...cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted, confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the.evil assumption.that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber" (217). Education is the key to unlocking the ignorance that causes such prejudice. Jem begins to understand this lesson toward the end of the book when he wonders whether family status could be based more on education than on bloodlines. Jem also learns powerful lessons from his father regarding bravery and cowardice. Early in Mockingbird we learn that Atticus does not approve of guns. He believes that guns do not make men brave and that the children's fascination with guns is unfounded. To prove his point, he sends Jem to read for Mrs. Dubose who struggles to beat her morphine addiction before she dies. He wants to show his son one shows true bravery "when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what" (121). Atticus also role models his sense of bravery by refusing to carry a gun to protect Tom Robinson from angry farmers and refusing to carry a gun to protect himself after Bob Ewell threatens guns. But bravery runs deeper than the decision to carry a gun. Atticus shows bravery when he takes Tom's case despite knowing that his town would turn against him and his children. Jem shows bravery when the...
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...Family In 1925-26, Dr. Ossian Sweet and ten other occupants from the Sweet home was accused of 1st degree murder and assault. With this in mind, a mob of 500-800 white people were gathered in their front yard throwing stones and rocks at their new purchased home in Detroit consequently because they were the only negroes in the neighborhood. The trial of the Sweet's was a ridiculous and outraged case that was pointless in the end. First of all, back then when barely any blacks came to Detroit both white and blacks had the Northern point-of-view that is to say they didn't bother one another, and both went their own way. Also, prejudice for several years had been gathering had at last burst with violence over Detroit because of the Klan. Whenever a negro would move by a white area your property would decrease in value. Neighborhood Improvement Association was to support neighborhood improvement but their real reason for being was to keep their victimes from Negroes and to keep out Negroes in addition to Waterworks Park Improvement. In fact, the neighborhood would get together a mob and try to force the Negroes out of their neighborood For one thing, when Gladys picked out the house she didn't care if it was in a white or black neighborhood, her intentions was to own a home so she can support and raise her family. In other words not to start a racial violence in the neighborhood. For instance, when they settled in and...
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...“A Time to Kill” relates heavily to the ideas that are mentioned in class. For example, subjects similar to the racism throughout the movie, the influence of the Klu Klux Klan, and the violence that takes place as the trial continues in Canton, Mississippi. In this paper, I will elaborate on how these subjects relate to our discussions in class and how they were handled in the movie. Racism is a major issue in the movie. In class, the documentary “Negroes with Guns”, the book “Civilities and Civil Rights”, and the two articles on stereotypes that were mentioned earlier in the semester all have to deal with racism. The two men that raped Carl Lee’s daughter were portrayed as stereotypical rednecks. They both had mullets, drove a beat up pick-up truck with a rebel flag, and were found in a bar drinking beer. The most evident hint of racism in the movie is at the end of Jake’s closing argument, when he asks the jury, “Now imagine she’s white”. Jake described exactly what happened to Tonya, and told the jury to close their eyes to imagine what would happen is she was a white girl. Additionally throughout the movie, the NAACP tries to get Carl to be defended by their own personal choices of legal help. However, he remains true to Jake. We have discussed the NAACP many times in class. In my rough draft, I mentioned Dr. George Simpkins who was a leader of...
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...long as it's for the right thing. A very motivating quote he speaks in the story that fits nicely with the quote before is when he says, "Link, that boy might go to the chair, but he's not going till the truth's told, and you know what the truth is." Atticus knows that getting the truth out there wont change anything. Tom will still be acquitted, yet getting the truth out there is still an accomplishment. This shows yet again that he is trying to fight the good fight and the courage within him is very strong and willing, no matter the outcome. Atticus’s idea to fight the good fight is ethical and tries to show the people within the jury it's not about the color of someone. "You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men. There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man living who has never looked upon a woman without desire." Atticus is saying that racism has no logic, and that since Tom is a black man, he is bad. Atticus believes that accusing him because he's black, is as silly as accusing him because he is a human being. This shows how atticus believes in no such thing as color, he sees everyone as an equal and that shows a lot of courage, especially in that period of time. Compassion and forgiveness, some...
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...In 1959, a black woman was sexually assaulted by a white man and the jury in Monroe acquitted the trial. Williams made a historic statement on the courthouse steps, “If the law if the United States Constitution cannot be enforced in this social jungle called Dixie, it is the time that Negroes must defend themselves even if it is necessary to resort to violence.” Williams, they saw that protecting his family and community was more critical than he thought. African-Americans have had a long and deliberate struggle and Robert Williams got a great mass of people behind him to make a great leap forward to their humanity, it was time to meet violence with...
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...Andrew Bae Period 2 Iannuzzo 4/27/14 Zeal Neale Hurston: Behind the Scenes Zora Neale Hurston is an African American other from a small city in Florida, filled with wildlife and gardenias. Hurston is faced with two different perspectives of the world and uses that to help further describe her childhood to the readers. In Zora Neale Hurston’s passage Dust Tracks on a Road, she uses diction, her mother’s point of view of the world and her father’s view of the world to help illustrate her own childhood to the reader. Hurston uses specific word choice and diction to enrich the reader’s perception of her childhood. Hurston being from Florida was often around forestry and foliage however once she had moved to New York it was quite the opposite, what was bountiful is now rare and what was unusual then is now plentiful, for “there were plenty of oranges, grapefruit, tangerine, guavas and other fruits in our yard.” All these different fruits were available to her so easily and plentiful however “[she] treasured the apple… apples were something rare. They came from way up north.” She uses specific word choice by saying plenty of oranges, implying and abundance almost an unnecessarily large amount of oranges, grapefruits and other fruits however when it came to an apple, it was like a treasure to her, rare because it had come from way up north. Differentiating herself from the north made it more realistic to the reader that the apple was rare and that something from way up north...
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...The text under analysis belongs to belle-lettres style. The sub-style is emotive prose. The biggest part of the text is the finest example of oratorical style. The extract is taken from the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”. The author of the novel is Harper Lee. She is an American writer. She was born in 1926 in the state of Alabama. In 1945-1949 she studied law at the University of Alabama. “To Kill a Mockingbird” is her first novel. It received almost unanimous critical acclaim and the Pulitzer Prize. In this book the author paints a true and lively picture of a quiet Southern town in Alabama rocked by a young girl’s accusation of criminal assault. The main character of the novel is Atticus Fintch, an experienced smart lawyer. He was asked to defend Tom Robinson, a Negro, who was charged with raping a white girl. Her name is Mayella Ewell and she is old Bob Ewell’s daughter. Atticus has got two children. Their names are Jem, who is thirteen and Jean Louise, nicknamed Scout, aged seven. The extract under consideration contains the scene in the court. Both children were present at the trail and it is Jean Louise who describes it. So, it’s the first point narration. Jean’s observations make the story vivid, convincing and emotional because she “saw something only lawyer’s child could be expected to see, could be expected to watch for”. Also her observations after her father help the reader to understand how Atticus was excited and nervous in the court. The atmosphere at the trail...
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...The story under analysis is the excerpt from the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, that’s why it has not a special title. The title of the whole book is thought-provoking and idiomatic; it makes the reader wonder what a Mockingbird is and who is supposed to kill it. The subject matter of the story is racial discrimination, corruption of the court system in the American world of prejudice. This extract depicts a trial of Tom Robinson, a Negro, 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 progressive minded man. It is the Atticus’s speech to the jury that takes the best part of the text, so as far as contextual style is concerned; it presents a vivid example of oratorical style. Thus the main part of the text presents the main character’s monologue with bits of the story-teller’s commentary and dialogues. As for the type of narration, it is the first person narration the story-teller being the observer of the events. It is chosen to convey the atmosphere of the court-room. The story is told by the Atticus’s daughter, Jean Louise, and her description makes the story more convincing, vivid, real and emotional. Now I would like to dwell upon the compositional analysis of the text. The story has neither introduction nor conclusion. It can be explained that the text is only an extract from the novel, so there are big parts of the novel which both precede and follow the given...
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...Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Men or Children? The gangster is a fictional story written by Colson Whitehead in 2008. It is a short story about African- American teenagers and its setting is in Sag Harbor, in 1985. The story begins with a question, “When did you get out?” The opening question emphasizes the title of the story on a particular notion to the reader. In the fictional story, the gangster, Benji and Reggie are twin brothers of ten months apart. They grew up together inseparably in every aspect. It was common for them to be seen together and when they were not, people always question them on where the other is. High school and puberty brought the difference between them physically. They would be seen away from each other severally, and they even looked different physically with Benji being skinny while Reggie looked chubby. Benji and Reggie are brought up in an upper middle class family, and their parents own a beach house in Sag harbor where they go to during the summers. In the summer of 1985, Benji was 15 years old, and Reggie was 14 years old. During the summer when the whole family left for their beach house, the boys would be left alone for some time when their parents went back to the city to work during the weekdays. Benji and Reggie are described, in the story, as Siamese twins when they were young, describing their inseparable nature. This is clearly brought out by the language used as quoted “Where is the surgeon, who is gifted enough to...
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...family. The people of Jaskson were furious that this case is being brought up again, especially decades later. Surely though, Mrs. Evers, with the help of DeLaughter and his team, find enough evidence to bring justice to Medger and his legacy. With a jury of both blacks and whites, Beckwith was found guilty. Beckwith was finally convicted of the murder of Medger in 1994. In 1995, Medger was known to be one of the most active civil rights leader in Mississippi. He had a wife and three small children, who were constantly recieving hate from people who didn't like what he believed in. On June 12 of 1963, Medger was shot in the back at his home, returning from work a little after midnight. His family immediately ran outside when they heard the gun shot and found him laying on the driveway, his white shirt now stained completely in blood, and him gushing for air and help. Terrified, they took him to a nearby hospital and he quickly died there. The first two trials of this case were under an all-white jury. Because of this and the racial segregation of this time period, Beckwith was found not guilty. At this point, Mrs. Evers decided it was best for her and her children to move to Oregon, in 1990. She stayed there and continued to live her life up until she got the unexpected phone call from DeLaughter saying he wants to open the case again. This was the film's portrayal to this time period. After researching this time period, I found that in the early 1960s, civil rights activists...
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...There is a dilemma to what actually happened before and during the Boston Massacre. Many accounts explain their versions of what caused and occurred during the massacre. Almost all of them agree on a few things such as that there was tension between the colonists and the British soldiers, shots were fired, people allegedly heard the captain said fire, and that the fire alarm was sounded before the massacre. Part of the tension was because of the accounts that were shared with the King’s ministry which were exaggerated about how the colonies were handling situations. In one account written from the colonists in Boston said, “Governor Bernard, made such representations to his Majesty's ministers as they thought best calculated to bring the...
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...On her way to town, Phoenix receives unrequested assistance by “ a white man… a hunter, a young man”. Throughout this encounter, the white hunter “laughed and lifted his gun and pointed it at Phoenix.” During this era, white male domination was very prevalent and caused intimidation of white people for negroes. In this particular scenario, Phoenix faced a potential life or death experience, but persevered through in order to give her grandson a greater chance at life. Furthermore, this characterization reveals how Phoenix struggles during her journey, but still endlessly fights for what she needs. Phoenix oftenly felt as though she needed to look presentable, as she asked a stranger to lace up her shoe (page 5 line 26) and claimed that “it was not possible to allow the dress to tear.” If Phoenix wasn’t a negro, she would not have needed to worry about her untied shoes or unkempt clothing in order to guarantee that she left with her grandson’s...
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...When the first African Americans were brought to Jamestown by force, the importation of slaves began. Owning slaves were profitable for those who can afford it; Chesapeake planters who needed labor adopted the slavery model in order to keep up with the demand of resources. However, most slaves were not pleased with their owners nor their working conditions. In efforts to one day gain freedom, courageous slaves filed petitions and were secretly planning to revolt and escape. Although the first three documents are each written with a different perspective, they each highlight the plans that the African Americans had and their grievances. The author that wrote the letter to Mr.Boone explicitly describes the uprising that the negroes had to destroy...
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...Montgomery, we are cognizant that we have cosmic companionship and that the universe bends toward justice. We are moving from the black night of segregation to the bright daybreak of joy, from the midnight of Egyptian captivity to the glittering light of Canaan freedom" explained Dr. King. In the Cradle of the Confederacy, life for the white and the colored citizens was completely segregated. Segregated schools, restaurants, public water fountains, amusement parks, and city buses were part of everyday life in Montgomery, Alabama “Every person operating a bus line should provide equal accommodations...in such a manner as to separate the white people from Negroes." On Montgomery's buses, black passengers were required by city law to sit in the back of the segregated bus. Negroes were required to pay their fare at the front of the bus, then get off and reboard from the rear of the bus. The front row seats were reserved for white people, which left the back of the bus or no man's land for the black's. There was no sign declaring the seating arrangements of the buses, but everyone knew them. The Montgomery...
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...The second chapter is titled “Negroes Everyday Are Being Molested.” Ella Ree Jones was one of the first ladies before Rosa Parks to not give up her seat. The bus driver called the police, once the police came they took Jones to City Hall. When they arrived to the officers beat her with a pipe, kicked her repeatedly, one officer took her head and propelled it into a brick wall, and then pushed her into her cell. The judge dismissed her case without telling her what she did and why her fine was so expensive. President Harry Truman condemned lynching, disfranchisement, and racial discrimination in public, housing, and jobs. Although African Americans were happy about this, Rosa Parks knew white supremacy would hate this because they feared of interracial sex and the rape of white women. Willie McGee was an African American man who was having an affair with...
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