To Kill A Mockingbird Liberty And Justice

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, injustice is a main theme that is reflected towards many characters. To Kill a Mockingbird, is a novel written by Harper Lee and published in the nineteen-sixties. Many characters in the story are treated unfairly in society due to racial or prejudicial attitudes. Overall these characters are innocent victims of injustice. Atticus, Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson are considered to be mockingbirds in the novel. A mockingbird was defined as a bird that did nothing wrong, but sang beautiful music for us to hear. These characters did nothing wrong and were treated unfairly in their town. In this different society, there are many factors that have had an influence on people’s perceptions towards others.

What are the rules by which one must treat another human being? The two most important rules are justice and fairness. By definition, justice is the act of rewarding the good and punishing the bad , while fairness is treatment without discrimination. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, an innocent man is tried, and because of his race, is determined guilty. In an utopian society, freedom and justice stand side by side. In the town of Maycomb Alabama however, cases that include racism and prejudice occur every day. However, these people are seen in the eyes of Atticus, Scout, and Jem as innocent “mockingbirds” who benefit the lives of others. There are many people in the world who take justice and fairness to heart, and treat

Even if Tom Robinson is innocent, it comes down to a white woman against a black man. Atticus simply puts a sense of doubt in the jury’s mind, allowing them to recognize that it is wrong no matter what way they look at it.

The trial is one of the most exciting parts of the book and the most interesting. When the trial started Tom Robinson was accused of raping Bob Ewell’s daughter, MayElla. Many people testified and Atticus would ask different people different questions and he figured out that Bob Ewell was the one who did the crime all of the evidence said so. When the jury went to decide “ I shut my eyes. Judge Taylor was pulling the jury: Guilty … guilty … guilty … guilty” (pg.282) Tom Robinson, a black man, is innocent against a white man but an all-white jury will not be convinced of that.

To start, I will predict the case verdict of Tom Robinson. There is reasoning why he is guilty, and reasoning why he may not guilty. The first evidence that, he is guilty is that no black man has won a trial against a white person in court during that point in time. During that point in time racism was extremely common. Whites looked down at blacks just because the color of their skin. From their perspective, they were the part of the hierarchy, while the black were considered apart of the lower class. The whites thought that by putting the blacks down it was there from of authority, and showing their power. From that you can see that the chances of Tom, a black man wining a case against a white woman were slim. In addition, is when Mayella testified her story. When she first got up the chair she started to cry, she said it was because of Atticus scaring her.

Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird is set in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. Racism is ever present toward blacks and the trial of Tom Robinson, an African American, clearly displays this. Tom Robinson was accused of raping a white woman. The huge detail in this is that it was a white woman. Racial issues are really brought about because of that detail. People during this time would easily take a white man’s word over that of a black man, so nobody would ever trust Tom Robinson, especially since he was a black man being accused of a crime against a white woman. Tom Robinson really can’t do anything to help his case. The only person that can help him is Atticus. While Atticus does not believe that he will win the case, he knows that it is right to do everything he can to help Tom. He knows right from wrong and he will do everything in his power to help people see that, and to help Tom survive this case. Tom Robinson could also be described as a Mockingbird in this story. If proven innocent, he would be

In the book, racism plays an extremely important role in the outcome of the trial. During the trial, Atticus clearly proves that Tom Robinson is innocent, but the jury still convicts otherwise (Lee 179). This is because it is the word of a white man against that of a black man. During the time period, blacks were always considered liars and could not be trusted. However, this hurt the town as an innocent man was killed because of this accusation.

Through the study this term of the central text, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and related texts, films Rabbit Proof Fence by Phillip Noyce and In the Name of the Father by Jim Sheridan, my understanding of the concept of justice, or what constitutes justice, has altered considerably. We all think we know what justice is, or what it should be. In Australian colloquial terms, it is the principle of a “fair go” for everyone. In a perfect world, everyone is treated fairly. No-one is subjected to discrimination on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, sex or disability. But the reality is that the world we inhabit is far from perfect, human beings are by their very natures

Atticus shows how courageous he is many times throughout this novel, including when Tom Robinson was put on trial. Tom is an African American who is accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. Tom is arrested for this incident and put on trial. No lawyer in Maycomb County wants to defend Tom. Until Atticus is asked to represent Tom. Although Atticus knows this will be a tough

Atticus, by defending Tom Robinson, is showing compassion and tolerance. Atticus, a white lawyer, stands up for Tom Robinson, who is black, and believes that everyone should have an equal chance in court. When Atticus was appointed to defend Tom Robinson, he believed that Tom is innocent, as he did not commit the crime. Atticus says, “ if I didn’t, I couldn’t

Firstly, Tom Robinson is just one character that is prejudged in the novel. He is accused of raping a white girl named Mayella and it is a problem to the jury that a black man is trying to defend himself in court. Atticus realizes how Tom is being treated unfairly and that it is uncommon for African Americans and white people to associate with each other. During Atticus’s speech, Mayella is accused of lying in her testimony when “she kissed a black man [which is] something that in our society is unspeakable” (Lee 272). The black man who Atticus refers to is Tom. He is ridiculed and judged by several people in the book and he gets all this

James J. Corbett once wisely stated, “Individuals can resist injustice, but only a community can do justice”. This quote paints a clear picture of how sometimes individuals, such as Atticus, can stand up for what’s right, yet the entire community must invest in justice in order to advance in this area. Striving for truth and justice in their own lives, all citizens must make an investment in seeing that justice also oversees everything happening in the community. Sadly, in To Kill a Mockingbird, the people of Maycomb allow the town to fall into traps of racial and personal injustice, treating others without common respect and courtesy. This in turn results in a community characterized by unfair thinking and

“As I often say, we have come a long way from the days of slavery, but in 2014, discrimination and inequality still saturate our society in modern ways. Though racism may be less blatant now in many cases, its existence is undeniable.” When describing inequality Al Sharpton said it best when he said, “it’s existence is undeniable”. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, written in the mid-1950’s by Harper Lee, focuses on the existence of social inequality. The people of Maycomb target outsiders, poor people, and African Americans, or basically anyone who doesn’t follow into “Maycomb’s Ways”.

“ You never understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” ( Atticus Finch, TKAM). There are two characters that come to mind when thinking of this theme. Elie Weisel the main character from the novel Night a horrendous first person point of view from the Holocaust and Tom Robinson a black man falsely accused because of his race from To Kill A Mockingbird. Both of these people are quickly judged because of their race/ religion. In conclusion, both of these characters demonstrate that individual freedoms are limited by one’s ethnicity.

In the book ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee, racism and social inequality are two central themes. Many different forms of social inequality coexist in the society depicted in the book, as the people of Maycomb are very rigid in their ways. This is because the book takes place in a time at which there was much racism and social inequality. In Maycomb, firstly there is discrimination between rich and poor white people, who do not often interact with each other. There is also racism against blacks by all white people in society, both rich and poor. Black people are denied basic rights and discriminated against in this town. Lastly, there is racism between the lowest classes of the community: poor white people and