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Character analysis for scout finch to kill a mockingbird
5 paragraph character analysis on scout finch
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Imagine a world where anyone who was born with brown hair got to give orders to anyone born with blonde hair. If you're born with brown hair, you could have better careers and the better education whereas the blondes wouldn’t even been given a fair court trial. If something like this happened overnight, there would be a huge uproar, but what if it happened over time and generations grew to accept it? Eventually, people would start to argue that brown haired people were naturally superior to blondes. If you were living in a tiny town in the Deep South, such as Maycomb, you’d have even less of a reason to question the status quo. Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird is trying to teach his kids, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view- until you climb in his skin and walk around in it.” Furthermore, the largest forms of discrimination in the novel are racism and classism.
One of the storylines in the novel is the Robinson-Ewell trial. Tom Robinson is an innocent African-American, accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a lower-class white girl. At the trial hearing, everyone is able to tell his or her side of the story before Tom is allowed to speak. All stories, however, offer two different versions of Tom and Mayella’s relationship. Moreover, Mayella and Bob Ewell tell the jury what they expect to hear, about Tom being a monster. They explain that there was no reason for his actions against Mayella. According to them, along with the rest of Maycomb, it's just expected that a black man would rape any white woman if he had the opportunity. The Tom spoken of by the Ewells shows the stereotypes that justify whites to be superior to blacks. However, Tom tells the jury about his innocence. He pr...
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...r father and try to understand what Boo’s really like. When they finally befriend him, not only does he prove to be a nice, lonely guy, but he also saves their lives. In conclusion, the book revolves mostly around the prejudgment of racists and classists, but Boo is also an object of the town’s harsh critics.
As a father, Atticus Finch tried to make his kids the best they can be. He tried teaching them that just because everyone acts a certain way, doesn’t mean they have to be close-minded and go along with it. Furthermore, he tries teaching them to always place themselves in someone’s position before judging them. Atticus leads them with example in the way he fought for Tom Robinson, tried helping Mayella Ewell deal with her father, and tried protecting Boo Radley from harassment. In conclusion, Harper Lee portrayed a sense of universal understanding in her novel.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, the most important character trait portrayed by Bob Ewell is prejudice. Throughout the book, Bob Ewell demonstrates how prejudice has been kept alive through ignorance and fear. First, by blaming Tom Robinson for beating Mayella. During the trial, Bob Ewell stood up and pointed his finger at Tom Robinson "I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin' on my Mayella"(84)! Bob Ewell emphasizes Tom’s race over everything else. He doesn’t care who he is as a person all he cares about is the color of his skin. Towards the end of the trial, Atticus has one last chance to prove the Ewells wrong. Atticus asks: “About your writing with your left hand, are you ambidextrous, Mr. Ewell? I most positively
Sometimes, people discriminate one thing, but strongly oppose the discrimination of another thing. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, this issue is very much expressed throughout the story. This thought-provoking story takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during a time when there’s a rape trial against a falsely accused African American named Tom Robinson. There is also a discrimination, of sorts, towards a man named Boo Radley, by three young children named Jeremy “Jem” Finch, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, and Charles “Dill” Baker Harris. Both Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are similar in their own ways through their inherent goodness.
Tom Robinson had been accused of raping Mayella Ewell, the eldest child of the worst white trash family in Maycomb. In all actuality, Mayella had flirted with Tom and got caught by her father. Her father, Bob Ewell, had beat Mayella with his left hand, which proved Tom not guilty since he could not move his left arm. Atticus explains the motives in his final speech of the trial. “‘I say guilt, gentlemen, because it was guilt that motivated her. She committed no crime, she has merely broken a rigid and time-honored code of our society, a code so severe that whoever breaks it is hounded from our midst as unfit to live with. She is a victim of cruel poverty and ignorance, but I cannot pity her: she is white… She was white and tempted a negro. She did something that in our society is unthinkable: she kissed a black man… There is circumstantial evidence that to indicate that Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone who led almost exclusively with his left… Tom Robinson now sits before you… with the only good hand he possesses- his right hand.’” (272) Most people in this day and age would be easily swayed into Tom’s defense with the evidence provided by Atticus, but this is the 1930’s in the deep south of the United States, and a black man could never be innocent in a case as such. “Judge Taylor was polling the jury: ‘Guilty… guilty… guilty… guilty...’” (282)
Tom Robinson was a black man accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white girl. Because of Atticus being Tom’s lawyer, Scout and Jem receive nasty comments about their dad from the rest of the town. Soon, Scout begins to question what these people mean, and asks Atticus why he’s taking the case. Atticus replies that he feels the need to defend Tom because, “before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.”
...uth to fully understand that it is typical to act superior to those with colored skin. All Dill sees is a man being rude to another, just because of his skin color. While Atticus clearly shows everyone in the court that it was almost impossible for Tom Robinson to have beat Mayella, he still loses the case just because he was a black man against a white woman. Lee includes, “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.” (Lee 323) This enforces how it didn’t matter what Tom was really doing or why Mayella was screaming, but just by the way Tom looked they were able to essentially pin the rape and the beatings on Tom. Of course this was not true and he did not receive the justice he deserved, but that didn’t matter to Maycomb. All that mattered was the color of his skin and what the teenage white girl named Mayella Ewell said about him.
At the time that this story was taken place the Jim Crow Laws were restricting the rights of African Americans. There was no way Tom could have won this case because he was an African American male going a white male. “Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man…” (Doc D). Even Reverend Sykes, an African American knew that an all-white jury would never rule in favor of a black man. Mr. Gilmer, the Ewell’s lawyer, speaks hatefully to Tom. Dill, Scouts friend thinks that the way Mr. Gilmer is treating Tom wrong. “It was just him I couldn’t stand; Dill said … ‘that old Mr. Gilmer doin’ him thataway, talking so hateful to him… the way that man called him “boy’ all the time an” sneered at him…” (Doc C). Most people knew that the Ewells were lying, but it didn’t matter they still won because they were white. In race, Mayella because she was white was more powerful than
Tom Robinson, a black man who is accused of rape, experiences social inequality throughout his entire part in the novel. Tom was accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a girl living in poverty in Maycomb. There was not any real evidence to support the accusation, but Mayella won the case. Tom Robinson
Although Tom’s innocence is undeniable Atticus explains that, “In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins” (pg. 295). Atticus’s statement proves that the jury was clearly biased. Moreover, it reinforces the fact that Tom was convicted only because of the color of his skin. In the novel, Scout states that Atticus views the Ewell family as “the disgrace of Maycomb” (pg.40). However, because the Ewells are a white family, they hold a more power and influence than the people of color This is why Bob Ewell can be so condescending on Tom and why the jury feels it must convict Tom of a crime they know he didn't commit. To do otherwise would upset the balance of society. To allow a Black man to go free after being accused of attacking a White woman, even one as poor and low class as Mayella would have been
In the novel, Tom was accused of raping Mayella Ewell but he had done no such thing. He had simply done as he was told to, to come inside and take a look at the door. He did not expect to be kissed by her. He was caught by Bob Ewell and he had to flee because if he did not, he would be shot. She tried to cover up her story by trying to blame it on rape,and sadly it worked. Tom knew he would be found guilty before he stepped into the courtroom. “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.”(pg 323) Months later he would be tormented by people in the town and found guilty of something he did not do. He knew he wouldn’t be found any other way but guilty because of the color of his skin. Everyone in the courtroom knew Mayella was lying but it was no discussion when it came to a white person’s word against a black person’s word. He had no hope left and he made the choice to end his life. He was not only innocent of raping Mayella Ewell, he was innocent of the way he was treated. Tom’s death was treated like just another death in the town. He death was treated like something casual. “He likened Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children, and Maycomb thought he was trying to write and editorial poetic to the published in The Montgomery Adviser.” (pg323 ) Tom would have been alive if Mayella had never asked him to come
Tom Robinson was just a “respectable negro” with a kind nature who was accused in absence of wrong. Mr Robinson is immediately seen as an enemy by most in town of Maycomb. Is it because of his malicious personality? Is it because of his hair colour? Is it because he is arrogant? No, all of these are false he is instantly convicted because he is of a different ethnicity. It seems foolish but this is the reason why Maycomb has discarded a man who is of higher quality than the majority of the town. “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella opened her mouth and screamed.” As soon as the trial began Tom’s opportunity for victory grew slimmer and slimmer and Maycomb knew that Atticus was fighting an unwinnable battle. But Atticus was determined to defend the ‘ultimate mockingbird’ right up until the end; even after the court case Atticus defends Tom at the jail. A final act of Tom’s innocence to prove his mockingbird status was whilst in court, he still didn’t want to accuse Mayella because “she seemed...
Discrimination is prevalent when people that are different are called names. Some people thought blacks were automatically dumb because of their color. They weren't allowed to do anything but menial tasks (such as chopping wood) and hard labor because they were thought too dumb. The novel TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee has numerous accounts of racism and prejudice throughout the entire piece. The novel is set in the 1930's, a time when racism was very prevalent.
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.
The novel takes place during the 1930s in the town of Maycomb, at a time of racial discrimination and inequality. Tom Robinson is a kind hearted African American who is wrongly accused and convicted of raping Mayella Ewell, who is a white woman. His lawyer Atticus Finch, although white, does not back down from representing Tom Robinson in court. He already knows to expect a negative reaction from society.
One of the most important events in the book was Tom Robinson’s trial, which was unfairly judged due to the fact that the jury could not see beyond the color of Tom’s skin. The put their own racist opinions ahead of what is right and just. One of the most important events in the novel circulated around racism. However, the most focused on point of Tom’s life was not the only point in his life where racism has been shown towards him. The Ewell’s are a major source of racism towards Tom. Whenever Mayella Ewell wanted Tom to help her, she was rude to him whereas Tom was very kind to her. Tom was even nice enough to refuse payment of his work for her since he saw that she was poor and realized she needed the money. For his kindness, Tom is returned with bitterness with the only reason for this being because of the color of his
How would you feel if you were in Maycomb being treated with so much disrespect? Racism, class, and gender are some of the forms that will be talked about, and these are the different forms of discrimination used in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Atticus, Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, Scout, Jem, the Ewells, Mr. Dolphus Raymond, and the Black Community are all being discriminated in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” These people will be talked about in this essay. Also think about how you would feel if you were judged even if you are a kid.