Zach Gutierrez
English 9
Mr. Bevins
May 1, 2023
To Kill a Mockingbird
In Harper Lee’s novel “To KIll a Mockingbird”, the story shows the acceptance of all types of people in many different ways. One example of acceptance being sown is Atticus choosing to defend an African American man, despite the thoughts of others. The choice of Atticus would move on to shape the rest of the story. Many people in the book such as Atticus Finch, Boo Radley, And Tom Robinson are those who had to face the act of not being accepted by others at first. In the novel, Tom Robinson, a Black man, was falsely accused of rape on a little girl names Mayella Ewell. Later in the story, Tom was in court testifying when there were many people who did not respect Tom as
Mockingbird in Everyday Lives “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. ”(119) In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Atticus uses this quote to teach that it is wrong to harm innocent creatures.
The quote I chose for this essay is "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." (Lee 103). The context of the quote is that during Christmas, Scout’s uncle gave her and Jem shotguns, and they decide to go shooting with them, and Atticus tells them that. The quote means that since mockingbirds do no harm and just provide nature with singing, it is not right to kill them.
In the story, Tom is on trial for a crime he did not commit. That crime was the raping of a girl named Mayella Ewell. Mayella tried to seduce Tom, to which he rejected her and was then seen by Mayella's father, Bob Ewell. Mayella told her father that Tom had raped her and even though he denied the claims, Tom was sent to jail to await trial for the crime. The story is set around the 1930’s where racism was common and as for Tom being an African-American man, no one would believe that he was innocent.
Back during the Tom Robinson trial Tom is accused of rape Against Mr. Ewell’s daughter. The audience gets a glimpse at what another man sees when Tom Robinson tells his story. During his story after Mayella tries to seduce him and kiss him Bob Ewell sees him and yells at both Tom and Mayella. During this time Tom said he was so scared and ran past Bob, out the door and into open area where he said he ran away. This is significant because it shows How there was a black man scared of what could happen in the leading times ahead.
For black back then, when you have to go to court you are more than likely going to be guilty. Tom Robinson is in the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, in this small town in Alabama named Maycomb. This is about Tom Robinson getting accused of raping a white girl by the name of Mayeela Ewell. The Ewell family is one of the meanest families in Maycomb, but Mayella still has a higher ranking than Tom. This shows how racist the town of Maycomb is and some families that live there.
In the book To Kill A Mockingbird and Of Mice And Men, almost most of the characters lie about something. People lie even if they’re innocent because they want to protect themselves from being an outcast. Calpurnia lies about being able to read, Dolphus Raymond lies about being an alcoholic, and even worse, Mayella lies about Tom Robinson raping her. All of these false accusations lead to consequences and the only reason these people did this is because they’re too worried about their social standing in their community and they don’t want to be looked at any differently than anybody else.
To Kill A Mockingbird To Kill A Mockingbird is about a lawyer named Atticus who chooses to defend a African-American man named Tom just as equally as he would defend a white man in a court room. This novel takes place in the 1930's when there was racism going on between blacks and whites. Atticus is a person in the novel who choose to learn to understand others. By showing that he does this, his quote said “ 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.” In this novel there are a couple of people who have trouble understanding people, not understanding people, and doing a little bit of both.
Quote and page # Paragraph "'Your father does not know how to teach. You can have a seat now.' I mumbled that I was sorry and retired meditating upon my crime." (Question) page: 2 In this quote it seems like it is very interesting.
Quote 1: “I felt like I was a king, like I was better than them.” –3rd-grader The quote is similar to something that happens in the novel: Both Jane Elliott and Harper Lee make a point. When two groups are separated in someway one always acts better than the other. In Jane Elliott's experiment she made the third graders believe that the blue eyed people were better,than the brown eyed people.
Harper Lee’ novel, To Kill A Mockingbird is an explosion of literary genius surrounding one of America’s darkest hours; a time that man turned against itself and brothers waged war. The entire book revolves around a quote stating that “It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” This quote is both intriguing and blunt: It is a sin to harm the innocent. Throughout the book, Lee exemplifies this by using minor characters that end up playing a large role to the reader. Mayella Ewell’s character seems pretty straight-forward if you skim through the plot.
Quotations Responses 2/14/2023 - Chapter 7, p. 65 “As Atticus had once advised me to do, I tried to climb into Jem's skin and walk around in it: if I had gone alone to the Radley Place at two in the morning, my funeral would have been held the next afternoon. So I left Jem alone and tried not to bother him” (Lee 65). 2/11/2023 - Chapter 7, p. 67 “Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I’d have the facts” (Lee 67).
Jem is Shaped and Influenced by Society Jem, Scout's brother, from To Kill A Mockingbird is shaped and influenced by his society around him. Jem lives in the small town of Maycomb which is deeply rooted in racial injustices. Jem is initially unaware of the racial division but quickly sees the harsh reality of the world. Jem tells Scout, “There are just some kind of men who-who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one” (Chapter 23).
NOTE CARDS The student will compile 15 pieces of evidence and commentary using their PRIMARY and SECONDARY sources. The student MUST use at least one piece of evidence form EACH secondary source AND their primary source.
In the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee three main quotes that teaches both Jem and Scout life lessons are “until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (33) , “it’s a sin to kill a Mockingbird” (103), and “Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them” (323). These quotes are simple yet have a deep hidden meaning behind it that takes a lot of thinking that both Scout and Jem have to learn that they can’t just assume things about people without really knowing them, and that you are not allowed to destroy an innocent person that has done nothing to you. In the scene the quote “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” (33) mainly
Tom Robinson is unfairly persecuted because his skin is darker than the skin of his neighbors. Robinson is not given a fair trial. Later in the book, an angry mob shows up at the jail, trying to kill him. These strangers acted without knowing if Robinson was guilty or not. Their prejudice, racism, and hate nearly leads them to murder.