One Type of People and the Uniting of Humanity

Alan Ashley-Pitt, a fictitious character created by a Santa Barbara greeting card company once said, “The man who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd. The man who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has” (Ashley-Pitt). To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee in 1960 shares this lesson with Ashley-Pitt: muteness and cowardliness to stand up for one’s beliefs removes hope from someone’s ability to act; and optimism in pursuit of the betterment of society turns to cynicism in the lost dream of equality. This distinction that segregation serves a purpose to protect is hyperbolic, and is designed preserve a feeling of superiority. Jem’s statement about the “four types of folk in this world” (227) is invalid because To Kill a Mockingbird teaches that dividing individuals by skin colour is meritless, and it is awful to reject someone who does not share a similar history or way of life. Atticus teaches his children that no human being is different. As a jurist, he believes that no man, woman or child holds a license to harm another – through word or deed, when such an individual does nothing wrong. Atticus’ beliefs are ironically shown through the conviction and death of Tom Robinson and that racism results tragically, in the destruction of human spirit and life.

Calpurnia’s reprimand towards Scout about Walter Cunningham’s peculiarities shows one must look beyond the eccentricities of another’s life, and judging someone because of their skin tone is superficial. Scout’s position in society, in collaboration with her age makes her more observant to the horrors of life in the 1930s: where racism is common between members of the “professionals” and the negro community. Calpurnia and Attic...

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... no man gets further than the crowd and that the man who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one else has. Atticus is that man: he is not cowardly with his children and frankly exposes racism for what it is within the community: it is hate towards a group of people no one outside their community empathizes with. How one can continue to ensure the racism discussed continues to be non-existent in today’s society? When that question is answered, one can assert confidently that never again will one share in the experiences Tom Robinson, Atticus, Scout and Jem in the 1930s.

Works Cited

Ashley-Pitt, Alan. "Alan Ashley-Pitt Quotes." goodreads. Goodreads Inc , n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. .

Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Grand Central Publishing: Hachette Book Group, 1960. Print.