This book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, is all about racism. There is one character that fights for equality, Atticus Finch. Atticus represents the desire for fairness. He proves some of it in his speech he gives at the courtroom. An example/quote, of his desire for equality is this quote, “…Gentlemen, a court is no better than each man of you sitting before me on this jury. A court is only as a sound as it jury, and a jury is only as a sound as the men who make it up….” (Lee 274). This quote explains a reason, Atticus did help a black man in front of many. If he did not want things to be equal, then why he would help him in the first place. Another example Atticus said, “A nigger-lover is just one of those terms that don 't mean anything—like
Every day in our lives, heroes are all around us. They may not be what society tells us is a hero, like Superman or Batman. They do not wear fancy costumes or have super powers. But these heroes change the lives of the people around them, for the better. Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird is the charismatic, understanding father of Scout and Jem Finch as well as a hard working lawyer in Maycomb County, Alabama. 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.
Pride holds strong inside of us whether good or bad people will always fight tooth and nail to keep their morals in check. The places we live, people we surround ourselves with and the choices we make are all impacted by our pride and when we take a moment to look around our own community, we see what matters to us and how our life forms around it. The southern town of Maycomb is no different, we see a story. A story of the precious dignity of the human race and the role it plays in a community. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates how a controlled pride is beneficial to society through the use of characters, conflicts, and settings.
In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout, Calpurnia, and Atticus stand out when courage comes to mind. These characters show courage in many unique ways with different situations. In the early 1930s, in the deep south, racial discrimination was a huge conflict, for example, the Jim Crows Laws were in play, and it legalized segregation between blacks and whites. Courage isn’t always shown in situations, but simply throughout growing up.
Some feel that our courts are safe and true, others would say our courts have various flaws and don’t always fulfill the truth. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch is the father to two young children, Scout and Jem, and works as a lawyer as a single father in their small southern town in Alabama during the thirties. Atticus gets handed a case when he has to defend a black man over a white woman. Through the use of racism and symbolism, Atticus’s claim that “out courts are the great levelers, and in our court’s all men are created equal,” is proved to be unsuitable.
As the hero of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch has an unorthodox outlook on racism. He says, “As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it— whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.” (252). This outlook allows him to approach the obstacles that come with a trial of a black man vs a white woman. Harper Lee, the author of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, worked on revisions for 2.5 years on the novel before it was published in 1960. Many events and characteristics in the novel are real memories experienced by Harper Lee. Scout Finch’s character
A person cannot call themselves a noble person if they can’t understand others. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is told in first person by Jean Louise Finch or by her nickname, Scout a 6-year-old. Harper Lee, depicts Atticus Finch as a proficient father to his two children, Scout and Jim, 10-year-old. Atticus teaches his children life lessons, one being it 's a sin to kill a mockingbird. Showing them the harsh reality of life with honesty and fearlessness. During this time the Great Depression was hitting the southern town of Maycomb. This novel compares many of its characters to mockingbirds, a symbol of pure innocence. One summer, Atticus, who is a lawyer, finds himself in the middle of a controversial case, involving a African American man, Tom Robinson and a white woman, Mayella. Despite the town throwing hatred towards Atticus and his family, he doesn’t back down because he takes pride in helping the innocent. Even if Atticus can’t win the trial he fights hard because he wants to be a role model to Jem and Scout.
Throughout the novel To Kill a MockingBird Atticus proves his greatness as a father by teaching his children life lessons through everyday actions. In the novel, Scout and Jem go through many rocky bumps in their life, and with Atticus they receive a stable role model to lead them through harder times. Atticus being a lawyer could have made him into a very serious busy man who could have paid little to no attention to his young children. But being a lawyer helped mold Atticus and his children into well rounded and educated people. By the end of the novel Atticus has changed his children into disciplined and reasonable human beings.
Anne Frank, a Jewish girl who was in hiding during World War II stated, “No one has ever become poor by giving.” The quote means that you are never too poor to do something nice for someone. This quote relates to the book,To Kill a Mockingbird, as we learn about the Ewell family who didn’t understand that they could be nice. Atticus notes, “You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.” (Lee 30) In To Kill A Mockingbird Scout learns about cruelty, courage, and compassion.
To KIll a Mockingbird by Harper Lee uses the town of Maycomb changing throughout the story ultimately affecting the ending. Lee represents society as an ever changing factor to people life. There are a few things that attribute to this change including the case against Tom Robinson as well as the mob that confronts Atticus wanting to get at Tom Robinson. Characters such as Atticus Finch have seen this change in Maycomb and are personally affected by it.
Life in the 1930s was hard for most people. In the South, it can be considered a time of racial segregation and injustice. However, in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus Finch presents himself as a compassionate, wise, and courageous individual, making him an admirable leader in Maycomb County. Atticus is a man who is not affected by what other people say or think about him. He represents morality and reason throughout the novel, constantly looking for the good in people, and is not affected by the prejudices of the town.
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 novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee takes place in the town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. The author Lee demonstrates some major themes such as social inequality, intolerance, education, legal justice and bravery through this character. The title To Kill a Mockingbird symbolises innocence where Lee explores this through the eyes of Jem and Scout who are kids of Atticus Finch. He is one of the most honest, patient, kind, fair, respected and admired men in Maycomb during the Great Depression. Atticus is known for his moral character throughout the book. He is a talented man, he is good at a variety of things from being the best checker player in the town to being an honest and fair lawyer, and he can even play the Jew’s harp. Atticus is seen as a great father even though the odds are against him he does not give up therefore he is admired and respected for his courage. His attitude and personality does not change. For instance Miss Maudie says, “Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets”
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.
To Kill a Mockingbird is an important text worthy of all the recognition it received in the time following its original publication.