Doing What's Right In To Kill A Mockingbird

Undoubtedly, one of the most controversial subjects in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, would be whether or not Atticus Finch should have defended Tom Robinson. However, in order to understand this controversy, a person must first be able to understand Atticus Finch himself. Atticus as a character is a very intellectual person who possesses the fortitude to stand up for whatever he believes is right and will not let other people’s choices affect his own. Furthermore, it is also important to understand that Atticus is not a racist, nor does he approve of the idea that one group of people are better than another based on their appearances in general, and because of this, a person can generalize that Atticus’s characteristic traits are why he did not complain when given the task of defending a black man, Tom Robinson, who had been wrongfully accused of raping a white woman. A man that he, as well as a small group of other people from town, viewed as the picture of innocence. In their eyes, Tom was no more than a mockingbird, “[and mockingbirds] don’t do one thing but make music for [people] to enjoy” (Lee 119). Knowing this, anyone with a reasonably strong sense of what is right and what is wrong can conclude that it does make sense for Atticus Finch to have taken the case due to his belief that it is a sin to kill the innocent as well as his courage that allows him to stay true to his ideas, even though when taking the case, he was inevitably going to be putting his

NAFTA has been a controversial agreement since it was approved. It raises the high attention from people recently because Donald Trump wants to cancel this agreement. However, some opponents think that NAFTA has brought more benefits to Canada, Canada should not agree to cancel the NAFTA. In my view, NAFTA should not be abandoned because it has positively influenced Canada’s economy by increasing investment, the number of Canadian jobs and consumer’s purchasing power.

Black and white, right and wrong; do decisions that simple and clear even exist? Does a decision ever mean gaining everything without giving anything up? Many characters in To Kill A Mockingbird are forced to make difficult, heart wrenching decisions that have no clear right answer. Harper Lee presents many of these important decisions in To Kill A Mockingbird as ethical dilemmas, or situations that require a choice between two difficult alternatives. Both of these alternatives have unpleasant aspects and question morals and ethics. A person is put in an awkward position, with their mind saying contradicting things. These dilemmas are presented in many different ways. The

Atticus Finch demonstrates a significant amount of courage throughout the novel. He takes on the case of Tom Robinson, even though he is not a fan of criminal law. For goodness sake before the trial even begins, Atticus knows that there is no chance of him winning the case. He also knows that if he takes on the case, it could be very dangerous, considering the fact that most of the whites in Maycomb want Tom Robinson killed. Tom Robinson is being accused of beating and raping a white women. Especially because he is black and race was an issue during this time, many people are not happy. Many of these whites along with their families turn angry towards Atticus Finch for trying to defend Mr. Robinson. Despite all of this along with knowing that

Cody Burk’s cleats sank into the thick, black mud as he watched the center place his muck-covered fingers along the while laces as he gripped the ball. The Morrisonville Quarterback looked across the line and knew the five-foot-seven inch linebacker would blitz as soon as he called “hike.” It wasn’t that Cody was bigger than the rest of the players on the brown and black stained fields at Hawk Hallow Middle School. He was average height, average weight, but Cody Burk was probably the most athletic kid on either side of the ball. But that wasn’t what scared the Morrisonville Quarterback. It was the look on Cody’s face. It was something he’d never seen. In that one glance, the Quarterback truly believed that Cody was going to hurt him. That’s

Actions are said to speak louder than words, but often they end up contradicting each other. People often encounter this in their lives, from children who say no to their parents, but do as they’re told anyways, to malicious liars whose honeyed words disguise vile intent. Anything hypocritical is contrary to itself, which is just how many of the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird act. This hypocrisy fuels the development of Scout, whose encounters with it help her define right and wrong. In the light of new ideas, old ones can change with the person who holds them.

Throughout the page turning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, I have discovered multiple themes and lessons that not only Scout has learned, but many other characters have learned, as well. Over time in the book, Scout’s perspective changes on various people and things, such as Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, her father Atticus, and even the people in Maycomb. After finishing the book, Scout realizes that you should get to know a person, and you “have to walk around in someone else’s skin” sometimes. You shouldn’t judge a person by what others say about that person, but instead get to know a person for yourself. In different parts of the story, Atticus’ words about walking around in other people’s skin are constantly repeated, and Scout refers to them at times in certain chapters. After reading Lee’s novel, one other theme in To Kill a Mockingbird is that you should stick to your morals, despite what others say about a person or thing. Throughout the book, Atticus is the only one who really believes Tom Robinson is innocent. Sticking to Atticus’s morals, he defends Tom Robinson, and does not pay any attention to what the rest of the people in Maycomb do or say. This is a prime example of morality, which is doing what is right despite what others think or say. To conclude, I created a collage to demonstrate these two themes in Harper Lee’s book with various different images.

Segregation teaches the people the idea that blacks and whites must be separated in order for society to work, but when the people see that it is possible for the two groups to mix, in this case by seeing the mixed children, they get fearful. Atticus, the Finch kids’ father, is a lawyer who defends Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman. At the end of the trial, Atticus explains to his son, Jem, the injustice of the trial and how, even though there was more evidence in favor of Tom, he would have still been found guilty due to the fact that “the white man always wins” (Lee 252). No matter what the reality is, Tom Robinson’s conviction is mainly due to the color of his skin, not the crime he supposedly committed. The prejudice of the society made Tom guilty the minute he stepped into the courthouse. It is a white man’s word against a black’s because that is what is taught by the society and the racism living amongst it. If it were no for the racism and segregation in Maycomb, the idea of prejudice would not be shown in the same

In chapter 15, the kids demonstrate there courage when confronting a mob, who are attempting to lynch Tom Robinson. The mob make their intentions to lynch Tom clear as they declare to Atticus “You know what we want, get aside from the door Mr Finch” (Lee 202). Subsequently, Scout and Jem break into the huddle of men to encounter there father. When they arrive in the huddle, Atticus immediately orders Jem to “Go home” (Lee 203) and “Take Scout home” (Lee 203. In response “Jem shook his head” (Lee 203) twice, indicating that he has no intention of leaving Atticus alone and risking him to get hurt.

(p. 13) Later on Jem is shown that true courage is, after being told to go

In my opinion, Atticus Finch lives by the golden rule. The golden rule is, “Do onto others as you would have them do on to you. I say this because in the

It was a crazy time in the 20th century when prejudice and racism were extreme towards colored people. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom a black man was charged with rape by a white woman. Atticus, his defendant, proved her and her father wrong with multiple questions and tests. However, since Tom was a black man, the jury found him guilty. The theme of morality is displayed by the town of Maycomb when it came to colored people.

The first part of To Kill A Mockingbird introduces the Finch family and their daily lives. The father in the family is an attorney whose only care is the moral rights of others. His views aren't biased or prejudice, he only sees humans who deserve as much respect as they should. He gets a case of a black man being accused of rape towards a white woman. He explains to Scout as this, “..but there’s been some high talk around town to the effect that I shouldn’t be defending this man (Lee 75).” Ever since Atticus has been appointed to the Tom Robinson case, most of the conservative white people in Maycomb County found it a little dishonoring since the defendant was an African American. "Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win," Atticus said (Lee

" She was white, and she tempted a negro, something that in our society is unthinkable, she kissed a black man " (Lee 1). At that time kissing a black man was bad it was unthinkable act and Tom had committed a terrible crime according to the white jury. The one-armed man had also been accused of beating Mayella Ewell and that was not true either. His defender Atticus Finch also served many injustices all for defending a colored man at the time. People of the town of Maycomb saw Atticus as the man who defends "niggers" and that was not fair for him and Tom Robinson because all he wanted was justice to be done.

Understanding the sources for a particular work is an important task for literary critics, because it ultimately leads to a better understanding and appreciation of the work itself. Sometimes similarities are so weak as to strain the credulity of theories propounding influence. At other times, the ties are so strong that influence is near certain. However, regardless of the strength of such ties, the alterations made to an original source are very potent cues as to authorial intention. In composing The Canterbury Tales, there is a broad diversity of tales told by a wide range of narrators. This indicates that Chaucer likely used a wide variety of sources. The alterations made by Chaucer to the source material for the Clerk’s Tale, including Boccaccio’s Decameron X, or “The Story of Griselda,” indicate Chaucer’s motive to examine issues such as marriage as was found in Renaissance Italy, and to explore the state of mind of the Marquis, as well as Griselda. Chaucer not only layers psychological depth to Boccaccio’s tale, but also adds to its traditional veneration of the obedient and tractable wife a genuine admiration for women in general.