To Kill a Mockingbird Essay
A careful reading of the novel from the point of view of Catholic values and the Holy Name of Mary school motto suggests that the black characters in the novel are, along with Atticus Finch, the true heroes of the novel. The Holy Name of Mary motto states: "And what does the lord require of you? To act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8) The actions of the black characters in the novel beautifully exemplify the virtues described in this motto.
The actions of the black characters beautifully exemplify the virtue to act justly when Calpurnia takes Scout and Jem to church and when Reverend Skyes provides support to Tom Robinson 's family. When Calpurnia, Jem, and Scout arrive at …show more content…
At the First Purchase Church, Scout experienced the way black 's cared for the dead. At the cemetery the graves were "outlined with brightly colored glass and broken coca cola bottles" and "burned-out candles stood at the heads of infant graves." This shows that the black community in Maycomb cares and respects the dead by visiting them every day and making their graves presentable and nice, "it was a happy cemetery." This is acting out the virtue to love tenderly because these characters are not only caring for the alive but are also providing love and respect for those who have passed away. Furthermore, Tom Robinson is also an example of the virtue to love tenderly. During the trial of Tom 's alleged crime, it was revealed that Tom had in fact not harmed Mayella, but was convicted of this crime because he was black. The only thing Tom was trying to do was help Mayella. He " 'felt sorry for her '" and wanted to aid her since " 'she seemed to try more 'n the rest of ‘em '". This shows that Tom was trying to be respectful to her. He showed mercy to her and helped her with the chores she had. He was being a loyal and loving neighbor to Mayella. This is loving tenderly because Tom is trying to be helpful and respectful towards a woman. Even after what happened he still didn 't blame Mayella because he saw the situation from the perspective of an aloof girl who had trouble at home. Therefore, …show more content…
In one part of the novel, Cal scolds Scout on what she said to Walter Cunningham. " 'Hush your mouth! Don 't matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this house 's yo ' comp 'ny, and don 't you let me catch you remarkin ' on their ways like you was so high and mighty! Yo ' folks might be better 'n the Cunninghams but it don 't count for nothin ' the way you 're disgracin ' ‘em '." Cal is teaching Scout that she should be respectful and humble towards others. She is telling Scout that it does not matter who it is or where they come from, everyone deserves respect and equality. In her own way, Cal is teaching Scout that in the end your attitude is what makes you who you are, not your personal belongings. This is acting out the virtue to walk humbly because Cal is simple educating someone on ways to be more kind and humble. She is letting them know that in the long run, whatever is in your heart is more important. Another example of this virtue is when the black community came together as a whole and gave their thanks to Atticus, for the Tom Robinson case, by giving him a lot of food. "The kitchen table was loaded with enough food to bury the family: hunks of salt pork, tomatoes, beans, even scuppernongs." This shows them acting out the virtue to walk humbly because the black community is appreciative of what Atticus did for Tom so they are humble and kind enough to give up the things they
A careful reading of the novel from the point of view of Catholic values and the Holy Name of Mary school motto suggests that the black characters in the novel are, along with Atticus Finch, the true heroes of the novel. The Holy Name of Mary motto states: "And what does the lord require of you? To act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8) The actions of the black characters in the novel beautifully exemplify the virtues described in this motto.
The actions of the black characters beautifully exemplify the virtue to act justly when Calpurnia takes Scout and Jem to church and when Reverend Skyes provides support to Tom Robinson 's family. When Calpurnia, Jem, and Scout arrive at …show more content…
At the First Purchase Church, Scout experienced the way black 's cared for the dead. At the cemetery the graves were "outlined with brightly colored glass and broken coca cola bottles" and "burned-out candles stood at the heads of infant graves." This shows that the black community in Maycomb cares and respects the dead by visiting them every day and making their graves presentable and nice, "it was a happy cemetery." This is acting out the virtue to love tenderly because these characters are not only caring for the alive but are also providing love and respect for those who have passed away. Furthermore, Tom Robinson is also an example of the virtue to love tenderly. During the trial of Tom 's alleged crime, it was revealed that Tom had in fact not harmed Mayella, but was convicted of this crime because he was black. The only thing Tom was trying to do was help Mayella. He " 'felt sorry for her '" and wanted to aid her since " 'she seemed to try more 'n the rest of ‘em '". This shows that Tom was trying to be respectful to her. He showed mercy to her and helped her with the chores she had. He was being a loyal and loving neighbor to Mayella. This is loving tenderly because Tom is trying to be helpful and respectful towards a woman. Even after what happened he still didn 't blame Mayella because he saw the situation from the perspective of an aloof girl who had trouble at home. Therefore, …show more content…
In one part of the novel, Cal scolds Scout on what she said to Walter Cunningham. " 'Hush your mouth! Don 't matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this house 's yo ' comp 'ny, and don 't you let me catch you remarkin ' on their ways like you was so high and mighty! Yo ' folks might be better 'n the Cunninghams but it don 't count for nothin ' the way you 're disgracin ' ‘em '." Cal is teaching Scout that she should be respectful and humble towards others. She is telling Scout that it does not matter who it is or where they come from, everyone deserves respect and equality. In her own way, Cal is teaching Scout that in the end your attitude is what makes you who you are, not your personal belongings. This is acting out the virtue to walk humbly because Cal is simple educating someone on ways to be more kind and humble. She is letting them know that in the long run, whatever is in your heart is more important. Another example of this virtue is when the black community came together as a whole and gave their thanks to Atticus, for the Tom Robinson case, by giving him a lot of food. "The kitchen table was loaded with enough food to bury the family: hunks of salt pork, tomatoes, beans, even scuppernongs." This shows them acting out the virtue to walk humbly because the black community is appreciative of what Atticus did for Tom so they are humble and kind enough to give up the things they