People constantly change as time passes and therefore their perspectives continuously alter as well. The classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, portrays the lives of two children, Jem and Scout, during the Great Depression, as they mature in a small, dull, and segregated town called Maycomb, Alabama. However, the once peaceful city, seen through the eyes of Scout Finch, suddenly shifts when the citizens falsely accuse a black man named Tom Robinson of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell. The children’s view of the peaceful town transforms into a racist and stereotypical community of hypocrites. Furthermore, Scout was not the only white citizen of Maycomb to understand the unfair customs. Within the story, Heck Tate, the Sheriff, also illustrates …show more content…
After Jem and Scout come home from the attack of Bob Ewell Heck Tate arrives to announce that Bob Ewell is dead. Atticus immediately believes that the fault in the death of Mr. Ewell Jem’s but, the Sheriff says, “‘Nobody’s gonna hush anything up, Mr. Finch.’...’Bob Ewell fell on his knife. He killed himself.’... ‘, I'm not thinking of Jem!’”(Lee 366-377). Mr. Tate is merely trying to protect the private life of Boo Radley who is seen as an insane man, but in reality he is just a quiet man trying to live his quiet life. This shows that he is trying to redeem himself of his past wrongdoings. Later, Mr. Tate says to Atticus, “’There’s a black boy dead for no reason, and the man responsible for it’s dead. Let the dead bury the dead this time Mr. Finch. Let the Dead bury the dead.’” (Lee 369). This shows that Heck Tate truly feels guilty about the death of Time Robinson after he tries to escape prison. Mr. Tate tries to atone for his immoral actions by keeping this town how it should be, small, dull and peaceful. All in all, Mr. Tate shows that people can change for the better as he tries to compensate for his prejudgment of Tom Robinson. In conclusion, though Mr. Tate was morally wrong in the beginning, he displays that he is an ambiguous character by atoning for his past actions. This reveals that the towns hypocrisy and racism is slowly diminishing and becoming a town of tranquility. While people do change in multiple ways, better or worse, there is no true way for one to interpret another with full understanding. But, even though people constantly change, there can be a moment of true