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Examples Of Superstition In To Kill A Mockingbird

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In the historical fiction novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, superstition is a major theme of the novel. For example, the children of Maycomb County, especially Scout, have many superstitions about their neighbor Boo Radley. Boo is supposedly a creepy, ugly, mean man who hates children; however, the rumors about him have never been confirmed. Scout receives all of her information from Jem. She has never doubted him because he is older than her, so Jem spreads any superstition he hears to her. These early misconceptions about Boo Radly spread like wildfire through the town until almost every child and even some adults are afraid of a man they have never even met. It takes Jem and Scout a long time to consider the fact that these may …show more content…

To start, Atticus is not only the father of Jem and Scout Finch, but also the lawyer for Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson is a black man; therefore, most of the country does not believe him. Atticus believes in Tom's story, causing a lot of hatred towards himself. Atticus is the only one protecting Tom from the whites. He is called so many different names, and his family even receives threats. Atticus hates doing his job. After finding out that Tom Robinson died, “Mr. Ewell said it made one down and about two more to go”(276). This shows that Mr. Ewell even intended to go to the extreme measures of harming Atticus' family members, simply because Atticus defended his client. Mr. Ewell didn't care about any amount of stress Atticus may have been going through and only cared about the color of Tom's skin. In addition, Atticus’ family members said harsh things about him. “I guess it ain't your fault if Uncle Atticus is a black-lover besides, but I'm here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family”(94). This quote shows how Atticus' nephew, Francis, feels about him. Francis calls Atticus the name that he most likely heard from the adults in the family. Atticus' family is very embarrassed about him. If this was in 2024, Atticus would be treated very differently. He wouldn't be as hated for sticking up for someone as he was in the novel. The community would not consider Tom a liar for being a colored man. People would take into consideration Tom's side of the story. Atticus would be looked at as simply doing his job and nothing more. In conclusion, Atticus was very mistreated in the novel by most people in the town. From being called names to having his and his family's lives at risk. Atticus did not deserve the way he was treated by the people in Maycomb and it would be much different if it was today's

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