Tolerance is a concept that permeates through our everyday lives and we find ourselves presented with situations where understanding is a key aspect we must employ. In the words of the great Dalai Lama, “In the practice of tolerance, one’s enemy is the best teacher”. This is an incredibly strong moral that guides us and expresses that in the face of conflict, facing our enemy is the best way in learning how to be accepting. This notion of tolerance is exemplified predominately through the themes of racism, and good and evil in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), Boaz Yakin’s Remember the Titans (2000), and Tate Taylor’s The Help (2011). These texts combine to teach us invaluable lessons about the positive impact of being open-minded
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In both texts, we identify characters subjected to bigotry from racist individuals, based on the paradigm the white society has placed on the black populous, deemed as inferior, and we witness how this influences their lives. Lee’s novel depicts the racist attitudes, hypocrisy and downfall of Maycomb – an Alabama society in the 1930s that Tom Robinson has fallen victim to. Throughout the novel, we perceive that not only Tom is affected by racism, but the repercussions of Atticus defending Tom have an impact on himself and, consequently, his children too. Atticus’ words “This case is as simple as black and white” relate to discrimination and this employment of verbal irony places emphasis on the complexity behind Atticus’ words “black and white”. This technique refers to the prevalence of racism in Maycomb, which contrastingly does not have such a simple solution, and is recognisable from the jury’s verdict declaring Tom guilty. Furthermore, we are prompted to evaluate the desperate issue and impact of racism on innocent people, and come to a realisation that making amends with those who are diverse will help us learn to be tolerant as individuals and a collective society. Similarly, Taylor’s film The Help parallels such concepts with Lee’s novel and, by comparing the two, we grasp that Taylor’s film is …show more content…
Scout is a noteworthy character that exemplifies personal growth under the guidance of Atticus’ moral voice. Throughout the novel, Scout uncovers the good and evil in the Maycomb society which develops her naïve perceptions into greater awareness, assisting her in understanding others. We are reminded of the power of the innocence of youth through Scout’s first-person narration and dialogue to her Aunt Alexandra proclaiming, “I remembered the distant disastrous occasion when I rushed to young Walter Cunningham’s defence. Now I was glad I’d done it. ‘Soon’s school starts I’m gonna ask Walter home to dinner…’” The narration highlights the insightful perspective of a figure of youth that hasn’t conformed to other prejudicing views in the community yet. Scout’s reasoning is straight forward and unassuming which is expected of a child, contrasting the complexities of older characters’ excuses for their discriminative ways, explicitly Bob Ewell. Likewise, the film Remember the Titans, explores the representation of good and evil qualities in characters in Alexandria, Virginia, namely Coach Yoast and Coach Tyrell. These characters are an insightful comparison, as they both primarily share the same prejudicial viewpoints towards Coach
In both texts, we identify characters subjected to bigotry from racist individuals, based on the paradigm the white society has placed on the black populous, deemed as inferior, and we witness how this influences their lives. Lee’s novel depicts the racist attitudes, hypocrisy and downfall of Maycomb – an Alabama society in the 1930s that Tom Robinson has fallen victim to. Throughout the novel, we perceive that not only Tom is affected by racism, but the repercussions of Atticus defending Tom have an impact on himself and, consequently, his children too. Atticus’ words “This case is as simple as black and white” relate to discrimination and this employment of verbal irony places emphasis on the complexity behind Atticus’ words “black and white”. This technique refers to the prevalence of racism in Maycomb, which contrastingly does not have such a simple solution, and is recognisable from the jury’s verdict declaring Tom guilty. Furthermore, we are prompted to evaluate the desperate issue and impact of racism on innocent people, and come to a realisation that making amends with those who are diverse will help us learn to be tolerant as individuals and a collective society. Similarly, Taylor’s film The Help parallels such concepts with Lee’s novel and, by comparing the two, we grasp that Taylor’s film is …show more content…
Scout is a noteworthy character that exemplifies personal growth under the guidance of Atticus’ moral voice. Throughout the novel, Scout uncovers the good and evil in the Maycomb society which develops her naïve perceptions into greater awareness, assisting her in understanding others. We are reminded of the power of the innocence of youth through Scout’s first-person narration and dialogue to her Aunt Alexandra proclaiming, “I remembered the distant disastrous occasion when I rushed to young Walter Cunningham’s defence. Now I was glad I’d done it. ‘Soon’s school starts I’m gonna ask Walter home to dinner…’” The narration highlights the insightful perspective of a figure of youth that hasn’t conformed to other prejudicing views in the community yet. Scout’s reasoning is straight forward and unassuming which is expected of a child, contrasting the complexities of older characters’ excuses for their discriminative ways, explicitly Bob Ewell. Likewise, the film Remember the Titans, explores the representation of good and evil qualities in characters in Alexandria, Virginia, namely Coach Yoast and Coach Tyrell. These characters are an insightful comparison, as they both primarily share the same prejudicial viewpoints towards Coach