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To Kill A Mockingbird Hypocrites Quotes

899 Words4 Pages

Kennedy Steward
Mr. Wetterling
10:45 Freshman English
4 April 2018 Hypocrites in Maycomb
“An immoral character, glossed with religious pretention, is like a rotten egg with an Easter coloring” -Lewis F. Korns. People put on a mask, so they appear to be a “good” person, but in reality, we would rather do what pleases us. In Harper Lee’s award-winning book, To Kill a Mockingbird, depicts life in the 1930’s through her 9-year-old self’s eyes. To Kill A Mockingbird shows many fun and loving characters, but also some that are not as endearing. A hypocrite is a person who says or does one thing, but then does the opposite. Hypocrites are the most abundant example of evil in the book and they are incorporated throughout the book. The three …show more content…

Merriweather is described as “certainly… the most devout lady in Maycomb (308)” but she is later found to be a much different person. Mrs. Merriweather states, “Folks in this town who think they’re doing right, I mean. Now far be it from me to say who, but some of ‘em in this town thought they were doing the right thing a while back, but all they did was stir ‘em up… (311).” The purpose of this statement is to take an indirect stab at Atticus for defending a black man, even though Mrs. Merriweather proclaims to be a loving Christian. Previously, she also wanted to show that Atticus had created unrest among the community with his choice of defending a black man. A decision that she fervently does not agree with. “At least we don’t have that sin on our shoulders down here. People up there set ‘em free, but you don’t see ‘em settin’ at the table with ‘em.” Mrs. Merriweather made these remarks when talking about Mrs. Roosevelt, “At least we don’t have the deceit to say to ‘em yes, you’re as good as we are but stay away from us. Down here we say you live your way and we’ll live ours (313).” She also claims that people in Maycomb treat black people better than the people “up there” do. This is not an accurate statement because later Tom Robinson is convicted, only because of his skin color and all evidence points to him being innocent. Aunt Alexandra also shows hypocrisy in a totally different …show more content…

Scout comes home one day and wants Walter Cunningham to come play with her. Scout’s Aunt has a fit and tells her that she will not be allowed to play with Walter, “Because-he-is-trash, that’s why you can’t play with him. I’ll Not have you around him, picking up habits and learning Lord-knows-what. You’re enough of a problem to you father as it is” (124). She thinks that the Finches exceed the Cunningham’s because they have more money. She also believes that Scout will pick up horrible habits from Walter if she plays with him. Later she talks with Jem and says” … And I still say that Jean Louise will not invite Walter Cunningham to this house. If he were her second cousin once removed, he would still not be received in this house… (126).” She does not care if Walter was even part of the Finch family; his family is too poor to be associating with the Finches’. This proves to be hypocritical because she agreed with Mrs. Merriweather, at the party, that the folks in Maycomb treat everybody equally. Bob Ewell is portrayed as the biggest hypocritical character in To Kill A

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The verdict of the Tom Robinson case helps shine the light on the morality of the Maycomb community members. The Ewell family are seated on the lowest level of the society statues pyramid and rightly so. Bob Ewell punishes Mayella, his daughter, in a violent manner and blames Tom Robinson for raping her; this is an unethical and dirty accusation. “We don’t know, but there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone who led almost exclusively with his left. We do know in part what Mr. Ewell did:”(Lee 272).

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The citizens of Maycomb criticize Tom Robinson because he differs from society's cultural norm and because he is a different race which affects how society treats him. “You know how they are. Easy come, easy go. Just shows you that Robinson bou was legally married, they say he kept himself clean, went to church and all that, but when it comes down to the line veneer’s mighty thin. Ni**er always come out in ‘em.”

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Hatred has always been around in history, including from all of our literature that we’ve read this semester, and what we’ve learned. Some, more than others. And some still to this day. In our Holocaust unit, there has been many, many examples of hatred, but I’ll talk about the hatred from Defiance.

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In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Atticus believes Maycomb is unjust because the town is inconsiderate of other people’s view, which is shown when Atticus gets targeted for defending a black man, worries that his kids will become bitter and catch Maycomb’s disease, and Aunt Alexandra advising Atticus that he is raising his kids wrong. To begin with, Mrs Dubose addresses to Scout and her family about how Atticus is disgracing his race and his color by defending Tom Robinson on the alleged rape case. Mrs Dubose says, “Your father’s no better than the ni**ers and trash he works for” (135). Atticus views Maycomb as an injustice town because during this time period black people were seen as a lower class. Atticus is mark as an overall victim because in the trial the county is shocked that Atticus is

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521 Words | 3 Pages

One of the major motifs that is displayed when this quote is examined extensively is the outrageous racism in this novel directed to negroes in the way they live in Maycomb. One example of this racism is the outcome of the Tom Robinson trial being guilty by the decision of the prejudiced jury whose members were a part of an atrocious group that goes by the name of “The Old Sarum Group”. Another one of the major motifs that is displayed is “Good and Evil”. An example of a “good” person is Atticus or Miss Maudie and an example of an “evil” person is Bob Ewell or Mr. Cunningham. Atticus would be considered a “good” person because he performs various acts of kindness and bravery every day such as defending Tom in his case against Bob and Mayella Ewell in hopes that racial equality will prevail and prove Tom's innocence.

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1365 Words | 6 Pages

The Cunninghams, a poor farming family living on the outskirts of Maycomb, are not viewed as “‘...company, [they are] Cunningham’” otherwise known as the trash of Maycomb, according to Scout Finch (Lee 24). Scout makes rude remarks about Walter Cunningham Jr., a classmate of hers, after he drenched his supper in molasses. Calpurnia quickly scolds Scout, explaining to her that Walter had not known any better, not having had supper like that before. Social prejudice is clearly demonstrated here because Walter Cunningham Jr. is not welcome by Scout at the Finch home due to the fact that she does not perceive him to be of her same caliber and social class. No person should be alienated because of the way they dress, where they live, or who they affiliate with.

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“What is that shirt?! You look like an elf from the North Pole.” I hear him say to the little guy standing next to me in the red and green striped shirt. “What a loooosssseeeeerrrrr!” There are multiple ways to handle this situation.

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"They don't belong anywhere. Colored folks won't have 'em because they're half white; white folks won't have 'em 'cause they're colored, so they're just in-betweens, don't belong anywhere." (Ch.16, Pg.168) Mr. Raymond acted as if he was drunk so he that he wouldn't need to explain to anyone his love for a black woman. The alcohol, he said, gave the community of Maycomb a reason to say, he didn't realize what he was doing. These kind of relations were completely unheard of during this time.

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559 Words | 3 Pages

This quote is a perfect example of Tom Robinson, a black man who the people of Maycomb inappropriately label as a criminal and therefore act prejudiced against. Tom can be likened to a mockingbird in the sense that he too is innocent. Furthermore, it is a criminal offense to kill a mockingbird because everyone knows they are harmless creatures that do no wrong. Unfortunately for Tom, this precedent does not apply to black men in Maycomb even once they are proven innocent. This is seen during Tom Robinson’s trial just before Judge Taylor announces if he is guilty of asssuluting and raping Mayella Ewell.

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978 Words | 4 Pages

Lee uses irony many times in the book to showcase the hypocrisy that exists in Maycomb’s society. Irony in a society can highlight hypocritical situations, as seen in the Missionary Circle. “‘Not a white person’ll

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1649 Words | 7 Pages

Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird is about a man named Atticus and his two kids Jem and Scout. Atticus was appointed to defend an African American, named Tom Robinson. Tom was accused by Bob Ewell for raping and beating his daughter, Mayellea Ewell. During the trial scene, everyone in that courtroom finds outs the truth that Tom is innocent against the accusations from Bob. The truth is that Mayella kissed Tom and Bob saw what she did.

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860 Words | 4 Pages

In Maycomb County, Alabama, on Halloween night, a girl becomes a young woman, and a boy becomes a man. In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, the Finch children realize that life is not always like the games they play. Through the events and results of the trial of Tom Robinson, the Finch children get a clearer view on the extreme racism and violence of the deep south. During the trial, the Finch children do not recognize the bias of the situation.

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878 Words | 4 Pages

Gates, and Mrs. Merriweather. Hypocrisy is a major theme in To Kill a Mockingbird and Harper Lee leaves an underlying message to explain what the times were like. Aunt Alexandra was hypocritical because her statements about Cousin Joshua and the Cunninghams. Miss Gates was also hypocritical because of her statements about Hitler and the black people in Maycomb. Lastly, Mrs. Merriweather is a voice of hypocrisy because of her opinion about blacks in Maycomb and blacks in Africa.

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738 Words | 3 Pages

Scout is initially naïve and does not think about how her actions affect others, showing that children can be offensive when their naïveté equates to a lack of empathy. For example, when Jem invites Walter Cunningham over for dinner, Scout is not accustomed to the way he eats. She says to Calpurnia, “But he’s gone and drowned his dinner in syrup, he’s poured it all over” (Lee 32). Scout’s youth prevents her from understanding the differences in other people’s life circumstances, including Walter’s. Her family is wealthier than the Cunninghams and she knows proper manners; Walter, on the other hand, likely does not.

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751 Words | 4 Pages

“I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man.” (Lee 208 par. 11). This quote shows that all jury’s pick whites as innocence before blacks even when whites have no evidence to prove innocence which then makes the trial an unfair trial since colored people were considered lower class than whites no black person has ever won a trial against a white person. Society influences everyone including the way blacks are being treated. It depends on the time period of which you could be affected by.

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