Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Character analysis to kill a mockingbird
Rise and fall of jim crow laws
Literary analysis to kill a mockingbird
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Character analysis to kill a mockingbird
Both The Help by Kathryn Stockett, and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee take place in times of harsh racial inequality in the South; however, they mutually carry the idea of racial equality. Both books show effort towards change in society, which may often be perceived as being led by the whites. However, despite strong, white protagonists created by Harper Lee in To Kill a Mockingbird and Kathryn Stockett in The Help, this is not unintentionally racist; in the societies the novels are placed in, the blacks virtually had no choice but to follow the whites, or face extreme consequences, and there was an equal respect involved. The authors strived to ensure the books were true to the time period. While the society at the time was extremely racist, neither book is, even if the whites may often appear like the leader.
To Kill a Mockingbird takes place around 1935, a time in which blacks had very few rights and white supremacy was ubiquitous; this setting becomes a major obstacle for Tom Robinson. This society is shown through Tom Robinson’s trial, and his much needed reliance on Atticus. Though it can be argued that Atticus is portrayed by Harper Lee as better than Tom Robinson, and as his savior, this is not the case. Due to the setting of the novel, Tom Robinson had no alternative but to put his faith into Atticus’s hands, or face further consequences. Atticus then proceeded to prove Tom’s innocence. Atticus may have been depicted as the leader in this struggle for Tom’s innocence, but that does not mean Tom was weak, he simply had no choice if Harper Lee was going to make the novel accurate. After Tom’s death when he was shot escaping prison, Scout realizes, “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella opened her mouth and screamed” ...
... middle of paper ...
...may seem to be the strong leader, that sometimes may be true, but it does not prove to be racist. Breaking that would be unrealistic for the time period the novels are set in. The blacks are shown using that white leadership as safety, and to accomplish tasks they were not capable of doing because of the consequences in doing so. In both books, both races are shown respecting each other, and often equalizing themselves. In these ways, neither book can be proved racist. Harper Lee and Kathryn Stockett illustrated the condescending lines of racism and the wrong that existed in these societies, and in doing so accomplished the difficult task of not being racist themselves.
Works Cited
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1960. New York: Warner Books, 1999.
Stockett, Kathryn. The Help. New York: Amy Einhorn, 2009. Print.
Racism is evident in the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Throughout the story whites are constantly challenging blacks, and vice versa, because blacks want to be seen as equals and not as a lesser race.
To Kill a Mockingbird novel is a warm and humorous piece of writing though it deals with critical issues such as racial inequality and rape. The novel was published in 1960 by Harper Lee and it gained immediate popularity and success becoming a modern literature in American. The plot of the novel and characters are based on Harper’s perception of her neighbors and her immediate family. Also, it is based on her observation of events that took place near her home area in 1936 at the age of ten years. To Kill a Mockingbird symbolizes killing harmless and innocent people. Tom Robinson is an example of an innocent man falsely accused of raping a White girl known as Mayella Ewell (Lee 169). Another example is Boo who is misunderstood by the society
Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, Harper Lee's, To Kill a Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior, to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, and the struggle between blacks and whites. Atticus Finch, a lawyer and single parent in a small southern town in the 1930's, is appointed by the local judge to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, who is accused of raping a white woman. Friends and neighbors object when Atticus puts up a strong and spirited defense on behalf of the accused black man. Atticus renounces violence but stands up for what he believes in. He decides to defend Tom Robinson because if he did not, he would not only lose the respect of his children and the townspeople, but himself as well.
Throughout the novel Harper Lee explores the racism, prejudice, and the innocence that occurs throughout the book. She shows these themes through her strong use of symbolism throughout the story. Even though To Kill a Mockingbird was written in the 1960’s, the powerful symbolism this book contributes to our society is tremendous. This attribute is racist (Smykowski). To Kill a Mockingbird reveals a story about Scout’s childhood growing up with her father and brother, in an accustomed southern town that believed heavily in ethnological morals (Shackelford).
The first influence on Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is the Jim Crow laws. The Jim Crow laws are laws that took place in between 1877 to the mid 1960s (Pilgrim). These laws are of segregation between blacks and whites to give blacks fewer rights. Christians and Ministers believed that Whites were the chosen people; Blacks were lesser people and only suppose to be servants, and that God Supported Ra
The story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee portrays many different scenarios of racial discrimination. Discrimination occurs in the book and many people are affected by the racial slurs and other occurrences. In the story, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, Atticus Finch, and Tom Robinson are all people that are discriminated against or are affected by discrimination. Racial discrimination is a major part of To Kill a Mockingbird.
To Kill a Mockingbird: Race Relations Racism is a problem that has been around for multiple centuries. In To Kill a Mockingbird, it demonstrates how racism can affect one person even in the court of law. In this story, the case of Tom Robinson is told. It is obvious that Robinson is a victim of racist people that see him guilty only because of his race, African American. From the beginning, it seems obvious that Robinson does not have a chance of winning his case, whether he is guilty or not.
...tional stage with the Scottsboro trials, which became the inspiration for Harper Lee’s burning expeditionary work of fiction, To Kill a Mockingbird, in which she employs a tone critical of racism. The two cases, fictional and real, shared many stunning similarities, such as the preservation of southern womanhood and police brutality, as well as minor differences such as the attitudes of the accusers. The great tragedy of both cases is best exemplified by Atticus Finch’s declaration that “this case should never have come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white” (Lee 271).
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York NY: Warner Books, Hachette Book Group USA, 1960.
Both stories are set in the South, with To Kill a Mockingbird in Maycomb County, Alabama and The Help in Jackson, Mississippi. While Mockingbird takes place in the Depression-era 1930s, The Help takes place in the socially and politically changed the 60s.Although these time periods are three decades apart, they both occurred in times of social stress. White privilege and prejudice was a given in most areas of the country in the 30s. In The Help, the several of the characters are African American maids. As the story develops it shows how they are mistreated, especially in comparison to white employees. Like Atticus, the main character faced white opposition in her desire to work with African Americans to improve their situation. This shows us how prejudicial has persisted over the
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York, New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1960. Print.
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...
To Kill A Mockingbird is a dramatic story about human behavior- cruelty, love, compassion, and hatred. The sweet family of 3 lives in the Southern town of Maycomb County. Atticus, the father, Scout Finch, and Scout’s brother, Jem. The Finch family lives in the time period of the Great Depression. Atticus still has his job as a lawyer and that’s when he realizes one of the greater themes of the story- The Existence of Social Inequality.
To Kill A Mockingbird is set in the 1930's and early 1940's. Right before the movie begins, President FDR was elected. At the beginning of the movie, Scout mentions this, saying they had recently been told that they, "have nothing to fear but fear itself." Throughout the movie, Scout learns how to act in life, how to act with other people, and how to understand things from their point of view. A major point in the novel is that Scout's father Atticus decides to defend Tom Robinson, a black man. This is very important because it shows that Atticus is not as racist as the majority of the people that were in the film. It also shows that he cares for his kids because he wants them to learn to be capable of distinguishing when they do or do not need to defend themselves.
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. 1960. 40th Anniversary Ed. New York: HarperCollins Pub, 1999.