Lawyers are often faced with difficult cases, but Atticus Finch is faced with one that is almost impossible to defend. In “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Harper Lee introduces the reader to the Finch family consisting of Atticus, Jem, and Scout. The book is told from Scout’s point of view, which adds an interesting component considering she’s around the age of six. She is very intelligent for her age, however, she has a short temper that occasionally gets her into trouble. They live in Maycomb, Alabama; a tight-knit town that has hosted the same generations for centuries. Taking place in the 1930s, the town is greatly affected by the Great Depression and discrimination. Scout’s father, Atticus, was assigned a case to represent Tom Robinson, a young African American man who is accused of raping a white young women. He was ruled guilty and was sent back to jail. He would soon be executed, so he decided to try to run away. In his doing so, he was shot and killed. This case affects the lives of everyone in Maycomb, but especially Scout and Jem. Although racial ignorance results in Tom Robinson’s death, Atticus’ advice and actions demonstrates how considering a different perspective can prevent future tragedies.
When putting oneself in another’s shoes, it helps better understand others and their actions. Jem is questioning why Mr. Ewell would do such a thing as to spit in Atticus’ face and threaten him after the trial. Atticus had accused Mr. Ewell of abusing his daughter instead of
Tom Robinson is caught kissing a white woman from Maycomb named Mayella Ewell. To prevent being frowned upon by the local citizens, she instead said that Tom Robinson raped her even though that was far from the truth. He’s taken into trial with the help of Atticus, and the case is unarguably one of the factors that help further the theme of innocence in Scout’s view. Atticus is determined to help Tom, even if it means that the citizens will turn against his own family because “killing a mockingbird is a sin.” As events progress, Scout is taught that discrimination solely because someone is “different” is
Atticus is appointed a case by Judge Taylor to defend a black man named Tom Robinson who has been accused of raping a white girl named Mayella Ewell. Because of the racism and prejudice against black people, he believes that he will not win this case and could risk the life of Tom Robinson. Because of this case, Scout gets bullied by Francis about how his dad is defending a black man, Atticus later talks to Scout about how “[Tom Robinson] lives in [a] settlement behind the town dump….there’s been some high talk around the town to the effect that I shouldn’t do much about defending this man” (Lee 86). Atticus knows that something bad can happen to him if he were to defend Tom Robinson but still does so because he has the courage to do it. After the trial had ended, Atticus was waiting for news but he did not expect something so terrible and heartbreaking, Tom Robinson, unfortunately, died after being shot several times.
“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.,” discloses Atticus Finch, a main character in To Kill a Mockingbird, explaining the importance of empathy to his daughter, Scout (Lee 39). The moment the judge appoints Atticus Finch to defend an ill-fated black man, becomes one of the most pivotal moments in the history of Maycomb County, that would provoke deep thought and reconsideration in the narrow minded, Alabamian town. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee demonstrates various situations, which all strongly prove that role models greatly impact their community. Lee’s comparison between the immoral Ewells and the mature Finch
An eavesdropping Scout hears Atticus Finch, her father as well as the lawyer on the case, say to her uncle, “It couldn’t be worse, Jack. The only thing we’ve got is a black man’s word against the Ewells’”(117). Atticus is perfectly aware of the racial bias that the jury will have towards Tom Robinson, but Scout is bewildered. Scout was raised by an unbiased Atticus, so she is shocked that something as trivial as race could determine the value of a man’s word. Moreover, Atticus informs Jem that the jury will likely be out and back very quickly, and Jem asks, “You think they’ll acquit him that fast?”(277).
"Character is doing the right thing when nobody 's looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that 's right is to get by, and the only thing that 's wrong is to get caught", said JC Watts, an American politician. Yet many people seek opportunities to do what is right only when they think that someone else will view them favorably because of it; others conform to ideals they do not believe just so they can fit in with the group. A true hero is someone who always follows their morals, no matter what.
Boo Radley, a character who never comes out of his house and sounds as scary as his name portrays an important theme in Harper Lee’s classic To Kill A Mockingbird. The classic is rich with themes and inspires many people to learn from these themes. One of the main themes is developed by Tim Johnson, the pet of Maycomb, Tom Robinson, a black man convicted of rape, and Boo Radley. The theme these characters are developing is that it is a sin to hurt or kill something that is not harmful. Tim Johnson is a marvelous dog that brings joy to the town of Maycomb, but Atticus kills Tim.
Finding out how cruel society is at a young age is a lot to take in but it can give so much in return. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, two characters, Jem and Scout, learn many valuable lessons from the real world that do not necessarily come from school education. The school life of Jem and Scout is not mentioned in the book that much, but from the scenes where they are mentioned, it seems to the reader that the school is sheltering them and holding them back. In real life, Jem and Scout are exposed to numerous events in which they use different lessons from the past and present to deal with these events.
To Kill A Mockingbird Behind every great story there is the coexistence of good and evil that is materialized into the essence of themes. These resulting themes are scattered throughout Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel revolves around the Finch siblings, Jem and Scout, as they grow up in the southern 1930s and start to discover the truth about their society with their father who is also a talented lawyer, Atticus Finch, and the people of Maycomb County. Atticus faces the dilemma of sticking to his virtues by defending Tom Robinson, a black man wrongly accused of raping a white woman: Mayella Ewell.
Characterization of Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses Jean Louise (Scout) Finch as the narrator. Scout is now an adult and reflects on three very crucial summers during her childhood days. When Scout is first described in the novel, she is prone to violence, labels people based on class, denigrates people, uses racist language, and is prejudice (Seidel 1). All of these things show that she is childish at the beginning of the novel.
Later on Atticus willingly protects and fight for Tom Robinson in court. Tom Robinson was a Negro not much said he was treated unfairly and something that he clearly didn’t do was thought guilty by jury of rape. Tom was sent to jail seventy miles from Maycomb where he did his time, but not lasting long Tom was shot 15 times trying to escape the prison. In one meaningless day Bob Ewell lost his job, judge Taylor was found in his chair with a shotgun laid along his lap, and Helen Robinson was being harassed by Bob Ewell. As Jem and Scout carried one day walking they were followed and chased by someone who seemed they wanted to cause harm they began to ran while being chased Jew lost balance and fell.
Author Harper Lee, in her novel “To Kill A Mockingbird”, depicts a court trial in which Atticus Finch, a Maycomb County lawyer, attempts to defend an innocent black man, Tom Robinson, who was falsely accused of rape and beating by a young white woman, Mayella Ewell. Finch’s purpose is to prove Tom’s innocence to the court and avoid an inaccurate conviction. He adopts a deliberate tone in order to rule the jury’s speculation in favor of Robinsons guiltlessness. Atticus begins his argument by contrasting social moralities versus actual law.
Izzy Trafelet Epley Eng. 10 - 2 23 Oct. 2015 To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee shows a lot about the situations happening in The Town of Maycomb. The characters all show great quality in characteristics to make the story interesting. The discrimination shows how colored people were judged and how we shouldn’t judge that way.
Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” is set sometime in the 1930s in Maycomb County Alabama. The story is told through the point of view of Scout Finch who lives with her father, Atticus, and brother, Jem. The kids like to play pretend with their friend Dill about the man who lives in a scary house down the road, Boo Radley. The kids come in a few close counters along the way during these games in which Atticus does not approve. Scouts’ father, a lawyer, is appointed by Judge Taylor to defend Mr. Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a young girl.
Katie Wisdom Mrs.Matteson English II 11 February 2018 You may have heard the popular saying “never judge a book by its cover,” in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and her brother Jem struggle with this concept. Jem and Scout are encouraged to step into other people’s shoes to gain insight into other’s lives. The kids are exposed to a harsh social understanding while also coming to know and understand the motives behind the people in their community. Scout’s father, Atticus Finch, takes on a case to defend Tom Robinson, an African American man accused of raping a white woman which leads to the struggles of the children.
To Kill a Mockingbird is relevant in today’s generation because the novel shows how one can learn and mature through experiences. To begin, the character Scout evolved vastly throughout the length of the novel. When the novel began, she would overreact to small unnecessary things within the novel, for example she thought that their cook Calpurnia favoured her brother; Scout said to her father, “Lose no time in packing her off”, (Lee 33). This demonstrates to the reader that she is a childish little girl. As well, she is also very naïve and believes everything people told her, perhaps not understanding the other side’s point of view within the story.