Society today shapes how most people act. Whether a model influences a young girl to want to look exactly like her, or if a kid at school spreads rumors about someone else and everyone goes along with it. Many people today “stick to the status quo” and submit entirely to conformity. But does anyone stop and realize that everyone is different? Society greatly influences people today with the development of social media and the creation of new TV shows and books. Whether society positively or negatively impacts people, it happens all over the world. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the idea of individualism versus society is shown. Many of the characters in the story are impacted by their town’s views on race, religion, and
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Tom Robinson is a black man accused of raping a young white female. The stereotypes in Maycomb show that Tom Robinson most likely will not be found innocent. Even though Atticus has this in mind, he still takes the case and becomes a lawyer for Tom. This shows individualism because it shows that Atticus is not letting the people of Maycomb influence his decisions and he is going to be an individual and make his choices independently. A quote that shows how the case makes Atticus be an individual is in chapter twenty when Atticus is explaining how Tom is not guilty, “Which, gentlemen, we know is in itself a lie as black as Tom Robinson's skin, a lie I do not have to point out to you. You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white. But 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.” This quote is extremely powerful because it shows how Atticus is desperately trying to tell the jury that they shouldn’t be judging Tom by the color of his skin but by the facts being presented to them. This shows individualism on Atticus’ part because it shows that he isn’t going to judge Tom Robinson because he is black and he took the case because he believed that he deserved a fair trial despite the opinions of the other people in
Tom Robinson is a black man accused of raping a young white female. The stereotypes in Maycomb show that Tom Robinson most likely will not be found innocent. Even though Atticus has this in mind, he still takes the case and becomes a lawyer for Tom. This shows individualism because it shows that Atticus is not letting the people of Maycomb influence his decisions and he is going to be an individual and make his choices independently. A quote that shows how the case makes Atticus be an individual is in chapter twenty when Atticus is explaining how Tom is not guilty, “Which, gentlemen, we know is in itself a lie as black as Tom Robinson's skin, a lie I do not have to point out to you. You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white. But 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.” This quote is extremely powerful because it shows how Atticus is desperately trying to tell the jury that they shouldn’t be judging Tom by the color of his skin but by the facts being presented to them. This shows individualism on Atticus’ part because it shows that he isn’t going to judge Tom Robinson because he is black and he took the case because he believed that he deserved a fair trial despite the opinions of the other people in