I am reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This book is about a girl, named Scout, her brother Jem, and the people who lived in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s. Along with their summer friend, Dill, the children become obsessed with the idea of getting a look at their unseen neighbor, Boo Radley. Meanwhile, their father, Atticus Finch, decided to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who was wrongly accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. The children get caught up in the trial, in which Tom is convicted and eventually killed while trying to escape from prison. Jem and Scout become the targets of Bob Ewell, the father of Mayella, who tries to kill them one night on their way home from school, but Boo Radley showed
A mockingbird is a person of innocence, kindness and decency who is slowly washed away by the strong, flowing river of racism and prejudice. Sometimes, the mockingbird is completely washed away but in some cases, there are still little parts of them floating in the river. In the quiet town of Maycomb during the Great Depression, two mockingbirds fly closer to the river than anyone else. Boo Radley, a man who lives in the darkness, and Tom Robinson, a man with dark skin. In the the story ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’, the mockingbird is a symbol, represented by Boo Radley and Tom Robinson, because it shows how judging others based on appearance can be harmful to the person who is being criticized.
After childhood, people come to realise that the world is a cruel place. People misjudge others; thus, over time, people grow to accept the amount of brutality in the world. Parents often tell their children that first impressions count, mainly because others are quick to judge. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie, first impressions of people are never correct, as we judge people after mere seconds, and we are often incorrect in our assumptions of people.
Arthur Radley, colloquially known as Boo Radley, is a reclusive man who refrains from leaving his house. This is a significant social faux pas in Maycomb, and as a result, he is highly gossiped about by the townspeople and negative rumors constantly circulate regarding him and how he is mentally ill and should be feared. At the beginning of the novel, Scouts perception of Boo Radley is no different. As the novel progresses Scout slowly begins to empathise more with Boo; and she begins to fear him less after various events in the novel, such as the times Boo leaves Scout and Jem presents (59-60) and the time Boo places a blanket on Scout 's shoulders during the fire at Miss Maudie’s house (71-72). Scout’s empathy towards Boo Radley is really only fully developed by the end of the novel when Boo saves Jem and Scout from Bob Ewell. Afterward, when Scout is on the Radley porch after walking Boo Radley home, she contemplates that “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough” (279). Atticus’s statement was an idiom for empathy. Scout 's response signals her understanding and approval of this. We can see through how Harper Lee emphasizes the build-up towards this moment in the
Throughout the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” written by Harper Lee, the readers can see how Scout changes her view about Boo Radley. Because of their nosiness, Jem, Scout, and Dill try to drag Boo out his house and to the outside world. Their innocent actions combined with Boo’s actions changed the image of Boo, in their minds, from “a malevolent phantom” (10), a person who kills cats and eats squirrels to a neighbor they can trust, who saves them from Bob Ewell. Scout says at the end, “Boo was our neighbor” (373). The readers can see a great change in their relationship. At the beginning, the children cannot even go near Boo’s place without palpitation, but at the end, Scout is comfortable enough to walk Boo up to his front porch. Throughout the novel, Scout has changed her view of Boo after a chain of Boo’s actions toward her. As Scout grows older, she becomes wiser to understand her father’s lesson, “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 ” (39). Her father says this at the beginning, but till the end, thanks to the maturity combined with Boo’s actions that help Scout to understand it. She has matured enough to realize that people should not judge other people by rumor, but give them some chances to prove themselves.
We live in a society today where judging others is a regular, everyday activity. Many people may blame a significant amount of this issue on the excessive amount of technology we have access too, but this problem has been around for much longer. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, it shows the ugliness that can come from judging others, but it also teaches two young children, Scout and Jem, to listen to others, so that you can have the opportunity to learn from them. Throughout the story many characters were able to demonstrate this lesson for the kids, but three that were true examples of it were Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch and Boo Radley. With only aiming to stand up for what they believe in and not worrying what everyone
How is the racial problem of the southern states of USA in the 1930s portrayed in To Kill a Mockingbird?
Race has always been a part of history, from slavery to MLK, to Barack Obama. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee defines race in the south during the 1930’s. Jean “Scout” Finch, is the narrator of the story. Her brother Jeremy “Jem” and her dad, Atticus, are both main characters. Calpurnia is their house cook and helper, she is also black. Tom Robinson is a black man who is wrongfully convicted of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell. This novel goes through Scout's life from when she was 6, till she is 9. She lives in the town of Maycomb Alabama, and lives an innocent life until about halfway through the story, where she begins to ask questions. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout shows the readers that racial inequality creates an unjust society through the African American community, through the people surrounding colored folks, and through Tom Robinson’s Case.
Since Mr. Radley never came out of the house, frightening rumors spread about him and the children all knew them. They even played games where they reenacted the story that was spread around about him, not realizing how disgraceful it was to the Radleys. Towards the end the book, Scout finally get to meet Boo Radley after Bob Ewell attempted to kill her and Jem. Scout took Mr. Radley home and on the way back she thought, “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Justine standing on the Radley porch was enough.” (Lee 279). Scout now sees the world the world through Boo Radley’s shoes, even though she might be taking it too literally, and find compassion for things that Boo Radley did long
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel set during the 1930s in a small town in Southern Alabama called Maycomb. The story is told through the narrator, Scout, a young girl who lives with her father, a lawyer, and her older brother Jem. As a child, Scout is portrayed as a stubborn and obnoxious little girl who loves to read, play with her brother Jem, and fantasize about her mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. However, her life gets turned upside down when Scout’s father agrees to do something that is deemed unacceptable in the south; he agrees to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who is accused of raping a white girl. Instantly, Atticus and his family go from being respected and beloved by their town, to being
Because the jury did not favor black men, Tom Robinson did not receive a fair trial, although Atticus made a great case. Segregation directly disobeys the fourteenth amendment, “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.” Maycomb Alabama is where the story, To Kill a Mockingbird takes place. Tom Robinson’s trial out come was not based on factual evidence. Mayella was lying to the jury, while Tom was completely innocent. He could not have done everything that Mayella said he did, due to the fact that he one has one working arm. The other arm was caught up in a cotton grind. Further more, it would be highly unlikely that Tom Robinson could have beat and raped Mayella the way she said he did.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Jem, Scout, and Dill’s innocence is destroyed. They lose their carefree and happy existence through the ignorance and racism in their hometown of Maycomb. Initially, the children believe everyone in Maycomb is friendly. They do not understand the racism occurring in their town until Tom Robinson’s trial. After observing the Tom Robinson trial, the children’s view of some of the citizens in their town change because of the hatred against blacks and the obvious injustice in the courtroom. Robinson is a black man convicted of raping a white girl and despite the evidences being on Robinson’s side, he is found guilty and is sentenced to prison. The trial causes Scout, Jem, and Dill to witness discrimination,
In the beginning of the book Stephanie Crawford, the town gossiper, justifies that she knows everything about Boo Radley. Scout and Jem are frightened by Boo Radley because of all the stories they have heard. Scout is terrified of the Radley place and calls Boo, a “malevolent phantom.” According to Miss Stephanie Crawford, Boo Radley was sitting in the living room cutting some items from the newspaper and when Mr. Radley had passed by him, Boo drove the scissors into his leg. They also learn that the reason Boo Radley’s hands are bloodstained are because he eats any squirrels or cats he finds. Jem also describes him as a horrific scary monster, but these are only based on facts that Stephanie Crawford has told them and the town. Jem and Scout are curious with these tales as they try to get Boo out of house, so they can see how he looks like.
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy- MLK Jr.
Miranda Fricker dissects and examines the problems of testimonial justice and injustice, in her book, Epistemic Injustice, Power and the Ethics of Knowing. By using the characters of Marge Sherwood in The Talented Mr. Ripley and Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird, Fricker draws in her audience and succinctly identifies two critical components to testimonial injustices. After examining her work, I feel her view of testimonial justice is able to be defended because people are not born to be discriminatory. Rather a person’s community and social interactions shape their development of testimonial justice, but there are ways to lessen a person’s testimonial injustice. Fricker’s argues that familiarity with people of different social identities