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Self-Sacrifice In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

684 Words3 Pages

“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” famous children's book author Dr. Seuss wrote. Although his books may seem silly, Dr. Seuss’s works were very meaningful and sincere and have inspired many people. However, one of the greatest fears is being judged because someone is different, and this is expressed in many other literary works as well. To Kill a Mockingbird is told from the perspective of a girl named Scout, whose father Atticus tried to teach Scout and her brother Jem to be different and not be corrupted by the racism and classes of the southern town they live in. Scout and Jem went through many experiences that taught them important things, including the trial of a black man Tom Robinson. Atticus risked his reputation while defending Tom Robinson during the trial in which Bob Ewell accused Tom Robinson of raping his daughter Mayella. He was attacked by Bob Ewell as a result of fighting for blacks and trying to break the unfair social mores. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee utilized the character of Atticus to reveal that self-sacrifice is needed to break the social mores of society. Atticus fought for Tom Robinson in the trial, breaking social mores of whites being viewed as superior. In Maycomb, there was a sort of caste system with African Americans on the bottom. …show more content…

Our moral values and beliefs are for the most part taught to us when we are little, and it stays with us throughout our entire lives because things are easily absorbed and believed at a young age. These traditions that are passed on from one generation to the next are very hard to break as a result of this, even though they are wrong. Sometimes one must do what is right even though sacrifices must be made to change these ways. As Dr. Seuss said, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s

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In a small town in Maycomb, Alabama, there was a rape trial where a lawyer named Atticus defended Tom Robinson, a black man. Mayella Ewell was the woman who claimed she was raped and Bob Ewell was her father. In the end, Tom Robinson was convicted of rape and was shot and killed when he tried to escape prison. Even though Tom Robinson was convicted, Bob Ewell was still bitter toward Atticus because he defended Tom To get back at Atticus, Bob Ewell attacked Jem and Scout and tried to kill them. Bob did not succeed at hurting the children because Arthur Radley saved them and killed Bob Ewell by stabbing him with his own knife.

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1. Though there is an incredible amount of important characters in the novel, to me, the most significant character in Part 1 of To Kill a Mockingbird is Atticus Finch. His actions and treatment towards everyone and everything caused me think the most in comparison to the other characters. For instance, Atticus makes an important decision to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, in trial during Chapter 9, thus leading to harassment towards his family not only from school, but even from their own neighbor and a relative. While his actions put him and his family in trouble, Atticus still stands firm in his beliefs.

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