The Theme Of Justice In To Kill A Mockingbird

Improved Essays
Square up for Justice
The fight for justice is present in both To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and A Time to Kill. Both lawyers must fight in the court of law, in a case that is near impossible to win since the defendants are black and the all white jury have racial prejudices against them. The protagonists in To Kill a Mockingbird and A Time to Kill both put in there utmost effort to fight for justice. Firstly, this theme is seen through the commitment both protagonists have for the case even in their toughest times. Secondly, due to the violent acts in the town against the case, Atticus and Jake must protect their families against the angry people and ignore the threats directed towards them in effort to stand up for what is right. Lastly,
…show more content…
Even though it is blatantly clear that Tom is innocent, they do not accept this fact due to their racial prejudices. Atticus believes that the only place where anyone is created equal is in a courtroom. “The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box.” (Lee 364). Tom is guilty which shows that nowhere are people truly treated equal. Racial prejudices or any sort of prejudices can get in the way of decisions and it requires a great deal of fighting to have people put them aside, but in Tom’s case no source of fighting would set him free due to the fact that racism was too great of a match for …show more content…
Both lawyers suffer from the commitment they have for the case, they have to protect themselves, families and friends from the violence and they have to work hard to find a way to bring attention to the racial prejudices of the jury. These issues explored are important in literature and reality because readers are affected by what they read and can be inspired to make changes. If planning on going out to seek for justice, it is important to know how to act upon a situation and things that should be avoided. Everyone should be treated equally no matter who they are. Every individual should be treated with respect and dignity. If you believe in standing up for a good cause you should follow the ways of Atticus and Jake because although they are fictional characters, they still are fantastic role models to follow when fighting for

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Because of Tom’s skin color, he is often mistreated by society. He is labeled to be a hurtful person because of the color of his skin. Tom Robinson flies from Mayella Ewell’s house after Mr. Ewell catches Mayella kiss Tom. Tom had no other option than to run away. Mr. Gilmer asks Tom, “Why did you run so fast?’...…

    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This shows that Atticus tries to understand the lives of individuals who perpetrate injustice and chooses to view…

    • 1318 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Atticus wants to bring this to the attention of the town but nobody will listen to him nor do they want to. Atticus’ little kids find themselves being made fun of at school because their dad is defending a black man. Scout and Jem keep hearing…

    • 582 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In situations of injustice, do you stand on the side of justice or on the side of the oppressor? This is a question that many people had to ask themselves in the south during the 1930’s and The Great Depression. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch, an ambitious lawyer and single father to his two children, Jeremy “Jem” and Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, most definitely stands on the side of equality and expresses this through his words and actions. Even though Atticus is a non traditional parent: he is old, formal, and often leaves his children alone with his chef or sister, he works hard for the town of Maycomb and state legislature while making as much time as possible devoted to his family.…

    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee focuses mainly on innocence throughout the novel, the mockingbird came to represent the idea of innocence. Killing a mockingbird means a loss of innocence I the eyes of the reader. Throughout the book many of the characters can be identified as mockingbirds. Jem, Scout, Dill, and Boo all lost their innocence as they grew up in a town such as Maycomb. Tom Robinson is another example of a mockingbird in this book because of the injustices he faces being a colored man in Maycomb.…

    • 1278 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In today 's society, to become a good person, understanding the difference between right and wrong, just and unjust is an important skill. Two characters from the movie “A Time To Kill” by Joel Schumacher and “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee have a very thorough understanding of justice. These two characters are Atticus Finch and Jake Brigance. Both of these people have comparable characteristics. They both have high intelligence, making them able to adapt to their surroundings and win cases by using the town 's knowledge against themselves.…

    • 1937 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Themes in To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a story about two innocent children, Jem and Scout, growing up in Maycomb, a town that is accustomed to racism. However, To Kill a Mockingbird is not just a story about racism. It is also a novel about courage, integrity, and empathy. First, Harper Lee shows that courage is when people fight battles even when they know they might not win.…

    • 1430 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Atticus Finch Quotes

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Atticus Finch, is the protagonist in the famous novel To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. A protagonist in literature, is the leading, or one of the major characters in a book, or any other forms of literature. In the story written by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch is protagonist because, he is the character trying to pursue th goal of the story. As one of the most well known and important citizens in Maycomb, Alabama Atticus’ needed not to worry much despite it being the Great Depression. Owing to the fact that, he always displays exemplary behavior and is a humble, clever attorney.…

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A Lack of Morals “Jem, how can [Mrs. Gates] hate hitler so bad an’ then turn around to be ugly about folks right here at home-” (331). Scout is wondering how her teacher and the rest of the town of Maycomb can hate hitler for persecuting people, while they themselves are oblivious that they are persecuting african americans. Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” follows a young girl named Scout Finch and her brother Jem Finch. They live in a small, fictional, racist town by the name of Maycomb, Alabama. Scout’s father Atticus is a lawyer who is appointed to a case to defend a african american man by the name of Tom Robinson.…

    • 1057 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    To begin with, when Tom felt bad for Mayella the whole courtroom was shocked. To explain this in more detail, when Tom says, ““Yes suh, I felt right sorry for her”” (264), and then Scout thinks, “Below us nobody liked Tom Robinsons answer” (264). This means that although Tom Robinson might have more money, works harder, and is more respected in the black society, he’s still black, and that’s below any white person, and since the society thinks you can’t pity anyone higher than you, they got offended. In fact, when the court session was over, the jury and the audience knew Tom wasn’t guilty, but voted that he was. To prove this statement, during Atticus’ final statement he says, ““This case is as simple as black and white.””…

    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    "Yeah, but Atticus aims to defend him. That 's what I don 't like about it." This exemplifies how the town resented Atticus for simply doing what he believe to be the right thing to do; which is why even though Atticus had no intention of influencing the town’s idea of justice for Tom Robinson, he influenced the white community, who just so happen to have been the ones to decide Tom’s fate. This once again proves that while unintentional a single individual how the power to alter or change what another person perceives as…

    • 1070 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The character that stood their ground even against the societal beliefs, which are questionable whether to be right or wrong, are Scout and Jem responding to prejudice, Tom Robinson’s fight against injustice and racism, and Atticus combatting justice and being rejected by white…

    • 1088 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Atticus does and excellent job of teaching his kids the right way to do things, even if it is not always viewed as the right way by society. Atticus shows Jem and Scout that the most important thing is how they fight through the evil in the world and show a good side – the side most people are not able to…

    • 1735 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, there are many different themes depicted such as hypocrisy, prejudice, courage, coming of age/loss of innocence, justice, femininity, but racism is illustrated more heavily. Living in maycomb, racism is allowed; if you were not racist towards the blacks then you would be criticized by being called names such as “nigger-lover”. Atticus ignored the rest of the people in Maycomb and went out of his way to support a black man known as Tom Robinson, who was accused of rape. Racism is the key theme in the novel.…

    • 123 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    This would encourage discrimination against individuals. Maycomb County’s beliefs are provoked by the social structure in which they live. Highlighted throughout the novel is how the blacks are immediately discarded as below the rest of the general public. This is demonstrated when Aunt Alexandra, who has the typical views of a white middle class person, refuses Scout to go to Calpurnia’s house purely because she is black. Later, Alexandra refuses Scout to…

    • 1726 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays