Preview

Composer's Craft Novels in Order to Confront the Key Issues of Their Own Context. Discuss How the Authors of to Kill a Mockingbird and Montana 1948 Achieve This Purpose.

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1407 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Composer's Craft Novels in Order to Confront the Key Issues of Their Own Context. Discuss How the Authors of to Kill a Mockingbird and Montana 1948 Achieve This Purpose.
Authors compose novels in order to highlight and confront the significant issues of their own context. Racial prejudice and the necessity of achieving justice are two key issues highlighted in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and also Montana 1948 by Larry Watson. Lee writes in the 1960s about the 1930s, and Watson writes in the 1990s about the 1940s demonstrating a time when people were persecuted for their race, gender, religion and education. These novels are crafted to provide insight of the issues experienced in society and to enlighten society’s current perceptions. Both authors desire to educate responders about the destructive nature of prejudice that disenfranchised individuals experienced and that the corrupt actions of empowered individuals can lead to the detriment of failing to achieve justice. Through narrative voice, contextual features and character development, Lee and Watson achieve this purpose of challenging responders to confront the fundamental issues that society has disregarded.
In response to the American historical context of the 1930s, To Kill A Mockingbird demonstrates the irrationality of societal attitudes society’s through a modal voice and enlightens the responders’ viewpoint. In Atticus’s culminating statement at the trial, characterization and moral voice is displayed to enforce the power and worth of the viewpoint presented. In his direct speech, “the evil assumption – that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women…” Atticus delivers the prevalent assumption against disenfranchised individuals of the 1930s. Here, repetition, substantiated by italics, emphasizes his forceful tone in regards to the word ‘all’. By providing a high modal voice, Lee challenges responders to realize that ‘all’ used in this situation is fallacious. While disenfranchised individuals in both texts suffer prejudice, in To Kill A Mockingbird the accused is convicted although

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    “The defendant is not guilty, but somebody in this room is” (Lee 271). Atticus, in his closing argument, attempts to convey that Tom Robinson is innocent, and the Ewell’s have done a wrong deed. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates the theme of treating and respecting everyone as an individual in Atticus’s closing argument by using rhetorical devices such as repetition, analogies, and allusions.…

    • 455 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The conventions of the concept, ‘prejudice and hatred are never right in a just society’ are explored in Larry Watson’s 1993 fictional novel, ‘Montana 1948’ and also in the film, ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’, directed by Scott Hicks. Specifically, the two compositions delve into this notion by mainly focusing on the prejudices that are placed on those who are not of the Caucasian race. For example, in ‘Montana 1948’ the Indians are discriminated against and American-Japanese citizens are victimized in ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’. These prejudices are similarly portrayed in both texts; however there are also some contrasting features. Varying techniques such as changing from present to past text to emphasise the continuous use of memory, various panning shots and most importantly, dialogue, are all used to convey that prejudice and hatred are never right in a just society.…

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In today’s society, not unlike societies of the past, there continues to be justice and injustice in our world. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, there is an emphasis on the mistreatment of individuals due to the colour of their skin in Maycomb County. Throughout the novel it is evident that there is an enormous prejudice towards coloured people through the treatment of Tom Robinson, Dolphus Raymond, and Atticus Finch.…

    • 1234 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, one of the main protagonists, Atticus Finch, is faced with a cultural collision as he decides to defend a black man in a 1930s Southern Alabama court case. Ultimately, Atticus realizes that Tom Robinson is innocent of his rape allegations forcing his sense of justice to not abandon Robinson and to expose the truth despite the fact he won’t win. On the other hand, when Atticus presents his case everyone in the room realizes the man is innocent but because of the time and place, the people stay quiet inevitably branding Robinson as guilty, showing us that the pressure of society clouds our actual judgement. All things considered, the case was the climax of the story and enforced the novel’s…

    • 154 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Tom Robinson Obstacles

    • 989 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Few American novels have been written since the 1960's that can compare to Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. It is true that well written literature is shaped by the history of its country. Throughout American history, an abundant amount of social and moral issues have surfaced. Lee writes about these problems throughout the novel and focuses on racism. Although there are many characters portraying these issues, Tom Robinson is the prime example of the struggles of an African American living in the 1930's. Ultimately, Tom's cultural struggles have nothing to do with his personal nature, but rather with relationships with characters and society in the '30s—as a whole.…

    • 989 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the end, the book To Kill A Mockingbird by author Harper Lee, demonstrates prejudice in the 1930’s and now by showing that it can be used against all different people. Prejudice happens…

    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    * Powerful characters have the ability to persuade and change their peers and their use of values and attitudes. Harper Lee’s novel ‘To kill a Mockingbird’ is a classic text which foregrounds the prejudice, in the form of social commentary. The novel engages the readers’ view using an episodic structure. The story is narrated through the eyes of a grown up Scout, representing Harper Lee herself. Another similar story ‘A time to kill’ by John Grisham defence of a Negro by white lawyer. In this story, the Negro, Carl Lee Hailey is accused of the alleged shooting of two-white men who raped his ten year old daughter. These two novels illustrate how the rights of Negroes are ignored.…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “There should be no discrimination against languages people speak, skin color, or religion” -Malala Yousafzai. The novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is a story about the Finch family- a wealthy white family- living in Alabama during the Great Depression and their experiences when the dad- Atticus Finch- takes the case of an African-American in a racist county. Harper Lee uses the citizens of Maycomb County and their actions towards African-Americans to demonstrate the racism they are unaware they are taking part in, leading us to conclude that racism is so embedded in society that people don’t even notice it.…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tkam Essay

    • 796 Words
    • 4 Pages

    America has always taken pride in its detailed history, for better or for worse. Many novels have attempted to demonstrate historical events, but none have quite come close to the outstanding perspective of To Kill a Mockingbird. Readers get to see America as it was in the 1930's through the eyes of an untainted, unhindered child. As it has always been told, sadly, racism and prejudice were somewhat of a building block for the founding of this country. The audience experiences this firsthand in the novel as Atticus Finch, a middle-aged lawyer, takes on a case in which he must defend a black man accused of raping a white woman. Circumstantially, the cause for this case would be lost; the black man would be found guilty upon being seen by the jury. As even Reverend Sykes stated, “[he] had never seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man” (279). But Atticus, an entrepreneur of his own kind, defied the accepted truth and caused the jury to ponder for hours. This was an important moment for both literature and for the well-being of America. It puts into perspective the hardships of African Americans during the 1930’s, which is not something to be taken lightly.…

    • 796 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    All of the characters in this book played a pivotal role in developing the themes of the book: justice, racism, prejudice, and sexism. The use of rhetorical devices allows for the author’s ideas to surface and enable the readers to encapsulate the concept of the text. Harper Lee used…

    • 885 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To Kill a Mocking Bird

    • 1109 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Harper Lee’s To kill a mockingbird was written to portray the racism and the moral conscience of the mind within society. It is set in the 1930’s which is after the Great Depression and a starting movement for the Civil Rights fight in the USA. The novel was written in the 1960’s portraying the universal contextual issues of racism existed then and even now. Lee uses multiple narrative techniques to explore the major inequality and injustice of life but also allow the audience to know that these contextual ideas and issues can be broken and change.…

    • 1109 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Harper Lee once said, “ You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” Lee is alluding to the notion of winning, for this belief is a popular theme within literature. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, a community’s morals and beliefs regarding race, gender, and compassion determine that justice is a privilege for a few rather than a right for all. Throughout the small-town life, many characters see the evil in human nature, while others cause the evil with being racist. The kids’ innocence gets demolished, yet they learn valuable lessons about being prejudice.…

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Boo Radley Discrimination

    • 1069 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Many people believe that everyone is born equally. Unfortunately, this is not completely true because the world is not perfect. People are born into a society that is filled with prejudice. Others judge a person without knowing the person. In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, rumours, fear, and ignorance are what feeds the prejudice in this community of Maycomb, Alabama. Tom Robinson, Boo Radley and Atticus Finch are victims of prejudice of their small town. These people are being discriminated and segregated from the community. These characters are seen as Mockingbird figures in their community because they are “killed” without a reason.…

    • 1069 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1944 a supreme court case took away the civil rights of Japanese Americans during World War II. Injustices of this severity are still around. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird Tom Robinson is falsely accused of rape because of his race. Through the injustices faced by the father, Atticus, the persecuted Tom, and the outcast Boo, Lee tries to assuage the readers views of injustice into that of a perspective that is open. Harper Lee employs her book as a way of encouraging her readers to look at social issues in a different light.…

    • 1079 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To Kill a Mockingbird

    • 531 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Atticus Finch included many themes in his closing speech to the jury. Some of the themes were loneliness, racism, human nature, and equality. The theme loneliness was demonstrated in the speech when Atticus attacked Mayella’s loneliness and blamed her for her child – like decision to accuse Tom Robinson for her unhappiness. “She did something every child has done – she tried to put the evidence of her offence away from her. But in this case she was no child hiding stolen contraband: she struck out at her victim …” Another theme of Atticus’s speech was racism, which was shown when the jury did not believe the word of Tom Robinson, a black man, over the word of “white trash” like the Ewells. Atticus attempted his point that Tom had been exploited and unjustly accused. “And so a quiet, respectable, humble Negro who had the unmitigated temerity to ‘feel sorry' for a white woman has had to put his word against two white people's.” Racism was also demonstrated throughout the story by how Tom Robinson was convicted purely because he was a black man and his accuser was white. The evidence was so powerfully in his favor, that race was clearly the single defining factor in the jury's decision. Human nature was one of the themes shown in Atticus’s speech. It was shown when Atticus reminded the jury that not all Negroes lie, not all are immoral, and not all can be trusted around women – black or white, and that blackness does not necessarily associate to evil. “… some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women – black or white …” Atticus then further appealed to the jury the honest of nature. “… this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men. There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man living who has never looked upon a woman without desire.” Lastly,…

    • 531 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays