To Kill a Mockingbird In the 1930s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee portrays the strict social structure through the characters Scout encounters with. At the top of this ‘social ladder,’ are characters such as Atticus Finch, Sherriff Heck, Judge Taylor, and Mr. Underwood because their ability to read and write helped them gain a high position in society. Their opportunity to own land and have a superior job makes them well respected by the community. Atticus Finch and his family were seen as middle class due to their father’s reputation and occupation. Below them, are the Cunninghams. This group of people is very poor, yet they behave well and work with what they have. Scout describes their lifestyle, “The Cunninghams never took anything
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In Harper Lee’s bestseller, justice and prejudice is a common theme from the start. The title, To Kill a Mockingbird, summarizes a main theme of the book: it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. The reasoning behind this is that mockingbirds do no harm. All this innocent creature does is sing beautiful songs. Characters, such as Tom Robinson and Boo Radley, symbolize these innocent creatures and are shown as victims of the town’s injustice. Atticus seeks justice for Tom Robinson’s false accusation of rape and opts to defend him in court at his expense. The prejudice jury convicts Tom even though Atticus presents enough evidence to free him because they were biased against the colored man’s race. Mr. Dolphus Raymond, a white man who prefers to live in the black community, says to Scout, “Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they’re people too” (Lee 269). Mr. Raymond is trying to explain the injustice and racism between white and black people in court. Although Atticus knew the jury would not believe a black man over a white’s, he still did his best to show the rest of the county the lies told by Mr. Ewell and his family. Boo Radley is another victim of his father’s idea of what is just. Boo was seen as a very rambunctious and dangerous child, but instead of sending his son to state school, Mr. Radley locked Boo in the basement under house arrest. This punishment lasted Boo’s entire life. When Scout and Jem are in danger, Boo risks everything to come out of his home and stab Bob Ewell to save them. He did the right thing to save Jem’s life, but his actions, under the law, should have caused him to go to jail. The Sherriff, Heck Tate, and Atticus decide the right thing to do to protect a vulnerable person, is to bend the law, even though they are both sworn in to uphold the law in one
In Harper Lee’s bestseller, justice and prejudice is a common theme from the start. The title, To Kill a Mockingbird, summarizes a main theme of the book: it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. The reasoning behind this is that mockingbirds do no harm. All this innocent creature does is sing beautiful songs. Characters, such as Tom Robinson and Boo Radley, symbolize these innocent creatures and are shown as victims of the town’s injustice. Atticus seeks justice for Tom Robinson’s false accusation of rape and opts to defend him in court at his expense. The prejudice jury convicts Tom even though Atticus presents enough evidence to free him because they were biased against the colored man’s race. Mr. Dolphus Raymond, a white man who prefers to live in the black community, says to Scout, “Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they’re people too” (Lee 269). Mr. Raymond is trying to explain the injustice and racism between white and black people in court. Although Atticus knew the jury would not believe a black man over a white’s, he still did his best to show the rest of the county the lies told by Mr. Ewell and his family. Boo Radley is another victim of his father’s idea of what is just. Boo was seen as a very rambunctious and dangerous child, but instead of sending his son to state school, Mr. Radley locked Boo in the basement under house arrest. This punishment lasted Boo’s entire life. When Scout and Jem are in danger, Boo risks everything to come out of his home and stab Bob Ewell to save them. He did the right thing to save Jem’s life, but his actions, under the law, should have caused him to go to jail. The Sherriff, Heck Tate, and Atticus decide the right thing to do to protect a vulnerable person, is to bend the law, even though they are both sworn in to uphold the law in one