ipl-logo

To Kill A Mockingbird Dreams

1453 Words6 Pages

“I have a dream today... I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low. The rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight. This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.” (King) Martin Luther King Jr. was the dreamer of all dreamers. He was put down for having a dream; he was put down for having an idea of how society should look. But did he give up? No. He used his challenges as motivation and used his dream to strengthen the bond between people across America. That idea of dreams and determination is laced throughout many pieces of literature. In A Raisin …show more content…

Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, is filled with dreamers, although not all of them are dreaming for the right thing. The characters hoping for a better tomorrow are the optimists, they are the dreamers that our society needs to thrive and strive for a future where everything is how it should be. Atticus, loving father and determined lawyer, is one of our dreamers. Through his years he has seen terrible things, but he continues to have hope. Terrible things such as the accusation of a horrendous crime like rape, the accusation of an innocent black man. Tom Robinson had all of the evidence in the world to prove his innocence, but he didn’t stand a chance with society stacked against him. Atticus had hoped that by pursuing his dream he would change the society for the better. He put his hope and trust in the very men that caused many of the problems of his Maycomb society. “Now I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence that you have heard, come to a decision, and restore this man to his family. In the name of God, do your duty.” (Lee 205) Atticus knew that even through the blood, …show more content…

Gunnar Myrdal, a Swedish economist who loved America and what it’s stood for. Equality, freedom, and homogeneity were things he admired most about America, but his picture was smeared when he visited and got down and dirty into the racial prejudice so prevalent in the United States. His life and discoveries are recorded in the compelling documentary, “American Denial.” Myrdal had a dream about America and how this country was a spokesmodel for equality. Gunnar Myrdal’s daughter, Sissela Bok, told PBS, “ There were these extraordinary ideals that he also shared. He felt very strongly about the ideals of equality, liberty, and freedom in the United States.” He was mistaken. In the Deep South he finds a color line built more like the Great Wall Of China. He found a society based around racial domination. Myrdal could have lost hope for the beautiful country he thought America was, but he didn’t. He traveled this way to study the America he imagined and he was going to study that America. He published a study called “American Dilemma.” In short, he explained what he discovered, and what he found shook the world. What he found led to the more equal society we live here now. “The Supreme Court was arguing that segregation is physiologically damaging to African Americans and they cited Myrdal there.” (Danielle Allen, Political Philosopher Institute for Advanced Studies.) Myrdal was cited in the ruling for the Brown vs. The Board Of Education case.

Show More
Related
490 Words | 2 Pages

For the closing statement of Atticus was moving speech that could not determine the fate of Tom Robinson’s verdict. Atticus used artistic proofs, anaphora, and multiple other persuasive tools to connect with his audience and to prove to the jury that Tom Robinson was innocent. Even with the substantial evidence against the Ewell’s testimony the prejudice and racism that was being shown to the black community in Maycomb overcame the truth. In Atticus’s closing statement he attempted to create people of all races equal in the court

Read More
881 Words | 4 Pages

He puts his leadership efforts on display to make a change in his community by defending a black man in court, which was often frowned upon in the 1900s: “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to win” (Lee 87). With this in mind, defending an African-American man in court shows that he does not care much for the ‘normal’ in society. As a result, an angry mob attempts to lynch Tom at the jailhouse, but Atticus stays put, sticking to his beliefs about a fair trial. Atticus’s defense of Tom Robinson represents his leadership and perseverance; most people disagreed with him and even knew the verdict before it was announced, but Atticus kept fighting diligently. An angry mob attempts to lynch Tom, but Atticus stays put, sticking to his beliefs about a fair trial.

Read More
645 Words | 3 Pages

As a result of being born a slave, his perspective of being an African American during 1855 and onward is different than being a free African American. A free African American man in the northern states did not need permission to leave their home, but if the person was a slave, they would need a

Read More
477 Words | 2 Pages

He also states "anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider. "(paragraph 4). This statement also shows what is happening to African American people. They are being treated as if they were outsiders in their own country. Knowing and living through these hardships helps him become a credible

Read More
577 Words | 3 Pages

After building up facts he turns the emotions felt to show how unfair slavery was. He quotes a part of the Declaration of Independence but then directly follows it with, “ but, sir, how pitiable is it to reflect… of my brethren under a groaning captivity, and cruel oppression” (9). Referring back to his heritage makes his argument stronger because it is more personal than it would be from a non African American. He then attempts to switch their perspective by quoting the Bible. The Americans were very religious people so

Read More
577 Words | 3 Pages

When Atticus was asked why he was defending him he said “ If I didn’t I could hold my head up in town, I couldn’t represent this country in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again.” (Lee, Page 78). The people of Maycomb tried to storm the county jail to attack Tom Robinson but Atticus waited overnight and stopped the angry townsfolk from hurting Tom and got in a verbal confrontation with them. In court he tried everything he could to convince the jury Tom was not guilty but they had made up their mind before the trial started which resulted in him being

Read More
604 Words | 3 Pages

I believe in the warm heart. I believe in man’s integrity. I believe in the goodness of a free society. And I believe that the society can remain good only as long as we are willing to fight for it—and to fight against whatever imperfections may exist.” By this, he meant that his struggle in overcoming the obstacles like his fight against what kept African Americans out of baseball, but he fought back all the segregation and eventually he accomplished his goal, he saw white people sitting next to African Americans in the bleachers for the first

Read More
745 Words | 3 Pages

This shows that Atticus’ mindset thinks that he could not even tell the kids not to do something if he did not take the case. This shows why it makes sense for Atticus to take the Tom Robinson case. These quotes show how Atticus would feel like he lost his responsibility if he did not take the case. This shows why it made sense for Atticus to take the

Read More
277 Words | 2 Pages

He was able to identify that African Americans at the time were “ignorant and inexperienced, it [was] not strange that in the first years of [their] freedom [they] began at the top instead

Read More
686 Words | 3 Pages

He was one of the few educated slaves that began to look at the situation and see the changes that could be made to improve it. He was distraught about the aspects of his life that no one could tell him. He never knew his age and this vexed him because it was a fundamental fact in white society. “The white children could tell their ages. I could not tell why I ought to be deprived of the same privilege.”

Read More
436 Words | 2 Pages

Atticus could not live with himself if he failed to give his utmost effort in clearing the accused, Tom Robinson’s, name. The lawyer feels that he has to do it. The people of Maycomb are small minded and hypocritical, Atticus Finch is not. Nothing can be done to make the towns people hear the truth. Tom Robinson, would be a free man, living with his family, if it wasn’t for the people of Maycomb.

Read More
629 Words | 3 Pages

This showed the audience his state of mind at the time and helps support his claim, “ when a white man turns tyrant, it is his own freedom that he destroys.” Another example of the ethos that was used was the fact he used multiple Latin

Read More
661 Words | 3 Pages

When Scout is concerned about the fact that his image might become tarnished due to Maycomb’s racist ideology, Atticus assures her he is doing the morally right thing by supporting the case: “‘This case, Tom Robinson’s case, is something that goes to the essence of a man’s conscience – Scout, I couldn’t go to church and worship God if I didn’t try to help that man’” (Lee …). Atticus Finch, a man of strong moral values and principles, risks his reputation to take on the challenge of defending Tom Robinson. He does this not out of pity or obligation, but from a true sense of Christian duty and righteousness. Even despite the devastating odds, he advocates for justice in a case that is heavily tainted by racism and prejudice.

Read More
725 Words | 3 Pages

The only thing we’ve got is a black man's word against the Ewells’. The evidence boils down to you-did—i didn’t. The jury couldn’t possibly be expected to take Tom Robinson’s word against the Ewells’— are you acquainted with the Ewells?’”(100). Atticus knows there is little hope in the case because of Tom Robinson’s skin color. People in Maycomb barely, if at all, think of blacks as people.

Read More
446 Words | 2 Pages

He believed that white people were to blame for the desperate conditions of the blacks. That still is true when he is older, expect he now believes that people of all races, not just white, can be horrible people. He also later on believes that is blacks want a better life for themselves, they have to go out to get it. They cannot rely

Read More

More about To Kill A Mockingbird Dreams

Related Topics

Open Document