OVERCOMING TRAGEDY
The loss of a loved one is a tragedy for family, friends, and the community as a whole. Emotional reactions can range from quiet to intense and the circumstances of the loss can definitely be a factor. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, the citizens of Maycomb County suffer a series of losses that affect the Finch family and the entire town. These losses include the death of Tom Robinson, the death of Mrs. DuBose, and the near-death incident involving Jem and Scout. These losses all have lasting impacts. Similarly, one’s own family may suffer loss and near-loss situations, making this novel especially relatable. Therefore, getting over a tragedy can be challenging. First, acknowledge that a tragedy has occurred, then express personal emotions and feelings, and finally focus on the positives.
Acknowledging that a tragedy has occurred can be difficult to accept. The death of Tom Robinson is definitely a tragedy. Tom is a kind, honest black man who helped a young white woman, Mayella Ewell, with chores. This act of kindness is responsible for Tom being charged with rape, his arrest, a trial, and a guilty verdict even though the testimony showed that Mayella’s own father, Bob Ewell, was the one who beat his daughter. “It was Jem’s turn to cry.” He was upset with the verdict and thought it was unfair to send Tom to jail knowing that he is now in there for life. In jail, Tom tries to break free, heading over the fence and is shot seventeen times. Jem, along with the black community of the town, had a difficult time accepting and acknowledging that Tom had died after he was shoot. They all wept and mourned in the loss of Tom. Tom is innocent, but he is convicted of raping a white woman due the prejudice of p...
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...the positive outcomes. If you focus on the changes they will most likely be changes for the better. I hope that greater awareness has been gained and more knowledge for the future will hopefully have great change for the future. Many things such as death, fear, and devastation are in the world today. In life, one does not know when tragedy will occur but when it does having courage and positive attitude will make a difference. A world without tragedies and fears would make it a much better place.
Work Cited
Lee, Harper. "11." To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1960. 149. Print.
Lee, Harper. "22." To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1960. 284. Print.
Lee, Harper. "25." To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1960. 323. Print.
Lee, Harper. "31." To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1960. 374. Print.
one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it is a sin to
Why is it important to have moral values? To know what’s right in a situation? To put the well being of others before yourself? For most people in the small fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, values and fairness are not important. The Maycomb townspeople only follow the social norms based on racism, and their decisions are influenced by these norms. However a certain few in the town do have moral values and look to do the right thing when faced with a tough decision. In the award winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, true understanding of courage and empathy lead Jem and Scout closer to maturity.
“I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; I will not refuse to do something I can do.” This quote by Edward Everett Hale means that if somebody wants to make a change in the world, even if it is a small thing, they have the power to. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is set during the 1930’s. There were different perspectives back then. African Americans did not have the same rights as white people did. This story is based around a society in which African Americans were not given the same chances as whites, and were lower in status. A man named Atticus Finch changes the viewpoint towards African Americans. In To Kill a Mockingbird Harper shows that one person can change society, as shown by Atticus in the Tom Robinson trial and the decisions he makes at home.
In the courtroom that night it is revealed that the alleged crimes of Tom Robinson, a decent Negro man, most likely did not happen. As Atticus says in his closing argument, "The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence to the effect that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place. It has relied instead upon the testimony of two witnesses whose evidence has not only been called into serious question on cross-examination, but has been flatly contradicted by the defendant. The defendant is not guilty, but somebody in this courtroom is” (Lee 271). Showing the clear innocence of Tom Robinson due to lack of evidence, Scout thinks that the white jury will do the right thing only to find out that they still, unfairly, accuse him of being guilty. Scout and her brother, Jem, get very upset when they hear the verdict, however, it allows them both to learn the lesson that the county is unfair towards anyone who is not white. The county demonstrates this evil racism due to the social divisions in Maycomb between the whites and the blacks and because the whites see the blacks as unworthy of rights and freedoms. It was not just the trial itself that displayed evil in the world, but the comments and arguments surrounding the case did
Atticus Finch was a true hero, in my eyes. He had all the essentials to being a hero, such as; respect, equality, and quiet dignity. Sure, Mr. Finch didn’t quite reach his goal of winning the Tom Robinson case, but it was the fact that he attempted it, knowing he would lose. A hero is not someone who achieves something, but is a person that attempts to. The journey to your goal might even be more important than the actual achievement, because on your way to the top, struggles appear and you overcome them by learning new lessons to live by in life. In conclusion, Atticus Finch truly is America’s greatest hero.
To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is an excellent story that gives a profound meaning to many essences in life. The story showcases many cases of great qualities such as fear and courage. Also this book contains characters with impressive personalities, but in contrast there are many characters with poor qualities and personalities. Back in the 30s, when a negro faced a white man in a courtroom, the white man will win whether he is lying or not. This would give many negros tons of fear. In addition to this book, there is a lot of mystery within the story. For example, there is a very mysterious character in the story. In the form of courage, there are many situations where characters defy odds and take huge chances for little reward. There will be 3 subjects about qualities or feelings of fear and courage. They are about the Radley family, Bob Ewell and Tom Robinson.
I could barely keep myself from jumping out of my chair. I listened intently, noticing the pronunciation of each word as it danced out of my father’s mouth. “It was pitch black. I was only a year or two older than you, you know. And the forest… the forest was so dark. As we paddled through the water toward the floating black mass of the island, it became hard for me to tell where the water ended and the treeline began.” I felt my heart beating deep inside my chest and fought the urge to leap up and scream with excitement and fear.
These injustices have begun long before Tom’s trial, but it is his trial which epitomizes the problems with our society. The first witness was simply just a misguided fellow named Heck Tate who it seems didn’t have much to offer to the case. Next, Atticus Finch called Bob Ewell to the stand. When I saw Ewell take the stand such a fierce hatred rose within me that I began to shake and tremble. Ewell wrongfully accused Tom of raping his daughter Mayella, however, with the grace of God, Atticus Finch had shown that it was very possible that it was Bob Ewell who because he was a lefty could have beat Mayella. If it were not for great men like Atticus Finch I would have lost all hope for this world. As I watched Mayella take the stand I wondered how such a kind looking person could be someone of such poor character. Her words seemed to paint a picture of a sad life; one where a father neglects her and she has fallen under hard times. Atticus, after pointing out it was probably Bob who beat her, asked Mayella who it really was that beat her. Mayella made it clear it was Tom Robinson, upon which Atticus asked Tom to stand. To the astonishment of the court Tom was handicapped! Tom was then called to the stand where he laid open for all to see the truth, explaining that it was Mayella who came on to him (that treacherous woman!). Soon enough the trial ended and every one awaited the verdict of the jury. The next few hours were the most nerve wracking of my life.
Sympathy is unfair. An alarmingly large number of people are treated apathetically when they make certain decisions, such as those made by Mayella Ewell in Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird. A common trend in society is to pass judgement on others without giving heed to the situationality of circumstances. When looking at whether or not people deserve sympathy, the specifics of a situation have to be considered. Thus, one must do the same when deciding if Mayella Ewell is deserving of sympathy. The actions she took — specifically, framing a negro man named Tom Robinson for rape — are met with intense scrutiny and criticism. This is, of course, done without considering the rationale of her thought process. On one hand, Mayella can tell the truth
You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen. You know Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen. But do you recall the most famous reindeer of all? Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was misperceived at first. All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names, but after he led Santa’s sleigh, they loved him. Misperceptions like this happen all throughout Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. As you read the novel you see original judgments made about characters transform into new conceptions and new understandings. Some characters twist your views of them on purpose, others do it involuntarily. To Kill a Mockingbird shows this happening over and over again. All you have to do is look for it.
The story “To kill a Mockingbird” takes place in an old tired town in Alabama during the Great Depression. In the story the main conflict involves a black crippled man, Tom Robinson, accused of raping Mayella Ewell, the daughter of Bob Ewell. The Ewells were the lowest of the low in Maycomb; they lived in the town dump and had no education. The Accusation of Tom Robinson was caused by the Ewell’s in an effort to better their lifestyle and increase their rank in the town. Although the story is told from Scout’s eyes, the whole story revolves around this questionable trial and shows that being vulnerable and innocent is a dangerous characteristic to have and can easily be taken advantage of.
Tom Robinson’s trial, and in fact his entire life, was badly affected by racism. It is truly a testament to the corruption of society when a person who has earned a bad reputation is held in higher esteem than a person who was born with it, as is the case with Bob Ewell and Tom Robinson. Even though Tom was obviously honest in his testament, the jury sided with Bob Ewell because he was white. They made this decision despite the fact that the Ewell family was widely known to be a worthless part of society. Jem, not being racially prejudiced, could not understand this mentality. As Atticus pointed out, “If you (Jem) had been on the jury, son, and eleven other boys like you, Tom would be a free man.”
The cruel nature and intentions of people can either hurt or harm individuals or it can bring about resilience and determination. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee revealed that humans often have other motives in life; some are born to be evil in nature, some are naturally innocent and then there are some that are born to protect the innocent. Lee utilized a variety of symbols and themes that correlated with each other and thus had the ability to create questions in the minds of the readers. Are humans calculatedly cruel or is there some moral good in each of us? The impiety of a few can create a movement, imprison the innocent or reveal the sincerity of others.
No matter where or who a person is, they are always learning something, either about themselves or about the environment around them. In Harper Lee's heartwarming novel titled To Kill A Mockingbird, the main characters Jem and Scout grow and mature throughout the story as they learn both more about themselves and the world around them. As the story progresses, they learn many life lessons including those about prejudice, people and how they have been categorized and judged, and, last but not least, gender issues.
Life is full of lessons. The lessons you learn adjust and fit your character and who you are. In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, the characters of Jem and Scout are young, and have to figure life as they go. Jem and Scout witness and live through life lessons. They learn these lessons from others around them. Some lessons come from their town itself, while others come from people. Their father, Atticus, teaches them a lot about life and the right and wrong. Jem and Scout learn what it means to have empathy, courage, persistence and personal integrity. Also, the Mockingbirds themselves adjust and appoint life lessons.