...Because of this, Atticus had to be brave in order to face the commotion that was brought upon him and his family for taking his assigned case of defending Tom Robinson. Though he was confident that the verdict would not be in Tom’s favor, his application of true commitment to the case is what his fellow neighbors disapproved of. In the courthouse, Scout overheard a man in a group of friends say, “Yeah, but Atticus aims to defend him. That’s what I don’t like about it” (218). Needless to say, I believe that statement reveals how the residents of his community truly felt about the way Atticus approached his assignment. It seems to me that he is in a situation where his way of life, treating everyone the way he would treat his own family, does not register well with his community because they are too quick to judge and feel as if they must fit in with society’s thoughts and outlooks. Furthermore, Atticus repeatedly supported evidence to the jury that essentially proved Tom’s innocence. His evidence included Tom’s crippled left arm that he allegedly used to beat Mayella with, along with evidence of her father’s alcoholism that causes him to get aggressive. In other words, he provided all the evidence needed to prove Tom’s innocence, where Mr. Gilmer provided more of his theories with no evidence to support it. Although, Atticus’s expectations were proved honest, and the jury found Tom guilty. He is not blind to how his society feels...
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...be with her, Atticus Finch, tells that her business affairs were in perfect order. Minutes before her death, he helped construct Mrs. Dubose's will. Being a neighbor of hers, he mentions that she was never not on the drug. Atticus tells that he noticed she was not consumed by the drug while he was there with her that night, for once. This adds to his suspicion that morphine was a factor of her passing, and he thinks that she knew it was killing her. Atticus Finch also tells us, "She was sick for a very long time." This is what lead him to believe that she let the morphine consume her, to rid the pain. "Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict." He states in our interview the afternoon succeeding her death, May 16th. The children of Atticus, Jean Louise Finch and Jeremy Atticus Finch, visited and kept company this dying lady for a good month before she left us. The rest of Maycomb's residents had no differing views on her death. Every person interviewed told that the morphine was to ease her pain, but she used much more than needed. Even though everyone knew of this bad habit of hers, not one could recall who Mrs. Dubose's supplying apothecary was. Further investigation will determine this missing detail. Though Mrs. Dubose was a well known resident, the children of her community say that she wasn't always the most pleasant lady to encounter. The adults contradict this, saying that she was only a reasonable woman unafraid of giving her open and honest opinions and...
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...Near the beginning Atticus had asked Heck Tate what side the bruises were on Mayella’s face. Heck Tate responded with "Oh yes, that'd make it her right. It was her right eye, Mr. Finch. I remember now, she was bunged up on that side of her face...." (Lee). This was a key part of the trial because shortly after this Atticus called Tom Robinson up to the stand and Tom could barely put his left hand on the bible. One of the first questions that Atticus asked Tom was what happened to his left arm. Tom’s response was "I got it caught in a cotton gin, caught it in Mr. Dolphus Raymond's cotton gin when I was a boy, it tore all the muscles loose from my bones" (Lee 186). This should have shown the jury that it would have been very hard for Tom to have hit Mayella on the right side of the face because his left arm was destroyed. Even though there was clear evidence that Tom Robinson did not commit the crime, the jury still charged him with the rape of Mayella Ewell. In conclusion...
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...structure of its society. Cleverly painting a picture of injustice and horror, Lee uses the social class of Maycomb and the roles within society given to individuals, along with the discrimination within the trial of Tom Robinson to reveal prejudice in this ‘tired old town’. Lee primarily utilises the town of Maycomb to illustrate the prejudice within the social classes of society during the 1930’s. Through the restricting roles given to those with darker skin in society and through the first-person narration of Scout, Lee highlights the injustice that results from strict social classes and expectations. Calpurina’s role as a house help to the white Finch family, and the ensuing expectation that her children will also be destined to a similar fate is an example of this. As ‘old Tim Johnson’, a rabid dog, is shot by Atticus Finch, it is Calpurina’s son who is sent to dispose of ‘the pet of Maycomb’. Thus, Lee implies that those of darker skin are expected to perform menial or undesirable jobs, while those with fairer skin comfortably watch on. Furthermore, although Scout sees Calpurina as a mother figure, she unintentionally...
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...she created Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus always treats everyone the same no matter who they are or what they do. Atticus always has a good attitude and very rarely raises his voice or shows extremities in his emotions. Atticus also is very straightforward, honest and doesn’t beat around the bush. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows Atticus as fair, consistent, and honest to illustrate equality. Throughout the novel Atticus is portrayed as a very fair man. “I asked Atticus if Mr. Cunningham would ever pay us. ‘Not in money,’ Atticus said, ‘but before the year’s out I’ll have been paid. You watch” (Lee 23). This quote from the book shows...
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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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...”To Kill A Mockingbird”, Atticus Finch is a prominent well respected lawyer and family man. Atticus Finch has several traits that make him an admirable character to not only the entire town of Maycomb, but also his family, and myself. He could be described as a loving parent, having strong morals, honest, and compassionate. You see Atticus’ commitment to justice and the truth when his friend, Mr. Link Deas, tries to convince him of why he should not be taking a black man, Tom Robinson’s case. Link tells Atticus “You’ve got everything to lose from this Atticus…”. Atticus replied by saying, “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.” Mr. Finch had really strong morals and beliefs that he would not bend. You could even see it in his parenting sometimes. When Atticus’s daughter Scout was...
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...themselves that can be the most damaging because they don't see it” This quote can easily summarize the whole the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, the novel takes places during the Great Depression in a small town in Maycomb Alabama, the story is told in a first person point of view through the eyes of Jean-Louise a.k.a Scout Finch, she lives with her brother Jem Finch and their widowed dad Atticus Finch who is a well known lawyer, this means that the family is well of economicalle compared to the rest of the society. Fast forward one year Atticus is chosen to advocate for a black Tom Robinson against a white Mayella/Bob Ewell. Atticus Finch, in his closing argument, addresses three main points of the Tom Robinson case: first he asserts that Mayella Ewell has done two things wrong, one of them is that “she tempted a negro”, and the other one accusing Tom Robinson of rape to”get rid of the evidence; then he contends, that it was wrong to accuse Tom Robinson of rape; finally, he concludes by saying that all men are created equal, but people use this phrase out of context, to satisfy all conditions....
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...the trial is Atticus Finch, lawyer and loving father to Jem and Scout. True courage is being able to defend and fight for something despite the circumstances.Numerous times Atticus shows courage in the story which all relates to the theme, having to be faced with the harsh reality of the world which ruins your innocence. Atticus Finch stays strong and practical during the trial, defending Tom Robinson with his life. Atticus’s effort during the trial shows his courage because, despite it being tricky to get the judge and people of the racist South to side with Tom Robinson, compared to Mayella, who claims to be the victim. Atticus does not give up and continues to fight for Tom Robinson’s justice. Atticus shows courage through logical...
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...Atticus displays acting justly throughout this novel in many distinctive ways. Near the beginning of the novel, Atticus introduces justice by giving his daughter, Scout, some guidance on how to handle a situation at school. Atticus understands what she is going through and responds with a powerful lesson: “‘if you can learn a simple trick Scout you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.’” (39). When he says, “climb into his skin”, Atticus is referring to racial prejudice, he is relating this part to the Tom Robinson case. He is telling Scout to see what Tom is going through, when most people...
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...iaJasper Jones Reading Guide S.A. Jones v2 April 2010 http://www.sajones.com.au Synopsis .................................................................................................................................................. 3 About the Author .................................................................................................................................... 3 Edition Used ............................................................................................................................................ 3 Morality and Ethics ................................................................................................................................. 3 Moral Duality ...................................................................................................................................... 3 Scapegoats .......................................................................................................................................... 5 Morality versus Ethics ......................................................................................................................... 5 Responsibility and Culpability ............................................................................................................. 6 Atonement .......................................................................................................................................... 9 Law and Legality .............................
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...the town that socially determined their worth. In the story the setting of Maycomb is the true antagonist. Skin color makes a man in society. Atticus, a lawyer and probably the fairest man in Maycomb, defends black man Tom Robinson. Atticus is a true rarity, because he’s a white man who’s intelligent and has money, who respects blacks fairly. In court Atticus makes a bold move by saying,”But there is one way in this country in which all men are created equal..” (Lee, 27). Atticus stands up for Tom Robinson, which makes him hated by racist white men. White men like Bob Ewell, Bob Ewell has Maycomb’s ‘disease’. Bob is a lazy and insane drunk poor man who accuses Tom Robinson of raping his daughter. Tom Robinson is a disabled black man who’s affected by Maycomb’s disease. Tom gets wrongly accused, and ends up dead because of it,Tom was innocent, but because of his skin color he was found guilty. Racism is a big social issue, which affects everyone’s lives....
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...couldn’t have cared less, so long as he could pass and punt. When enough years had gone by to enable us to look back on them, we sometimes discussed the events leading to his accident. I maintain that the Ewells started it all, but Jem, who was four years my senior, said it started long before that. He said it began the summer Dill came to us, when Dill first gave us the idea of making Boo Radley come out. I said if he wanted to take a broad view of the thing, it really began with Andrew Jackson. If General Jackson hadn’t run the Creeks up the creek, Simon Finch would never have paddled up the Alabama, and where would we be if he hadn’t? We were far too old to settle an argument with a fist-fight, so we consulted Atticus. Our father said we were both right. Being Southerners, it was a source of shame to some members of the family that we had no recorded ancestors on either side of the Battle of Hastings. All we had was Simon Finch, a fur-trapping apothecary from Cornwall whose piety was exceeded only by his stinginess. In England, Simon was irritated by the persecution of those who called themselves Methodists at the hands of their more liberal brethren, and as Simon called himself a Methodist, he worked his way across the Atlantic to Philadelphia, thence to Jamaica, thence to Mobile,...
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...child it has non-judgemental views. Therefore, because of the child narrator, and the other main characters being children, this shows that childhood in ‘‘‘To Kill a Mockingbird’’’ is important and crucial. In the chapters 1 to 12, childhood is presented by friendship, gullibility, pride, questioning and fear. The fear element, is a major part through ‘‘To Kill a Mockingbird’’, because at different stages of the novel at least one of the main characters is scared. The Finch children first experience real friendship in ‘‘‘To Kill a Mockingbird’’’, when they meet Charles Baker Harris – Dill. Before Dill has passed the ‘Jem test’, Dill boasts to Scout and Jem that he can read. Which was not usually common in Maycomb at the time, but Jem and Scout could both read, which meant that they thought Dill was showing off and they wouldn’t want to be friends with him. Also what makes Dill become an issue about friendship, is how he introduces himself. He recites his entire name, and makes fun of Jem’s name (Jeremy Atticus Finch), which therefore causes Jem to dislike him. However when Dill, tells about Dracula, he is accepted in Jem and Scout’s inner friendship circle. All of these actions the boasting, the story telling, and the unnecessary argument with Jem about their names represents Harper Lee’s idea about friendship and childhood in ‘‘‘To Kill a Mockingbird’’’. All three of the...
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...Choose any 3 characters from the first half of the novel and discuss how they have a positive influence in Maycomb. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee portrays a very distinct difference in the character that are “good” and those that are “bad” this often comes over in the way Scout or Atticus view a certain character. There are many positive influences in Maycomb and one of them is Calpurnia. Although Atticus does not see her as a motherly figure, I believe that she views herself as the womanly influence in their lives as she is loving towards the children, but often, can be strict and firm to teach them what is right or wrong. She has always been there for both children, especially Scout because they lost their mother early in their lives and because of this I feel that Scout and Jem do not Calpurnia as either black or white and this means that they respect her and love her a lot. An example of this is in Chapter twelve when Calpurnia is taking the children to church with her and she refers to them as “my children” and wants people to know that she looks after them. She also makes sure that they are clean before church however, this is partly showing self interest as she wants to be seen as motherly towards the children and if they look nice, it will reflect well on her peers. Another example of Calpurnia showing her love for the children is when there is a “mad dog” and she tells them to go inside because she is worried about them and wants them to be safe. Calpurnia...
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