Harper Lee caused herd behavior in "To Kill a Mockingbird" when Atticus disrupted the ways of Maycomb by defending an African American. First, mob mentality, or herd behavior, refers to the tendancy of people to do over reactive things that they would not normally do with others. This tells us that people will act differently when they are part of a mob. When someone joins a mob, they can lose their individuality and adopt a mob mentality, such as killing a person. In chapter fifteen of "To Kill a Mockingbird", the mob outside the jailhouse were planning to kill Tom Robinson so their would be no trial.
Despite differences in setting and time period, the conflicts impacting the adolescent characters in To Kill A Mockingbird connects to the effect of mob mentality on teenagers in modern society. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel told from the perspective of a young girl, Scout Finch, in Alabama in the 1940s. Scout grows to see her small town in a new light as they go through a very important trial. Mob mentality, also known as herd mentality, can be seen through the actions of multiple characters throughout the book. Mob mentality refers to when a person's thinking is mostly influenced by their peers and based on emotions rather than logic.
Often times it is equality and fairness these groups are seeking. Mob mentality type behaviors often include violence because the word mob conjures an image of a chaotic and violent crowd. Mob mentality is shown in To Kill a Mockingbird in multiple instances. This occurs when Mr. Cunningham and others are in a group outside the jail attempting to hurt Tom. Scout then jumps out of the shadows to meet Atticus, but finds herself bringing the mob to their senses.
Mob mentality shows how being in a group of people can bring out the worst characteristics of people. Jim Crow and mob mentality are not the only two connections to To Kill a Mockingbird, the Scottsboro trials are as
Lee also shows the real-life issue of mob mentality. Mob mentality is when people act in contrast from their normal self while in a group of people. Studies have confirmed that people act differently in a group to fit in, because they are emotional and angry (Edmonds). People also think that if they act out in a group, they are less likely to get caught (Edmonds). Numerous characters in the book To Kill a Mockingbird have experienced mob mentality in one way or another.
In writing To Kill a Mockingbird the author Harper Lee used real life events as a base for the novel. A few aspects of the book are racism, The Jim Crow Laws, and cases of mob mentality. The first connection to America’s actual history is the presence of the Jim Crow laws in the book. People thought the laws were needed as a way to “Keep the black population in check” (Pilgrim). This image showed racism in the large crowd of people who came to watch a lynching (V.).
It is used to analyze situations that range from problems during evacuations to public gatherings that turn violent (Smith ). It is a form of negative sense that occers in aggresstion or a chaotic group of people. It can be influenced by peer pressure, and the need for exeptance. When a group of people have come together because they are emotional or angry about something ( Edmonds ). There is more articles on Mob Mentality and in the book “ To Kill a Mockingbird ’’ by Harper Lee.
form of pure pressure because people are forced into doing something they would not usually do (Clay routledge, Ph.D.). Low self-esteem has a big rool in mob mentality, for many people in mobs usually are trying to find a way to let their anger out( Clay routledge, Ph.D.).One way mob mentality is showen in To Kill a Mockingbird is the jury and how the jury said Tom Robinson was guilty when they knew he was not, the jury said Tom was guilty because he is a black man.(Lee 211 ). Another example of mob mentality in To Kill A Mockingbird was when a mob came to the jail ( Lee 172). The mob had come to the jail to try and hurt Tom Robinson, but Scout stopped the mob by talking to Mr. cunningham about his family (Lee 174).
The Atlantic Crossings of 1912 was an event in history that marked a before and after in modern civilizations, having lasting impacts on both Native American and European societies. This series of voyages led by Christopher Columbus had an impact on the discovery of new lands, proceeding to a process of exchanges in multiple areas from food, supplies, and animals to contagious and deadly diseases. This historic meeting and relationship between these two new worlds, better known as "The Columbian Exchange" marked a new era of exchange not only of goods but also of knowledge, bodybuilding, and identity. The Columbian Exchange was the main factor that thousands of elements that evolved in the Americas and Europe differently had the opportunity to expand and open the ability to adapt for their use and benefits to these two different societies.
Using the lens of racial discrimination, is the discourse of the dominant culture over another still very familiar in our society? Mob Mentality and Lynch Culture The predominant culture (white) in the 1930s, specifically lynch culture and mob mentality, significantly influenced Harper Lee’s defeatist perspective in To Kill a Mockingbird. In chapter 15 of the novel, Atticus Finch, the lawyer of the minority, represented by Tom Robinson, who is falsely accused of rape, camps outside his client’s jail room, in an attempt to protect him from a possible lynch mob. The metaphoric phrase: "In one and two, men get out of the cars.
There are many examples of where mob mentality shows up in To Kill a Mockingbird, but here is one example. When Atticus is sitting in front of the
Scout Finch was able to do this by asking Mr.Cunningham questions about his family. By relating to his family, Mr.Cunningham realized what he was doing and how it was going to affect his family and his life. Perhaps more important than this example is the obvious fact issued when Harper Lee famously writes, “A mob is always made up of people, no matter what” (Lee 210). People fuel a mob like gasoline in a semi trailer.
“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny” -C.S. Lewis Harper Lee’s “To kill a mockingbird” is an excellent piece of fiction written about the 1960’s, more specifically, the racism and bigotry towards others. The book calls to attention many themes and topics that brought forward many topics that were tossed under the rug. One of the most interesting of the topics however, is how Jem and Scout react to adversity and how it shapes them. Adversity shapes us by preparing ourselves for the world, changing who we are and most importantly, changes our view of the world and those around us. Scout and jem are raised by Atticus to think that everyone is equal which was an uncommon belief for that time.
Within the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, the shift in feelings towards different crowds that emerge, affect the overall tone and therefore the theme of the novel, by manipulating the readers response through chiaroscuro, and the fictional characters feelings towards each crowd. Inside of chapter 15, the reader may encounter two different types of crowds, which the author wants us to consider. The first crowd is simply an audience asking for a deeper insight to the upcoming court case, where as the other crowd The Old Sarum Bunch, is a lynching proletariat mob wanting to kill Tom Robinson without a legal trial. The members of this group appointed themselves to take on this responsibility out of their own recklessness.
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird is so titled because there are several characters in the story which could be consisted mockingbirds. Tom Robinson and Boo Radley do not cause any harm, they go about their business without interfering in the lives of others, and however both of them are in turn harmed by the citizens of Maycomb. Harper Lee’s novel examines the dark side of human nature and explores the ramifications of prejudice, racism and bigotry in a time when people were openly hostile to anyone they considered different and inferior. Lee tells her story to highlight the injustices of the South during a time of inequality, discrimination, where the innocent are unfairly punished. Tom Robinson a character in the novel is accused of something
