...This essay is going to be about how Atticus is a hero. Atticus is a very nice guy. He help Scout read, and and he help defend Tom Robinson. Everyone in Maycomb Alabama didn’t want him to defend Tom Robinson. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the character of Atticus Finch represents Lee’s idea of social justice by demonstrating heroism, righteous. and compassion. In To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee present heroism, by teaching others to read even though the teacher condone it. For example the Novel says “Atticus has to been teaching Scout to read since she was little” (Lee, 25). Atticus still teaches Scout to read even though the teacher condone it. Lee show that Atticus does care about what the teacher says and does the...
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...Atticus Finch is one of the most steadfastly honest and moral characters in “To Kill a Mockingbird“ by Harper Lee and his character remains, for the most part, unchanged throughout “To Kill a Mockingbird”. As any character analysis of Atticus Finch should note in terms of the plot of “To Kill a Mockingbird” he begins as an upstanding citizen who is respected and admired by his peers and even though he loses some ground during the trial, by the end of To Kill a Mockingbird he is still looked up to, both by his children and the community as whole—with all class levels included. As a lawyer in To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch represents everything that someone working in the justice system should. He is fair, does not hold grudges, and looks at every situation from a multitude of angles. As Miss Maude quite correctly puts it in one of the important quotes from “To Kill a Mockingbird”by Harper Lee, “Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets” (87) and this could also be said of how he behaves in the courtroom. He is a skilled lawyer and without making outright accusations in a harsh tone he effectively points out that Bob Ewell is lying. Even more importantly, the subject of this character analysis, Atticus Finch, is able to gracefully point out to the jury that there although there probably are a few black men who are capable of crimes, “this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men” (208). His understanding of...
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...Through their actions, Boo Radley, Atticus Finch, and Tom Robinson epitomize one of the three themes-justice, morality, and ethics- Harper Lee addresses in To Kill a Mockingbird. Tom Robinson displays in the book the actions he took to become ethical. Boo Radley shows us how he insures justice to the Finch children and Tom Robinson’s family. Atticus Finch’s morals are what holds the town intact. Each of these characters conveys his/her own theme. First, Boo Radley has been treated with such injustice from both the community and the Finch children that he separates himself from the real world. Despite all the trials they made Boo suffer through, irony occurs when Boo Radley is the one who establishes justice in the end. When Boo kills Bob Ewell, he not only saves the lives of the Finch children but also delivers justice to Tom...
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...THE GLENCOE LITERATURE LIBRARY Study Guide for To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee i Meet Harper Lee at the same university. In 1949, however, she withdrew and moved to New York City with the goal of becoming a writer. While working at other jobs, Lee submitted stories and essays to publishers. All were rejected. An agent, however, took an interest in one of her short stories and suggested she expand it into a novel. By 1957 she had finished a draft of To Kill a Mockingbird. A publisher to whom she sent the novel saw its potential but thought it needed reworking. With her editor, Lee spent two and a half more years revising the manuscript. By 1960 the novel was published. In a 1961 interview with Newsweek magazine, Lee commented: Writing is the hardest thing in the world, . . . but writing is the only thing that has made me completely happy. To Kill a Mockingbird was an immediate and widespread success. Within a year, the novel sold half a million copies and received the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Within two years, it was turned into a highly acclaimed film. Readers admire the novel’s sensitive and probing treatment of race relations. But, equally, they enjoy its vivid account of childhood in a small rural town. Summing up the novel’s enduring impact in a 1974 review, R. A. Dave called To Kill a Mockingbird . . . a movingly human drama of the jostling worlds—of children and adults, of innocence and experience, of kindness and cruelty, of love and hatred, of humor...
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...“ To kill a mockingbird” by Harper Lee and “Antigone” by Sophocles are both dramas having to do with justice, the main characters in both dramas are struggling to bring justice to a society or situation that was lacking. In Sophocles’ drama, Antigone was trying to bring justice by burying her brother Polyneices against the kings, Creon’s, orders. While in “To kill a mocking bird” Atticus is an attorney in a case where race is a major issue and he is trying to save Tom Robinson from being convicted of a crime where there’s overwhelming evidence of his innocence. Both “Antigone” and “To kill a mockingbird’s” themes seem to revolve around justice which is proven when Antigone buries her brother and Atticus agrees to take on Tom Robinsons case. Another large theme in both dramas is the idea that women are somehow ‘lesser’ because of their femininity, a cause of this might be because of the era that the dramas are set in. Throughout “To kill a mockingbird” Scout does her best to avoid ‘girly’ things so that she can keep playing with her brother Jem, its only later in the novel that Scout begins to realize that being a girl is more about having positive traits than lacking them. This theme continues in “Antigone”, most pointedly when Ismene states “Bethink thee, sister, we are left alone; Shall we not perish wretchedness of all, If in defiance of the law we cross A monarch's will?--weak women, think of that, Not framed by nature to contend with men. Remember this too that the stronger...
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...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 by Harper Lee, Atticus teaches his children many lessons about life. Atticus teaches his children the importance of acceptance, how to avoid stereotyping, and lastly how racism shows the people of Maycomb’s true colours. To conclude Atticus makes it clear to his children that they should never judge a person before getting to know them. Firstly,stereotyping is the main thing in To Kill a Mockingbird.Scout and Jem learn from their mistakes or they learn from the people themselves. For example, Scout judged Mr.Dolphus Raymond because she thought he was a drunk and he had mulatto children from a black woman. She thought that it was wrong to speak to a drunkard and to even deal with someone that loves and lives with black people. But he confronts her and Dill, as a result he makes a simple point that he prefers blacks over his kind because they are uptight and are hypocrites. The white people have their views and judgemental ways against the black community. Mr.Dolphus Raymond tells them this so they can change their views on how they see people. "I try to give 'em a reason, you see. It helps folks if they can latch onto a reason... folks can say Dolphus Raymond's in the clutches of whiskeythat's why he won't change his ways... that's why he lives the way he does." (Chapter 20)... I shouldn't be here listening to this sinful man who had mixed children and didn't care who knew it, but he was fascinating. (Chapter 20). People stereotype ...
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...While To Kill a Mockingbird is a story of Scout Finch’s childhood, Harper Lee draws the reader’s attention to the justice, morality, and ethics Scout witnesses along with her older brother Jem. Scout’s pure thoughts during calamity are evidence of her ethics. During Tom Robinson’s court trial, Jem’s morality shine’s on his tears as he tries to understand the shallowness of the townspeople of Maycomb. Justice, as well as injustice, is served time and time again in this novel. An example of both is shown as Scout pummels her cousin’s face when he disrespects her father, consequently, Scout receives punishment. This is a book rich with symbolism and moral testing. After Bob Ewell shatters Jem Finch’s arm, Arthur “Boo” Radley (the town’s recluse) saves the children by knifing Bob under the ribs, killing him. Jem is unconscious in bed while his father, Atticus, argues with Sheriff Tate over how to report the incident. Atticus is a lawyer, an advocate for truth, but Sheriff argues to protect Arthur from the spotlight by reporting that Bob fell on the kitchen knife. Scout, knowing Arthur is introverted, realizes the dilemma of bringing him to court. Then, Scout reveals...
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...com). Courage appears all around us in all different types, such as in tv shows, movies, books, and in real life. For example, there are many controversial types of courage shown in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. To Kill A Mockingbird is about the people who live in an imaginary town in Alabama, called Maycomb, during the Great Depression. When racism and justice collide head on in Atticus’s courtroom, it is important to be courageous and brave no matter what the circumstances. Three examples of courage from the book are, when Jem stands up to save Atticus at the jailhouse, Boo Radley secretly laying the blanket over Scout, and Mrs. Dubose quitting her morphine addiction. The first...
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...Influence Paper September 18th, 2015 Brandon McConnell To Kill A Mockingbird If you were to ask me about a book or a hero that was an ethical influence on me, I would tell you that both come from the same book/movie. It would be Atticus Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird, it is a classic example of heroism and doing the right thing and there is many readers who would agree with that statement. I read this book at the young age of 14 in middle school when I was still developing my feel for the ethics of right and wrong so it made a lasting impact on me growing up and developing as a person. Summarize the book or hero’s life in a few paragraphs; Everyone should know the story of To Kill A Mockingbird but if you don’t, let me share it with you. It happens in a little town of Maycomb, Alabama in the heat of all the racism in the South. In this little town everyone knows each other and everyone knows what happens. The main characters are the Finch family with Atticus, Scout, and Jem in their small house in the middle of Maycomb. Scout is a young girl who grew up with a lot of boys and acts that way in the way she deals with conflict. Jem is the older brother who isn’t really isn’t in the picture a lot but is in a crucial incident of the story with Scout. Atticus is a very well known coveted lawyer; everyone in town knows him and looks up to him as a person and a professional. That was short lived when Atticus did something he knew was right but society said it was wrong...
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...what,” stated Atticus. Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird takes place during 1930’s, a period known as the Great Depression. Harper Lee creates the setting in the little town of Maycomb, Alabama.One of the main conflicts that takes place revolves around a racial issue. Atticus, a father, and a lawyer, ponders the question whether he should defend a trial. The trial includes an 18 year old girl by the name of, Mayella, who comes from a family of poverty and has an abusive father. Mayella falsely states a black man by the name...
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...It’s A Sin To Kill A Mockingbird Life isn’t fair. Everyone has heard this phrase at least one time, and most absolutely agree. Our world is far from perfect, it always has and always will. Harper Lee’s, To Kill A Mockingbird, is a great example of this. This is an amazing story of a small-town girl named Scout Finch back in the 1930’s. She lives with her older brother (Jem), her father (Atticus), and her black maid (Calpurnia). Atticus is a well known and respected lawyer, who is appointed to a case he takes personally. A black man named Tom Robinson is accused of rape. A white racist man named Bob Ewell claims he raped his daughter. The case has gotten the whole town’s attention, and the Finch’s who are one of the most respected families...
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...unjustified punishment and prejudice. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, the mockingbird is repetitively used as a symbol of innocence. Scout and Jem Finch, the young protagonists of the novel are told that "It's a sin to kill a mockingbird” (119) because mockingbirds are peaceful creatures who cause no harm. Some characters in the story can be perceived as “mockingbirds” due to their acts of kindness and nonviolence. The three characters who symbolize the mockingbird are Atticus Finch, Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson because they are all innocent men who are discriminated against and punished for doing what is right. Tom Robinson was an innocent man who faced prejudice because he was African American. Tom displayed many respectable traits. He provided free help to his white neighbor, despite the fact he had only one arm. When asked why he did these selfless acts, Tom responded: " I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more'n the rest of 'em-" (264). Later, Tom was accused of raping and beating up young Mayella Ewell, the eldest child in the infamous Ewell family, and the same girl he had assisted. Mayella’s father, Bob Ewell,was a racist man, who knew that he could get away with wrongfully accusing Tom simply because Tom was black. When brought to court, evidence proved Tom not-guilty, yet he...
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...To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee. It is set in the 1930s in the south of the United States, a time and place when the equality between African Americans and those of white America was non-existent. Atticus Finch, one of the main characters in the book, plays a single father of two young children, Scout and Jem. It is his loving care, reasoned approach, belief in justice and equality, and courage that make him a great father and a good role model for his children. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus shows a genuine love for his two children. It is clear from the way his youngest child, Scout refers to him, that he is affectionate and protective. The final sentence of the book confirms this. ‘He turned out the light and went into Jem’s room. He would be there all night, and he would be there when Jem waked up in the morning’ It is a relationship of mutual respect between the children and their father. He speaks to them on a mature level, is never condescending and explains patiently whenever they have questions. The children feel comfortable communicating openly with Atticus and he is never dismissive of their feeling or concerns. ‘Bit by bit I told him of the day’s misfortunes. - “And she said you taught me all wrong, so we can’t ever read anymore, ever. Please don’t send me back, please sir.”’ When Scout doesn’t want to go back to school, Atticus explains the importance of learning and offers gentle advice. Although Atticus struggles to maintain...
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...Throughout Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’, family is used to set extreme examples of how families react during times of incredible hardship. In doing this, Harper Lee solidifies the important role that family has to play in the story of ‘To Kill A Mockingbird.’ By making each family represent a quality, whether it be positive or negative, Harper Lee creates a world with feels real to the reader, and hammers home all the points that she is trying to make. Specifically, Lee uses the Finch family, the Ewelle Family, and the Black Community, to emphasize the importance of family within the novel. In ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ the Finch family is used as a pillar for how to be an exemplary American in the town of Maycomb. The Finch family represents...
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