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Character Analysis: Atticus’ Closing Argument
Nature of equality
Character Analysis: Atticus’ Closing Argument
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Definition of Inequality - difference in size, degree, circumstances, etc.; lack of equality. “Social inequality” “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.” (Lee, 33) What Atticus means in this quote, is a lot like the quote “don’t judge a book by its cover”. It means you shouldn’t judge anyone by the way they look. You have to get to know them first. * “Imagine you’re playing a game of monopoly. The money is handed out. The player on your right gets double your a mount and the player to your left gets triple your amount. There is also a change of rules. Instead of collecting two hundred dollars when you pass go like the other players, you He suffers of mental instability and deals with it by shutting everyone out of his life, and then he gets blamed for the uncommon things that happen in their town. He doesn’t ever come out of his house, he stays locked up in his house with the shutters shut and there is barely any light that can be How Tom Robinson was put at fault for raping Mayella Ewell. “-the evil assumption - all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around women-” (Lee, 225) He was blamed because he was near the house at the time it happened and he is black, so why shouldn’t they blame a black man? “In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins.” (Lee, 243) In the 1930’s, or you could just say when slavery was happening, black men were at fault over white men. If it involved black and white men, the black men were at fault until it was proven that they weren’t
He treats everyone in Maycomb equally, telling Scout “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.” (Lee 39) This quote goes to show that Atticus is not racist and doesn't care much about social status, if someone needs a hand he is there to lend them one no matter who they are.
Lynching of black men was common place in the south as Billie Holiday sang her song “Strange Fruit” and the eyes of justice looked the other way. On the other side of the coin, justice was brought swiftly to those blacks who stepped out of line and brought harm to the white race. Take for instance Nate Turner, the slave who led a rebellion against whites. Even the Teel’s brought their own form of justice to Henry Marrow because he “said something” to one of their white wives (1). Flashing forward a few years later past the days of Jim Crow and the fight for civil rights, several, but not all in the younger generation see the members of the black and white race as equal and find it hard to fathom that only a few years ago the atmosphere surrounding racial relations was anything but pleasant.
"There's something in our world that makes men lose their heads—they couldn't be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins. They're ugly, but those are the facts of life” (Lee ,223). Atticus told the jury thus quote. In tough situations Atticus always has great judgement. No matter the color, Harper Lee shows Atticus's character to be the most responsible out of most, he's also one of the most important characters in the book and is greatly talked about throughout the
4. "I was taught to never take advantages of anyone who was less fortunate than myself, whether he be less fortunate in brains, wealth, or social position, it meant anybody, not just negroes" ( Lee 170). This quote is said by Jem Louise and she is saying the morals she was learned. This relates back to To Kill A Mockingbird and what morals Jem Louise thought she was
One of the major events in Harper Lee’s award-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird is Tom Robinson’s trial. It is based on the Scottsboro Case that took place in 1931 in Alabama, in which several black men were accused of raping two white women. Both the Scottsboro Boys and Tom Robinson are unfairly judged, however, because of prejudice against colored people. The racial discrimination makes whites’ testimony more believable even when it contradicts itself. The same happens in To Kill a Mockingbird. As we delve deeper into the case and get increasingly closer to the truth, it is quite suprising to see that Mayella Ewell is the true villain rather than a victim. She shall and must bear full responsibility for her actions because she makes the decision to tempt Tom Robinson, gives false testimony in court that directly leads to Tom’s death, and has been well aware of the consequences of her behaviors.
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” This quote is from Atticus. I chose this one because it represents how some people look at different people and how they can treat a person with complete respect or treat them like complete dirt. (30).
In the 1930’s, many African American men were wrongly accused of rape and murder. The issue of racism is brought up in the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” when Scout overhears her teacher saying that it’s a great thing that this is happening to Tom Robinson because the black men are getting too comfortable thinking that they’re mighty. Racism didn’t only affect Tom Robinson, but it also affected those who supported him. The lives of Scout and her family are changed when Scout's father, who is a lawyer, steps in and defends Tom Robinson. Atticus’ lawsuit affects Scout and his children in several ways.
The Scottsboro Trial and the trial of Tom Robinson are almost identical in the forms of bias shown and the accusers that were persecuted. The bias is obvious and is shown throughout both cases, which took place in the same time period. Common parallels are seen through the time period that both trials have taken place in and those who were persecuted and why they were persecuted in the first place. The thought of "All blacks were liars, and all blacks are wrongdoers," was a major part of all of these trails. A white person's word was automatically the truth when it was held up to the credibility of someone whom was black. Both trials were perfect examples of how the people of Alabama were above the law and could do whatever they wanted to the black people and get away with it. In both trials lynch mobs were formed to threaten the black people who were accused. Judge Hornton tried many times to move the case to a different place so that a fair trial could take place and not be interrupted by the racist people. Finally was granted to move the case even though the lynch mobs threatened to kill everyone who was involved in the case if it were to be moved. In this essay the bias and racism in both trials are going to be clarified and compared to each other.
For example, “ when one black individual dare to violate the restrictions, he or she was used as an example to reiterate to the entire race that the group would continually be held responsible for the actions of the individual. Thus an accusation of rape could lead not only to the accused black man being lynched and burned, but to the burning of black homes and the whipping or lynching of other black individuals as well” (Collins 921).
A major injustice many people of the world face is racism. In the story To Kill A Mockingbird a black man named Tom Robinson was put on trial for the rape of a white woman named Mayella Ewell. Although all evidence clearly proved that Tom wasn’t the one who committed the crime, he was still accused simply because he was a black man. Atticus Finch, Tom’s attorney, stated, “…the assumption- the evil assumption- that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be
The concept of a white woman being touched, let alone raped by an African American male was an assumption in the little town of Maycomb Alabama, 1930’s. During this period Mayella is considered helpless due to being a female as well as lonely and afraid considering her status as a poor white piece of trash. She manipulates people by using her social class, gender, and race to her advantage. In particular, her accusations made against Tom Robinson, an African American man. These factors lead to her gaining power with the trial and conviction of Tom Robinson. Race refers to the categorization of people based on physical differences.(“Is Mayella Powerful?” 7) Mayella Ewell had perquisites due to her race, which helped her during the conviction.
Atticus is a great leader of his family, teaching his children morals and life lessons. He makes them better people by showing them how to deal with the trial and people making fun of them. Atticus teaches Scout how to respect other people. First, Scout learns to respect Atticus, then to respect "Boo" Radley, and finally to respect a whole race of people, negroes. He makes it a common practice to live his life as he would like his children to live theirs, and thus displays the attributes of an honest, respectable, and kind man. Throughout the trial process, Atticus shows Jem and Scout that true courage is standing up for what you believe in and that all human beings, despite their race, deserve respect. "You never really understand a person until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." This quote shows that Atticus wants his children to get along with people, and so other people will respect them for whom they are.
Atticus is a person who wants to give people a new way of seeing things in certain situations. He treats his children with the utmost respect, and has the same respectable attitude in the house as on the streets. “First of all, ‘he said,’ if
Davis stated that racism draws strength from the ability to encourage sexual coercion. Black women, who were rape victims, receive little sympathy from law enforcement and judges. Not only because of racism that has grown over time against black men, but black women as well. Since black men were categorized as rapist, black women were suggested to be loose and promiscuous. Since black women were suggested to be whores and sexual immoral, their cries of rape went unheard because they lack legitimacy in a society that believed men were provoked to acted in a natural way. Davis believes that the creation of the black rapist was used as a scapegoat in order to veil the true problem of black women being sexually assaulted by white men. A historical feature of racism is that white men, especially those with money and authority, possess an indisputable right to access a Black woman’s body. Davis also stated that the institution of lynching complimented by the rape of Black women became and essential ingredient of postwar strategy of racism. Lynching and the labeling of black men being rapist and raping black women for being promiscuous, both black men and women were able to be kept in check. By following the mainstream population, people fell into the trap of blaming the victim. Unfortunately a consequence was that blacks has to endure the punishment of lynching and black women were blamed for being victims of sexual
Betty Owens was kidnapped on her way to a school formal, raped repeatedly by four white males, and worse might have happened it it had been for her friends getting help from a young white police officer (Lecture 4/13 ). Officer Joe D. Cooke Jr. was on duty when the friends of Betty Owens came running for his help, and instead of doing what many white policeman before had done, he ran to her aid (McGuire, p. 163). What is amazing about this case is the fact that not only were these men arrested and jailed by a white man but that they were threatened on the seen with being shot for their offenses against miss. Owens (McGuire, p. 163). The fact that the white boys were arrested on the spot and spent the days leading up to their trial in jail was also something that this case had happened that had never occurred prior in Southern states. This all being said Miss. Betty Owens was extremely lucky that officer Cooke was on duty and not the chief of police since it was common knowledge that the only reason why he stayed in power was by igniting race tensions (McGuire, p. 161). In Florida this case was the first of it’s kind in that it was the first all white jury to convict a white man, let alone four, of raping a Black woman, this was yet another important step in the Civil Rights Movement but more importantly a step in the right direction for the feminist movements. Rape of white women had always been such an outrage and meant death for the perpetrator, but with each of these very public cases the outrage against any man who committed violence against women, of any race grew, culminating with the Joan Little case which broke down the last of remnants of the Jim Crow law (Lecture