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Lies In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Acceptance, the feeling of being welcomed by individuals in a community, is something that human beings crave. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird is all about the acceptance of various people. For example, Atticus, Jem, and Scout, the narrator, accept Calpurnia, a black maid, as the mother figure of the Finch family. Also, Scout accepts Boo Radley even though the majority of the community sees him as a monster and a psychopath. Lastly, Tom Robinson needs the people of Maycomb to accept him as a person and look past the color of his skin. Harper Lee created a story the acceptance of others no matter what their appearance is or how old they are or even what gender they are.
Aunt Alexandra may not be fond of Calpurnia, but she is accepted …show more content…

“That all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women... Which, gentlemen, we know is in itself a lie as black as Tom Robinson 's skin, a lie I do not have to point out to you. You know the truth, the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men cannot be trusted.. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men."-Atticus (Lee. pg 217). Atticus accepts Tom for a person and he knows Tom is innocent and telling the truth. The jury on the other which is predominantly white can not accept Tom based on the fact that he is black even though the evidence points to him being innocent.
The universal theme of acceptance is quite heavily emphasized in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Calpurnia is accepted by Atticus, Jem, and Scout as the mother figure of the household. The “insane” Boo Radley is accepted by the protagonist, Scout, after she sees life through his eyes. Lastly, Tom Robinson needs to be accepted by all the people of Maycomb, not just a few. Harper Lee has eloquently put several great examples of acceptance of everyone and it teaches you to do the same, accept everyone no matter the race, religion, or color of their

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Atticus continues his statement of defending Tom Robinson with "... But this is a truth that applies to the human race and no particular race of men." However, that quote is only after saying, "... You gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption-the evil assumption-that all Negroes lie." Atticus finishes his statement by expressing, "There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man who has never looked upon a woman with desire.

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Atticus Finch once said, “You never understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (Harper 39) Harper Lee’s novel, “To Kill A Mockingbird”, is a story that has a lot to do with the acceptance of all types of people. One way the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” shows acceptance is Dolphus Raymond marrying a black woman. The second way the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” shows acceptance is Calpurnia being a mother figure to Atticus’s kids. Another way the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” shows acceptance is Atticus defending Tom Robinson.

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To illustrate, “Tom Robinson is a colored man, Jem. No jury in the world is going to say, ’We think you are guilty, but not very,’ on a charge like that.” (Lee, 251). This quote shows how little faith Atticus had in Tom’s freedom. He knew that he would not win Tom’s trial, no matter how hard he tried, because no jury in 1930s Alabama would take the word of a black man over that of a white man, no matter how much evidence there was to prove the black man’s innocence.

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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

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Birds singing the lovely tune of a mockingbird will wake in the morn as children play. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird plays out events in a small county residing in Alabama called Maycomb. It is described as a “Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square.” (Lee, 6).

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Literature can be analyzed with many different critical lenses. While analyzing To Kill a Mockingbird, one may use a critical lens to recognize the different ideas throughout the novel. Harper Lee’s novel demonstrates her perspective on intolerance and discrimination within the early twentieth century. Firstly, intolerance of people who are different is very prevalent within the novel.

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In “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, two children learn how to “walk in other people’s shoes”. As they grow up, they come to understand other people’s views and emotions by learning about the prejudices that Maycomb County possesses. In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, Jem’s character development demonstrates how understanding the prejudices of society can develop empathy.

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The novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” was written in 1960 by Harper Lee in the point of view of a young innocent girl named Scout. One of the main messages that Lee has (need a new word than – indicated or set out) is racism, it plays an important role which strongly impacts many character’s lives unfairly and changes the relationship between two. Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” shows that it is wrong to hurt someone who does no harm to you, for example, black people are innocent but no way did they have as many rights as white people did. Black people lived hard lives because society was judgemental, irrational and most importantly, racist. As Scout and Jem grow older they learn to cope, take responsibility and are introduced to new aspects of life, one of which is racism.

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Social prejudice is shown throughout Harper Lee’s award winning book, To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee powerfully analyses the theme social prejudice, and its effect on people. Such as how the Social prejudice is discrimination based on your status in society. An example of social prejudice would be the Radley family, which consists of Boo Radley, Nathan Radley and Arthur Radley. As they haven’t been out of their house in years people are lead to believe the rumours.

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Throughout the whole trial there are multiple times when anyone who reads the novel knows that he is not getting a fair shake. The first time is when Atticus delivers his closing remarks and he says something that is very powerful and also very true about the case and Tom receiving an unfair trial, “To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white” (Lee 203). What Atticus explains is that no matter how plain it is to everyone that Tom is innocent and could not have commited the crime, it does not matter because one thing is certain, Tom is black. And the jury being white means he has no chance at winning, it’s truly sad, but during the time of the trial that 's just how society works.

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The testimonies reveal how deep-rooted the racism within Maycomb runs, as it is present even in court rulings and how casually present it is. The court is taking place, and the order of prosecutor’s witnesses who are: Mr. Heck Tate, the sheriff; Mr. Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father; and Mayella Ewell, the one who is accusing Tom Robinson of raping her. When it’s Mr. Ewell’s turn to speak, he does so with many racial slurs and slang embedded in his accusations. When relaying what he saw to the jury, he points at Tom and yells “―I seen that black n*gger yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella!” Mr. Ewell, who, although, has never been a part of a court case or viewed one, doesn’t truly care, or notice, that so far into the formal case, not one person has used racial slang to talk about Tom, and uses the term n*gger quite casually.

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In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout asked Atticus if he was a N-word lover and Atticus was trying to explain to her that he loves everyone equally. Atticus says to Scout. ” I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody… I’m hard put, sometimes thinks is bad names.

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But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men. There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man living who has never looked upon a woman without desire’” (Lee 232). As was mentioned before, this quote impactfully appeals to the emotions of the jury. Atticus was able to show that the idea that all Black people are immoral, lie, and commit crimes, is untrue.

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Racism can be introduced to anyone in a novel titled “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Author of the novel Harper Lee, decides to introduce the problem in her book, taking place in the 1930’s, specifically during the Great Depression. Racism is a social issue in the novel all around, in which no trouble should be caused to acknowledge it. Straight from the start, Harper Lee chooses to introduce Maycomb County, a county in which the blacks and whites have separate communities (Lee).

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Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird famously said in his closing arguments: "You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some negro men are not to be trusted around women- black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and no particular race of men." (pg 232) What Atticus is trying to convey is a foreign concept to most people in Maycomb county. Atticus is trying to convey a point of equality and no prejudice in a world of social inequality which, as one can imagine, didn 't go over so well.

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