On August 7th, 1930, a group of 10,000 white Americans lynched two black men. The 1930s were a difficult time, for most, to understand that no matter the color of a person’s skin that they are equal and there is no difference between the two main ethnicities, which were white and black. Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, grew up in the minute town of Monroeville, Alabama. Growing up in the South during one of the most racially unequal periods in recent history was very hard for a young girl like Lee because she didn’t understand the injustice happening to the African-Americans, just like Jean-Louise Finch, one of the young girls from the novel. Lee’s father was a lawyer and this inspired her to attempt to become one as well, but
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Brilliantly, To Kill a Mockingbird, her first work, was set in the Jim Crow South during one of the worst times for African Americans, racially: the 1930s. Maycomb, Alabama, the setting of the novel, was even based off of Lee’s real hometown, and it would help Lee nail the heated topic throughout the novel, racism and how it affects the human psyche. She would go on to show that racism is like one of the characters, Atticus Finch, the father of the two main children in the novel, Jem and Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, described it, “Maycomb’s usual disease” (Lee To Kill a Mockingbird 100). Racism is just one of Maycomb’s largest problems due to the fact that some citizens even formed a lynch mob to try and kill a black man, Tom Robinson, who had been accused of raping a poor white woman, Mayella Ewell. Showing heroism, Atticus Finch is one of the only people that has sense in the town because he is the only one who isn’t touched by the grueling effects of …show more content…
To begin, Atticus promotes the trait of morality when he teaches Scout not to listen to what others say when it offends her. Atticus attempts to teach Scout this lesson after Jem and Scout come home from school and Scout tells Atticus that Cecil Jacobs has been bullying her because her daddy defends niggers. Atticus goes on to tell Scout, “hold your head high and keep those fists down” (87). Lee points out here that Atticus is only telling Scout to not get angry at the people saying rude things to her because he believes that physical violence cannot fix the racism inflicted on some of the people in Maycomb. Atticus also says this because he is trying to teach Scout the difference between right and wrong and how using a moral compass can actually help her in the end. Atticus capitalizes on this situation to also teach Scout that sometimes it is better to not fight with her fist, but her head, as he said “Try fighting with your head for a change” (87). The author explains the first quality of morality by showing that Atticus can distinguish the difference between right and wrong and use it to his advantage to teach Scout an important lesson that is crucial to being a moral person. Next, morality is displayed in Atticus when he tries to teach Scout another important life lesson about not judging people. Atticus tries to teach Scout another important life lesson after she
Brilliantly, To Kill a Mockingbird, her first work, was set in the Jim Crow South during one of the worst times for African Americans, racially: the 1930s. Maycomb, Alabama, the setting of the novel, was even based off of Lee’s real hometown, and it would help Lee nail the heated topic throughout the novel, racism and how it affects the human psyche. She would go on to show that racism is like one of the characters, Atticus Finch, the father of the two main children in the novel, Jem and Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, described it, “Maycomb’s usual disease” (Lee To Kill a Mockingbird 100). Racism is just one of Maycomb’s largest problems due to the fact that some citizens even formed a lynch mob to try and kill a black man, Tom Robinson, who had been accused of raping a poor white woman, Mayella Ewell. Showing heroism, Atticus Finch is one of the only people that has sense in the town because he is the only one who isn’t touched by the grueling effects of …show more content…
To begin, Atticus promotes the trait of morality when he teaches Scout not to listen to what others say when it offends her. Atticus attempts to teach Scout this lesson after Jem and Scout come home from school and Scout tells Atticus that Cecil Jacobs has been bullying her because her daddy defends niggers. Atticus goes on to tell Scout, “hold your head high and keep those fists down” (87). Lee points out here that Atticus is only telling Scout to not get angry at the people saying rude things to her because he believes that physical violence cannot fix the racism inflicted on some of the people in Maycomb. Atticus also says this because he is trying to teach Scout the difference between right and wrong and how using a moral compass can actually help her in the end. Atticus capitalizes on this situation to also teach Scout that sometimes it is better to not fight with her fist, but her head, as he said “Try fighting with your head for a change” (87). The author explains the first quality of morality by showing that Atticus can distinguish the difference between right and wrong and use it to his advantage to teach Scout an important lesson that is crucial to being a moral person. Next, morality is displayed in Atticus when he tries to teach Scout another important life lesson about not judging people. Atticus tries to teach Scout another important life lesson after she