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Themes to kill a mockingbird
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To Kill a Mockingbird is a true American classic of the time and one of those seminal works that shaped a generation. The world is an imperfect place; we all know that, this book is a superb example of this. It specifically states in the book “Ewells hate and despise the colored folks” (Lee 229). This being said why do they hate them? Is it a logical hatred or just a figment of the imagination? They hate them because they remind them of themselves; it is fear that drives them to hatred. If one sit downs and truly gets to the heart of our problems as humans everything stems from one central idea. Fear, fear starts wars, kills people, sparks racism, and dictatorships. Before this paper proceeds any farther I must note, I am not a racist, I have many African American friends and despise white trash just as much as black trash. Why as humans do we fear only things that are different from us and what we know? Is it so difficult to conceive that a difference could be a good thing and not a bad one? The whites fear the blacks athletic ability. The blacks fear what they perceive as white dominance of the workplace, these fears lead to conflict. The outcome of this conflict in modern America is an imbalance; a racism against the whites of America that spreads like wildfire on a hot July day. A perfect example is the recent story about Clippers owner David Stern who made some comments about being around black people. I am in no way defending him but I would just like to note that had a black man said that about a white person it would have been a mute point, no one would have cared. However the blacks fear that comment thus it becomes a story. Fear can drive us to rushed action, like shooting a dog that probably didn't need to be shot. Th... ... middle of paper ... ...l cure our world! Works Cited Binette, Peggy. "Study: Half of Black Males, 40 Percent of White Males Arrested by Age 23." Study: Half of Black Males, 40 Percent of White Males Arrested by Age 23. EurekaAlert, 6 Jan. 2014. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. Janken, Kenneth R. "The Civil Rights Movement: 1919-1960s, Freedom's Story, TeacherServe®, National Humanities Center." The Civil Rights Movement: 1919-1960s, Freedom's Story, TeacherServe®, National Humanities Center. TeacherServe, 1 Apr. 2010. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. . Lee, Felicia R. "Young and in Fear of the Police; Parents Teach Children How to Deal With Officers' Bias." The New York Times. The New York Times, 22 Oct. 1997. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1960. Print. Warner Communications Company
To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee sheds light upon the controversy of racism and justice in his classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. The notion of equality in accordance with the law and the pursuit of justice are hindered by racial discrimination. The essence of human nature is pondered. Are we inclined to be good or in the wrath of evil? The novel reflects on the contrasting nature of appearance versus reality.
Throughout the novel Harper Lee explores the racism, prejudice, and the innocence that occurs throughout the book. She shows these topics through her strong use of symbolism throughout the story.
black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and
The novel To Kill A Mockingbird, written by renowned author Harper Lee, was published on July 11, 1960. Her novel received the prestigious Pulitzer Prize and has become a modern-day American classic novel. The book’s setting is in Alabama and occurs when widespread racism and discrimination are high in the South. The name of the book arises from the common belief and saying that, ’It is a sin to kill a mockingbird’. To Kill A Mockingbird is narrated by Scout Finch, about her father, Atticus Finch, a well-known lawyer who fights to prove the innocence of a black man (Tom Robinson), who is unjustly accused of rape, and about Boo Radley, her mysterious neighbor who saves both her and her brother Jem from being killed.
Throughout the book To Kill A Mockingbird Lee discusses the effects of ignorance and the toll it takes on people such as Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, Scout herself, and many more. Through her examples of sexism, prejudice, and racism, from the populist of poverty stricken Southerners, she shows the readers the injustice of many. The victims of ignorance are the ‘mockingbirds’ of the story. A good example of this injustice is the trial of Tom Robinson, who is falsely accused of raping a white girl and is found guilty. The book is from the point of view Scout, a child, who has an advantage over most kids due to her having a lawyer as a dad, to see the other side of the story. Her father tells her in the story, “you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.” (Lee 200).
Even though extraordinary changes have been made in the past to achieve racial equality, America is still racist, especially in schools. In the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” written by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch is criticized for defending a black man accused of raping a white woman. During the 1930s, the time this novel took place, America was a very segregated country. At the time when Harper Lee wrote "To Kill a Mockingbird," America was fighting a civil rights movement. The events of racism in “To Kill a Mockingbird” reflect the time period.
The novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee is a simplistic view of life in the Deep South of America in the 1930s. An innocent but humorous stance in the story is through the eyes of Scout and Jem Finch. Scout is a young adolescent who is growing up with the controversy that surrounds her fathers lawsuit. Her father, Atticus Finch is a lawyer who is defending a black man, Tom Robinson, with the charge of raping a white girl. The lives of the characters are changed by racism and this is the force that develops during the course of the narrative.
Though racism seems to be a thing of the past, there is still room for progression in the United States. Having been a country that was widely accepting of the enslavement of African Americans over a century ago, many Americans have not evolved nor turned the page on the subject. Despite the many movements, trials, and acts developed by our society to ensure civil rights to all African Americans, America remains a principally racist country. The only effective way to defeat racism is to not practice or teach what was once taught one hundred years ago. Author Alex Haley is quoted, “Racism is taught in our society, it is not automatic. It is learned behavior toward persons with dissimilar physical characteristics.” If we do not teach our youth of prejudice or hatred towards human beings for something as trivial as differing skin color I believe racism, not only concentrated in the United States, but globally, will diminish.
“American civil rights movement.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2013. .
Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird explores the underlying racism that exists in Alabama, and perhaps all over America, in the 1930s. It focuses mainly on the practice of racial prejudice and discrimination. However, other subsequent issues are also mentioned throughout the novel. As we all know, To Kill A Mockingbird is set shortly after the Great Depression had hit America in 1929. It had a disastrous impact on the Southern part of America, including Alabama, because most of its citizens are farmers. Therefore, by extension, their lives are more reliant on agriculture.
Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird has remained tremendously popular following its publication in 1960.
Levy, Peter B., The Civil RIghts Movement, Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut, 1998. Web. 24 June 2015.
Racism presents itself in many ways in the town of Maycomb. Some are blatant and open, but others are more insidious. One obvious way that racism presents itself is in the result of Tom Robinson’s trial. Another apparent example is the bullying Jem and Scout had to endure as a result of Atticus’s appointment as Tom Robinson’s defense attorney. A less easily discernible case is the persecution of Mr. Dolphus Raymond, who chose to live his life in close relation with the colored community.
Despite cultures and conflicts, the fundamental bonds remain: We all belong to a common family. The book, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is a timeless classic about coming of age in a small southern town in the 1930’s. The book follows Jem and Scout, two siblings, who must face the harsh realities of life. Hypocrisy and racism together make the two most important themes.
Sergio Sanchez English 10 Ms. Tran May 14, 2014 Dont Be Told How To Live Your Life, Choose And Stand Up For Your Freedom Being African American in the 1930’s, how free you were was determined by the half you lived in - the North or South. In that time period there was a significant amount of racism, segregation, and prejudice occurring. However, racism was on a whole different level in the South than it was in the North of the United States. In the North, colored people had rights like freedom of speech, but in the South they had no rights. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, the author, Harper Lee, did a wonderful job of vividly portraying how Negro’s lived in the South, particularly in the state of Mississippi in Maycomb County.