ipl-logo

The Help Movie Vs Book

569 Words3 Pages

The movie The Help and the book To Kill a Mockingbird both take place in the south during the mid 1900s, a time of great racial discrimination and cultural hatred. The main characters in both stories, Skeeter and Atticus Finch, each have a cause that they are actively working towards throughout the movie and book respectively, within their small southern town. Both of their goals are to help African Americans escape and overcome the racial prejudice they undergo on a daily basis. Skeeter’s methods are more effective to helping her cause because she actually succeeds in her plan to expose the racial inequities of her town, although, Atticus tries his best and means well, he doesn’t actually win his case defending Tom Robinson, so therefore Skeeter’s methods are more direct and adequate for supporting her purpose. Skeeter’s initial goal, or cause, was to publish a book that exposed the injustices undergone by the house maids, or ‘help’ in her small southern town. In the movie Minny …show more content…

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus uses all of the resources and knowledge available to him to help his cause, which was proving Tom Robinson innocent of a crime he did not commit, even though he was an African American. After Atticus presents his case to the jury, they have time to discuss the final verdict, “Judge Taylor was polling the jury: ‘Guilty . . . guilty . . . guilty . . . guilty . . .’” (282). Even though the jury was out for three hours, Atticus still lost the trial in the end. His whole goal, or cause, was to prove Tom Robinson innocent in court but since Tom was proven guilty, Atticus lost the trial and did not fulfil his initial expectations for his cause. Atticus is however, at an unfair disadvantage because despite the effectivity of his methods for helping his cause, there is not a chance for him to win Tom Robinson’s court case, no matter what. Skeeter on the other hand, has a much more achievable goal, causing her methods for reaching this goal much more

Show More
Related

  • Medical Evidence In Atticus Finch's 'Closing Remarks'

    669 Words  | 3 Pages

    A defendant lawyer's job is always to prove their client's innocence, no matter how hard the job is. However, when it comes down to having a black client in a courtroom full of white supremacy, how could the lawyer convince everyone of the black man's innocence and make them look past their racist ways? Atticus Finch's "Closing Remarks" are his last effort to persuade the jury of the defendant's, Tom Robinson's, innocence and to remind them of their duty to perceive all men as equal. Though Atticus knows he stands against racial inequality, he still takes pride in himself and his disclosure to the jury. With many vital factors to Atticus's disclosure, his most substantial factors include the use of logos when identifying a lack of medical evidence

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Harper Lee's 'To Kill A Mockingbird'

    490 Words  | 2 Pages

    For the closing statement of Atticus was moving speech that could not determine the fate of Tom Robinson’s verdict. Atticus used artistic proofs, anaphora, and multiple other persuasive tools to connect with his audience and to prove to the jury that Tom Robinson was innocent. Even with the substantial evidence against the Ewell’s testimony the prejudice and racism that was being shown to the black community in Maycomb overcame the truth. In Atticus’s closing statement he attempted to create people of all races equal in the court

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Prejudice Quotes

    1119 Words  | 5 Pages

    Though people are fond of Atticus himself, his decision to aim for Tom Robinson’s justice causes discomfort, “ ‘Lemme tell you somethin’ now, Billy’ a third said, ‘you know the court appointed him to defend this nigger.’ ‘Yeah, but Atticus aims to defend him. That’s what I don’t like about it” (186). The quote exposes that everyone understand the fact that he is assigned to the case but do not understand as to why he is so intent on proving a black man’s innocence. Since Atticus exceedingly expresses his thought on Tim’s innocence and involves so much of himself in the case with a black person, he obtains negative feedback and gets called a nigger-lover.

    Read More

  • Atticus Finch Is A Hero Essay

    1166 Words  | 5 Pages

    Despite racial inequalities in the South, Atticus sticks to his own morals and agrees to be the defending lawyer for Tom Robinson, a black man being accused of raping a white woman. Although Atticus’ defense in court was thorough and clearly proved Tom’s innocence, the jury was prejudiced towards black folks and convicted Tom as guilty. Nonetheless, Atticus is still a hero despite losing the case. He has the courage to stand up for what he believes in, fights with reason rather than guns, and has utmost determination, making him a hero despite being just an average human being. Ultimately, his thoughts and actions set the stage for major changes in the meaning of equality throughout Maycomb County, changing lives of numerous people.

    Read More

  • Normality Of Man In To Kill A Mockingbird

    826 Words  | 4 Pages

    “I admire men of character and I judge character not by how men deal with their superiors, but mostly how they deal with their subordinates. And that, to me, is where you find out what the character of a man is” (General. H. Norman Schwarzkopf). Seeing how men deal with others, who are supposedly lower ranked than them, shows their true character. Atticus is known around town as a great lawyer in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

    Read More

  • Fair Quotes In To Kill A Mockingbird

    925 Words  | 4 Pages

    Birds singing the lovely tune of a mockingbird will wake in the morn as children play. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird plays out events in a small county residing in Alabama called Maycomb. It is described as a “Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square.” (Lee, 6).

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Ethos Pathos Logos

    846 Words  | 4 Pages

    If the jury finds Tom Robinson as guilty, he will be executed. Atticus is truly pushing for the jury to realize they are about to sentence an innocent man to death.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Atticus Courage Quotes

    352 Words  | 2 Pages

    Atticus’ courage is shown in multiple ways through his court actions and his stand against racial discrimination. For instance, as a lawyer, Atticus defends the innocent, despite controversial thoughts of others, this is proven true in the Tom Robinson court case. During this discriminative period, most African Americans brought to court for an accused crime were deemed guilty, despite the clear evidence that proved their innocence. When Jem thought Atticus’ defense of Tom will bring Tom to justice, Reverend Sykes said: “I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man”(Lee 279). This proves Atticus’ courage because he chose to fight for a colored man to prove that he is not guilty of an alleged crime, despite knowing the usual outcome of the case and the disapproval he will receive from others.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Tom Robinson Trial And To Kill A Mockingbird

    1132 Words  | 5 Pages

    While in court as a member of the jury, Atticus made me put that lesson to the test. I saw the holes in the prosecution argument but wound up voting that Tom was guilty because my vote would not have made a difference. Atticus proved to me that Mr. Tom Robinson was innocent by making sure we knew all the holes in prosecutors story. All the witnesses had been questioned, and Atticus was giving his closing statement.

    Read More

  • How Does Atticus Show Courage In To Kill A Mockingbird

    828 Words  | 4 Pages

    The evidence boils down to you-did-I-didn 't. The jury couldn 't possibly be expected to take Tom Robinson 's word against the Ewells, '" Atticus solemnly explains this to his brother. First of all, Atticus demonstrates courage when he undertakes the task of defending Tom Robinson, a black man wrongly accused of rape. Atticus knows he won 't win the case and like Mrs. Dubose in her battle against morphine, he is "licked" before he begins. Nevertheless, Atticus knows that Tom is innocent and that he must fight for him, since no one else will.

    Read More

  • How Does Jem Mature In To Kill A Mockingbird

    811 Words  | 4 Pages

    After Atticus loses his trial, Jem notices that the Maycomb County justice system is broken and it needs help, “Then it all goes back to the jury, then. We oughta do away with juries. ”(294) This shows that Jem now understands that people are racist in everything and racism needs to be fought. On top of realizing that the justice system is in shambles, Jem realized that Tom Robinson’s case was very good at showing that.

    Read More

  • Tom Robinson's Decision In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1036 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, By Harper Lee, she tells a tragic story about a noble lawyer who takes the case of an innocent black man. In this story the individuals had to face difficult decisions, where they had to make the right or wrong choices and if they wanted to please themselves or the society. Atticus had to choose between the white community to please society or the black community to please himself; he made the right choice. Atticus made the decision to help Tom Robison, whom he was accused of raping and beating Mayella by taking Tom 's case to court and prove the he was innocent to everything he was accused for. This was shown when Atticus said, "The main one is, if I didn 't I couldn 't hold my head in town, I couldn

    Read More

  • Tom Robinson's Trial In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1604 Words  | 7 Pages

    Atticus uses his credibility as a renowned lawyer in Maycomb County and his confidence in Tom Robinson 's to prove the jury of Tom 's innocence. He also uses the simplicity in differentiating between black and white to show the simplicity of figuring out who is lying in this case, and who is not. He then goes on to say "The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence to the effect that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place. It has relied instead upon the testimony of two witnesses whose evidence has not only been called into serious question on cross-examination, but has been flatly contradicted by the defendant. The defendant is not guilty, but somebody in this courtroom is."

    Read More

  • Examples Of Suffering In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1070 Words  | 5 Pages

    Martin Luther King once said, “Unearned suffering is redemptive.” This demonstrates the character quality known as “redemptive suffering”. Redemptive suffering is a belief that by suffering through a wrong, you will eventually receive redemption for that suffering. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, many characters portray this trait. The Finch family, that is composed of Atticus, Jem, and Scout; suffers several times throughout the novel.

    Read More

  • Rationality In To Kill A Mockingbird

    941 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the case that Atticus was defending, Tom Robinson, a black man, was accused for raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman. When speaking to Atticus about the court case, Jem states that there should have been more evidence before deciding whether Tom Robinson was innocent or guilty. He said, “I mean before a man is sentenced to death for murder, say there should be one or two eyewitnesses. Someone should be able to say, ‘Yes, I was there and saw him pull the trigger’” (251).

    Read More

More about The Help Movie Vs Book

Open Document