Conformity In To Kill A Mockingbird

Given the harsh circumstances that involved discrimination and racism during the 1900s, the understanding and empathy of a young Jem Finch shines through the plot of To Kill A Mockingbird like a star. Under the spectacular influence of Atticus Finch, Jem’s compassion always seems to prevail, no matter what the situation may be. This is used in great effect to justify the ethical theme of the story. That being that everyone deserves the same rights and freedoms. In the book specifically, this is conveyed through the unequal privilege of a “fair trial”. It was shown that the black society stood no chance in court when Bob Ewell, a poor white man, accused Tom Robinson, a black man, of raping

In Harper Lee's classic 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus Finch speaks to the stressed jury of Tom Robinson’s court case. Although he is very aware that the small odds are heavily stacked against lowly Tom, he attempts to convey that the one, and only, place humanity is truly equal, is once they are inside the court, no matter if it is the highest or lowest in the court system. Before long, Atticus Finch states, “a court is no better than each man of you sitting before me on this jury.”

There are many racism problems in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus is a lawyer in the racist state of Alabama and he is trying to defend a man by the name of Tom Robinson after he got accused for raping a white woman. Atticus knows that nobody is going to believe Tom’s side of the story because he is black in the racist state of Alabama. Through Atticus’s morals the reader learns that he feels obligated to help this

Anthony Storr says that, “Originality implies being bold enough to go beyond accepted norms “ Social norms imply that everyone is the same or does something the same way, to break that you need to go out of your comfort zone and be bold enough to break those norms. Although it is very common for there to be social norms in society, when someone breaks one it can be the very first step to making the world a better place.

Lawyer Atticus Finch, in his closing argument from the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee states in Tom Robinson’s case that racial prejudice has blinded the county into deciding the misguided decision. Finch’s purpose is to convince the jury one’s race is irrelevant to justice. He adopts a moralistic tone in order to persuade the jury of Tom Robinson’s innocence. Finch furthers his purpose by effectively employing rhetorical devices to inform the jury to discard their differences and make the choice that can set an innocent man free.

For him, like many other real-life Negroes in American history, the principles underpinning political, social and criminal justice failed. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus’ belief that, “in our courts all men are created equal,” ( p. 209) makes a complete mockery of the judicial system.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee explores the consequences of a societal structure founded on bigotry, racism, prejudice, and the hunger for power. Lee employs a variety of literary techniques to portray the consequences of Maycomb’s errant societal structure or even social hierarchy. Thus, Lee uses 1930s Maycomb to critique and evaluate the flaws in her own 1960s America. A particular incident which is central to Lee’s underlying message is the trial of Tom Robinson. Robinson’s trial serves to reveal the institutionalisation of racism and bigotry, as well as the insatiable thirst for power created by the social hierarchy.

Social norms are apart of every society in some way, shape, or form. Issues occur off these social norms when there are outcasters who don’t exactly fit in with society's expectations. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout was pressured by many relatives and neighbors to “act like a girl”. Accept, Scout wants to be her own person. She wants to play in the dirt and have fun. Although, one particular person keeps putting her down, and that is Auntie Alexandra. Alexandra tries to play a female role for Scout and tells Scout how she is suppose to act. Scout however is very similar to Juliet capulet in this way. In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet was pressured by her mother to be more like other girls and to get married. Scout and Juliet,

Alabama in the 1930s was a highly segregated society where African-Americans were considered inferior to the white population; however, Atticus was selected to defend a black man in court. He does not show any discomfort defending a black man, Tom Robinson, because he firmly believes all men are equal and should have the same chance in life as any other human being. Majority of the public sphere in Maycomb have their doubts and disagreements about Atticus following through with this case. "Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win." Atticus is saying that although there may be no chance of victory, they will continue to fight for justice. For a person must still do the right thing, even when faced with a situation where one cannot succeed. Atticus recognizes that he is breaking tradition, but he knows it is positive change and that he is doing the right thing. "Our courts have their faults, as does any human institution, but in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal." Atticus is describing the principles of blind justice and equality under federal law. Courts should decide cases objectively without favoring any race or gender. This leads into Atticus' character as he is a protector of the innocent in court, but also in the public

In a society where everyone is competing with each other, you would assume someone with good intentions and logical views is more powerful than a crowd of thoughtless people. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, this hypothesis was put to the test when Atticus Finch, a logical, unbiased lawyer, was given the task of testifying for an alleged rape case to a young girl named Mayella Ewell that was committed by a hard-working black man named Tom Robinson. As a novel set in the early 1930s, most people in Maycomb County, a district in Alabama, were prejudiced towards black people. Even worse, seemingly all of the people on the jury were prejudiced, a “thoughtless crowd”. While the logical person should be more powerful, this is unfortunately not the case because logic cannot change the views of thoughtless people, those with an unclear conscience have prejudices that can overpower, and quantity overrules quality.

Society has evolved since the time of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, causing racial bias to diminish and fair assessment under the law. Harper Lee uses the unnecessary judgement of Tom Robinson by the court to show racial bias in the government. Evidence of this includes a quote from Atticus Finch, "To begin with, this case should have never come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white." (Lee 219). This quote shows that the accused was falsely criticized due to racial bias in the governmental system, and Atticus is recognizing that the only reason this trial took place was because of Maycomb's racist tendencies. Though it does not appear as often, racial bias still occurs in the government presently. A quote from the article

John F. Kennedy once said, “conformity is jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.” I happen to think this quote is very true, because if no one ever had a different opinion, then would anything ever change? Or would it all stay the same? Forever? The idea of conformity can be seen as a good, or a bad thing. In many cases it is a bad thing, as one idea that is wrong is the only one that people think is right. This can specifically be seen in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird. Atticus, one of the main characters, needs to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. In his town of Maycomb most of the people think of black people as nothing. Although the whole town would be against him if he did it, Atticus knows that it is the right

Don’t be a conformist. Don’t be common. Be an individual. Conformity, although prevalent in society past and present, is never the answer. As individuals, we were made to be unique. Our insight alone is greater than the elementary principles of the crowd. However, if we conform to societal beliefs, as many of the racists did in “To Kill a Mockingbird” (Harper Lee), then what are we? Uneducated, crowd-pleasing citizens who won’t form our own values. The inability to form our own values causes everyone to cast the same vote. No one expresses different opinions, every white man downgrades African Americans, every male is “superior” to every female, and every child is of lesser value to adults. So, by being an individual, although one may be yelled

To Kill a Mockingbird was a novel that pushed emphasis on the caste system set in place to segregate the characters by race, ethnicity, gender, and class. These societal boundaries were the main cause for all conflicts in the book by making consequences if one were to decide that they did not want to fit into the stereotypes. Although the district the story was set in was fictional, Maycomb County’s issues are very real and are reflected in real life throughout the past. Racism in court has occurred in past cases where an African American is wrongly convicted or excessively punished for a crime. Gender roles have been changing throughout the course of history, resulting in people being forced to act a certain way or being treated wrongfully

The themes of justice and fairness are coherent in the text “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. Justice and fairness play a significant role in how the story progresses and what eventually proceeds to the end of the book. In the text, Atticus Finch lives in Maycomb, Alabama with his two kids Scout and Jem. The premise is based on the fact that Atticus is a lawyer and is defending an African American man named Thomas Robinson who was accused of raping a young woman. A conclusion can be made at the end of the text that despite the unwavering dedication of Atticus Finch, the absence of evidence, and a moving courtroom speech, Thomas Robinson is consequently convicted of a crime he did not commit. Racism and prejudice plays a big factor in this due to the era in which the characters were living in. Due to this, fairness and righteousness (justice) are incoherent and the jury’s ruling causes both advocates of Robinson’s conviction and those who supported his claim of innocence to question their notions of justice and fairness. As if a false conviction is not sufficient, Mr. Robinson is thus killed and justice and fairness altogether seem quite inadequate. Harper Lee of “To Kill a Mockingbird” depicts these concepts of liberty to be violated throughout the text.