In To Kill a Mockingbird, after Scout Finch reflects upon Maycomb 's citizens and Aunt Alexandra 's class system, Scout states, “I think there 's just one kind of folks. Folks” (304). In a southern town still harboring racial tension, young Scout 's simple statement would not be anything short of shocking and alienating. The Radley and Finch family, Miss. Maudie, and the black community were all examples of the Southern Gothic concept of outsiders. Although the concept of outsiders seems to primarily have a negative connotation, their isolationism is what spares Scout and Jem from the prejudice their friends and neighbors espouse. Pursuing this topic further, Maycomb is representative of the American South and outsiders are representative …show more content…
Scout pick up terms such as the “n-word” from her peers but never from Atticus, her father. In fact, Scout is reprimanded by Atticus for using racial slurs when he states, “Don 't say nigger, Scout. That 's common” (99). This critique of the common usage of racial slurs towards blacks is investigated by the fact Scout learns the words from the students at her school, who subsequently must have heard it from their parents. Following the previous scene, Scout learns about how Atticus chose to be Tom 's lawyer since he is the only person in Maycomb who is willing to defend a black man. Later she, Jem, and Dill attend the trial. During the trial, instead of sitting in the white section, Scout, Jem, and Dill sit in …show more content…
For a class structure to be preserved, dissenters have to be eliminated. Perhaps this is why Tom suffered such a dramatic death in his attempt to break free of a white dominated society. As Atticus recounts, “Seventeen bullet holes in him. They didn 't have to shoot him that much” (315). For a disabled man who was doomed from the time Mayella had feelings for him, the novel 's mockingbird is effectively killed by hate he did nothing to incur. Much like how the Pharisees attempted to take Jesus down before moving onto His followers, after Tom was eliminated, those who defended Tom had to be unable to disrupt class structure again. Unfortunately, the Finch family could not escape the town 's hatred of outsiders. Bob Ewell, Tom 's indirect killer, had “his last shred of credibility” destroyed by Atticus at the trial (292). After spitting in Atticus 's face, Bob vowed to “get him if it took the rest of his life” (290). In a dark twist of events, Bob 's vow ended up taking his life when he tried to silence the outsiders. As a result of his plot to get back at Atticus, Bob targeted Jem and Scout. As Deputy Heck Tate correctly summed up, Bob was, “Low down skunk enough with enough liquor in him to make him brave enough to kill children. He 'd never have met you [Atticus] face to face” (360). Fortunately, the reclusive outsider of the story, Arthur “Boo” Radley, saves the
Scout’s family is completely against racism and prejudice. In the town of Maycomb, prejudice is a disease, but Jem, Scout, and Dill are immune to this illness because of the people who raise them. For example, when Cecil and Francis tell Scout that it is a disgrace for Atticus to defend Tom, even though Francis is Scouts cousin, also when Scout and Jem hear the verdict of Tom’s case they both cry and are angry about the sentence while the rest of the town is happy. Scout doesn’t want Walter Cunningham to come over for dinner because she thinks that he is a disgrace. For all of these reasons it shows that the Scout, Jem and Atticus must not be racist or prejudiced.
In addition to being a lawyer, Atticus enjoys being a father to Jem and Scout. When Jem and Scout found out that their father would be defending a black person, they knew immediately that there would be much controversy, humiliation from the people of Maycomb and great difficulty keeping Tom alive for the trial. It was not long when Atticus had to leave the house very late to go to jail, where Tom was kept because many white people wanted to kill him. Worrying about their father, Jem and Scout sneak out of the house to find him. A self-appointed lynch mob has gathered on the jail to take justice into their own hands. Scout decides to talk to Walter Cunningham, one of the members of the mob. She talks about how her father Atticus thought that "entailments are bad "(154 ) " and that his boy Walter is a real nice boy and tell him I said hey"(154). Upon hearing this, the mob realized that Atticus cannot be all bad if he has such a nice daughter as Scout. Atticus, with some unexpected help from his children, faces down the mob and cause them to break up the potential lynching of the man behind bars. Having gone to a black church earlier, the children found out that Tom is actually a kind person, church-going and a good husband and father to his children.
Being very young in the beginning of the book, her views of racism have been guided by the people she's around. Before the trial, Scout’s life was relatively sheltered. She knows that blacks are segregated, but their lives do not touch Scout except for Calpurnia. Scout really isn't exposed to the harsh realities of racism until the trial. Here, Scout encounters the taunting of kids and adults. She endures remarks about her father being a "nigger lover" and then finally the travesty of injustice that happens to Tom. Here father provides her with many answer to all the questions she has on the subject, and helps her understand that black people are just regular people, and they need to be treated as regular people.
Before the trial starts, Scout had to endure her classmates refer to Atticus as ‘nigger lover’ because of his defense of Tom. Scout and Jem also hear comments and gossip being made about their father in Maycomb, and they see the support Tom gains from the black community when they visit his church with Calpurna. The kids see the anger and evil of the society when they help Atticus from the lynch mob at the jail before the trial. Scout and Jem attend the trial in person, and they witness the evidence given and they agree that Atticus has made a substantial case for
...es that despite all the differences humans have, we are really more alike than not. Scout is constantly educated by her Aunt on Maycomb's different folks. She realizes that “there’s just one kind of folks. Folks” (304). Scout has finally become enlightened, a role model that everyone, even Atticus, can aspire to be like.
Racism spread like a disease through the town and children walked around easily calling blacks derogatory terms. One day after school Scout came home and explained to her father how her day went. She said that the children were calling Atticus a nigger lover. Scout addressed, “You aren’t actually a nigger lover are you?” (Lee, 124). Her father, shocked at first, replied informatively, “I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody" (Lee, 124). What Atticus meant, was that he tries to be kind to everybody no matter their skin color. Scout does not realize that calling blacks “niggers” is bad, and that you have to call them “negroes”. A reader of this novel could infer that Scout did not know that she cannot use that word because she hears kids at schools say it all the time. All of this indirectly relates to Tom and how he was a black man that was constantly being taunted by hateful terms because he was just there, like a mockingbird. He never fought back, instead he stayed
Scout stands up for her beliefs and rights when Francis calls Atticus rude and offensive names. She gets tells Francis, “He is not!... I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about, but you better cut it out this red hot minute” (83). The argument had started when Francis called Atticus a “n*****-lover”. Scout became defensive and stood up for Atticus because she knew that Atticus was a fair man who didn’t believe in racism. He stood up for black people because he believed that everyone was equal regardless of race. Scout, along with her father believed that black people should be treated fairly as well so when Francis called Atticus rude names she stood up for him because she knew that Atticus was a fair and equal man. This shows that you do not need to be an adult to understand the world because most of the people in Maycomb were racist such as Bob Ewell. Despite her young age, Scout stood up for her father and her beliefs and knew that not all black people were bad people. Additionally, Jem stands up for his rights and his father when Mrs. Dubose says something rude about black people. Scout describes Jem’s attitude when she thinks, “Jem had probably stood as much gruff about Atticus lawing for n***** as much as I, and I took it for granted that he kept his temper” (102). This shows that although Jem had a pretty steady temper, he lost it when Mrs. Dubose said that Atticus was “no better than the n****** and trash he works for”. Jem, like his father didn’t discriminate against black people unlike the rest of the people in Maycomb. While he did get heated, it was because he stood up for Atticus and his beliefs which were to not judge black people. There was already so much prejudice in Maycomb and Jem regardless of his young age, stood up for what he thought was right and protected black people and his father. This lesson of standing up for what you think
The first time Scout was exposed to the racism of Maycomb was when one evening Atticus crept out of the house. This was unusual because Atticus never went out late at night. Scout and Jem, curious about why Atticus had left incognito, followed him discretely to see what he would do. What they actually saw him doing was a bewilderment, they saw him reclining in front of Tom Robinsons cell, guarding Tom from an oncoming lynch mob. When the mob arrived at the jail, Scout portrayed a large amount of danger on herself when she put herself in the middle of the argument. Atticus stated later “a mob’s always made of people, no matter what. Mr. Cunningham was part of a mob last night, but he was still a man.” After Scout intercepted the argument, she pointed out Mr.Cunningham and started delineated his son and fellow classmate; Walter. Mr.Cunningham’s eyes were now blinded by the sentimentality that Scout purp...
Although Scout is incredibly intelligent and bright for someone her age, she is still unaware of various social issues that surround her world and the society that she lives in. After an explosive argument between the Finch children and neighbor Mrs. Dubose, Scout asks her father the meaning of the words that she has heard repeated time and time again. Atticus, the kind and reasonable man that he is, tries his best to explain to his daughter why Maycomb abuses the word:
According to Jem, ““There's four kinds of folks in the world. There's the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there's the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down in the dumb, and the negroes”” (Lee 206). Scout responds, “‘Naw, Jem, I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks’” (Lee 227). Scout had a deeper appreciation for social equality.
Towards the end of To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus decides to represent a colored man by the man of Tom Robinson, who is being accused of raping Mayella Ewell, Bob Ewell’s daughter. Atticus believes that Tom is innocent, but he does not think that Tom will be found not guilty because of they way the townsfolk treat colored people. They treat them like dirt; like they are worth nothing. Atticus went ahead and represented Tom despite the fact that he knew the townsfolk would call himself and his children names and treat them disrespectfully. Even Scout’s relative Francis said rude things about them. “‘I guess it ain't your fault if Uncle Atticus is a nigger-lover besides, but I'm here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family-...’ ‘Just what I said. Grandma says it's bad enough he lets you all run wild, but now he's turned out a nigger-lover we'll never be able to walk the streets of Maycomb agin. He's ruinin' the family, that's what he's doin'.’” Atticus set a good example for Scout and Jem. He had a difficult decision to make, but he chose what he thought was
Atticus Finch speaks to a firmly principled, liberal point of view that runs contrary to the ignorance and preference of the white, Southern, small-town group in which he exists. Atticus is persuaded that he must impart values of equality in his kids, counteracting the racist impact. Lee makes utilization of several images and allegories all through the novel to symbolize racial clash. The youngsters' attitudes about Boo, for example, speak to in small scale the foundation of racial bias in fear and superstition. The rabid puppy that threatens the town has been deciphered as symbolizing the menace of racism. Many commentators have considered Atticus' shooting of the rabid puppy as a representation of his skills as an attorney in targeting the racial partialities of the town. The central image of the novel, the mockingbird, further creates the subject of racial partiality. For Christmas, Scout and Jem are given air rifles by their father, who warns that, although he thinks of it as fair to shoot different winged creatures, he sees it a "transgression to kill a mockingbird" because they "don't do one thing yet sing their hearts out for us." The mockingbird speaks to casualties of mistreatment in general, and the African-American group all the more specifically. The unfair trial of Tom Robinson, in which the jury's racial bias denounces a pure man, is symbolically characterized as the
Atticus lives by this, and strives to instill the same values in his kids. When the whole town turns against him for taking Tom Robinson’s case, he refuses to give up. Even his sister tells him to drop the case, but to no avail. Even when everyone is against his decision, he still stands up for what he believes in, saying “...if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this country in the legislate, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again.” showing his steadfastness when it comes to his morals and basic principles. Atticus demonstrates this same perseverance in fighting for Tom, even though it is quite clear he will lose. It is obvious that Tom didn’t rape Mayella, but the townspeople will side against, simply because he is black, something Atticus is well aware of. Despite that he continues trying his hardest to do what he knows is right, to help those who need it, and he does so calmly and respectfully. This is something Scout regularly struggles with, she is prone to fits of anger and stubbornness while defending her beliefs. There are several instances where Scout faces ignorance and hate, especially regarding her father’s decision. However, instead of agreeing with society, she takes a stand, which although often violent, shows that she too is capable of persevering in the face of
In the beginning of the book, Scout is worrying about her teacher’s teaching methods. In addition, Scout is worried about getting in trouble. However, towards the end of the book, Scout is tackling serious world issues. She contemplates how not everyone has the same opportunities. Furthermore, she worries about African Americans being treated unjustly on a daily basis. After the Tom Robinson trial, the whole Finch family is upset, but they leave it to young Scout to showcase her maturity. Scout shows maturity when she states, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed” (Lee 276). Scout saw the situation from Tom Robinson’s point of view and how he knew that he was a dead man because of the racist white jury. Earlier in the novel, she would not have been mature enough to think about the trial in that way and would not have understood such a challenging concept. After the trial, Scout starts thinking about others and what it would be like to walk a day in their shoes. This is showcased during a conversation with Jem when Scout says, “No, everybody’s gotta learn, nobody’s born knowin’. That Walter’s as smart as he can be, he just gets held back sometimes because he has to stay out
A small city nestled in the state of Alabama, Maycomb has got its faults, just like any other place in the world, but one of its main faults or (pg.88) “Maycomb's usual disease,” as Atticus calls it in the book is prejudice. Jem and Scout learn a lot about prejudice when a black man named Tom Robinson is accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell and their father, Atticus, is called on to be his lawyer. They realize the hate that people have buried deep within their heart when they see a black man accused of doing something only because of his color. On pg.241, Scout starts understanding this and thinks, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.” As the case continues, up until the death of Tom Robinson, Jem and Scout learn more and more about prejudice and how the hate that people have towards others causes them to take wrong actions. They also see how unfair it is that a white man can get treated better and think of himself better than a black man only because he was born white. This prejudice and the trial cause Jem and Scout to get in argum...