Guilty until proven innocent. In To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, everyone is guilty until proven innocent. In other words, many individuals are perceived in the wrong way. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout Finch, the main character, is growing up and is being faced with new experiences in life that help her mature, including witnessing her father, Atticus Finch, defend a colored man, at a time when being associated with a colored man was thought of as sinful. Scout realizes what her father does for the people of the small town of Maycomb in the 1930’s. In Harper Lee´s To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout is faced with the reality of life, which impacts how she grows. Scout comes upon the reality of who Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch, and Arthur “Boo”
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In the beginning of the novel, it is quite evident that Scout is very childish. She picked a fight with her classmate, Cecil Jones, simply due to the reason that he said her father defended the colored. Scout could simply not comprehend why Atticus was defending a colored man, as she asked him, “If you shouldn’t be defendin‘ him, then why are you doin’ it?” (100). Scout is confounded on why Atticus is defending a colored man, who everyone in the town seems to loathe. It is evident she does not follow on why Tom Robinson should be defended as she keeps asking Atticus questions after he attempts to answer, “‘ Then why did Cecil say you defended niggers? He made it sound like you were runnin‘ a still.’ Atticus sighed. “I’m simply defending a Negro—his name’s Tom Robinson,’ ” (100). However, throughout the novel, Scout began to realize Tom was just as innocent, or perhaps more innocent, as any other person in the town of Maycomb. She comes to this realization when her teacher, Miss Gates, made hypocritical statements, so she talked to Atticus about it,“ ‘It’s not okay to hate anybody.’ ‘Atticus,’ I said, ‘there’s somethin‘ I don’t understand. Miss Gates said it was awful, Hitler doin’ like he does, she got real red in the face about it’ ” (330). Here, Scout is developing the connection to what Hitler did to the racism of the people of Maycomb. Scout is growing up and now knows that what …show more content…
Overall, To Kill A Mockingbird is a novel in which the reader can gain many lessons from. From the unmissable message about racism to the subtle lesson of The Great Depression. What makes this book so extraordinary is its’ ability to never lose meaning, as it will always apply to the modern world. As it should never be assumed one is innocent until proven guilty or guilty until proven
In the beginning of the novel, it is quite evident that Scout is very childish. She picked a fight with her classmate, Cecil Jones, simply due to the reason that he said her father defended the colored. Scout could simply not comprehend why Atticus was defending a colored man, as she asked him, “If you shouldn’t be defendin‘ him, then why are you doin’ it?” (100). Scout is confounded on why Atticus is defending a colored man, who everyone in the town seems to loathe. It is evident she does not follow on why Tom Robinson should be defended as she keeps asking Atticus questions after he attempts to answer, “‘ Then why did Cecil say you defended niggers? He made it sound like you were runnin‘ a still.’ Atticus sighed. “I’m simply defending a Negro—his name’s Tom Robinson,’ ” (100). However, throughout the novel, Scout began to realize Tom was just as innocent, or perhaps more innocent, as any other person in the town of Maycomb. She comes to this realization when her teacher, Miss Gates, made hypocritical statements, so she talked to Atticus about it,“ ‘It’s not okay to hate anybody.’ ‘Atticus,’ I said, ‘there’s somethin‘ I don’t understand. Miss Gates said it was awful, Hitler doin’ like he does, she got real red in the face about it’ ” (330). Here, Scout is developing the connection to what Hitler did to the racism of the people of Maycomb. Scout is growing up and now knows that what …show more content…
Overall, To Kill A Mockingbird is a novel in which the reader can gain many lessons from. From the unmissable message about racism to the subtle lesson of The Great Depression. What makes this book so extraordinary is its’ ability to never lose meaning, as it will always apply to the modern world. As it should never be assumed one is innocent until proven guilty or guilty until proven