Adversity In Harriet Tubman's To Kill A Mockingbird

Many people believe that family is the most important thing in a person’s life. Throughout history, many families have gone through adversity, but sticking together through rough times has brought them closer together. Adversity can be extreme measures such as slavery, or can be considered a more common disorder in today’s society such as Asperger’s. Through personal stories people are able to learn more about the adversity many families/people have gone through or are still going through today. Social history includes personal stories, which give greater insight into divisive topics; it also reveals the family dynamics that are affected by these divisive topics.
Harriet Tubman’s life story depicts a firsthand account of the cruelties of …show more content…
To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in Maycomb, Alabama at a time when different racial groups did not accept each other. Atticus Finch, a lawyer in the town defends an innocent black man (Tom Robinson) who is accused of rape. Although he lost the case, his two children (Jem and Scout) were taught many life lessons throughout the trial. The jury had an unquestionable bias against the black man. Although Scout and Jem were too young to realize this, with help from their father, they were well educated. Atticus consistently pushed his children to rise above the “common” behavior throughout the town. This is demonstrated when Scout calls Atticus a “nigger” (Lee 109), Atticus immediately teaches her, that what she said was bad. “My folks said your daddy was a disgrace an’ that nigger oughta hang from the water tank,” (Lee 102) Cecil Jacobs (a classmate) said to Scout. What her classmate said to her, was not far off from what most people in the town believed. It is hard to change a bias that most townsfolk believed, and certainly one man is not going to do it all by himself. But Atticus taught his children from a young age, that all men and women are created equal and should be treated as such, it will take time but views can start to change. All Atticus Finch ever wanted in life was not to win every court case, or …show more content…
The movie illustrated how a family that was divided could unite because of certain issues in society. The movie takes place in Los Angeles, California in the late 1990s, a time when racial groups (predominantly black and white) did not get along. Many gangs such as the “Skinheads” were established because the racial groups could not get along. Derek Vinyard, the main character of the movie, is sent to three years in prison, after he kills three African Americans for trying to steal his belongings. Derek, being a member of the skinheads, felt it was the right thing to do because his father (a police officer) died because of a racial killing. Danny Vinyard had grown up idolizing his older brother Derek, and thinking it was the right thing to do he joined the skinheads as well. When Derek was released from prison, his opinion on certain racial topics had changed. He recognized that with Danny growing up without a father figure put him in the same place Derek was in years ago. Derek and Danny’s bond that they shared while growing up started to break because of the different views that they shared. Derek tries to demonstrate to Danny that what he is apart of is wrong. Derek tells Danny why he went to prison and everything he had to go through while in prison. Danny starts to realize, that what he was a part of was wrong. Just as the two brothers were starting to build up that bond