...Hatred and Racism in the 1930s The power of racism can affect one's behaviours and actions with one another. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, a man named Tom Robinson is convicted of raping a 19-year-old girl that is part of the Ewells family. As a black man in the 1930s, it was hard not to be guilty of a crime against white people like the Ewells. Siding with Tom Robinson as a white man is also looked down upon. This can be proven by the reaction of a lady named Mrs. Dubose when she hears one of the main characters named Atticus was defending a man when she said: “your father’s no better than the N-words…” (To Kill A Mockingbird, 102) The quote shows Mrs. Dubose’s hatred and discrimination to black people. The quote also shows how defending a black man is hated by the people. Mrs. Dubose’s act gives...
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...To Kill a Mockingbird is packed with famous and helpful life quotes. On of the greater quotes is “It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird,” said by Atticus. The quote has a deep meaning and is a good moral to live by. Atticus and Miss Maudie say that it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird because they don’t do anything but sing for us. They don’t tear up gardens or nest in corncribs, they just sing(119), but there’s a deeper meaning than that. Atticus and Miss Maudie don’t mean just mockingbirds, they mean real people, too. Take Atticus for example: he could be considered a mockingbird because he’s nice, helpful, never done anything wrong. Just like a mockingbird, he doesn’t do anything but help people. Maycomb was a racist town, but Atticus was one of the few wholesome people. He didn’t care if someone was white or black, rich or poor, he saw everyone the same. Those qualities were very useful for his career as a lawyer, because he wasn’t biased. He even says “ but in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal. (274) He’s saying that the court makes everyone equal and a black man has an equal chance of winning against a white man. Even though he has his...
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...INTRODUCTION Grabber: get your reader interested. If using a quote, lead into it and cite it. Lead in with speaker identification and qualifications. As Atticus said to his daughter Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird “It is a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee). Transition: Connect your grabber to your next sentence. Mockingbirds represent those who are innocent in the novel. Background info: Discuss any pertinent information about the author or story details necessary for the reader’s comprehension The book is about a man who is on trial for rape. That man, Tom Robinson was black and the town was ruled under very unfair social standards. His lawyer Atticus Finch knew he was not guilty. So he was trying to protect his children from Maycomb's corrupt town by...
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...Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, mentions countless lessons that Scout learns while growing up. She learns these lessons from the adults in her life, which includes her African American caretaker, Calpurnia. Without an actual mother around to guide her, Calpurnia becomes the motherly figure in Scout’s life who guides her. The interactions between Calpurnia and Scout affects the way Scout goes about her daily life as a result of what she learns from Calpurnia, like writing, understanding black culture, and keeping an open mind in relation to other people. One of the most crucial lessons that Calpurnia taught Scout was how to write. In chapter two, Scout says, “She would set me a writing task by scrawling the alphabet firmly across the top of a tablet, then copying out a chapter of the Bible beneath” (Lee 18). In this quote, Scout explains how Calpurnia taught her how to write by having her copying chapters from the Bible and writing the alphabet. The fact that she can write, causes Scout to stand out because during her first week of school, her teacher took an immediate dislike to her since she could write. In addition to her teacher disliking her immediately,...
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...In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, there are several instances where the symbol of the mockingbird appears.The mockingbird symbolizes innocence, which makes it a sin to kill mockingbirds. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy… that’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (p. 119) is a quote by Miss Maudie that best describes the meaning of the mockingbird symbol. The symbol embodies innocent people, who have been injured or destroyed through contact with evil. Harper Lee does a great job in portraying the mockingbird symbol by shedding some light on the innocents in the book, and focusing on the most prominent mockingbirds, Tom Robinson, Arthur (Boo) Radley, and Mayella Ewell. Tom Robinson is a crippled Mockingbird, who has been wrongfully...
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...these thoughts and opinions somehow coexist in the world we live in. In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, she explains just how the actions and the rivalries existed in the small county of Maycomb. The ideas of existence and representations of both good and evil grow up with Scout and Jem, making them recognize early on in their young lives that the world is never fully good or evil. Early on in the novel, good and/or good people are symbolized by mockingbirds. By telling of the innocence and the faultless qualities of the Mockingbird, that they “...don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy”, the author really appeals to the emotional side of the audience towards the goodness of the mockingbird (103). Potential to be good is shown several times throughout the book. A bit of sincere thoughtfulness is shown when “the men of Maycomb, in all degrees of dress and undress, took furniture from Miss Maudie's house to a yard across the street”, they became completely selfless when a friend needed help (78). Their conscience found a emotional side that connected with the good in the men....
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...catch up with friends and others were genuinely trying to accomplish having no tardies. My class was right down the hall, therefore I had plenty of time to arrive there. Slowing my pace, I began people watching and as I watched all the people I noticed something. People hold innumerable different, unique secrets or aspects to them, whether it is large or tiny. The introverted girl sitting behind you in math class may literally be one of the most outgoing people once she warms up to you, or the boy who has a rotten temper, may in truth be a congenial person deep down. The point is, there is much more to a person than what reaches the surface. You never fully comprehend a person or all of their unique diversity. When I read this quote in To Kill a Mockingbird, it inaugurated the start of a fascination to know more about people. Traveling through life, I have always just seen what people wanted me to - I have never been bothered with looking any deeper than that. I barely scraped the surface of loved ones diversities, however, things were now rapidly changing. Noticing the little quirks were easy and simple to find and the larger aspects were more difficult. Eventually, I was not only noticing aspects about others but about myself also. As I walked into the classroom, the first thing I heard was, “ You look cute today,” by a friend. I, of course, said thank you and made my way to my seat. The compliment was genuine, yet there was something bothering me. The whole class period I pondered...
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...Dorothy Day admits, "The legal battle against segregation is won, but the community battle goes on." This quote relates to To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee because the idea of segregation is portrayed throughout this book by showing the inequality between races of people. Atticus Finch is the father of Scout and Jem, he is also the lawyer who fights for Tom Robinson’s freedom. Tom Robinson is said to be guilty for raping Mayella Ewell who is considered “white trash” in Maycomb county. Mayella is a young girl who reports the case because she knows her skin color will keep her from being proven guilty by the jury. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, justice is depicted through Atticus' opinions, the ruling of Tom Robinson's trial, and Bob Ewell's death....
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...In To Kill a Mockingbird,Harper Lee suggests courage means doing something difficult to defend or to protect others through Boo radley saving the children and Atticus finch defending Tom Robinson. Arthur Radley or Boo proves what courage is because he saved the kids from getting attacked by Bob Ewell,”His arms were like steel. He slowly squeezed the breath out of me. I could not breathe suddenly, he was jerked backwards and flung on the ground”(Lee 351). This quote suggest courage because Bob Ewell was trying to choke Scout to death until Boo flung him to the ground to protect or save scout from dying by Bob Ewell. Finally Boo saves the kids with a devastating blow to Bob in order to protect these kids from ever getting harmed again.”Bob Ewell's lyin’ on the ground under that tree down yonder with a kitchen knife...
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...1930’s an abundant of people still view women, blacks, and age in a stereotypical way today. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows many different types of prejudice in the 1930’s, which affect the characters decision making and their views toward others. The prejudice we see most often in this book is racism. Women did not have the same rights as men back in the 1930’s. Ageism plays a big role as well in the book which affect the characters view towards others. To begin, Harper Lee demonstrates a lot of sexism towards women. Back then women did not have any choice, you were born a women, you have to act like one. Women are considered weak in the 1930’s. They were supposed to do things only women must do. Such as staying...
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...Few Have True Courage Harper Lee only has only written one book as far as we know, but that book is a masterpiece. One of the most beloved and powerful books of the last century, To Kill A Mockingbird will go down as a timeless classic. To Kill A Mockingbird is Set in Maycomb county, southern Alabama, in the early 1930's. This was a time of great poverty and of course racism, including segregation. A black man named Tom Robinson is accused of raping a white girl and put on trial. The attorney asigned to his case is Atticus Finch, who is by far the wisest, and most gentle man in Maycomb. He clearly does not see men by their color, (which was such a rareity in those parts) but by their character. Atticus has two children:...
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...What would you do if you were accused of something you didn’t do? An example of this can be found in the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This book tells of Jem and Scout, who grow up in a time with many racial differences, dealing with divarication situations. "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin" is a quote that sums up the entirely of the book. Don’t judge or discriminate somebody without getting to know them first hand. Harper Lee expresses this using a formal discussion which is associated with class and her own ideologies. The book is set in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s in an area with a large amount of racial injustice. With the Civil War between the North and the South behind their backs, the blacks are set free and yet discrimination is still spread across the South. Their hatred towards the colored people is greater than that of any other. Many issues in the town caused people to think they are higher in power than others as a means of survival. This setting in the book was created in the same way Harper Lee’s town had to grow up in. With this she had a...
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...In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates the negative effects of prejudice by showing it in racism like the Tom Robinson trial, social class like the Ewells, and sexism by showing that the women are not really a big part, they are just there to keep things clean. Racism is a huge negative effect in Maycomb because like during the Tom Robinson trial most of the people in the courtroom were like why is this even an issue, he did it, he is guilty. “I didn’t know what Tom had done so I asked. Cal sighted, “old Mr. Bob Ewell accused him of rapin’ his girl an’ had him arrested an’ put in jail—” Pg 124-125 This shows racism because just because he is a black man does not mean that he always does things that will get him in trouble. The quote above also shows racism because almost everyone in Maycomb are not happy that black people live in the same town as them, so they treat the black people...
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...̈He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life. ̈ said the professional boxer Muhammad Ali. This quotes means that you have to have to courage to accomplish great things in life. You have to take chances to get where you want to be. Courage takes great strength and motivation. The theme courage was present throughout all the characters in To Kill A Mockingbird. Many characters displayed courage at one point in the story. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout learns about courage from Mrs. Dubose, Atticus and Boo Radley. Mrs. Dubose shows a great deal of courage in this story. She may have been a mean old lady to the children, but she had far more going on in her life than the kids were aware of. She said some mean and nasty things to the children. “And you what are you doing in those overalls? You should be in a dress and camisole, young lady! You’ll grown up waiting on tables if somebody doesn’t change your waysa Finch waiting on tables at the O.K. Caféhah!” (Lee 101). She directed this towards scout and towards Scout and Jem’s mother. She was addicted to morphine and was trying to stop her addiction before she died and it caused her to say some rude things. When Jem messed with her yard, she made him read to her every day after school and on Sundays for two...
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...To Kill a Mockingbird ¨He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life,” said Muhammad Ali, heavyweight boxing champion. What he meant when he said this quote was, if you don't have enough courage to step out of your bubble/comfort zone then you won't go very far in life.In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch (the main character's dad) has to have courage to accept the court case of Tom Robinson (a black man). Atticus has to defend him without judging him for what he did or didn’t do. In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Scout Finch learns about courage from her brother Jem, her father Atticus, and a cranky old lady Mrs. Dubose. The first person Scout learns about courage...
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