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To Kill A Mockingbird Judge Taylor Character Analysis

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r To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, was a novel filled with many racial controversies, prejudices, and racism. All of which took place during the 1960s in Maycomb County, Alabama. Regardless of the many racists there were a handful of people that could care less about the colour of someone’s skin. One person who fits in with this small handful of people is the Maycomb judge, Mr. John Taylor. Judge Taylor looked like the stereotypical judge from that time period, “amiable, white-haired, slightly ruddy-faced, he was a man who ran his court with an alarming informality,” (Lee, 165). Much like a main character in the novel, Atticus, Judge Taylor believes in equality, his focus is on the truth as well as the law. He was the man that appointed …show more content…

If Judge Taylor were to have had a say in whether or not Tom Robinson was guilty, Tom would have never gone to jail, and would most likely still be alive. Judge Taylor focuses on the facts, and the proof, so when Tom was declared guilty, although he knew it was going to happen from the beginning, it probably still stung a little to him. With each ‘guilty’ added to the poll, the reality of the trial sunk in, and it was hard to believe the society in with he was a part of. Like Atticus said, “this case is not a difficult one, it requires no minute sifting of complicated facts, but it does require you to be sure beyond all reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the defendant,”(203). John Taylor was the reason Atticus had to defend a black man, Mr. Taylor not only supported Atticus, but he supported Tom Robinson as well, he knew Tom was a good guy, with the unfortunate luck to get caught up in the trial. John Taylor is one of the most influential people in the book, he might only be mentioned in several chapters, but John Taylor had one of the biggest impacts on the story, and the lives of many characters, including the Finch and Robinson

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Atticus Finch, Tom’s representative, shows in the story how Tom being sentenced to life in prison is the county's fault. They also demonstrate real-life accusations made against the people who supported Tom and his family. Tom Robinson was pronounced guilty, because

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Though people are fond of Atticus himself, his decision to aim for Tom Robinson’s justice causes discomfort, “ ‘Lemme tell you somethin’ now, Billy’ a third said, ‘you know the court appointed him to defend this nigger.’ ‘Yeah, but Atticus aims to defend him. That’s what I don’t like about it” (186). The quote exposes that everyone understand the fact that he is assigned to the case but do not understand as to why he is so intent on proving a black man’s innocence. Since Atticus exceedingly expresses his thought on Tim’s innocence and involves so much of himself in the case with a black person, he obtains negative feedback and gets called a nigger-lover.

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Atticus is a man of great courage, he will fight for what he thinks is right no matter the risk, this is represented in a quote stating “You never really really understand a person until you see his point of view”. He is a man of tremendous passion, and he is able to see the good in people even when they are not at their best as he does with his client Tom Robinson. He is a man of humility and he will admit when he is wrong. Throughout the story “To Kill a Mockingbird” Atticus is faced with the difficult task of defending a black man named Tom Robinson in court.

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The ever present distaste from whites in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, shows the issues that blacks had to deal with constantly. Lee was able to portray this hatred by putting and important character, Tom Robinson a black man, on an unjust trial for the alleged rape of a white woman, Mayella Ewell. This classic story reveals the awful conditions and intense racism during this time in the southern Unites States. Some of the many African Americans affected by southern white racists in court or otherwise include the Scottsboro

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In the classic novel To Kill A Mockingbird, author Harper Lee takes on the malignant impact of racism, a deeply rooted problem, from a different perspective and teaches readers what it truly means to be a good person as she brings to life one of the most virtuous characters in American literature-Atticus Finch. Told through the eyes of a young child, readers learn about the heavy prejudice embedded in the people of Maycomb County and the loss of innocence that is brought upon the kids as a racial conflict spurs a series of significant events in their quiet town. Taken place during the early years of the Great Depression, Maycomb must face its biggest problem-racism. Atticus Finch is the lawyer who defends this case and ultimately brings a

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Atticus Finch is in many ways the pivotal character of To Kill a Mockingbird. Although Scout narrates, Atticus is the person who drives the story forward, giving the story multidimensional color. On the most superficial dimension, Atticus defends a man falsely accused in the courtroom, and cares for the needs of his family after he dies in an escape attempt. At another dimension, he wins the respect of his children by doing so. Even deeper, we see that he also started to soften peoples’ hearts to the plight of the black people in the community, and won the admiration of the black community.

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As stated prior, segregation and Jim Crow Laws promoted racist ideas and actions. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, examples of post Plessy v Ferguson racism is quite prevalent throughout the book. The most significant example is during the court trial scene, where Atticus proves Bob Ewell had falsely accused Tom Robinson of rape, yet still wins the trial. After the trial had been lost, Atticus states “In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins,” to explain how racial inequality was the decisive factor in the trial, and not the truth. This is a perfect example of the struggle for racial equality, and the town of Maycomb backs up that ideal.

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Injustice The Scottsboro Case shed light on the racial practices expressed in law that made a great impact on the legal system today. The actual victims of the Case did not receive a fair trial due to the color of their skin. The ones who played the victims planned the crime, and their stories made no sense. But like many of the trials during the time it wasn’t based on the actual evidence that was found,or even the defendants ' stories.

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Every day in our lives, heroes are all around us. They may not be what society tells us is a hero, like Superman or Batman. They do not wear fancy costumes or have super powers. But these heroes change the lives of the people around them, for the better. Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird is the charismatic, understanding father of Scout and Jem Finch as well as a hard working lawyer in Maycomb County, Alabama.

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Essay In the novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee, there are many important messages shown throughout the book. However the primary focus was set on racial prejudice that existed in the 1930s-1940’s in the fictional town of Maycomb County. The racism in the novel was very much a reality in 1930s-1940s America. A very good example of the racial prejudice that existed was in the courtroom during Tom Robinson’s trial, an innocent Negro man held against his will for a crime he did not commit.

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Through To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee teaches us the righteousness of empathy. Harper Lee 's technique of writing and coinciding Christian beliefs weaved through emphasizes the importance of the story 's moral and themes. It is through Scout, the young dynamic and protagonist, that Lee opens the reader 's eyes to a realistic world of prejudice and inequality during the 1930s. Though introducing many characters throughout the novel, it is through Lee 's wise father character, Atticus Finch, that she further helps teach her readers life lessons, one being empathy. While narrating in first person, Lee further details her novel with the setting and use of style and diction.

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795 Words | 4 Pages

“In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins.” In the historical fiction, To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee writes about a small town known as Maycomb, Alabama in the late 1930’s. The novel revolves upon the case of Mayella and Tom and the effects of racial discriminations during the trial. In the story, Mayella, a nineteen year old, constantly undergoes abuse from her drunken father, Mr. Bob Ewell.

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1244 Words | 5 Pages

In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee teaches us about the town of Maycomb County during the late 1930s, where the characters live in isolation and victimization. Through the perspective of a young Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, readers will witness the prejudice that Maycomb produces during times where people face judgement through age, gender, skin colour, and class, their whole lives. Different types of prejudice are present throughout the story and each contribute to how events play out in the small town of Maycomb. Consequently, socially disabling the people who fall victim from living their life comfortably in peace. Boo Radley and his isolation from Maycomb County, the racial aspects of Tom Robinson, and the decision Atticus Finch makes as a lawyer, to defend a black man has all made them fall in the hands of Maycomb’s prejudice ways.

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535 Words | 3 Pages

Harper Lee touches upon many social issues in To Kill a Mockingbird. Among these issues is the matter of racism in America during the 1930s. This novel focused on the issue of racism through the case of Tom Robinson which conveyed the strong hostility towards African-Americans in Maycomb, Alabama. Other various occasions in the novel exhibit racism’s potential and influence in this country including Aunt Alexandra's disapproval of Calpurnia, and Mr. Dolphus Raymond’s hidden life. Through the results of these instances, Harper Lee shed a new light on racism and how it will always persist in America.

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936 Words | 4 Pages

Atticus is a lawyer, and he is asked by Judge Taylor to take the case. Judge Taylor trusted Atticus on this case. Atticus also showed that he could be trusted, by the things he did in spite of the case. For example, he protected Tom. If Atticus didn’t trust Tom, and thought that he did rape Mayella Ewell, then he perhaps wouldn’t have done what he did.

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