Preview

To Kill a Mocking Bird, real world and theme

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
479 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
To Kill a Mocking Bird, real world and theme
Theme and the Real World

Racism has a rich and varied history. Though it has changed in the United States to a lesser extreme, it is still present. This horrendous problem causes many more problems within itself; like family strain, arguments or confrontations, and the public view of stupidity. The strain on a family could be minute or extravagant, there's numerous ways in which it is created. It could be a parent not approving another raced friend or even a family itself being harassed because of their color. Parents who teach their children to pass judgment of other races are the best parents, "I'm glad at an impressionable age my Dad told me of a dumb white cop… telling a smart black woman… she was 'really just a Kaffir.'." (The New York Times) This man, Roger Cohen, grew up to understand how horrible racism is in Africa, as well as Scout did in To Kill A Mockingbird. But family problems are not the only problems, many problems are out in the public. Heaps of arguments and confrontations have happened because of racism. "… the court appointed him to defend this nigger.'… but Atticus aims to defend him. That's what I don't like about it." (TKAM) Those two men may not be arguing, but the hole city of Maycomb was infuriated from the case of Tom Robinson. Events like Atticus almost being jumped was caused by severe racism, but many worse events could have happened. In today's problems with racism there is the KKK and the Black Panthers, killing anyone that meets the requirements; the wrong color, and school bullying. Then there is looking at the people who themselves are racist as being stupid. "Racism is stupidity's recourse. There are plenty of stupid people in the world." ( The New York Times) Roger Cohen has basically the same views as Atticus in To Kill A Mockingbird, only they are from different eras "…white men cheat black men everyday… that white man is trash." (TKAM) They both see the men who are racist towards other men to be

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    For a long time racism has been present in our lives, be it in the United States or along with every other country in the world. Racism is evident in many communities across the world and many nations exhibit this notion race superiority. In the current case study, “ Conflict in South Carolina” we see how the death of a young black, African American stirred up an entire community on allegations of a racially motivated murder. We see how a community was torn apart and riled up over the death of Mickey McClinton. They felt that he was murdered and his body was mutilated because of his interracial relationship.…

    • 2154 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Atticus Finch Metaphors

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The racism that the see in the world the doesn't want to see it in his children, that is why atticus tries to prove to his children that the racism that he and the children see is unacceptable and not the fair way to treat people. Atticus views on racism may have been viewed to be wrong since he is a white, which were usually the cause of racism in the nineteen thirties.…

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Atticus is the character from whom which the reader learns very much from such as the right and wrong. Atticus clarifies in the courthouse that the lie of “ all negroes lie, that all negroes are basically immoral beings, that all negro men are not to be trusted around our women”(232) is “ a lie as black as Tom Robinson’s skin” (232) and that the truth is that “some negroes lie, some negroes are immoral. some negro men are not to be trusted around women- black or white.” (232). Atticus states that this is a “truth that applies to the human race and no particular race of men”(232). This quote reveals to us atticus ethics and his way of thinking of the human race. This quote shows us that atticus is a mantle of tom robinson who is very caring of him, but this quote shows us something even deeper beyond the text listed on the book. This quote shows us that their are good people who are willing to stand up for people who are being judged on their skin color rather than the individual that they truly are. Many readers would suspect that it’s just a story and it's all fantasy, but when you take a look out of the book and into the real world, it’s a daily problem that is happening every day. All around the country, There are people-more specifically african american people- who are being convicted of doing certain things that…

    • 735 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Racism is a very strong word. To many people, it means many different things. The actual definition is when a person or group of people feels superior to another because of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or simply who they are. So pretty much what makes a person human. Every since the Americans first brought over the slaves from Africa, racism has been a problem. Since the 1930s, after the Civil War, racism still exist in North America, and in the most awful ways possible. From there, racism has changed greatly. It is difficult to say whether or not that change has been good or bad, but just the fact that it has changed should be enough. Think about it; before, humans were using whips and nooses, but now, people use guns and poison.…

    • 2081 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around it” says Atticus.(Lee, 30) In Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, racism is shown as a big part through the eyes of a modest little girl named Scout. Scout learns numerous things by trying to learn something from another person’s perspective. She tries to think of things that could have happened if racism didn’t exists and how people would react and treat each other.…

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    | Courage to overcome his fears of interacting with people/step out of his comfort zoneRisks his life to save the childrenSymbol: Mockingbird…

    • 1279 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The 1930s was a time of depression and prejudice. The stock market plumited and a majority of people lost their jobs. For this reason, men predominantly became drunks and abusive. African Americans were treated as second class citizens and their words did not mean as much as a caucation’s words. Anyone who stood up for, or defended an African American was considered a “negro lover”, and also bought shame to his or her family. Usually the truth became distorted and was in favor of whites over blacks. In “To Kill a Mockingbird”, the truth versus reality is distorted through three main themes, the three ways are, Tom Robinson being accused of rape, Tom Robinson feeling bad for Mayella Ewell, and Tom Robinson being convicted of the rape of Mayella Ewell.…

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Racism is a touchy subject that has been major issue ever since its initial startup. Racism is the hatred towards a person or population of a certain race. The United States has taken huge leaps in equality, but there is still a long ways away from completion. Racism has always existed in America. When the nation was in its younger years, people owned people. People of the African American descent were considered property under the eyes of the law. How insane is that? Progress was made since then, but racism has only evolved. In the 1950s, whites and blacks were segregated to the point where they could not go to the same schools or even use the same bathrooms. Throughout A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry criticizes the state Of America…

    • 162 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    As a result of being of the black race, Lee reveals through the characterization of a key character in the novel-Tom Robinson- that people are treated unjustly in many ways. Characters like Mr Gilmer are shown to symbolize the tension between the black and the whites. To Kill a Mockingbird clearly proves that race can affect the way that people are treated and viewed in society . This is shown by the actions and words chosen by multiple characters in this novel. Even now in the future, racism continues to be a big part of our lives and has caused many political debates and arguments. A quote said by our president, Barack Obama states, “Racism. We are not cured of it. And it's not just a matter of it not being polite to say 'nigger' in public. That's not the measure of whether racism still exists or not. It's not just a matter of overt discrimination. Societies don't overnight completely erase everything that happened 200-300 years…

    • 1367 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Both of the texts discuss the same concept of racism, yet there is one difference - To Kill a Mockingbird takes place during the 1930s, and “America Has a Big Race Problem” was written this year. Most citizens in America would probably say that our country is not at all racist, seeing that we want to be viewed as “perfect”. Hopefully within the next couple of years, we will never have to hear of racism because America will change for the better by accepting everyone for the way they are. Although this issue has drastically improved, that does not mean it is not still…

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Racism has been an integral component of American culture since it’s founding upon the genocide of Native Americans, and the forced slavery of Africans and Afro-Americans.” (Vincent F. Rocchio). Although many white men supported segregation during the 1930’s, Atticus Finch displayed inner strength and courage despite what others thought about his beliefs towards black men.…

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Fear of a Black President

    • 1587 Words
    • 7 Pages

    We live in a world that revolves around racism. Every single person we encounter comes with a set of predispositions based solely on race that society has constructed. In his article “Fear of a Black President”, Ta-Nehisi Coates discusses how America conveys the false idea that racism is extinct simply because our president is Black. But how could racism be over when Americans constantly use racialization to marginalize one another? The harsh reality is that every race faces some form of discrimination and unless we acknowledge this; racism will remain inevitable in American society.…

    • 1587 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Critical Race Theory

    • 1042 Words
    • 5 Pages

    There are many people today that believe that racism has been terminated. There are a lot of ways to support it too, with affirmative action, having a black president, and even interracial marriages. In reality, however, racism has not only progressed, but it has evolved throughout the time of its life. In “Theories and Constructs of Race”, by Linda Holtzman and Leon Sharpie, the authors use different logical theories and facts to let the reader know that racism is still alive.…

    • 1042 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Harper Lee uses her novel 'To Kill a Mockingbird' to accentuate the catastrophic nature of racism. Some troubling individuals or groups of people have felt powerful by exercising their dominance over another group claiming they are worthier, stronger, and smarter. The problem of racism has often been associated with the history of the United States of America. Slavery has been abandoned long ago, but for years black people were considered to be of lower class, their capabilities were denied, and their dignity was completely diminished. It took American people hundreds of years to achieve the level of true democracy, when they can grasp the notion of equality between people, including acceptance of differences in gender, nationality, religion, culture, and what most matters in the book we read - race. Discrimination can be shown through the Maycomb community, the Tom Robinson trial, and Boo Radley. As Scout's cousin told her, "He's nothing but a n*****-lover!" (Lee, 94).…

    • 1456 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Racism has been a problem in our country for decades upon decades. This problem has never gone away, it just spikes and lessens throughout the years. During 1930’s and 1940’s tensions between the two races were tense. It was still normal for African Americans and Caucasians to not particularly get along. Racial slurs were said in conversation like it was normal. It was so normal that even black people used these slurs against each other. Race relations became intense when blacks grew frustrated with segregation and discrimination. In southern states poll taxes and literacy test were in effect to prevent blacks from voting (Native Son.). They even made a black pay more for a loaf of bread then a white person would. Bigger describes this in Native Son. They thought of African Americans as a different species of humans and this enraged many people across our country. “African Americans walk along the streets like other people, dressed like them, talking them and yet excluded for no other reason except that they’re black” (Wright 308). They see blacks so different that the rape and murder of Bessie Mears was swept under the rug like she did not matter. The murder of Bessie was exceedingly more gruesome than the murder of Mary and people simple did not care. Bessie was not white so her life did not matter to the eyes of the white society. Her family was left to mourn for their daughter without any justices served. Proving that white supremacy was so great that a death of a young black women did not matter. As long as the death of the white women received justice, everything was…

    • 1797 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays