...Literature is composed of archetypes and some archetypes are usually taken from the human experience of coming-of-age. Such is the case in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, where Jean Louise “Scout” Finch and her brother Jem live in their ordinary world of Maycomb, Alabama. However, Scout’s ordinary world changes when their father, Atticus Finch, defends a negro named Tom Robinson in court for being accused of raping a white girl named Mayella Ewell. Harper Lee has Scout’s learn about empathy, courage, and standing against prejudiced ideas from her role models in order to build Scout’s character to prepare for the inmost cave. Scout learns how to empathize with other from her roles models to take the first step out of the inmost cave. Early...
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...important trial that Maycomb has seen yet. It looked pretty even and I don’t know what the crowd believed. The trial opened on Heck Tate as the first witness. Under recounting his story, Atticus questioned Tate about why he didn’t call a doctor despite Mayella’s injuries. Heck Tate admits that a doctor should’ve been called. Strangely enough Mayella’s injuries were concentrated on the right side of her face. Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father was up next. When being questioned by Atticus he got agitated and started using...
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...unanimous critical acclaim and several awards, the Pulitzer Prize among them. The extract under study depicts a trial of Tom Robinson, a Negro, who is accused of assaulting a white girl. His defending counsel is Atticus Finch, experiences lawyer who is going his best to prove the innocence of the Negro. The main problem raised by the author is an issue of justice. The message of Hapter Lee is that in the face of court each and every human should be treated honestly, no matter what his social status, education or colour of skin is. The story is told by Jean Louise, seven years old daughter of Atticus who is watching the trial. It helps to make the narration much more vivid, emotional and real because she knows her father very well and therefore is able to see each and every unusual detail in his behavior. For example antisepsis “in public and private”, homogeneous parts of the sentence “he unbuttoned his vest, unbuttoned his collar, loosened his tie and took off his coat” and an epithet “stark naked” are employed to show how excited was Atticus on the trial. But despite his excitement, he did not lose his professionalism what is made clear by the use of simile “he was talking to the jury as if they were folks on the post office corner” and metaphor “Atticus wasn’t a thundered”. Characterization of other personages is given indirectly as well. In his speech Atticus describes defendant Negro using epithets and bitter irony “And so a quite respectable, humble Negro who had the...
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...shown in their adventures that help them mature. During the years of the Great Depression - the years when this novel is set - racism had been an attitude many southerners followed. Atticus, Jem and Scout's father and also a respected lawyer, is appointed to take part in a controversial trial: he is to defend Tom Robinson, a poor negro laborer charged with raping Mayella Ewell, the nineteen year old daughter of the impoverished Bob Ewell. Jem and Scout are shown going through a tremendous amount of growing up in this novel - not only physically, but also emotionally, mentally, and morally. The children learn more about the real world in brushes with the outside world, such as at school. They are also intrigued by their mysterious neighbor Boo Radley, who had been locked up in his house for a petty crime as a teenager, as he had not been outside his house for decades. Arthur "Boo" Radley is an object of great wonder and speculation for the children, who imagine him to be a savage. They have many opportunities for life lessons in observations of their neighbors like the kindly Miss Maudie, a confidante for the children, and the mean old Mrs. Dubose, imagined to be the meanest person alive. Jem and Scout gain much insight into the workings of the society in which they live through Tom Robinson's trial, and ultimately shed their childhood innocence at that point. When Dill Harris, a little boy only a year older than Scout, comes to Maycomb, Jem, Scout and Dill indulge in play together...
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...lessons to those younger will encourage them to . In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, characters struggle to accept those who are different from them. Scout, the main character in the story, learns plenty of valuable life lessons from other Atticus, who is the father of Scout and her older brother Jem, asks Scout how she would feel if his sister Alexandra came to live with them. Scout tells her father that she would like it but was not being truthful. “...which was a lie, but one must lie under certain circumstances and at all times when once can’t do anything about them.” (ch 13). These are words from Scout. Always consider other people's feelings. Scout realizes it does no good to point out hurtful truths that is out of the hands of the person dealing with them. “Atticus said it was the polite thing to talk to people about what they were interested in,” (ch 15). Scout says this. She begins polite conversation with a man in a mob that arrives to lynch Tom Robinson, a black man accused of rape. Scout did not realized their violent intentions but her innocent words had caused the mob to break-up....
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...to be a hero, a little gem of innocence inside you that makes you want to believe that there still exists a right and wrong, that decency will somehow triumph in the end.” Harper Lee's novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” shows how courage can be shown in different ways and that even the most subtle act of courage makes a difference. According to Atticus Finch, an honest lawyer in Harper Lee's novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" teaches the children that courage can be portrayed as both physical bravery and strength, but fighting for what is right regardless of whether you win or lose takes more strength in character, and that is ultimately more courageous. Many characters show real courage in Maycomb, such as Scout, Atticus, and Tom Robinson. Courage is shown in different ways. Early in the novel, Scout illustrates the courage she is full with. On her first day of school, Scout acts as a leader for the entire class and takes the duty of informing Miss Caroline of Walter Cunningham's situation. Miss Caroline had just scolded Scout for her ability to read, however, Scout still feels the class is in need of leadership. This is courageous because most children at her age would fear speaking to the teacher is such a bold fashion. A very good example of courage is when Atticus asked Scout not to fight anymore. "When I committed myself to a policy of cowardice. Word got around that Scout Finch wouldn't fight anymore, her daddy wouldn't let her." The fact that Scout quit fighting was an act of great...
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...the south was and how it was changing for the better. This black man was on trial for shooting two white men that raped his daughter. The normal person would agree that this father had the right to be upset, but doing this time it was looked upon that blacks didn’t even have a right to be mad other a situation like this. It happens and they should get over it and that’s how a lot of them thought. Until this case, this father was willing to take a life to show is family that this is not right and something should be done about this. Towards the end of the movie you could slowly see how the south was starting to change. Even though this father was being judged by his peer of whites in court they did not find him guilty, in fact they agreed that something should be done. With all this evidence no man should be let off for this crime, it does not matter what color your skin is. Even though this happen things were only being to change in the south, so many things were still the same. The blacks’ still had different sides of town they stayed in and different schools and churches they attended. This story is very similar but yet very different to “To Kill a Mockingbird”. This time one of the main characters; Atticus is the lawyer. All he wants to do is take care of his kids and keep them out of trouble. Everything was fine till Atticus decided to defend a black man accused of raping a white woman in a racist white community. Once the decision was made by Atticus to take this case...
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...Finch and the daughter of Atticus Finch. She lives with her brother, father, and their black cook, Calpurnia, in Maycomb County. Being the main character, she is involved with all of the major events that happen during the course of the novel, including the Tom Robinson trial. While the story progresses, Scout’s views about life mature. Scout is different than most little girls at the time. She wears overalls instead of dresses and learns to climb trees with Jem and Dill rather than learning manners.She starts to understand how to look at things from someone else’s point of view, instead of only her own, and, “step into their skin,” as Atticus tells her, in order to understand people’s feelings. She progresses from a short-tempered tom boy to an empathetic young girl. Although she is still young, her understanding of the world is progressing rapidly. Jem Jeremy (Jem) Finch is the brother of Jean Louise (Scout) Finch, and the son of Atticus finch. He is four years older than Scout. He is Scout’s playmate and protector throughout the novel. Although he slowly weans himself from Scout’s little games, he remains her closest companion and guardian. He and his views on life are deeply affected by the Tom Robinson trial because of the amount of sheer prejudice and cruelty of the trial. Jem learns what real courage is. Atticus knew that he was going to lose the trial, but he tried anyways, and Jem saw that. In addition he learns not to harm things that did not harm you. By seeing Tom...
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...readers to a land of prejudice known as 1930’s Alabama. This teaches us how bad prejudice was back then and how much it has improved. “He despises Negroes, wont have one near him” is an example of prejudice. Atticus tells us that “there’s something in our world that make men lose their heads, they couldn’t be fair...
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...Tom Robinson and Atticus Finch, Two men who were counter opposites. But were alike in the fact that they were both the mockingbirds of the world. In To Kill a Mockingbird, a Pulitzer Prize winning novel, the story is told of true character and honest integrity. The story being told by author Harper Lee, tells of a black man by the name of Tom Robinson. Tom is accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Mayella is the daughter of the Bob Ewell, the trashiest man in Maycomb. Atticus Finch, an average lawyer and single father of two is assigned the case. Atticus knows that due to Tom´s skin color and the common sickness of Maycomb (racism), they are going to lose the case, but he knows that Tom is innocent therefore he goes on with the case. It has been questioned if it made sense for Atticus to defend Tom, but it did make sense for Atticus to defend Tom, because he was selfless and because he was optimistic. The first reason it makes sense for Atticus to defend Tom Robinson is because he is...
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...Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a chilling historical fiction novel that centers around the trial of an innocent black man who is accused of raping a white woman. The novel is set in Alabama during the 1930s, and it follows an old lawyer and his family in the small town of Maycomb. Atticus Finch, the lawyer and father, is often called upon by the town for help due to his stature. He is level headed and focuses on the belief that everybody deserves to be treated equally. It is this belief that leads him to being chosen to represent Tom Robinson, the accused black man, in court. Because To Kill a Mockingbird is set in Alabama during the 1930s, the odds that he will be found innocent are exceptionally low, so Atticus must do everything...
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...Jean Louise Finch, known as Scout, is the daughter of Atticus Finch, and as a native young girl, it is hard for her to understand the internal issues regarding Maycomb. As Scout progresses through school years and grows older, she is exposed to different views on blacks, most of which give blacks a negative connotation. Even though many of her peers and teachers believe the treatment of blacks is fair, Scout does not see 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...
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...to meet him one day. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee represents the theme that rumors do not define a person through Arthur (Boo) Radley and his relationship with Atticus’s children (Scout and Jem) and how their relationship changes from the beginning to the end of the book. An example of Harper Lee using this theme would be at the beginning of the book. During the summer, in a small town called Maycomb, Scout and Jem meet a new...
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...Atticus represents Lincoln’s beliefs by not giving up the fight. In the Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln challenges the american people to continue the civil war so that the men who have died will not die in vain. Atticus tells his children something similar. Atticus tells them that even if you know you will lose, you must try your best for justice. In the book, Scout says this, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.”(Lee 266). This shows us that Atticus does his best to uphold justice for Tom Robinson against racism. Tom Robinson’s verdict did not represent the ideas expressed by Lincoln. He was convicted because he was black. Under the 14th amendment, Tom Robinson should have equal protection under the law and in the poem it says that “justice is a blind goddess.” In this case it was not. Tom got the guilty verdict because he was black. "Atticus, you must be wrong.... How's that? Well, most folks seem to think they're right and you're wrong....”(Lee 178). This shows how people...
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...has compassion for Mayella Ewell even though her life is filled with evil things. Atticus is benevolent to Mrs. Dubose, even when she talks about him, he sends his children over to help with her addiction. Atticus also defends Tom Robinson with the knowledge that they will lose the case. We all deserve compassion in our lives, even if it does not seem like it. At the trial, Scout says, “It came to me that Mayella Ewell must have been the loneliest person in the world,” (Lee 191). Scout felt compassion for Mayella because for her to feel like she was loved, she had to try and seduce a black man into her home. It is wrong to tempt people to do things, but back then it was intolerable for a white woman to entice a black man, or vice versa. It was not right for Mayella to try and coax Tom, but that does not mean...
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