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To Kill A Mockingbird Atticus Closing Speech

688 Words3 Pages

The audience Atticus is addressing has the complexities of past prejudices and racism that Atticus uses to his advantage. All through the book we see Harper Lee establish and describe the community that lives in Maycomb. In chapter 12 we see how one group can influence another into having similar beliefs against each other. In chapter 12, Calpurnia brings Scout and Jem to a black church,and the people react with racism,”Lula stopped but she said, “You ain’t got no business bringin white chillun here- they got their own Church, we got our n. It is our church ain’t it miss Call? Calpurnia said, “ It’s the same god ain’t it?” Harper Lee uses this church incident to show us that even the group that’s being oppressed has racist ideas against …show more content…

During Atticus’s closing statement, Atticus talks about the actions and the consequences of Mayella kissing Tom in this society, “ She has committed no crime, she has merel merely broken a rigid and time honored code of our society so severe that whoever breaks it is hounded from our midst as unfit to live with.” Atticus shaming Mayella and connecting her actions to breaking a societal norm can be connected to this whole case. Furthermore, by expressing the idea that Mayella actions, actions being that she kissed Tom Robinson can be the same consequence as defending Tom Robinson. In addition to that connection the emotions Atticus transfers upon the audience should be guilt and sadness for Mayella and ourselves. Atticus diction of saying our society, our code, our way of life, he address that this case is the result of the society of Maycomb and its prejudices. Atticus, knows that Mayella feels guilt on herself whether she kiss Tom, seduced Tom, or got raped. Atticus uses that guilt to show the audience how they should be sorry for putting the notion that if she ever fell in love with Tom, she would have to resent that idea, for the society developed that has a norm. Mayella feelings to attack Tom is just what a terrible society does to limit people's thinking, and Atticus informs the society, the audience, that these norms are outrageous and lead to unnecessary

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