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Similarities Between To Kill A Mockingbird And The Help

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Courageousness in Confronting Prejudice
Most white people in the early to mid-1900s did not find standing up for black people worth the danger it could cost them. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Tate Taylors film The Help explore similar thematic topics of courage and prejudice through the characters Atticus and Skeeter. Both showcase characters standing up for what they believe in even if it becomes dangerous; however, Atticus is standing up for a single person, while Skeeter is advocating for a whole group.
Both characters, Atticus and Skeeter, show extreme courage during a time when it was risky to do so. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus takes on the case of Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of rape. He is repeatedly …show more content…

Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus is simply defending Tom Robinson in court, “I’m simply defending a Negro-his name’s Tom Robinson” (Lee 86). In Atticus' time period, there was not much of a civil rights movement, and it was the default to be racist. Though Atticus is not explicitly racist, he does not do anything to stop the mistreatment of black people, only defending Tom when he is accused of a crime he had not committed. His goal is to influence the court's decision over Tom. Atticus’ help only spans to help one person, while many black people during this time face much prejudice. In comparison, Skeeter's work revolutionizes the world of a major group. When trying to convince Aibelen to help her write the book she explains that showing the perspective of the help, a previously undocumented point of view, can help people understand what they experience (Taylor). As shown later in the film, the book showcases the lives of different African American maids and increases their visibility. By doing so people begin to question if the way the maids have been treated is ethical or not. The book was a major part of helping the civil rights movement. While both Atticus and Skeeter help black people, Atticus’ aid only covers one person, whereas Skeeter's service expands to a whole social class of

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793 Words | 4 Pages

Leading up to the Civil Rights Movement, the black community was in a constant battle against law enforcement treating them unfair compared to the white community. The Scottsboro Boys and Emmett Till’s cases were one of the many times that the legal system showed to be unfair to blacks. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, the law enforcement and community were very racist against blacks and believed all blacks were criminals. In the story, Atticus Finch, who is a lawyer gets put into a very difficult situation and decides to defend a black man, who went by the name of Tom Robinson.

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532 Words | 3 Pages

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird, and the film The Help have several similarities within the context, and a common theme arises of expectation of segregation and class prejudice to the treatment of their black workers. Both characters: Aunt Alexandra from To Kill a Mockingbird and Charlotte Phelan from The Help, experience the pressure of living in a racist society. Aunt Alexandra’s relationship with Calpurnia, her maid, is one example of how she deals with the segregation of black people. In the novel, when Aunt Alexandra is first introduced to Cal she says “Put my bag in the front bedroom, Calpurnia” (Lee 169). This demonstrates how Aunt Alexandra feels towards black people considering she confronted Cal with a demand rather than a greeting.

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722 Words | 3 Pages

Hilly Holbrook, from The Help directed by Tate Taylor, and Aunt Alexandra from To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, are very similar. They both deeply care about maintaining their reputation in their respective towns. In The Help, Hilly received dozens of toilets on her front lawn after Skeeter ordered them for her. When she sees the toilets at her house, she becomes embarrassed and furious (Taylor).

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674 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird," Atticus Finch serves as a model of tolerance. He consistently demonstrates his conviction that others should be treated with empathy and understanding. One of the most prominent examples of Atticus' tolerance is his defense of Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman. Despite the community's intense racism and prejudice, Atticus maintains his belief in Tom's innocence and fights for his rights in court. This shows his tolerance and acceptance of people of different races and his refusal to be swayed by the prejudices of others.

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1348 Words | 6 Pages

(271). This quote shows Atticus defending Tom Robinson because he feels it is the right thing to do. Entering the trial, Atticus knew that it wasn’t possible to win with an all-white male, racist jury. Yet, he still chose to defend Tom till the very end. Atticus overcame the typical southern male stereotype of being racist, putting an end to the racist stereotype, and therefore a death to racism.

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871 Words | 4 Pages

In modern day society, racial injustice has a big impact in this world today, as stated in Just Mercy and To Kill a Mockingbird. Showing that they are both related in many ways. The characters from To Kill A Mockingbird deal with racial injustice first hand. Scout, the narrator and daughter of Atticus Finch, experienced racial injustice of her father’s court case with Tom Robinson, an African American.

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1079 Words | 5 Pages

From the late 1870s through the mid-1960s, Jim Crow laws affected many African Americans. With these laws, blacks were given very limited rights and were often victims of unfair judgment. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch, a highly educated lawyer, gets a case where he needs to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. Atticus faces many challenges, including judgment from the white community in his town and questions from his kids about the trial. Atticus demonstrates moral integrity, bravery, and empathy in response to conflict, which connects to the idea that one should achieve social justice by following morals, taking a stand when no one else will, and understanding other people’s perspectives.

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1035 Words | 5 Pages

In a dark world with dark people, there seemed to be nothing wrong with the racial slurs and poor treatment of the lower class and different race. In two different stories, two main characters stand up to fight discrimination in two towns. To Kill a Mockingbird and The Help are both set in the mid 1950s in Alabama and Mississippi. Both towns have heavy discrimination in many different ways. Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird and Skeeter from The Help, both face discrimination from different point of views and act differently; the way they react shows their moral beliefs in a strong way.

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1746 Words | 7 Pages

Kathryn Stockett’s The Help, attests to the hateful and cruel reality that is the life of African Americans in Jackson, Mississippi circa the 1960’s. Stockett writes many anecdotes surrounding the relationship between Constantine, an African American maid, and the child she cares for, Skeeter. Skeeter reflects upon a memory of Constantine and

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1462 Words | 6 Pages

In the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, it makes sense that Atticus is defending Tom Robinson based on his character and how his character shows

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905 Words | 4 Pages

In To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus Finch is a well-educated lawyer and father, who uses his job as a way to deliver change for the injustices against black people. For example, Miss Maudie wants to tell Scout and Jem “That there are some men in this world who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your father’s one of them” (Lee 245). This further explains that Atticus’ job as lawyer acts as a pathway for him to provide justice for the unfair treatment and racism against black people. Although this is referred to as an unpleasant job, Atticus is committed to doing his job for his clients, and understands the importance of defending Tom Robinson.

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782 Words | 4 Pages

To Kill A Mockingbird is set in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. The Help is set in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960’s. Although the two stories are set thirty years apart, their are many similarities between the two of them. In To Kill A Mockingbird, African Americans had close to no say in society.

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1584 Words | 7 Pages

The Help focuses on the story of a upper class writer that tries to find her social identity as well as others. With help from the maids of Jackson, Mississippi, they all overcome stereotypes and discrimination. Aibileen's story was the foundation idea for Skeeter because she had been through so much in her life that she decided to tell her story. The fact that she was black, and a woman the role of a maid for the upper class families were passed down from generations so she saw her fair share of being looked down upon. Being a part of the Black/African African race, there were certain things

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1317 Words | 6 Pages

Furthermore he defends a black man in court. At the time (and maybe still even now) Maycomb, Alabama, is from our perspective a really racist county, and in this culture it takes a lot of courage to go against the tide and not to judge a black man merely of his skin colour or origin, but instead to put his worries before ones own. Most people in Maycomb, who believe black Tom Robinson is innocent, also believe that there is no chance of winning the case and they lack the courage to risk getting a bad reputation with nothing to gain from it. Atticus is probably the only one whose moral views forbid him to look

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881 Words | 4 Pages

She asked Skeeter, a white college girl, to get her a few books, because “you know colored folks ain’t allowed in that library” (179). Skeeter knew the risks, but she also knew what a black family went through in Jackson, Mississippi. Despite what society thought was right, there were still people, like Skeeter and her family, who were looking out for the black community. Mr Phelen, Skeeter’s dad, stated, “I'm ashamed, sometimes, Senator. Ashamed of what goes on in Mississippi” (316) during a discussion of race at the dinner table. People like Skeeter and her family are one of the reasons “The help” stayed in Jackson; they felt respected by

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