“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one 's ignorance” -Confucius. In To kill a Mockingbird, penned by Harper Lee, ignorance is impossible to eradicate completely and can simply only be clouded by visions of a happier place. To even come close to eradicating ignorance we must follow the three steps; question the views of society, deny the existence of ignorance and recognize its harmful effects. Step one is to see how society feeds these thoughts through generations of racism and unequal rights. Step two is the hardest, you must learn to be aware of your own ignorance which proves to be most difficult as shown by many characters in the novel. Finally, we must then find a way to completely demolish any memory, thought or word of it by recognizing
…show more content…
When Atticus says these words it makes you realize how unfair it is for Negroes in this time as they are judged on the colour of their skin rather than their actions or personality. In the trial racism proves that the jury relies on the fact that it is a white man’s word over a black mans and not the cold hard truth that Tom Robinson is innocent and Mayella is the one who has committed the crime. In addition, when Dill says “‘its nothing but Coca-Cola’”(267), it proves that Mr. Raymond is not a drunk and now the children are aware of that which in turn proves that society has not affected the children yet, but in a way it still has as Scout bases her judgement on something she has heard from someone else and so on. It also proves that he’s using being drunk as a shield to protect him and his family and if they ever are turned off by the fact that he loves a negro, they can just think ‘oh he’s a drunk’ instead of coming to his door with pitch forks and wanting to harm his family. A final example of the effects of society’s view is when Jem says “’that doesn’t mean you hafta talk that way when you know better’” (187), this proves that Jem is aware of what is happening and wants to stop it like Atticus does. You can also tell that he is very discouraged in …show more content…
If you deny its existence eventually it will evaporate to nothing which is proven on many occasions throughout the story. An example of this is when Scout says “‘I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks”(304), proving that she is denying ignorance’s existence by telling people what she thinks whether it be bad or good, she is still defending people she loves like Calpurnia and people who she believes are innocent such as Tom Robinson. A second situation in which when this happens is when dill and her are talking about Boo and he says “’maybe he doesn’t have anywhere to run off to’” (192), showing that they are aware that he has never left his home and feel bad about it as they believe he has no one to run off to like Dill did. Also proving that they care acutely about people even if they don’t know them very well. For instance, Boo and Tom, who they’ve never actually met but have heard about and want to help them by proving to others that they are innocent players in the game of life. Remember, “’it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird’”(119), and that is deeply proven as the mockingbird is a symbol to represent Tom Robinson and how killing an innocent black man is wrong. Especially when they were the ones subjected to a crime. Since the mockingbird represents innocence, it can also be used to represent Boo Radley. Boo Radley was wronged by his father after an innocent child prank in which he was simply part of
When Atticus says these words it makes you realize how unfair it is for Negroes in this time as they are judged on the colour of their skin rather than their actions or personality. In the trial racism proves that the jury relies on the fact that it is a white man’s word over a black mans and not the cold hard truth that Tom Robinson is innocent and Mayella is the one who has committed the crime. In addition, when Dill says “‘its nothing but Coca-Cola’”(267), it proves that Mr. Raymond is not a drunk and now the children are aware of that which in turn proves that society has not affected the children yet, but in a way it still has as Scout bases her judgement on something she has heard from someone else and so on. It also proves that he’s using being drunk as a shield to protect him and his family and if they ever are turned off by the fact that he loves a negro, they can just think ‘oh he’s a drunk’ instead of coming to his door with pitch forks and wanting to harm his family. A final example of the effects of society’s view is when Jem says “’that doesn’t mean you hafta talk that way when you know better’” (187), this proves that Jem is aware of what is happening and wants to stop it like Atticus does. You can also tell that he is very discouraged in …show more content…
If you deny its existence eventually it will evaporate to nothing which is proven on many occasions throughout the story. An example of this is when Scout says “‘I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks”(304), proving that she is denying ignorance’s existence by telling people what she thinks whether it be bad or good, she is still defending people she loves like Calpurnia and people who she believes are innocent such as Tom Robinson. A second situation in which when this happens is when dill and her are talking about Boo and he says “’maybe he doesn’t have anywhere to run off to’” (192), showing that they are aware that he has never left his home and feel bad about it as they believe he has no one to run off to like Dill did. Also proving that they care acutely about people even if they don’t know them very well. For instance, Boo and Tom, who they’ve never actually met but have heard about and want to help them by proving to others that they are innocent players in the game of life. Remember, “’it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird’”(119), and that is deeply proven as the mockingbird is a symbol to represent Tom Robinson and how killing an innocent black man is wrong. Especially when they were the ones subjected to a crime. Since the mockingbird represents innocence, it can also be used to represent Boo Radley. Boo Radley was wronged by his father after an innocent child prank in which he was simply part of