How is the racial problem of the southern states of USA in the 1930s portrayed in To Kill a Mockingbird?
“It is easier to be brave when someone needs your protection” is an excellent quote by Robert Jordan that highly illustrates Jem Finch from the classic To Kill A Mockingbird. This novel by Harper Lee is told through the eyes of Scout Finch, a young girl who is surrounded by racism and poverty. Scout and her more mature older brother Jem go through several challenges in their sleepy and southern town Maycomb, due to their Father Atticus’ important lawyer case defending a black man. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses characterization to portray Jem Finch as protective through him constantly telling Scout uplifting things, stopping her from things she should not be doing, and the act of putting her needs before his.
In Harper Lee’s book To Kill a Mockingbird, there are many times when the characters are faced with challenges and they show courage as they overcome them. Some of those times when courage is expressed are when Atticus defends Tom, when Scout gets the lynch party to back off, and when Boo saves the kids from Bob Ewell. These are examples of courage in the face of adversity because these characters risked their own lives to help out another character.
People have in mind that courage is about being able to save other peoples’ lives and risking your own, or to climb Mount Everest, or to jump from the top of a high building. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, real courage is demonstrated in a different and encouraging way. Real courage is shown as fighting for what is believed in and what is most important, regardless of whether you win or lose. Atticus and Scout are two characters who define courage perfectly. The reasons why Atticus shows courage is that he argued the best he could to defend the innocent man from going to jail since he knew that no one else would. Also he raised, as a single parent, two children on his own. Scout is courageous because she is a person who cherishes her
Even though Some people, like Aunt Alexandra thinks Atticus is raising scout wrong because she doesn't like to wear girly clothes. Atticus acts like a teacher to his children, he teaches them wondrous things. Atticus punishes his kids when the deserve it. Jem and Scout are shown to be respectful and treat people the same.
Courage has gone through many changes. It has been altered throughout races, cultures, religions, sex, and time. However, the core values of courage has always remained parallel. It is difficult to explain in words the meaning of courage, like describing a color, but everyone knows what courage is, how it feels, and how to perform it. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus explained to us a type of courage that was shown in Ms. Dubose. These attributes were also apparent in a man named Liu Xiaobo. Both Ms. Dubose, and Mr. Liu, rose above social views to fight for their beliefs, did not give up in times of trouble, and had the audacity to face demons that were far more powerful than themselves.
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee contains various examples of racism and prejudice throughout the novel. The story takes place in the 1930's, a period when racism was a part of everyday life. Prejudice and racism in this book are represented by acts of hate towards others because of the color of their skin. In this novel, prejudice and racism was dominantly pointed towards blacks. Acts of racism can be discreet to the point that you can easily miss them. Yet alongside those, there are conspicuous demonstrations of racism that would never happen in today's society. Lee illustrates many of these behaviors in her novel.
Scout (Jean Louise)- Jean Louise (more commonly known as Scout) is introduced to us as a young six year old girl who is innocent, but intrigued in the world. “‘If you shouldn’t be defendin‘ him, then why are you doin’ it?’ ‘For a number of reasons,' said Atticus. 'The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this county in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again.’ ‘You mean if you didn’t defend that man, Jem and me wouldn’t have to mind you any more?’ ‘That’s about right.’ ‘Why?’” (Lee 78). This shows that Scout is determined to learn as much as possible about the world.
Courage is looked at in several different ways. It can be shown in the face of fear, out of love, and against the odds. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, courage is demonstrated by the characters Boo Radley, Jem, and Atticus.
Many people in the world today show courage. Merriam-Webster defines courage as the mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. There were many characters in To Kill a Mockingbird that showed courage. Three of these characters include Atticus Finch, Jem Finch, and Arthur Radley.
“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.” As said by Muhammad Ali, a professional American boxer and activist. Muhammad Ali needed courage to box just like characters from To Kill a Mockingbird By: Harper Lee. In To Kill a Mockingbird courage is shown by Jem, Scout, and Dill.
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, tells a tale of a small southern town in Alabama during the Great Depression. The book exposes the prejudice attitudes that the townspeople have towards African Americans. The author uses the main character, Scout, to reveal not only the unequal treatment of people with different skin color, but also the influence of the Finch family on the entire town through their courage. Through a difficult court case, Atticus, Scout and a crazy man, Boo, show their unique quality of courage and stand on the side of righteousness as the entire town soaks in bias and prejudice.
“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” This quote was spoken by Arthur Ashe, who was a professional tennis player. In his words, a hero is not someone who is an extraordinary being, but someone who is ordinarily heroic to those around them. This quote relates to the book To Kill A Mockingbird, and some of the characters show the Ashe’s definition of a hero perfectly. In To Kill A Mockingbird the theme of heroism is illustrated through Atticus, Jem, and Boo Radley.
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the greatest novels of its time period. Throughout the book, several stereotypes appear within many of the characters and events that happen. The story of To Kill a Mockingbird is primarily about a young girl named Scout whose father is a lawyer defending a black man accused of raping a white woman. She lives in a small Southern town that is shaken by the trial, because the man could not have physically committed the crime. However, he is convicted anyway, and Scout learns a lesson about life in the South in the Great Depression. With the ongoing event of the Great Depression, several occurrences of stereotyping affects many within the town; however, it is well known that stereotyping still occurs
Think about someone that you admire, do you admire that person because of something brave or courageous they have done? Bravery and courage can be found in many different kinds of situations. It is when you stand up for something that you believe in or when you commit an act that pushes you out of your comfort zone. Often times, an act of bravery or courage is done without that person even knowing it. There are several examples of courage in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. In the book, Scout asks Atticus why he is defending a Negro when the rest of the town thinks he shouldn’t. Atticus replies with this: “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win”(Lee, 76). Atticus shows courage throughout the whole book by doing this.