...throughout this semester. Issues have ranged from social injustices, colonialism, and women’s rights. Some included personal tragedies concerning women of Aboriginal descent living in British Columbia. It has been quite emotional at times to actually read about the struggles that have taken place right here in British Columbia regarding immigrants and Aboriginal people. We even got to meet the author of Mercenary English, Mercedes Eng, in person to make the words of her story really come to life. However, not all of the books we have studied convey negative outlooks of certain problems being faced. There have been positive social changes, personal victories and many moments that make the reader believe things can be made right if an effort is put into it. This research essay will focus on the positive view portrayed in three books studied this semester which include: Mercenary English, Active Geographies-Women and Struggles on the Left Coast and the Unnatural and Accidental Women. The positive themes discussed will display triumphs on a personal level, meaningful change on a social stage and a look at how social activism deeply connects people together. Firstly, Mercenary English has a very unique way of showing social injustice, believed to be carried out in the eyes of its author Mercedes Eng. She writes about personal problems she faced, the negative issues surrounding aboriginal people in Canada and historical injustice against minorities. Her writing is powerful, emotional...
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...In chapter 10 of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, an allegory for racism, prejudice, and injustice is created through the mad dog Tim Johnson as he wanders through the Finches’ hometown of Maycomb. Throughout the chapter, the message and symbols are gradually built to represent the nature of the inequality prevalent during Scout’s childhood and the Great Depression and how it will affect the interactions of Atticus’s black client, Tom Robinson, with the law and court system. Tim Johnson is a significant literary element in Lee’s narrative, conveying the story’s central themes of how inequality becomes embedded in a community despite its immorality. When every person in Maycomb gets sent indoors to avoid the mad dog, Scout observes Tim from...
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...narrated by Scout Finch, a young girl who is deprived of her innocence as she comes into contact with the racial injustice in her town. Scout’s father, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer who opposes the bigoted views of Maycomb. Atticus values the equality of every human being, including African-Americans, a group that is heavily despised by the majority of Maycomb. Throughout the novel, Finch repeatedly demonstrates justice by sticking to his moral beliefs. For...
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...social code. Atticus uses ethos, pathos, and logos. At the end of the argument, Atticus states “In the name of God, do your duty. In the name of God, believe Tom Robinson.”, this statement uses both pathos and ethos. For a religious person, God is the most important figure, so saying this will really change how they feel about the situation. Logos was used when Atticus mentions “Now there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone who led, almost exclusively, with his left [hand]. And Tom Robinson now sits before you, having taken "The Oath" with the only good hand he possesses -- his right.” In his closing argument, Atticus is claiming that the defendant, Tom Robinson, is not guilty. To support Atticus’s...
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...americans were facing the harsh segregation that existed everywhere. Segregation occured in schools, public bathrooms, buses and other public places. In Harper Lee’s best seller To Kill a Mockingbird, segregation is coupled with injustice in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. Courage is constantly shown to be the best way to combat injustice. Characters Atticus Finch, Boo Radley and Link Deas display courage during the difficult times in Maycomb Alabama. Atticus Finch defends Tom Robinson even when failure is inevitable so he can live up to his personal morals. Atticus is the most courageous character in To Kill a Mockingbird because he is aware of the repercussions of this trial and the dangerous impact it could potentially have. Tom Robinson is a black male wrongfully...
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...Harper Lee, a character that shows true courage during the trial is Atticus Finch, lawyer and loving father to Jem and Scout. True courage is being able to defend and fight for something despite the circumstances.Numerous times Atticus shows courage in the story which all relates to the theme, having to be faced with the harsh reality of the world which ruins your innocence. Atticus Finch stays strong and practical during the trial, defending Tom Robinson with his life. Atticus’s effort during the trial shows his courage because, despite it being tricky to get the judge and people of the racist South to side with Tom Robinson, compared to Mayella, who claims to be the victim. Atticus does not give up and continues to fight for Tom Robinson’s justice. Atticus shows courage through logical...
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...color as a deciding factor to whether they should be treated nicely, instead she just sees everyone as people, with no regards to race. One discussion that Atticus and the children have is about the trial. While Scout and her brother, Jeremy Atticus Finch, both agree that it was unfair for Tom to have been convicted. Atticus tells the kids “As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men everyday of your life” (Lee 295). This begins to show Scout really how common discrimination of blacks really is. Even Atticus, the most moral person accepted that racial prejudice of blacks is going to continue to be an issue for many years. While Scout knows Tom was cheated out of a fair trial because of his skin color, she also knows that the injustice of Tom’s treatment was invisible to the jury. Outside of the court case Scout’s views on race get further divided in the classroom. During class one day Miss.Gates, Scout’s third grade teacher discusses her views on Hitler’s regime with the class. She begins with describing the differences of America and Germany, stating “We are a democracy and Germany is a dictatorship”(Lee 329). She goes one step further by saying she can’t understand what the Jews have done to have Hitler persecute them. Miss. Gate’s views on this issue seem to be the moral one, but to Scout, there is a bigger problem. While it’s good that...
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...To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic novel written by Harper Lee, educating readers of the racial injustice in the small town of Maycomb. Set in the 1930’s and narrated by young Scout Finch, Lee has incorprated erudite language features and strutural elements to create a sense of suspense to evoke feelings of nervousness and empathy into the reader. Lee’s writing style emphasises the audience’s nervousness and continues to build a sense of suspense through language features and strutural elements to expose Maycomb’s hidden injustice caused by racism. Mayella’s initial hostilty is presented through her dialoge with Atticus and is heightened by Mr Ewell’s foreboding actions presented through short, structured syntax. ‘He sat up straight and waited...
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...For example, Atticus allows Walter Cunningham to eat dinner at his house. “Atticus greeted Walter and began a discussion about crops neither Jem nor I could follow.” (pg. 31) Atticus accepts Walter into his home even though the Cunninghams are poor and uneducated. Also, Atticus defends Tom Robinson to the best of his abilities, even though he is a colored man. Before the court case, Scout overhears members of the Idler’s Club talk about Atticus. “ “...you know the court appointed him to defend this nigger.” “Yeah, but Atticus aims to defend him…” ” (pg.218) Atticus took the case of defending Tom’s innocence and intends to do so with all his might. Atticus was tolerant of everyone, even those who were despised by others. Another one of Atticus’s “Christ-like” characteristics is humility. Just like Jesus was, Atticus is humble. Jesus was a humble man and didn’t see Himself as someone high and mighty. Matthew 21:5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your King is coming to you, meek and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, a foal of a beast of burden.” Although Jesus was the Almighty, Eternal God, He humbled Himself to a lowly, mortal man. Like Jesus, Atticus humbles himself. For example, Atticus was not proud of his talents as a marksman. He never told his children about his skills. Miss Maudie took it upon herself to tell why Atticus never hunts anymore. Miss Maudie explains that Atticus felt “..that God had given him an unfair advantage over most living things.” (pg. 130) This...
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...Discrimination, injustice and racial prejudice are simply part of the norms in the fictional town of Maycomb in Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. Different kinds of prejudice are interlinked in the novel, indicating that the unstable economic situation and isolated nature of the community means that prejudice is directed towards all sorts of characters who do not fit into the expected behavioural patterns of society. The dominant forms of prejudice in the novel are racial and social prejudice, actively displayed by Bob Ewell and Aunt Alexandra. There is also inequality for women in Maycomb. Atticus’s maxim leads to the understanding and tolerance rather than prejudice. It is suggested that although it is unlikely that prejudice can be eliminated altogether, ‘baby steps’ can be taken to change the attitude of the Maycomb community. Maycomb is divided into clearly defined social classes. Jem recognises the class structure when he talks of ‘four kinds of folks in the world’ – the normal people such as the Finches, Cunninghams out in the wood, and Ewells down the dump and the ‘negroes’. The black community in Maycomb is automatically seen as the bottom of the social strata, even below the lowest class than the Ewells, who are categorised by the community as ‘white trash’. When Tom Robinson shows that he felt sorry for Mayella, this is immediately seized upon by Mr Gilmer as it would be interpreted as the lowest class of citizen showing superiority towards a class above it. Social...
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...In Harper Lee’s rites-of-passage novel ‘To Kill a Mocking Bird’, the theme of prejudice and injustice is portrayed in many aspects of the narrative, and suggests that out-casts and misfits of society cannot escape the callous effects of discrimination in the conventional town of Maycomb. Through the protagonist’s eyes Jean Louise Finch also known as Scout, we are shown the harsh and insensitive circumstances the victimized in Maycomb. Lee also gives us insight of hope and optimism through individuals who persevere for justice and equality. In the novel, we see Arthur (Boo) Radley constantly victimized by the prejudice of Maycomb’s society. Boo Radley is not accepted nor does he fit into society and from his unusual ways he is wronged and deceived. Boo Radley isolates himself from the people of Maycomb. If Boo chooses to go outside, he will be unfairly viewed as a visitor from abroad because of his mysterious ways. He remains in his home all day and all night because he knows that his society will ridicule him. After being isolated for so many years ‘Arthur Radley was not seen for fifteen years’, Boo is developmentally challenged and has lost his basic social skills. Boo is the object of rumours and is viewed as the town’s erratic figure. The town blames and accuses Boo for any petty crime or unexplained phenomenon. Under the influence of the adults we also see the children speculate over Boo. They describe him as a ‘malevolent phantom’ ‘six-and-a-half feet tall’ with ‘bloodstained’...
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...Through camera, lighting, and sound Robert Mulligan creates a mood to communicate the vision of Harper Lee. The film takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s. Robert Mulligan illustrates the story of the lives of Scout and Jem, children growing up in this small town with their friend Dill who stays for the summer. The youngsters become infatuated with getting a glimpse of Boo Radley the unseen hermit of a neighbor. This summer also entails issues facing, their attorney father, Atticus Finch. Atticus Finch defends Tom Robinson, an African American man falsely accused of raping a white woman from town, Mayella Ewell. The children catch wind of the trial and for the first time witness evil realities of the world. Jem and Scout, Atticus’s children become the targets of Bob Ewell, the father of Mayella Ewell. Bob Ewell tries to kill them one Halloween night on their way home from school, when the elusive Boo Radley shows up and saves them. Radley kills Bob in the affair. Tom Robinson is wrongfully convicted sent to prison and then eventually killed trying to escape. Throughout the film the reoccurring issues of racism, biased from social class, and stigmas to gender are tested and tried as unfairly as the Tom Robinson case. There...
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...The Reality of Corrupted Justice In the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution, it states: “…We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice…” But some may question the legitimacy of this so-called “justice.” Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, addresses this topic of justice by showing the corruption of the United States’ court system. In the story, Lee uses the hypocrisy of humanity and characterization to establish that justice is only as corrupt as those who deal it. By creating characters who are hypocritical, Lee describes the injustice among the citizens of Maycomb and the U.S. court system. When the children in Scout’s class are discussing the persecution of Jews in Europe, Miss Gates explains, “Over here we don’t believe in persecuting anybody” (208). But in this...
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...To Kill A Mockingbird: Overview Vanessa Vigneau English 400 March 20, 2015 Cultural and Literary Significance To Kill A Mockingbird was written during the most critical time periods of racial discrimination, the 1930s. During this time racial prejudice was already an issue, especially in the southern states, but during the Great Depression it escalated even more and the imagery in To Kill A Mockingbird allows the reader to fully understand the impact prejudice had on children and adults. To further explore the cultural significance it is important to also realize that the story time period closely related to the time period in which it was published, 1960. During this time, many were trying to fight Jim Crow laws of segregation and were in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement. (2007) This story would seem obvious to some as a coming of age story involving the main character and narrator, Scout, but it was much more involved than a little girl growing up and learning to see things from another’s point of view. This story involves the cultural significance of how people lived in the south in the 1930s and how children and adults were affected by the on-going, ugly, violent prejudice. In the story Scout and Jem are taught by their father lessons about courage and tolerance as it is becoming clear to Atticus, he can no longer shield his children from what is happening in their town. He teaches them to stand in someone else’s shoes and consider the world from that perspective...
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...difference between the way Atticus and Dill perceive rumours will be discussed. A rumour that seems to repeat itself throughout the novel is the rumour about Author Radley or more commonly known as Boo. In the rumours he is usually portrayed as some kind of lunatic child. “any stealthy small crimes committed in Maycomb were his work” (Jem,9). Boo is blamed for any small crime done in the town, even though every time the crime was proved to be someone else, most of the town clings to this idea. Dill is intrigued by the Boo Radley rumors they drew him to go closer to the Radley house “but drew him no nearer than the light-pole on the corner” (Scout,9). Oppositely Atticus took no interest in the Boo Radley rumors brushing them off “Atticus's only answer was for him to mind his own business” (Scout,11). This rumor points out the difference in Dill and Atticus of age and maturity. Dill letting his imagination run wild, while Atticus had his own work to care about. Another rumor that shaped the lives of the two protagonists Jem and Scout is the rumor that Atticus Finch was a nigger lover. Although this rumor is in fact true; Atticus is a lover of all human beings. This rumor is spread and said as a horrible and disgusting act done by Atticus. “no sir, Mrs. Dubose calls you that” (nigger lover) (Scout, 124). In another part of the novel Scout asks Atticus “ you aren’t really a nigger lover are you” (Scout, 124) This is when Atticus tells Scout he is in fact a nigger-lover...
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