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Examples Of Delusions In To Kill A Mockingbird

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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is one of the most influential novels of the 20th century. To Kill a Mockingbird is set during the Great Depression in Maycomb County, Alabama and is centered on a young girl named Scout Finch. Throughout the novel, Scout grows and witnesses the destruction of innocence through the trial and unjust conviction of Tom Robinson, an African-American man, his death, and how it affects her family. One of the major themes in To Kill A Mockingbird is the intentional delusions of people to avoid accepting a harsh truth in relation to race. This message is shown through the racist attitudes of the citizens of Maycomb County and is still prevalent today. The message of people’s delusions of race and refusal to …show more content…

This message is best shown through the life of Tom Robinson, an African-American man who is unjustly convicted of raping a Caucasian woman, Mayella Ewell, and killed while trying to escape a jail. The delusions of the citizens of Maycomb are first shown when Tom Robinson is convicted of raping Mayella Ewell. After Atticus makes his case, it is obvious that Tom Robinson is innocent and that Bob Ewell is to blame. Despite this, the jury, deluded by their racism, convict Tom Robinson and sentence him to death. In doing this, they show that they would rather lie to themselves than admit to the painful truth that an African-American man is innocent and not a fault. The delusions of the citizens are shown again after Tom Robinson is shot and killed while trying to escape from the prison where he is being held. After he is shot, the people of Maycomb believe that his death was inevitable. They continue to see him as inferior and less than human because he is not just like them. …show more content…

Lee’s message can constantly be seen in the media especially when racism in America is denied. It is demonstrated in the article, “The New Threat: ‘Racism Without Racists’” by John Blake. In the article, Blake discusses ingrained racial bias and the differing views of Caucasians and everyone regarding race. The main topic of the article is racial bias and how it allows Caucasians to deny racism because they have never experienced it. According to the article, racial bias is a part of all people. Because it can go unnoticed, it has to potential to be more destructive and harder to eliminate than traditional bias. Instances of racial bias support Lee’s message because by letting bias blind them, people can deny racism and ignore the facts and statistics that point to racism being an issue. This is similar the citizens of Maycomb’s bias against African-Americans that allows them to characterize African-Americans as all the same. Harper Lee’s message of delusions blinding humans to the truth regarding race is also illustrated in the article, “The New Racism” by Jamelle Bouie. This article explains the issue of Caucasians blaming African-American culture for the recent police shootings and labeling the victims of such instances of police brutality as “thugs”. In the article, Bouie focuses on the blaming of victims for the crimes committed against them and the biases that cause people

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In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee as the novel progresses Scout’s innocence is gradually evaporating. Scout is losing her innocence of a child from being exposed to the “real world” and experiencing the prejudice ness of others. At the beginning of the novel Scout is a young girl who has never faced the “evil” of the world. Maycomb county Alabama during the Great depression is extremely racially prejudiced. Scout encounters the evil of society when Atticus takes on the case of Tom Robinson.

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The major thesis in this book, are broken down into two components. The first is how we define racism, and the impact that definition has on how we see and understand racism. Dr. Beverly Tatum chooses to use the definition given by “David Wellman that defines racism as a system of advantages based on race” (1470). This definition of racism helps to establish Dr. Tatum’s theories of racial injustice and the advantages either willingly or unwillingly that white privilege plays in our society today. The second major thesis in this book is the significant role that a racial identity has in our society.

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This image shows how the people in Maycomb based their beliefs, about Thomas Robinson, by his skin color. Most whites who were at the trial, didn’t want to hear anything that Mr. Robinson has to say, because he was black. Since he was black, the whites automatically assumed Mr. Robinson was guilty. Mr. Robinson says he didn’t mean any harm toward Miss. Mayella. “Mr. Finch, I tried.

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In the classic novel To Kill A Mockingbird, author Harper Lee takes on the malignant impact of racism, a deeply rooted problem, from a different perspective and teaches readers what it truly means to be a good person as she brings to life one of the most virtuous characters in American literature-Atticus Finch. Told through the eyes of a young child, readers learn about the heavy prejudice embedded in the people of Maycomb County and the loss of innocence that is brought upon the kids as a racial conflict spurs a series of significant events in their quiet town. Taken place during the early years of the Great Depression, Maycomb must face its biggest problem-racism. Atticus Finch is the lawyer who defends this case and ultimately brings a

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Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird is about a little girl who experience many outcasts in her life. The story take place in a small Alabama town during the great depression. This was also a time where many Caucasian disliked African Americans. Jean Louise Finch “Scout” is a young girl who grows up in Maycomb. The book uses Mockingbird as a symbol for outcast.

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