Byron 1 A Walk in Another’s Shoes Naturally, there is good and evil in every person. However, it is often difficult to see the good in people, especially in the face of adversity. Atticus, a central character in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, is the exception. Atticus leads by example in showing his fellow townspeople that they must change if they are going to eliminate the deep-rooted hatred and prejudice that has plagued the South for years. This conflict arises as Atticus, a skilled southern lawyer, and his children, use the trial of Tom Robinson and surrounding events as an exploitation of the prejudices and hatred that make up small town America during the 1930’s. Atticus is able to achieve this feat by simply asking …show more content…
Atticus’s effort is somewhat inspirational to those who wish for change, including the Cunningham on the jury. Instead of allowing the overwhelming hypocrisy and hatred of the town to get in his way, Atticus chooses to persevere and show the townspeople that they will never learn to accept each other and look at each other differently if they do not keep an open mind. Atticus’s dedication to proving Tom innocent (by showing that it is impossible for him to hurt Mayella, as his left arm is crippled) changes the mindset of a single person – a Cunningham on the jury. The Cunningham can now walk in the shoes of innocence – the shoes of Tom Robinson; he can fix some of his Atticus knows that if he wants change to take place, his children must also learn to keep an open mind. In fact, he states that “…they’ll do it again and when they do it – seems as though only children weep…” (Lee 285). This quote shows that many people have yet to change, but of these people, children are the most capable of doing so. He tells his children that the reason why the jury took so long to make their decision is because one person openly supports the fact …show more content…
When Scout comes home from school one-day complaining about how the teacher disapproves of her reading with Atticus, he gives her a piece of advice: “You never really understand a person until you consider things from her point of view” (Lee 39). The concept of addressing a problem by standing in the shoes of the “enabler” allows the much needed change to be observed. Mrs. Gates, Scout’s third grade teacher, tells her class, “Over here we don’t believe in persecuting anybody” (Lee 329). As one can observe, Mrs. Gates speaks of Hitler as showing prejudice against the Jews. However, the prejudice she exhibits in America (against Tom Robinson) is, in an essence, the same as the prejudice the Nazis exhibited against the Jews. Both Hitler and Mrs. Gates lack the ability to change their views and perspective; it is here where the so-called prejudice originates. Hitler is by no means innocent of any crime he has committed; but, by accusing him, Mrs. Gates is accusing herself. Ms. Caroline, Scout’s first grade
f. Atticus feels that the adults have made the world the way that it is and the children have to learn to live in that world. They can’t hide from it and need to be exposed to it as early as possible.
Atticus is wise become of his age and experience he proves it throughout the entire book. One example is this quote. (Lee,39) In the book atticus shows one way that he is wise by telling scout that “ if you can learn a simple trick, scout , you'll get along alot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until a consider things from his point of view. Atticus is trying to say think how they see things from their point of view learn to try to get along better with different people. Atticus proves he's wise because of how he teaches Scout how to get along with other people than just fighting with them.
There are many courageous people in this world including fire fighters, soldiers, police officers and other citizens that show random acts of courage. One person in particular that is a very courageous person is Atticus in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Throughout the novel Atticus shows great courage even when he knows things might not go the way he wants and he doesn’t stop or give up, he tries even harder and that shows true courage.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, the theme is related through the characterization of Scout and Jem’s father, Atticus. Throughout the story he developed as a hopeful man who will not stop fighting for what is right for his own conscience and for his children. When Atticus talks to Scout he is honest about the outcome of the case with her. He says, “ Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win” (Lee 101). Atticus knows that people are not willing to change their views on African American people, but he tries to set an example for his children that whether or not other people are ready to change he can still present new ideas. He also shows his determination to not give up because he already
Atticus is conscious of every bad thing in his surroundings, and with the second value that he instills on his children, he makes sure that something is done about
the story shows a lot of it, and Atticus is always trying to teach lessons to their children, and giving them an education different from what other families gave, showing them that all individuals are equal, regardless of color, richness or any other factor that for many was a watershed.
A tale of childhood and an Alabama town’s troubles with racism is spun from the novel of To Kill a Mockingbird. Most critics, however, claim that the two missions the main characters undertake are not connected well. On the contrary, Harper Lee successfully intertwines the two storylines of To Kill a Mockingbird to create a more profound statement on the interaction of people with clashing ideologies. The two stories enrich each other by showing the parallels of the kids’ and Atticus’s goal to change unshakable behaviors, comparing and contrasting the two parties’ methods, and by tying together the two adventures in a way that address both possible outcomes. Many believe the tales are too different to put together, but both worlds’ objective are more similar than they seem.
Atticus is the only one in a town of many that contains what is typically a fundamental human emotion- empathy. By taking advantage of another race, the white men elevate their position in society. The white men need to be respected to maintain their position over those who are inferior. The idea of
Atticus teaches his children an idea and let’s his children build off those ideas with their own experiences. Which is a very effective way to
Atticus shows his interest in others when the text states “Jem and i found our father satisfactory: he played with us, read to us, and treated us with courtesy attachment.” Therefore, atticus gives his attention to his kids, even when he's busy. I also know that Atticus has the best interest in other because atticus states “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” This shows that atticus has the best interest in others because he can understand other people's points of view. The book also shows atticus’s interest when he states “I do my best to love everybody… I’m hard put, sometimes.” This implies that atticus really cares about others and tries his best to show them love. Atticus demonstrates the good quality of Caring and having interest in
Atticus very much believes that people usually contain both good and evil, but that good will usually fall in other words fail. Atticus teaches this to his children, but also to the town, just like when he defends Tom Robinson, an innocent black man accused of raping and beating Mayella Ewell. In a town that accused back then being the racist town in america. Despite the challenge of overcoming the town's having racism and forcing people to change themselves just to fit in with the rest of society, Atticus struggles with this because he believes that one day, goodness will defeat the evils of racism and peace will come, Atticus mentions that on what he wants society to see saying “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand.
To continue, Atticus does not want his children to be like the rest of
To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee includes themes of morality between races. Atticus is portrayed as an honest man and shows the least change throughout the novel. Lee uses metaphors and symbolism to depict Atticus Finch as a compassionate and wise man. There are also many of the main themes that Lee writes through Atticus.
Atticus and his children both had to deal with the adversity against them because of the communities differences in opinion. They kept their integrity through it all with Jem and scout having their father’s moral advice and support to help them. Though many succumb to the pressures put on us, there are also many Atticus’s out there that have a moral and ethical conscience backing them up. They become a role model that breeds integrity through their moral practices. “Before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.” (Lee, pg.108)
During the 1930s, white supremacy was at its peak even though slavery was brought to an end and families were torn apart as a result of the Great Depression. Despite the hardships, Atticus raises both children on his own to be respectful and intelligent beings, taking on their father’s moral. Even though Atticus is a part of the supreme white community, he is one of the minor characters who does not conform with his community due to his pessimistic views on the white supremacy highly evident within the novel. An action as simple as being in defence of a ‘black’ man against a white in white-dominated court, juxtaposes Atticus to society resulting in a man vs. society conflict.This Portrays that he is willing to sacrifice his reputation and highly respected family name in times corruption to stand for what is nondiscriminatory in