Preview

To Kill A Mockingbird Individual Vs Society

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
335 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
To Kill A Mockingbird Individual Vs Society
SOCIETY NORMS VS. INDIVIDUALITY The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee deals with several controversial topics. Among these is society norms vs. individual. The setting of the story takes place in the 1930’s in the southern town of Maycomb. In Maycomb it was hard for people like Atticus Finch, Boo Radley, and Heck Tate to maintain individuality in a 1930’s society. Atticus Finch was distinct from his society for several reasons. Atticus (a white man) was overall respectful to blacks. Maycomb was a predominantly segregated town, and the majority of whites did not tolerate blacks. Atticus however, treated them like equals. For instance, he defended Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson was a black man accused
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    To Kill A Mockingbird Foreshadowing Analysis
    • 4763 Words
    • 20 Pages

    To Kill A Mockingbird Foreshadowing Analysis

    Exposition – 1. “He liked Maycomb, he was Maycomb Country born and bred; he knew his people, they knew him and because Simon Finch’s industry, Atticus was related by blood or marriage to nearly every family in the town.” This background info at the beginning doesn’t seem like much, as it just explains to us how close the Finch family is to the people of the town. However later on, we find out that due to Atticus being family to almost everyone in Maycomb, it is harder for them to deal with him defending a black person accused of a despicable crime.…

    • 4763 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    How Is Atticus Finch Idealistic
    • 1073 Words
    • 5 Pages

    How Is Atticus Finch Idealistic

    Atticus Finch lived in a time in Southern Alabama when a system of segregation and bitter racism was enforced by law kept African Americans from achieving equality or improving themselves. White people were told that they were above black people. Atticus had no such prejudice which was unrealistic for this time. Atticus is a lawyer in Maycomb, a typical southern town where racial discrimination is the normal behaviour. "Blacks" went to different churches, there was segregated seating in the courts, where all men are meant to be equal and in every aspect of their lives they were treated as inferiors.…

    • 1073 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Atticus Finch Stereotypes
    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Atticus Finch Stereotypes

    Books filled with controversy rarely get recognition for shaping people’s lives; however, To Kill a Mockingbird overcomes this stereotype by showing the good in an otherwise not so good community. This community, known as Maycomb, exemplified traditional racial views that southerners held during the 1930’s. Most of the community, and most of Southern America, shared these same racial views, but Atticus Finch’s beliefs differ from those around him. Throughout the book, Atticus stands up for people of all races despite what those around him think. The courage shown by Atticus has greatly impacted all aspects of my life, including my faith, and demonstrates the determination that I wish to possess.…

    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Atticus Finch Empathy
    • 814 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Atticus Finch Empathy

    Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird takes place in rural south Alabama in a town called Maycomb during the Great Depression, in a time when many Southerners both accepted and expected discrimination toward minorities. Atticus Finch, a widowed father of two, trying to raise his children well, teaches them to see things from another’s perspective. Lee incorporates the crucial quality of empathy in the feelings of the characters and expresses the empathetic theme with the influence of racism and prejudice in Maycomb society within the main characters Scout, Jem, and Atticus.…

    • 814 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    To Kill A Mockingbird Social Hierarchy Essay
    • 854 Words
    • 4 Pages

    To Kill A Mockingbird Social Hierarchy Essay

    In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee makes it evident that there is a distinct social hierarchy in Maycomb, and everyone in Maycomb inevitably judges those who are not a part of their “class”. Specifically, in the novel many wealthier white families look down upon those who were of African American descent, whether the wealthier families were racist or not. In the book, Jem is raised by Atticus to be accepting, yet without purposely trying, Jem shows forms of ignorance toward others because of the barrier that has essentially surrounded him during his adolescence. When Calpurnia takes Jem to her church, he is shocked by the difference in the way people speak and what is taught. He states, “ That’s why you don’t talk like the rest of em… the colored…

    • 854 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Egalitarianism In To Kill A Mockingbird
    • 964 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Essay On Egalitarianism In To Kill A Mockingbird

    Prejudice is a preconceived opinion established without any thought, reason or knowledge. It is an act of discrimination towards those considered subordinate compared to others. Prejudice is a habit that one develops with experience and the effects of a negative surrounding environment. During the 1930s, prejudice was a more critical issue, as demonstrated in Harper Lee’s award winning novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. Throughout the novel, there are various situations of discrimination. However, few characters in the novel portray egalitarianism, which is a belief that favors everyone equally. One remarkable character that portrays egalitarianism is Jean Louise “Scout” Finch. The seven year old portrays egalitarianism through her actions and…

    • 964 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Essay on "To Kill a Mockingbird" (Social Inequality and Racism)
    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Essay on "To Kill a Mockingbird" (Social Inequality and Racism)

    “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” (Martin Luther King Jr.). Although there is some people nowadays who maintain prejudicial treatment of racism actually hating people of their color is unacceptable in the society of digital epoch. Evolution of society first of all means evolution of its soul and mind and obvious it’s impossible when the thoughts of society got stuck in the past century.…

    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Social Differences In To Kill A Mockingbird
    • 799 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Social Differences In To Kill A Mockingbird

    Some could argue that racism is just another part of Maycomb’s culture and that is just how they run things, also that they turned out just fine and it might have even boosted their self esteem. However, in today’s society, racism and segregation are frowned upon and despite it being a “tradition”…

    • 799 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Common Human Experience In To Kill A Mockingbird
    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Common Human Experience In To Kill A Mockingbird

    did not understand Boo, he was not seen outside of his house and people did not…

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    To Kill A Mockingbird Social Inequality Essay
    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages

    To Kill A Mockingbird Social Inequality Essay

    1930’s Maycomb, Alabama, the setting for the Harper Lee novel To Kill A Mockingbird. A novel which highlights the issue of social inequality, and the asinine binds of racial division in the 1930s South. Tom Robinson, an African American gentleman, was falsely accused of the rape of Mayella Ewell, an impoverished young white woman, and had to battle for his life at court in a racist, and prejudice society. But social inequality is not limited to only race. All people of all different backgrounds, ages, and financial statuses may experience forms of social inequality.…

    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    To Kill A Mockingbird Thesis
    • 357 Words
    • 2 Pages

    To Kill A Mockingbird Thesis

    Intro Paragraph: “... they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us.” (119) Said Miss Maudie to Jem. “That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (119) Lately, there has been a lot of discussions deciding if To Kill A Mockingbird should be taught in school. Based on its incredible morality and true life stories the book should still be taught in schools. For 56 years Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird has been an inescapable fixture of America’s civic religion. Critics Stephen Metcalf and Thomas Fallon continues to argue with traditional views of this beloved novel, arguing that is pompous, irrational, and abhorrent. While Metcalf and Fallon contribute valid criticisms,…

    • 357 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Theme Of Discrimination In To Kill A Mockingbird
    • 771 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Theme Of Discrimination In To Kill A Mockingbird

    To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee (1960) is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel that offers a view of southern life in the 1930s through the eyes of a young girl named Scout, whose view of the adult world evolves as her family is exposed to its evils and injustices, changing from that of an innocent child to that of a near-grown up. Discrimination and prejudice are integral parts of the novel’s themes, and plays an important role in Scout’s development of a sympathetic, mature perspective. This essay will explore and analyze the various forms discrimination takes throughout the novel.…

    • 771 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    To Kill A Mockingbird Social Injustice
    • 1819 Words
    • 8 Pages

    To Kill A Mockingbird Social Injustice

    Could a perfect society exist in where everyone is treated like equals? Social Justice is a cause that aims to create equality for everyone in the world. However, this aim is prohibited by repressive groups that view only themselves as worthy of ideal lives. These groups try to put down the vulnerable minorities and keep the imbalances in their society. Therefore, their actions create Social Injustice. These Social Injustices affects everyone in the society, whether they realize it or not. In the classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the science fiction book Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, and the dystopian novel Unwind by Neal Shusterman, characters face various Social Injustices caused by unequal power. In these books, Social Injustice is created by an oppressive society viewing a more vulnerable group as inferior to them.…

    • 1819 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    To Kill a Mockingbird: Man's Inhumanity to Man
    • 1657 Words
    • 7 Pages

    To Kill a Mockingbird: Man's Inhumanity to Man

    A central theme in To Kill a Mockingbird, is man`s inhumanity to man. Many types of inhumanity – whether intentional or not – can be seen throughout this novel. Scout and Jem Finch as well as Dill treat Boo Radley with a level of inhumanity; however, their intentions are not cruel, merely childish and playful – as they are. However some examples of inhumanity found in the novel are not as innocent. An evident struggle that continues throughout the book, is the inhumanity black people suffer at the hands of white people; as well as men`s towering empowerment over women, which is often shown in violence and other cruelty. It is evident in the novel, that racism of all kinds affects the everyday lives of many people. Though this may be a fictional story, the conflicts are as valid in the world of Scout and Jem Finch as they are in reality today. Many writers throughout the centuries have used their compositions to mirror the struggles that took place in their modern day. Shakespeare; possibly the greatest writer of the Elizabethan times portrayed racism against Jews in act III scene I in his play Merchant of Venice. Although the ethnic origins of the characters differ, the message remains the same; “...Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passion? Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same disease, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer...if you prick us do we not bleed? if you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die?” This quote reveals that all people are the same; we are all human. Though we may have different qualities, we are all equals.…

    • 1657 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    To Kill A Mockingbird Impact On Society
    • 1148 Words
    • 5 Pages

    To Kill A Mockingbird Impact On Society

    During the mid-twentieth century, at a time when America was undergoing huge social change, authors used literature as a tool to inspire equality for all people. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, a black man is put on trial and convicted for a crime he obviously did not commit. Throughout the entire novel, Lee uses the racist nature of Maycomb, Alabama in order to change the way that our own society treats others. Without authors like her supporting social change, we would be living if a very different place today.…

    • 1148 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics