A critical event in the book is when Atticus accepts to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, who is accused of raping Mayella Ewell; however, he is disfavored against by the town due to his race. In the book, Atticus says, “...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’...” (Lee 117).
but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. ”(Lee 148). When Atticus takes the Tom Robinson case, he knows that he will lose. The town is just too racist to be convinced that a black man is innocent instead of a white man.
“To Kill a Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee is an award winning novel published in the 1960’s it explores the main theme of racial differences in the early 1930’s and the many struggles, acceptance challenges and problems that black people faced during this time period. Set in the country town of Maycomb County, Southern Alabama it follows the story of a family, a lawyer named Atticus Finch and his two children Scout and Jem. As the two children, Scout and Jem grow up their father teaches them life lessons which in that time and in their community were said to be different and unlike everyones else’s ideas which were therefore redeemed as un normal. Proceeding through the story it uncovers the harsh ways of growing up and being introduced
When Scout asks him why he is doing this, he explains that “… if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this county in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again.” (75). Tom Robinson, a black man, is accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman & one of the children in the (poor) Ewell family. When Atticus is visited one night, he is asked to represent Tom in the case, and Atticus accepts. Representing a black man is a serious thing to do.
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.
No one really knows what another person has gone through. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird tells the story of two young white kids growing up in their small community in the 1930s. The kids learn that people will make prejudices about you just by the way you look. As their childhood goes on, they witness life from different experiences and discover motifs that will help guide them in their futures.
Tom Robinson, an innocent, black man, is convicted for rape of Mayella Ewell by a jury made up of white men. Tom is setup to fail from the very beginning since it is his word against the word of of a white girl. In any court case, “when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins” (Lee 295). The jury is able to make their decision about the case just by looking at the color of Tom’s skin. Even his exceptional lawyer, Atticus Finch, is unable to convince the jury that he is not the guilty one.
“Well, it’d sort of be like shootin’ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?”. To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee. Based during the Great Depression, this novel follows the point of view of six-year-old Scout Finch, the daughter of a white lawyer, Atticus Finch, who defends a black man, Tom Robinson, for raping a white woman because it was the right thing to do. Scout lives with her brother, Jem, her father, and Calpurnia, who practically raises the kids. Scout and Jem are kept up-to-date on their father’s case, and they face the backlash and grief as Tom is wrongfully charged as guilty.
Atticus is appointed a case by Judge Taylor to defend a black man named Tom Robinson who has been accused of raping a white girl named Mayella Ewell. Because of the racism and prejudice against black people, he believes that he will not win this case and could risk the life of Tom Robinson. Because of this case, Scout gets bullied by Francis about how his dad is defending a black man, Atticus later talks to Scout about how “[Tom Robinson] lives in [a] settlement behind the town dump….there’s been some high talk around the town to the effect that I shouldn’t do much about defending this man” (Lee 86). Atticus knows that something bad can happen to him if he were to defend Tom Robinson but still does so because he has the courage to do it. After the trial had ended, Atticus was waiting for news but he did not expect something so terrible and heartbreaking, Tom Robinson, unfortunately, died after being shot several times.
Everyone has heard about the civil rights movement in our country’s history. Maybe it was Martin Luther King Jr. or Rosa Parks, but one can always draw back those memories from elementary school. Every child from this age has those memories of hearing about all the events, but not comprehending a single word. Even now that one has the ability to grasp what they were being told, it is still hard to understand what it would be like to live in such a world. It is difficult to imagine, but with tools such as books and stories passed down from person to person, it is slightly easier to visualize.
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the segregated South of the 1930’s. The book is told in the eyes of an eight year old girl, Scout Finch. Her father, Atticus Finch, is an attorney who is struggling to prove the innocence of a black man incorrectly accused of rape. The historical context of the book lets one see the social status of different groups during the civil rights era. The story explores who fits into certain societies, who is respected in the community, written and unwritten rules concerning family, gender, age, and race, expectations of certain people, and what conflicts arise out of tension.
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel that show the life of a southern state od Alabama during the “black racism” time period, where majority of the people had the mentality that (quote) with the exception of a few. To chosen to portray it from the eyes of Scout Finch, from a child’s point of view. Living in Maycomb, in the midst of a conservative society of the 1930’s and 20’s Southern America Scout Finch is an extra ordinary child.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee tells a story of racial prejudice during the Depression and how it is combated. The main development in the novel is that a Atticus, the father of Scout and Jem, has been appointed to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a young white woman named Mayella. Many people in the town of Maycomb, particularly people involved with the case of Tom, have a negative attitude towards African Americans. Prejudice was a terrible issue in the South during the Depression, but Atticus Finch shows that racial injustice can be combated in two main ways, each having different levels of effectiveness.
Humans live in a world where moral values are very clearly set determining what is good and what is bad. We know what scares us and how racism should be treated. Nevertheless, this was not the case back in Alabama during the 1950s. In the famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee narrates the lives of the people of Maycomb, Alabama, focusing on the story of Scout and Jem Finch, and the case of a said to be rape. In this emotion filled narrative, readers learn how life was back then not only in general, but for the separate social statuses that there was.
In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare we see Several characters change and develop a lot throughout the play however one in particular that had an interesting way of thinking was Gertrude. Throughout the play the motif of appearance vs. reality shows up a lot. I fond gertrude to be a great advocate for this role because of the way her character changes so much within the novel . Gertrude appears to be this clueless unaware person but in reality I beg to differ. I find as though there was no way Gertrude had no idea of Claudius killing her former husband was a plan to take the position of King being able to have extreme power over the kingdom.
