...the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Harper E. Lee portrays courage through two of her characters: Atticus Finch and Mrs. Dubose. Atticus, a lawyer in Depression Era south, is given the task of defending a black man in court. Due to the discriminatory nature of the close-minded town of Maycomb, Alabama, this brings up several complications. Rather than backing down from his responsibilities, Atticus stands defiant even as his neighbors berate him for his actions. On the other hand, Mrs. Dubose is an old woman who has been a morphine addict most of her life. She shows incredible bravery and resilience when she tries to shake her addiction...
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...Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird is considered a modern-day hero for his intolerance towards racism, especially in that time period. His disapproval towards racism is most apparent when he fought for Tom Robinson. Fighting for an African-American man in the 1930’s was unspeakable but not only did he defend him, he gave it all he had. Atticus knew he would never be able to win this case yet he still tried which is more than any other white lawyer would have done for anyone in the black community. Atticus even has a reputation for being the same in courtrooms as in the streets as opposed to the only other lawyer in the book, Mr. Gilmer. As Atticus states, “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for...
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...Black and White Have Never Just Been Colors Angie Scott IVY Tech Community College To Kill a Mockingbird, Black and White Have Never Just Been Colors Discrimination and prejudice transcend the ages, and the 1962 Oscar nominated film To Kill a Mockingbird shows us exactly that. It shows us that emotional, physical, and social choices we as human beings make will affect us and our world for generations to come. The film provides us with lessons in mankind that we can use in our world today. Upon your first viewing, you may not feel like it has relevance in your life today. You may be of the opinion that the world that Atticus Finch and Tom Robinson lived in is a far cry from our world today, but current events reflect otherwise. Most of us can remember the famous words spoken during the Los Angeles riots in 1992 by Rodney King, “Can’t we all just get along?”, and we all can never forget where we were the moment the towers were struck on September 11, 2001. Very different in their own rights, each of these events was caused by prejudice or discrimination. While the top notch acting is unsurpassed in our world of CGI, 3D, and High Definition movie making, no breathtaking stunts, superheroes, fantastic cliffhangers, or 3D glasses are required to watch To Kill a Mockingbird. Gregory Peck, the actor who portrayed Atticus Finch, still stands 49 years since its original release, the greatest movie hero of the 20th century (American Film Institute, 4 June 2003). The story itself...
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...Because of this, Atticus had to be brave in order to face the commotion that was brought upon him and his family for taking his assigned case of defending Tom Robinson. Though he was confident that the verdict would not be in Tom’s favor, his application of true commitment to the case is what his fellow neighbors disapproved of. In the courthouse, Scout overheard a man in a group of friends say, “Yeah, but Atticus aims to defend him. That’s what I don’t like about it” (218). Needless to say, I believe that statement reveals how the residents of his community truly felt about the way Atticus approached his assignment. It seems to me that he is in a situation where his way of life, treating everyone the way he would treat his own family, does not register well with his community because they are too quick to judge and feel as if they must fit in with society’s thoughts and outlooks. Furthermore, Atticus repeatedly supported evidence to the jury that essentially proved Tom’s innocence. His evidence included Tom’s crippled left arm that he allegedly used to beat Mayella with, along with evidence of her father’s alcoholism that causes him to get aggressive. In other words, he provided all the evidence needed...
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...A mockingbird is a harmless bird that makes the world more pleasant. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the mockingbird symbolizes Boo Radley, Atticus Finch and Tom Robinson, who were peaceful people who never did any harm. To kill or harm them would be a sin. Scout's father, Atticus, tells Scout and Jem, “Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." Atticus is portraying that they are innocent and to harm them would be a sin. The mockingbird symbolizes these three characters because it does not have its own song, the mockingbird only sings other birds' songs and is seen through the other bird’s voices. The people of Maycomb only knew Boo, Atticus and Tom by what others said about them. These characters do not really have their own voice or song, they are only known for what others say about them. Atticus is a lawyer in Maycomb, a typical southern town where racial discrimination is the normal behavior. When he decides to defend Tom Robinson a black man, the people in the town were threatening him for doing so. Though Atticus never showed any sign that he doubted what he was doing. Atticus saw the evil in his world and was only trying to protect his children from it. He simply denied the natural behavior to colored people and fought against it. Atticus took the hatred, pushed it aside, kept his head high and stayed true to himself. He never hurt a soul and was just as innocent as a mockingbird. Boo Radley went through...
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...Atticus Finch is a lawyer in Maycomb County and the father of Jeremy (aka. Jem) and Jean Louise (aka Scout). Atticus grew up in Finch's landing in Mobile, Alabama, with his younger sister and brother, Alexandra and Jack. After leaving his home, to go to law school he settled in Maycomb county. He is a widower and very kind man. Atticus is one of the very few people unaffected by racism, which is one of the numerous reasons why he agreed to defend Tom Robinson. Atticus is average height, with black greying hair. He wears glasses because without them he can hardly see out of his left eye. Scout claims that Atticus is much older than the other fathers in Maycomb, and has a strong jawline. Although scout describes him in the beginning and as...
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...He tells Atticus, “‘For God’s sake, Mr, Finch, look where he is! Miss and you’ll go straight into the Radley house! I can’t shoot that well and you know it!’” (109). Giving him control of the situation reinforces the allegory of Tim Johnson through the two men’s professions. Officer Tate puts the job of warding off the town from a wild threat in Atticus’s hands, which is much like how police delegate punishment and enactment of justice to the law. Tate is aware that trying to shoot the mad dog could hurt everyone, just as doing what is outside his line of police work leads to devastating results. While Tate is ineffective at killing the unfairness and discrimination embodied by the mad dog as a police officer, as a lawyer Atticus can see and target it well, being able to keep senseless and animalistic hatred of black people at bay to protect the similarly named Tom Robinson. Knowing that a mistake from officer Tate or anyone else could hurt the Radleys makes Atticus realize that this is a time where he must use his skill and expertise in order to protect people from a mindless beast, just as he would defend Tom Robinson in the courtroom from the beast of...
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...Southern town called Maycomb. It was written by Harper Lee and published in 1960. The novel deals with childhood innocence and the conflict between good and evil in many different situations. Throughout the novel, the reader follows the childhood of a young girl called Jean Louise "Scout" Finch who lived with her family that included her father, Atticus, her brother, Jem, and their black cook, Calpurnia. Scout is the narrator and the protagonist of the novel and the reader is able to perceive, through her narration, a child's perspective of the world and the prejudice that exists within it. One of the themes that is prominent in the novel is black racism. The writer made that notable through the lifestyle of Maycomb, its citizens' notions and the case of Tom Robinson. These cases helped to shape Scout's opinion of the real world and her understanding of the dark and cruel sides of it. The theme also plays an important role in understanding and analyzing the novel as a whole. As the novel is a depiction of the writer's childhood, it elaborates to the reader the various aspects of real life in the United States of America during the 1930s and helps them get a view of the racial discrimination that shaped the American society at that time. That...
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...How does Harper Lee explore ideas of prejudice in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’? Harper Lee, author of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, demonstrates the clear prejudice within Maycomb through the structure of its society. Cleverly painting a picture of injustice and horror, Lee uses the social class of Maycomb and the roles within society given to individuals, along with the discrimination within the trial of Tom Robinson to reveal prejudice in this ‘tired old town’. Lee primarily utilises the town of Maycomb to illustrate the prejudice within the social classes of society during the 1930’s. Through the restricting roles given to those with darker skin in society and through the first-person narration of Scout, Lee highlights the injustice that results from strict social classes and expectations. Calpurina’s role as a house help to the white Finch family, and the ensuing expectation that her children will also be destined to a similar fate is an example of this. As ‘old Tim Johnson’, a rabid dog, is shot by Atticus Finch, it is Calpurina’s son who is sent to dispose of ‘the pet of Maycomb’. Thus, Lee implies that those of darker skin are expected to perform menial or undesirable jobs, while those with fairer skin comfortably watch on. Furthermore, although Scout sees Calpurina as a mother figure, she unintentionally...
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...Seeing things from other peoples perspective The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee teaches the reader about what it would be like to grow up in Maycomb Alabama in the 1930s. Atticus Finch is a defense lawyer who is doing his best to raise his two children, Jem and Scout, after his wife dies. The children live in a household where there is a black woman in the kitchen and no discrimination is allowed. This is because Maycomb succeeded from the union during the civil war times and is now full of racist whites. Most of the townspeople are upset with Atticus for defending a black man in court who is accused of raping a white woman, besides the black community, his children, and others who support his decision. Throughout the story Atticus uses the trial to his advantage by teaching his children life lessons and giving them advice. Scout, Atticus’ youngest child and only daughter, is often unsure of why people act a certain way, change, or why something happens. The most important piece of advice Atticus gives to Scout is to put herself in other peoples shoes, which she does with Ms. Caroline, the angry mob, and Boo Radley. Scout tries to make sense of things when her father explains to puts herself in Ms. Caroline’s shoes. After Scout’s first day of school her teacher, Ms. Caroline, embarrasses her in front of the whole classroom when all she is trying to do was help a classmate. It starts when Walter Cunningham does not have a lunch because he “forgets it” so Ms. Caroline...
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...Scout To Kill a Mockingbird is narrated by Scout Finch, the main character of this novel. She tells her experiences as a child a few years after they occur. Scout is a young girl and typically acts as a tomboy. Even at a young age, her father taught her to read, this making her smarter than the majority of the children her age. She doesn't act like the other girls her age either. This is because her father, Atticus, raises her in a certain way. Throughout the novel, Scout matures as she grows up. This is demonstrated by the different ways she acts as she ages. Jem Jem is Scout's older brother so he is raised the same way as Scout. How he matures throughout the years is also proven within the novel. He goes through puberty, this causes his...
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...People can often be treated and judged in a less than equal manner before people even know the true nature of the person, such as the way that the Finch children think that Boo Radley is some kind of a monster. Or the way people call Atticus Finch is called a nigger-lover. One of my most favorite quotations is that of Martin Luther King Junior. "I have a dream, that one day my children will be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." People should make judgments of the person's character, not by their appearance, race, religion, sexuality, and morals. One of the main focuses of the book is the Finch children trying to get Boo Radley next door to come out of his house. To them he is a mean monstrous person. But for some reason they seem to think that tormenting him is the best way to occupy their time. In fact, to the whole town the Radley family are mean people that kept to themselves. "There goes the meanest man ever God blew breath into," said Calpurnia (page 12). This shows how mean people can be just by judging others by their outsides. What gives these people the right to make these kind of conclusions without ever even meeting the person(s)? Later in the book the Finch children find presents hidden in a tree next to the Radley place. They can't figure out who would set these nice gifts out for them. Later they find out that is Boo Radley. He is just trying to be nice and other people won't accept his original approach on...
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...The Essence of Man Being a man comes with many responsibilities. Being a man that people can follow, is something that is being overlooked nowadays. Atticus is a man with many responsibilities, people can follow him and learn how to be beneficial to society from him. Atticus’ importance in To Kill a Mockingbird is by far imperative of all the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird because of the lessons people can learn just from Atticus’ actions in the book. Atticus represents various traits throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, but there is three that stood out the most. The traits that I felt made Atticus a likeable character is consideration, gratefulness, and intelligence. Atticus Finch’s traits of consideration, gratefulness, and intelligence, show how much he impacted To Kill a Mockingbird and other characters in it. The first trait I felt that Atticus expressed throughout To Kill a Mockingbird was consideration. Being considerate is an essential trait...
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...How do most people react and what is the right way to respond when injustice knocks on their front door? From a small unfairness to enormous discriminations, standing up to injustice and dealing with it proves considerably more difficult than most people assume. In the book To Kill a Mocking Bird, the writer, Harper Lee, depicts several interesting themes. One of them: injustice – problems and evils that cause readers to think for themselves and create their own standards of right and wrong. Harper Lee composes three interlinking unjust wrongs throughout the book. Injustice is revealed by how people perceive Boo Radley, the accusation against Tom Robinson, and Bob Ewell’s attack on Jem and Scout. To start, many people in Maycomb perceived Boo Radley inaccurately. Boo Radley, or Arthur Radley, probably had some mental or physical problems, but the assumptions and accusations that people carelessly made against him proved completely injust and unfair. “Boo was about six and a half feet tall judging by his tracks; he dined on any raw squirrels and any cats he could catch,...
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...To Kill A Tom Robinson, an Atticus, and a Boo Radley Prejudice is a rather large theme in To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee. It is felt by many characters in the book. Atticus, Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson are three very different people. They all experience prejudice in one way or another. All of them can be considered “Mockingbirds”. In the book Atticus tells Scout that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. Miss Maudie later gets asked by Scout why did Atticus say that. She responds with ““Your father's right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy . . . but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.” A mockingbird has done nothing wrong. That's why it is wrong to...
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