people such as Scout.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1914 Words  | 8 Pages

    Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel that show the life of a southern state od Alabama during the “black racism” time period, where majority of the people had the mentality that (quote) with the exception of a few. To chosen to portray it from the eyes of Scout Finch, from a child’s point of view. Living in Maycomb, in the midst of a conservative society of the 1930’s and 20’s Southern America Scout Finch is an extra ordinary child.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Social Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

    740 Words  | 3 Pages

    To Kill a Mockingbird Essay ¨Inequality is the root of social evil¨ (Pope Francis). In the book To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee shows that social inequality affects everyone. As the book goes on, Lee proves that racial inequality was one of the greater stresses in the 1930’s. Social inequality does not just exist only with race; it interferes with wealth, family backgrounds, age, and even your beliefs.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Isolation In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1244 Words  | 5 Pages

    In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee teaches us about the town of Maycomb County during the late 1930s, where the characters live in isolation and victimization. Through the perspective of a young Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, readers will witness the prejudice that Maycomb produces during times where people face judgement through age, gender, skin colour, and class, their whole lives. Different types of prejudice are present throughout the story and each contribute to how events play out in the small town of Maycomb. Consequently, socially disabling the people who fall victim from living their life comfortably in peace. Boo Radley and his isolation from Maycomb County, the racial aspects of Tom Robinson, and the decision Atticus Finch makes as a lawyer, to defend a black man has all made them fall in the hands of Maycomb’s prejudice ways.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Social Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1169 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the novel, ‘To kill a mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates the small, imaginary town, the Maycomb County, as a place where racism and social inequality happens in the background of 1930s America. Not only the segregation between whites and blacks, but also the poor lived in a harsh state of living. As Scout, the young narrator, tells the story, Lee introduces and highlights the effects of racism and social inequality on the citizens of Maycomb County by using various characters such as Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Mayella Ewell. Firstly, Harper Lee portrays Boo Radley as a victim of social inequality through adjectives and metaphor in the phrase, “There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten;” ‘Long jagged scar that ran across his face’ tells us that Boo Radley has stereotype about his appearance, which forces to imagine Boo as a scary and threatening person. The phrase, ‘yellow and rotten’ make the readers think as if Boo Radley is poor and low in a social hierarchy, as he cannot afford to brush his teeth.

    Read More

More about Overcoming Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

Open Document