In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the readers are introduced to Maycomb, a small town in Alabama. Throughout the book the main characters observe society, whilst realizing that the seemingly perfect social norms in the town are acts of prejudice. After viewing the effects these actions have on one another, the children begin to reevaluate their morals by becoming more open minded. When blindly following societal norms, the citizens are unable to realize society’s strong need to visualize themselves from the perspective of others. This renders them unable to understand if their morals are socially acceptable and come to terms with how they affect others. In a small town full of prejudice, it is easy to become engulfed in these acts, …show more content…
Without Bob, there would be no story. Mr. Ewell accuses Tom Robinson, an innocent black man, of raping his daughter after he catches the two of them together. To take out two birds with one stone, Bob blames Tom for the bruises he gave his daughter, Mayella Ewell, and taking a black man off the streets. After Tom was convicted, instead of celebrating, Bob is too busy planning his next attack, while the rest of the town tries to repair the effects of their prejudice acts. (PLACE QUOTE HERE ON MRS. ROBINSON BEING FORCED TO TAKE THE LONG WAY TO WORK). After already losing the financial support of her husband, Mrs. Robinson is able to get a job from Tom’s old employer, Link Deas, because he knew Tom enough to know that he was innocent. Having hurt the Robinson family enough, Bob decided to force Helen Robinson to walk the long way to work, avoiding his house in the process. In the end, whilst trying to attack Tom’s lawyer, Atticus, for supporting him, Bob attacks his children, Jem and Scout, knowing it would hurt Atticus more; however, he accidentally falls on his knife, killing himself in the process. After Bob’s death, the town quickly forgets about him, like the way they did for Tom. Because he was not willing to understand what others were going through, Bob Ewell is now the one being looked down upon, whilst the town reevaluates the way they treat
Bob Ewell, being mad at Atticus, spits on him and swears revenge. Chapter 23: Bob Ewell is furious with Atticus because he publicly called Bob out for beating his children. Tom Robinson is waiting an appeal and if he is found guilty again he will be sentenced to death via the electric chair (the sentence for Rape in Alabama).
The deeper, more meaningful plot is the accusation of Tom Robinson, a black man. Tom Robinson is accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Although Tom is wrongly convicted and sentenced to death, The Ewells were not believed. After the trial, Bob Ewell wanted revenge on Atticus for exposing the truth during the trial. Bob Ewell then tries to kill Jem and Scout.
Importance of Details Kathreen Perez 1)Interesting Traxler, 3 Chapter 20 detail: -The whole county thinks that Mr. Raymond drinks whiskey, but he is actually drinking coca-cola in a bag. During the 1930's, racism raged through every corner of the United States, and the imaginary district of Maycomb County displayed the effects of injustice brought upon the African-American community during that time period.
During the trial of Tom Robinson, Atticus is the defending lawyer. He tries to turn the jury towards Bob Ewell the father of the rape victim. Atticus shows the jury that Mr. Ewell could have easily beat his daughter. The main idea that Atticus uses is that Tom Robinson didn’t hurt Mayella Ewell it was Bob Ewell. Although, at the end of the trial, Tom is found guilty and Bob Ewell grows a personal vendetta against Atticus.
Bob’s attempt shook up the town, and made townspeople turn completely against him. Heck Tate describes Bob as a “Low-down skunk with enough liquor in him to make him brave enough to kill children” that quote exemplifies the horrible opinions of his action, and exposes him for being an alcoholic (360). This describes the life lesson by showing how Bob did an awful thing, and how an awful thing happened right back to him. Tom Robinson’s action also led to him getting killed. Tom Robinson was put in jail for raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell even though Tom was innocent.
Prejudice and racism are two very bad things. What if there was a way to solve them? Throughout the book To Kill a Mockingbird there are quite a few examples of prejudice and racism. They are all solved by one thing, empathy. In the situation of Mrs. Dubose, they hated her but once they understood the struggle she was going through they weren't as mad anymore.
Maycomb Alabama, the fictional town To Kill a Mockingbird takes place, has prejudice everywhere. Racism is one of the most obvious forms of prejudice that are present, however other forms such as gender stereotyping; forcing ideas onto Scout because she was a girl, or thinking of someone as a terrible person because they act differently; Boo Radley or Dolphus Raymond. People were grouped together by whom hey associated with and were criticized if they weren 't in the ‘correct’ one. Lee incorporated these ideas and beliefs to help create an accurate and believable setting.
Bob Ewell represents everything bad, wrong, and the worst aspects of the south, he is a drunkard, liar, racist, and a cheat who knowingly falsely accused Tom of raping his daughter. The Ewells are the poorest of the poor in Maycomb, and they know it, they have no breeding, no money, and no education. Now, despite all these handicaps the Ewell family could improve their standing, get jobs become generally contributing members of society, however Bob is the only member of the family who could feasibly do this, he, however is content to live off unemployment and spend it to fuel his drinking habit. This is shown when out young protagonist “Scout” says “He was the only man I’ve ever heard of who was fired from the WPA for laziness”. To me this
There is a disease that can change the way you behave and can spread from any person to you. This disease is racism. The novel To Kill A Mockingbird shows how racism is like a disease spreading and infecting people, changing how they behave and act, but just like a disease is curable. Using information and evidence from the novel I will show you how the novel does this. The disease is described below.
For example, Tom Robinson was pleaded guilty, not because he was guilty of what the accused him of, but because he was a negro. Lastly, the trial of Tom Robinson taught both of the kids a lesson. They both learned a person’s behavior, not his color, or social status is most important. Bob Ewell was a harsh character. Ewell, an abusive, prejudice, liar, and a man that is responsible for beating and mistreating his daughter, Mayella.
Breaking Social Norms In To Kill A Mockingbird In To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, Lee depicts the main character Scout Finch as the primary feminist who defies social norms despite several influences in Maycomb County. Scout displays her feminist qualities throughout several occurrences in the novel. She continues to stay true to herself and fights for how she desires to act, while occasionally experimenting with her femininity.
In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, prejudice is a problem clearly evident in Maycomb. The novel not only focuses on black and white but other forms of prejudice such as racial injustice and class. Making opinions about someone or something not based on reason or experience has been a problem since 1930s and still is today. Prejudice causes society to overlook innocence and make judgments. Because of Maycomb society's prejudice, two characters in the novel are judged guilty despite their innocence.
“Your father’s no better than the nigger and trash he works for” yelled Mrs. Dubose to Jem and Scout as they walked back to their home (Lee 135). This quote demonstrates racism present in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The movie To Kill A Mockingbird presents two radically different interpretations of the storyline. The movie downplays racism that is being portrayed by scenes in the book. The film does this by omitting Calpurnia’s church, Tom Robinson getting shot 17 times, and a political cartoon of Atticus.
“Don't trade your authenticity for approval” stated an unknown author. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird Scout is a young girl who breaks the social norm of wearing proper clothes such as dresses. In the town called Maycomb, the social norms are for whites to separate from African Americans along with women dressing a certain way and men dressing another. Those social norms don’t just exist in Maycom they are also in the real world. Ellen DeGeneres is a woman in the real world who breaks those social norms.
In To Kill a Mockingbird prejudice in Maycomb is terrible. There are two major people in To Kill A Mockingbird that are prejudged severely. Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are the two main people who are prejudged. There is also one other man who prejudged, Atticus Finch. All three of these men are mockingbirds.