Examples Of Hypocrisy In To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960 and brought its first-time author, Harper Lee, a startling amount of recognition as well as discouragement. The novel retells the three significant years in the life of Scout Finch, the young daughter of a Southern town's lawyer. It has been said that To Kill a Mockingbird was influenced by the Scottsboro Trials of the 1930’s. The novel portrays a society that is supremely and shockingly unfair. Harper Lee has successfully incorporated various traits in To Kill a Mockingbird, which include evil, hypocrisy and injustice. Leading up to, during and after the trial of Tom Robinson, Scout and Jem are exposed to the dreadful acts of evil, hypocrisy and injustice in the adult society. In our
While teachers should attempt to act as a role model to their students, Ms. Gates, Scout’s teacher; openly addresses hypocrisy. Ms. Gates takes Adolph Hitler to task during class one day, but afterward Scout begins to wonder about her true feelings about racism. Miss Gates tells the class that "there are no better people in the world than the Jews" (Lee 329) and wonders aloud why Hitler doesn't think so, too. However, Scout remembers a conversation she had overheard outside the courthouse between Miss Gates and Miss Stephanie Crawford. Miss Gates told Miss Stephanie that "it's time somebody taught 'em a lesson... the next thing they think they can do is marry us" (Lee 284). Miss Gates is talking about Maycomb's Negroes, and Scout wonders how someone can defend a group of people thousands of miles away but has such hate for people living in her own hometown. Scout recognizes the hypocrisy of Miss Gates' words. The Missionary Circle, meeting under good intentions, however is hypocritical in what they practise. The irony here is that the women are mourning the situation regarding the Mrunas tribe of Africans while they treat the African Americans of their community with disrespect. They want to help the missionary, J. Everett Grimes, who is in Africa working with this tribe. Their beliefs are that the blacks are a poor people in need of help as long as they are in Africa and not next door. In the middle of the book, while Atticus was out of town, Calpurnia, the African American cook and housekeeper, takes Jem and Scout to her church. However, her church was a black church and one woman there, Lula, didn’t care too much for white kids being there. “You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here- they got their church, we got our’n.” (Lee, 119). Her reasoning for not wanting the kids there at the church is because they