Through the utilization of situational irony in To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee conveys how false Christians manipulate their religion to rationalize the heinous acts of racism and bigotry they commit while overshadowing how authentic Christians practice faith to commit themselves to an honest moral code even when it defies the normalized ideals of counterfeit Christianity. During Aunt Alexandra’s Missionary Society meeting, which is composed of pharisaic white women, Lee introduces the character Mrs. Merriweather. Lee implements her as a vessel to exhibit the irony of the holier-than-thou formula. This formula is illustrated when Scout is depicting Mrs. Merriweather: “For certainly Mrs. Merriweather was the most devout lady in Maycomb” …show more content…
Lee intentionally characterizes Merriweather as such to furthermore highlight how self-righteous the society of flawed Christians is. The racist beliefs of Merriweather are unveiled as she criticizes her black maid, Sophy, after the injustice of Tom Robinson stating: “‘I said, ‘Sophy’, I said, ‘you simply are not being a Christian today. Jesus Christ never went around grumbling and complaining’” (Lee 266). Merriweather insists that she is compassionate towards all, regardless of race, when she is speaking about the “poor” people in Africa. Nevertheless, she still invalidates the black community of Maycomb after the tragedy of Tom Robinson. Moreover, Christianity at its core is based on the values of displaying love and selflessness towards all children under God. Regardless, Merriweather denounces Sophy’s practice of Christianity even though she is grieving a loss in her community. Mrs. Merriweather's bigoted views of race contradict the religion that she supposedly is strongly loyal to. Through Merriweather’s clashing morals, Lee exemplifies how fake Christians morph their religion to condone demeaning others. Furthermore, in the New Living Translation of the Bible, John voices the faith: “If anyone claims, ‘I …show more content…
When Scout is concerned about the fact that his image might become tarnished due to Maycomb’s racist ideology, Atticus assures her he is doing the morally right thing by supporting the case: “‘This case, Tom Robinson’s case, is something that goes to the essence of a man’s conscience – Scout, I couldn’t go to church and worship God if I didn’t try to help that man’” (Lee …). Atticus Finch, a man of strong moral values and principles, risks his reputation to take on the challenge of defending Tom Robinson. He does this not out of pity or obligation, but from a true sense of Christian duty and righteousness. Even despite the devastating odds, he advocates for justice in a case that is heavily tainted by racism and prejudice. Through Atticus’ unwavering faith, Lee provides an example of how a devoted Christian is supposed to provide for society. While observing the unfortunate truth about self-righteousness regarding Maycomb, she states: "but sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whiskey bottle in the hand of—oh, of your father” (Lee 50). Too often, the Bible is used as an excuse to do terrible acts, such as denying basic human rights, practicing hatred, and fostering bigotry. In the hands of one man, the Bible can be a tool of oppression and violence.
In Harper Lee's classic novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird," Atticus Finch serves as a compelling embodiment of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream of a just and equal society. Atticus is a principled, wise, and compassionate lawyer who, in the racially charged setting of 1930s Maycomb, Alabama, stands as a beacon of moral integrity and racial tolerance. He not only supports the ideals of equality and justice but also demonstrates them in his actions and interactions with others. One of Atticus’s main ways in which he embodies Dr.King is through his commitment to treating everyone with respect and fairness, regardless of one's race.
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
Throughout the “Narrative of Fredrick Douglass”, Douglass develops an image between true and false Christianity. Douglass elaborates his point in the opening appendix, calling the former “the Christianity of Christ” and the latter “the Christianity of this land.” Douglass describes the ordeal that slaveholders’ Christianity is not a given evidence of natural goodness, but an artificial state of self-righteous brutality. To tackle this distinction, Douglass states a basic contradiction between the charitable, peaceful beliefs of Christianity and the violence from the immoral actions of slaveholders. The character that is described as a good example for this theme is Thomas Auld.
The black community of Maycomb is treated in a notably different way opposed to the whites. Although Atticus doesn't believe he will win the case, he aspires to get this point/purpose across to the reader as well as the audience. The audience of this piece is the jury and the Maycomb
Tom Robinson is caught kissing a white woman from Maycomb named Mayella Ewell. To prevent being frowned upon by the local citizens, she instead said that Tom Robinson raped her even though that was far from the truth. He’s taken into trial with the help of Atticus, and the case is unarguably one of the factors that help further the theme of innocence in Scout’s view. Atticus is determined to help Tom, even if it means that the citizens will turn against his own family because “killing a mockingbird is a sin.” As events progress, Scout is taught that discrimination solely because someone is “different” is
Isaiah says, “Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression…” (Isaiah 1:17, ESV). Following God’s will by doing good and correcting wrong defines Atticus Finch, a lawyer in Harper Lee’s book, To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus defends an innocent black man, Tom Robinson, who was falsely accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell. The trial takes place in the 1930’s in Maycomb, Alabama, a small racist town.
That’s why it’s a sin to kill a Mockingbird.” (Lee Unknown). This could be symbolism of a Mockingbird as the equivalent of a black person, they do not harm us so why would we harm them. This again ties back to the theme of racism, they find it a sin to kill a mockingbird but not to kill a black person. To prove another point of justice and racism, Atticus tells Scout about his morals, he says, “This case, Tom Robinson’s case, is something that goes to the essence of a
Throughout the Narrative of Frederick Douglass, Douglass develops an image between true and false Christianity. Douglass demonstrates his point in the opening argument by calling the former “the Christianity of Christ” and the latter “the Christianity of this land.” Douglass describes the ordeal that slaveholders’ Christianity is not a given evidence of natural goodness, but an artificial state of self-righteous brutality. To tackle this variation, Douglass states a common indifference between what is known as the charitable, peaceful beliefs of Christianity and the negative of violence from the immoral actions in which slaveholders bring. The character that is described as a good example for this theme is Thomas Auld.
Atticus Finch is a well respected lawyer in Maycomb County. However, many individuals in the community turn their back on Atticus when he plans to defend an African American man, Tom Robinson, in court. Taking place in Alabama during the 1930s, “To Kill A Mockingbird” accurately portrays the hostile environment for
In (1) Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass addressed to (2) white Americans unaware of the consequences of slavery, (3) Douglass (4) appeals to empathy by presenting his story in order to (5) promote the abolitionist movement and to (7) illustrate (8) the harsh realities of enslavement. Douglass strengthens the abolitionist movement by presenting the irony in the lifestyle and values of Christian slaveholders. When clarifying his point of view towards Christianity, Douglas claims, “so wide, that to receive the one as good, pure and holy is of necessity to reject the other as bad, corrupt and wicked.” pg.119. The author uses diction to exploit slaveholders religion and how it was used negatively and contrary to what Douglas believes
The actions of Atticus Finch helped turn the tides on racial equality in Maycomb. Even though it was small, it was a good start. It saved the life of a man about to be killed prematurely, as well as made a jury stop and question their own morality. But these weren’t the only good things to come of Atticus’s defense: He exposed someone who could only do more harm than
Because Frado is of mixed race, she experiences an even worse sort of degradation than she would have if both of her parents had been black, a situation which leads to her position as a societal outcast. For example, Mrs. Bellmont’s hatred for Frado and the strength of her cruelty progressively increase throughout the story in part because Frado “was not many shades darker than Mary now,” suggesting that Mrs. Bellmont fears the power that black people could gain if they were treated as equals to whites in the North (Wilson 39). For example, Mrs. Bellmont forbids Frado from sheltering her skin from the sun in an attempt to make Frado darker. She fears that her peers will notice that Frado is not much darker than Mary: “what a calamity it would be to ever hear that contrast spoken of.... Mrs. Bellmont was determined the sun should have full power to darken the shade which nature had first bestowed on her as best fitting”
Harper Lee is trying to explain that a lot of whites didn't realize how bad the colored people had it in the South. Therefore, Mrs. Merriweather is a hypocrite because of her opinion about the blacks in the South and blacks in
In society, there are always those who are innocent and kind-hearted, but are, sadly, victimized and destroyed by the evil in others’ hearts. In her novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee explores the idea of persecution and prejudice against innocents using the motif of the harmless mockingbird, a symbol first coined by Atticus; his famous quote, “shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ʼem, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”, is a warning to never do wrong against respectable people. Using the stories of Tom Robinson and Boo Radley, Harper Lee highlights the negative treatment “mockingbirds” receive from society and the severity of the discrimination that vulnerable members of society face on a daily basis, and comments
Atticus could not live with himself if he failed to give his utmost effort in clearing the accused, Tom Robinson’s, name. The lawyer feels that he has to do it. The people of Maycomb are small minded and hypocritical, Atticus Finch is not. Nothing can be done to make the towns people hear the truth. Tom Robinson, would be a free man, living with his family, if it wasn’t for the people of Maycomb.