In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, racism grudges on Maycomb Ville’s society. Families collared by agony, struggle everyday to break free from the chains of poverty. Domestic violence eclipses the town as it conceals beneath the dark shadows. Maycomb ville’s conflicts all revolt into a drastic nightmare. In To Kill a Mockingbird , you unravel a generous amount of important life lessons. Throughout the book racism is shown as the climax; it takes a whole lot of courage to face it. Tom Robinson, an african-american, throughout the book is blamed and hated for his dark skin color, “Old Mr. Bob Ewell accused him of rapin’ his girl an’ had him arrested an’ put in jail” (Lee 164). Atticus, a lawyer, knows Tom Robinson is innocent. Atticus becomes …show more content…
Poverty plays an important role in To Kill a Mockingbird because it brings the novel to life. It gives real life situations some poor people today may be going through. Scout never complains about being poor; she is grateful with what she has already. This compares to when you donate something to the needy. There are people all around the world today living in the streets and are grateful even when you donate a dollar. Another key point is that Scout generously symbolizes the theme poverty as she characterizes in chapter one “There was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with” (Lee 6). This quote phrases the fact that she is poor, so she doesn’t bother going out to shop. Instead her and the neighbors trade goods. Poverty influences Maycomb substantially because people are still living through the Great Depression. Many were left indigent and have to find ways to survive. One example is the Cunninghams family, “The Cunninghams never took anything they couldn’t pay back… they never took anything off of people, they got along with what they have. They don’t have much, but get along on it” (Lee 26). The Cunninghams are a poor, but also a happy family that will pay you back not with money, but with goods and satisfying items. As a result , poverty is a theme in To Kill a Mockingbird, and I believe it infiltrates knowledge into the reader about life and the society around
In the classic novel To Kill A Mockingbird, author Harper Lee takes on the malignant impact of racism, a deeply rooted problem, from a different perspective and teaches readers what it truly means to be a good person as she brings to life one of the most virtuous characters in American literature-Atticus Finch. Told through the eyes of a young child, readers learn about the heavy prejudice embedded in the people of Maycomb County and the loss of innocence that is brought upon the kids as a racial conflict spurs a series of significant events in their quiet town. Taken place during the early years of the Great Depression, Maycomb must face its biggest problem-racism. Atticus Finch is the lawyer who defends this case and ultimately brings a
Jem Finch In Harper Lee’s To Kill a MockingBird has a very large impact on the U.S because it is basically the sum up of what happened in the south in the 1930’s. The 1930’s was the time of the great depression and many people were poor and many people were laid off because companies couldn 't pay them. In the small town of Maycomb, Alabama it shows some of the poverty some of the families lived in and the racism in the south during this time.
In one part of the novel Scout (Jean Louise Finch) asked her father Atticus Finch if they were poor, Atticus replied with a yes. The novel also says that farmers such as the Cunninghams were having a hard time with their crops. The novel also talks about the town and how it is like and how it looks as in feature wise. The Stock Market Crash of 1929 was one of the causes of the Great Depression.
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it”(Lee 30). These are the words of Atticus Finch, the wisest character in the famous novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. He is a fictional man that embodies human traits that all people should strive to emulate. In the novel; narrated by Atticus’ daughter Jean Louise Finch, more often referred to as Scout; Atticus defends a black man, Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping a white female, Mayella Ewell. The main message of the text is the prominence of racial injustice, specifically in the 1930’s, the era the novel takes place in.
Anne Frank, a Jewish girl who was in hiding during World War II stated, “No one has ever become poor by giving.” The quote means that you are never too poor to do something nice for someone. This quote relates to the book,To Kill a Mockingbird, as we learn about the Ewell family who didn’t understand that they could be nice. Atticus notes, “You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.” (Lee 30)
Sleepy Maycomb, like other Southern towns, suffers considerably during the Great Depression. Many things happen, and poverty, racism, and violence encompass nearly everyone in Maycomb. Poverty, racism, and violence reaches from the privileged families, like the Finches, to the Negroes and “white trash” Ewells, who live on the outskirts of town. Harper Lee paints a vivid picture of life in this humid Alabama town where nearly everything explodes into conflict. The theme of racism, poverty, and violence is present throughout nearly every chapter in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Throughout Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird," Atticus Finch serves as a model of tolerance. He consistently demonstrates his conviction that others should be treated with empathy and understanding. One of the most prominent examples of Atticus' tolerance is his defense of Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman. Despite the community's intense racism and prejudice, Atticus maintains his belief in Tom's innocence and fights for his rights in court. This shows his tolerance and acceptance of people of different races and his refusal to be swayed by the prejudices of others.
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird may seem to be a pleasant tale about a young southern girl, but if one takes a deeper look into the story then many deeper-level themes and concepts will begin to emerge. The story is one of growing up, learning to understand others, and most of all the tragedy and incomprehension of the depths of racism in a small southern town. This racism drove the inhabitants of the town devoid of reasoning, to the point of killing a black man on spurious charges. The name of the man who the town slaughtered was Tom Robinson. The author of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee, characterizes Tom Robinson as a black man who symbolizes the effects of southern racism in America while using a historical perspective.
In chapter 17, it states “Maycomb's Ewells lived behind the town garbage dump in what was once a Negro cabin” (Lee 227). The Ewells are very poor and don't take very good care of their stuff. Another example of poverty
To Kill A Mockingbird Themes “‘You never really understand a person until you consider his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it’” (Lee 39). This quote from the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee includes many characters who suffer from the Great Depression and other conflicts that break out in the town of Maycomb. Racism, poverty, and domestic violence attend in the book and continue their way through to create rising conflict between the people of Maycomb county. Atticus Finch is a lawyer of Maycomb and a father of two children, Jean Louise Finch, also known as Scout, and Jem Finch.
“‘it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”’ “The varmints had a lean time of it, for the Ewells gave the dump a thorough gleaning every day, and the fruits of their industry (those that were not eaten) made the plot of ground around the cabin look like the playhouse of an insane child: what passed for a fence was bits of tree-limbs, broomsticks and tool shafts, all tipped with rusty hammer-heads, snaggle-toothed rake heads, shovels, axes and grubbing hoes, held on with pieces of barbed wire” (Lee 228). Sleepy Maycomb, like other Southern towns, suffers considerably during the Great Depression. Poverty reaches from the privileged families, like the Finches, to the Negroes and “white trash” Ewells, who live on the outskirts of town. Harper Lee paints
In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee teaches us about the town of Maycomb County during the late 1930s, where the characters live in isolation and victimization. Through the perspective of a young Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, readers will witness the prejudice that Maycomb produces during times where people face judgement through age, gender, skin colour, and class, their whole lives. Different types of prejudice are present throughout the story and each contribute to how events play out in the small town of Maycomb. Consequently, socially disabling the people who fall victim from living their life comfortably in peace. Boo Radley and his isolation from Maycomb County, the racial aspects of Tom Robinson, and the decision Atticus Finch makes as a lawyer, to defend a black man has all made them fall in the hands of Maycomb’s prejudice ways.
The Co-existence Of Good and Evil In Human Morality: To Kill A Mockingbird Analysis Essay Set in the rural southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, To Kill A Mockingbird is seen through the eyes of Scout Finch and her older brother Jem, Maycomb appears to be friendly and peaceful. However the children are exposed to the dangers and the truth of their community. As they mature and learn important lessons from others, they’re exposed to prejudice, inequality, racism, social class and injustice.
The main theme of the book is that fairness and justice are two virtues that are extremely hard to find. The central question, “How can a virtuous person continue to believe in these morals and not get discouraged?” is portrayed by the central characters Atticus and Scout. The deeply ingrained prejudice, that people of color cannot hope to live up to those who are “high class and white ” is explored and exposed. Sexism and class warfare are other conflicts within the story line. People in Maycomb are discriminated against because of the color of their skin, their social class and their gender.
Lee’s use of elements of style in To Kill a Mockingbird to convey and support the classic’s theme is what makes both the novel and the author so distinguishable. Using the literary devices of setting, symbolization, and characterization, Lee is consistently referencing the theme of racism and inequality in society. Throughout the first chapter of To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee frequently references age and appearance when discussing the town of Maycomb. ” Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it” (Lee 9). The deeper meaning that Lee is successfully conveying through this description of an old and tired town can be used to represent the old and outdated morals and view of Maycomb’s inhabitants.