...“Every veil secretly desires to be lifted, except the veil of hypocrisy,” said the late Richard Garnett, a United States Army officer. Everyone lies, very few admit it. There are also many people out there who tell others not to lie, but they too have lied many times themselves, which makes them hypocrites. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout witnesses many forms of hypocrisy in which the veil of hypocrisy is never revealed. Mrs. Merriweather, Miss Gates, Lula, and Aunt Alexandra are all blind to their prejudices, and those prejudices breed their hypocrisy. Mrs. Merriweather is the perfect example of hypocrisy in To Kill A Mockingbird. During the “missionary circle” that Aunt Alexandra hosts, Mrs. Merriweather says many absurd statements. While Scout sits at the table with all of the women, she deems it polite to ask Mrs. Merriweather what she studied this afternoon. Then Mrs....
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...Tom Robinson. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee creates a story about a family living in Maycomb in the 1930’s.Scout and Jem find out their father, a lawyer named Atticus, has been picked to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. Although Atticus knew they wouldn’t win, he tried his best to defend an innocent man from a harsh world. To Kill a Mockingbird demonstrates the horrors of a scared and racist town using literary devices. To begin with, on the night of the jailhouse, Tom Robinson had recently moved to the prison at Maycomb. Atticus thinks it’s a good idea to stay with him in case someone tries to harm him. Soon after, a group of white men come barrelling over with pitchforks. This part uses imagery to show that all white men, even the working...
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...There are many examples of evil, hypocrisy, and injustice in “To Kill A Mockingbird” and even throughout the world. These examples include Tom Robinson’s death, Bob Ewell’s attempt on the children’s life, the ministry circle, the class discussion in Miss Gates class, Tom Robinson’s trial, the treatment of Boo Radley, and the mass rape spree that recently happened in Germany. These are all examples of evil, hypocrisy, and injustice in “To Kill A Mockingbird”, and our world today. The examples of evil that the kids saw in To Kill A Mockingbird are the treatment of the African-American community of Maycomb and the actions of Bob Ewell. The African-American community of Maycomb is not treated fairly in many ways. One way is that they are pushed to the worst part of the town near the dump and do not have any opportunities in Maycomb. An example of this is that no one in colored community could read because they were never taught unlike the white community. Also, most of the people in Maycomb county are racist towards the colored community, just like many other southern places during this time. The other example is Bob Ewell’s actions. The first reason for this is that he followed Mrs. Robinson and harassed and threatened her....
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...Why are people Hypocritical The song “America Is” has many similarities to the book To Kill a Mockingbird. Both authors talk about hypocrisy and want us to understand clearly the message that they are trying to send. In To Kill a Mockingbird hypocrisy was a common thing that the people in the society of Maycomb seemed to have. Tom Robinson a black man who was accused of raping a white woman had taken the guilt although he was innocent. Because of the hypocrisy in Maycomb, Tom would never be able to get his hopes up. Atticus (a white lawyer) took the responsibility to defend Tom and try to eliminate the hypocrisy in his town. However Atticus was the only one in his town who wanted to do the right thing and stands up for what he believes in but the others wouldn’t. They just wanted to go along with the situation and let whatever happens, happen. There is a quote in the song “America is” that says “America is the home of the hypocrite”. The quote is really connected to the book because the people in Maycomb let their hypocrisy grow among them and won’t do what is right. American people always say “All people should be treated equally” but their actions never show whether or not they do value what they say. The people in Maycomb are afraid, and possibly wanted to do the right thing especially telling the truth, but they did not because they fear that their decisions or actions will somehow unplease others. Atticus couldn’t be the eye opener for the people...
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...Mara Arisman 8A Literature March 06,18 To Kill A Mockingbird Essay To Kill a Mockingbird was written by Harper Lee. This novel is set in Maycomb, Alabama around 1933. Scout, the narrator, Jem, her brother, and her father, Atticus Finch, have to help a black man, Tom Robinson, who was convicted of rape. Along the way, they meet many new people and learn a lot of valuable lessons like never kill a mockingbird. To Kill a Mockingbird is set in a “sleepy town” called Maycomb, Alabama around 1933 during the Great Depression. Scout said that Maycomb is a “tired old town” where “people seem to move slower” (6 Lee). This is s small town so everyone knows everything about everybody. Southern Alabama has “summers that drift into autumn, and autumn...
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...The book To Kill a Mockingbird, Takes place in Maycomb County Alabama. Scout, the narrator, lives with her father Atticus and Jem, her older brother. Scout is a reliable narrator because she’s understanding, she’s brave, and lastly, Scout is smart. The first reason why Scout is a reliable narrator is that she understands more than people think. People think that Scout can’t understand things just because she’s young. ”Aw hush. She doesn’t understand it, Reverend, she ain’t nine yet” (Lee, Page 232). This quote supports the thesis because Jem thinks that Scout can’t understand what’s going on in the trial because she is younger than him, but she does in her own way. Scout also understood that Boo Radley is like a Mockingbird. “Well, it’d be...
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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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...powerful effect on people, their perspectives, and the world around them. Through their experiences, many characters in texts such as Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, and the film, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, directed by Mark Herman, undergo various changes and transformations, not only physically, emotionally and intellectually, but also in their understanding and perspectives of the world around them. Studying texts such as these provides the audience with valuable insight into the aspects of changing worlds, perspectives, relationships and selves, which they are then able to relate to their own lives. Characters in both To Kill A Mockingbird and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (hereafter referred to as Mockingbird and Pyjamas respectively) change their attitude to society’s notions of the superiority of certain races and religions over others, creating a valuable moral imperative through the historical nature of the texts. Harper Lee’s Mockingbird is set in the small American town of Maycomb amidst the 1930s civil rights movement, and is centred on Scout’s moral struggle when questioning the racism and discrimination present. At the start of the novel, Scout blindly follows the discriminatory beliefs of society, although as she experiences more of the world for herself, she begins to question the hypocrisy of society, “How can you hate Hitler so bad an’ then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home?” Through the use of colloquial language, the author demonstrates...
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...Innocence is the state, quality, or fact of being innocent of a crime or offense. Innocence is one of the many recurring themes of To Kill A Mockingbird. Jem and Scout have an innocent point of view in life. The children believe the color of your skin shouldn't matter, however they soon realize ignorance in the people of Maycomb. “Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. 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.” (quoted by Atticus/Ms. Maudie) Tom is nothing but a hard working innocent black man in the town of Maycomb county. Mockingbirds are symbolic to Tom Robinson because Tom is being falsely accused of rape to the white trash of the town, Mayella Ewell. Mockingbirds are innocent and all they want is to bring pleasure to those around them; Tom is innocent and all he wants to do is help Mayella with the chores around the house because he feels pity. However...
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...from the novel "To Kill the Mockingbird" by Harper Lee In the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" the scene is laid in a small American town in Alabama. The given extract depicts a trial of Tom Robinson, a coloured man, who is in the criminal dock on a capital charge of assaulting a white girl. His defending counsel Atticus Finch is an experienced lawyer and a progressive-minded man known for his humane views. His taking up the case was an act of courage in the American world of prejudice. The story is told by Jean Louise, Atticus's daughter, who watched the progress of the trial and being a lawyer's daughter did not fail to feel the atmosphere in the court-room and see the futility of her father's efforts to win the case. It is Atticus's speech to the jury that takes up the best part of the text. Moved by his sympathy for the black man and his desire to stand for his rights Atticus spoke most convincingly and with a great emotional force. He pointed it out to the jury that the case was simple enough. Having thoroughly considered every piece of the evidence submitted Atticus exposed the false testimony of the witnesses and proved that the defendant was innocent while the guilt lay with the white girl, the chief witness for the state. It was she who had tempted the Negro thus breaking the code of the society she lived in. Next she would throw the blame on Tom Robinson thus putting his life at stake. Atticus condemned Tom Robinson's accusers for their hypocrisy in that they counted...
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...“Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.” (Lee #323) In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird racism is an important theme in the book. The majority of Maycomb are racist by calling dark colored people “niggers” and even though Scout’s father is white, Atticus defends a African American named Tom Robinson. Scout doesn’t understand why people use the word “nigger” at first she says it because children at school use it, and its common. Throughout the story Scout starts to realize how wrong racism in Maycomb is and that it is used commonly by others. In the beginning, Scout was unsure why she shouldn’t say “nigger¨ but she hears it at school as a common word that everyone says. She asks “Do you defend niggers,...
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...georgia: Good morning folks, Thursday 26th of May. This is 279.8 bringing to you the latest news and talk topics from around your area. Jemma: Today we have a treat for you, it’s a novel you may have studied back in those high school days. georgia: Yes guys, that’s right, we’re going to talk about To Kill a Mockingbird but more specifically how the characters are related to us. Jemma: So first, for those of you who didn’t pay attention in class, here’s a few things you need to know. Georgia: To Kill a Mocking bird is written by Harper Lee, and was published in 1957. This book is from a “first person” point of view and told by a young girl called Scout, living in a small county called Maycomb in Alabama. Jemma: This novel is set in the 1930's. Scout’s father is a lawyer and he has to represent an innocent black man accused of rape. At that time, black people were frowned upon and accused of all sorts of things. Scout and her brother Jem are frightened of a neighbour they have never met called Arthur Radley, who ends up saving their lives in the end. The title of the novel comes from something Scout's father said that Mockingbirds are harmless and sing and you should never kill one. Georgia: One of the first characters that I think related to me would be Atticus. One of the things I can draw a connection with is that Atticus is doing what’s right despite what others say or think. When I was in primary school, book week story… this can be drawn to the part in the book where Atticus...
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...It seems like almost everyone has to be perfect to not get judged. There people in life who say all the right things at the right times. There will also be people who will say all the wrong things at the wrong times. If God wanted this world to be perfect and everybody be the same, then he would have created that way. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee everyone seems to be discriminated by their looks or how they dress. Six year old Scout, who acts like a tomboy likes to voices her opinions and recognize hypocrisy and injustice in her elders, just so happens to be be at the right place at the right time and say the right thing. Aunt Alexandra, the kind of woman who wears a corset even under her bathrobe, and has to be a perfectionist, walks in the front door and the first thing she says is, “ Put my bags in front of the bedroom Calpernia” and “ Jeane Louise stop scratching your head” was the second thing she said. What this is showing is that Aunt Alexandra jumps to conclusion when she sees Calpernia standing in the Finch’s house. This shows how people can come to judgment...
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...The most important theme of To Kill a Mockingbird concerns the conflict between the individual and society. The novel, which was written by Harper Lee in 1960, deals with some of the characters' confrontations with the world around them. The main characters of the story; 6 year old Scout Finch, her father Atticus and older brother Jam, face the complexity of human society, each in his own way. They experience the bad and good sides of life and learn how to look at things from other people's perspective. Throughout the book's 31 chapters, the reader is introduced with the people of Maycomb, a small town in Alabama. Many of them are somehow different from what is considered normal in their white dominated southern society. The majority of Maycomb...
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...To Kill A Mocking Bird BY HARPER LEE Novel Analysis I.BACKGROUND IN FORMATION ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nelle Harper Lee (born April 28, 1926) is an American author known for her 1960 Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird, which deals with the issues of racism that were observed by the author as a child in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama. Despite being Lee's only published book, it led to Lee being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom of the United States for her contribution to literature in 2007.Lee has also been the recipient of numerous honorary degrees, but has always declined to make a speech. Other significant contributions of Lee include assisting her close friend, Truman Capote, in his research for the book In Cold Blood. II.INFORMATION ABOUT THE NOVEL Classification- To Kill a Mockingbird is embodied by Atticus Finch, who is virtually unique in the novel in that he has experienced and understood evil without losing his faith in the human capacity for goodness. Atticus understands that, rather than being simply creatures of good or creatures of evil, most people have both good and bad qualities. The important thing is to appreciate the good qualities and understand the bad qualities by treating others with sympathy and trying to see life from their perspective. He tries to teach this ultimate moral lesson to Jem and Scout to show them that it is possible to live with conscience without losing hope or becoming cynical. In this way, Atticus is...
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