Is Fear More Powerful than Reason and Intelligence?
An analysis of fear in To Kill a Mockingbird
Jake Portnoff
ENG2D-2
Mr.Whitebread
To Kill a Mockingbird - ISP
People often fear what they don 't understand. Evolutionary psychology can be traced back millions of years, when fear helped keep man from peril. Avoiding the unknown created a sense of security. Consequently, since the beginning of mankind, our instincts have developed to be perilous of the familiar. Fear of the unknown causes people to become narrow-minded and ignorant of the unfamiliar, and how people behave when they believe something will happen even though there is no basis for their assumptions. This ideology directly correlates to Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Throughout the story, the townspeople are challenged by fear, which causes them to go against each other. The fear of change within the town associates with racism and causes the white majority to victimize a discerned black minority. The whites have developed such a strong stereotype amongst the blacks that they have become unmindful of what’s right. Boo Radley is one of the best examples of someone who is unfairly targeted because of Maycomb’s fear of the unknown. His problems with the law result in isolation within the Radley house, and because he refuses to leave his house, the townspeople are terrified and make accusations. During Tom Robinson’s trial, Atticus used logic, reason and intelligence, to prove Tom’s
Trayvon feared Zimmerman and Zimmerman was scared to the point of shooting Martin. Trayvon’s family feared that Zimmerman was free to kill even more innocent children. On the other hand, Jem and Scout showed fear when they were attacked by Bob Ewell, they also feared Boo Radley and lastly everyone in the town feared the crazy dog. Another theme is racism. Racism is one of the most important themes in both, To Kill A Mockingbird and the death of Martin. Tom Robinson loses the trial because he is black and George Zimmerman thought Martin looked suspicious because he was also
Racism is a big part in “To kill a mockingbird”,and is a very important part of the story.the town's people of maycomb are very opposite to African American, one of example in the book the Tom Robinson's trial case where to had give a trueful,the jury still sided with Bob Ewell because he was a white man “I close my eyes as Judy Taylor was polling the jury vote ;guilty guilty guilty “Pg 209 this quote few the book shows that the body jury did vote Tom Robinson 100% guilty without looking at the evidence, they think because he african american he lying, and don't see his side of the story they just see the white man story and assume is true.Even with the evidence they think he is guilty even. . In today's times there is not that much racism but it does exist for instance jet in the story is not being racially at all but during the case he didn't understand like Atticus pointed out “ if you (jem) had been on the jury son, and the eleven other boy like you Tom would be a freeman.the
The town keeps its prejudices after Tom’s death by blaming him for it,”To Maycomb, Tom’s death was typical. Typical of a nigger to cut and run. Typical of a niggers mentality…”(Lee,322). The town does not care about Tom’s death except for a few people. “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed”(Lee,323). Tom has no chance. Even though he is innocent he is still convicted, killed, and forgotten because racism and prejudice run to deep.
people will see him as the " trash " at the bottom of the pile. It is
Prejudice in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird is a very common problem in the society Maycomb; prejudice does not only harm an individual but also a society. Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch and Boo Radley are all victims of prejudice, and all three characters are affected by this. The prejudice exhibited towards them traps them, kills them or makes them stronger.
Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird is set in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. Racism is ever present toward blacks and the trial of Tom Robinson, an African American, clearly displays this. Tom Robinson was accused of raping a white woman. The huge detail in this is that it was a white woman. Racial issues are really brought about because of that detail. People during this time would easily take a white man’s word over that of a black man, so nobody would ever trust Tom Robinson, especially since he was a black man being accused of a crime against a white woman. Tom Robinson really can’t do anything to help his case. The only person that can help him is Atticus. While Atticus does not believe that he will win the case, he knows that it is right to do everything he can to help Tom. He knows right from wrong and he will do everything in his power to help people see that, and to help Tom survive this case. Tom Robinson could also be described as a Mockingbird in this story. If proven innocent, he would be
The innocence of Boo Radley, along with the misunderstanding from the kids, alludes to Tom Robinson’s innocence. Although, the “kids”, with reference to the townspeople and jury members, misunderstand the truth about Tom Robinson and persecute him anyway: “‘Son,’ he said to Jem, ‘I’m going to tell you something and tell you this one time: stop tormenting that man’” (65). In this scene, Jem, Dill, and Scout act out what they know about Boo Radley’s life, and Atticus catches and scolds them.Though what makes this scene important is that the only things they really know about Boo’s life have been rumors, rather than proven stories.This is the same for the jury deliberating over Tom Robinson’s case. They have only heard information through Mr. Ewell, an unreliable source.Ass Tom Robinson tries explaining his side, the court does not believe him because he is black. Their years of segregation between the white and black community result
“Human beings are poor examiners, subject to superstition, bias, prejudice, and a profound tendency to see what they want to see rather than what is really there” ~ Scott Peck. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird abounds with the injustice produced by social, gender, and racial prejudice. The setting of the book takes place in the 1930s, where racism is a big deal in society. In the novel Harper Lee uses a mockingbird as an analogy to the characters. The Mockingbird is a symbol for Three Characters in the book, Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley. The people of Maycomb only know Boo Radley and Tom Robinson by what others say about them. These Characters are then characterized by other people 's viewpoints. In the novel there are many themes that are adjacent to our lives, the one that is found in To Kill A Mockingbird is Human Conflict comes from the inability for one to understand another. “ You never understand a person until you consider things from his point of view- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (39)
There are many racism problems in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus is a lawyer in the racist state of Alabama and he is trying to defend a man by the name of Tom Robinson after he got accused for raping a white woman. Atticus knows that nobody is going to believe Tom’s side of the story because he is black in the racist state of Alabama. Through Atticus’s morals the reader learns that he feels obligated to help this
Lee develops the theme of prejudice throughout To Kill a Mockingbird. Some forms of prejudice are not recognized by the young narrator, but the people of Maycomb are the source of racist and classist prejudice. The most obvious form of prejudice is racism. This close-minded view of certain ethnic groups is displayed when the jury declares Tom Robinson guilty when clear evidence had been presented proving his innocence. The stark outcome of injustice shows the readers that
Maycomb's unjust beliefs on race determined the outcome of Tom Robinson's trail. Atticus´s defence was more than enough to set Tom free, but Maycomb's ignorance and narrow-minded view on African Americans set an innocent man to jail. Atticus told Jem "If you had been on that jury, son, and eleven other boys like you, Tom would be a free man" (Lee 295). The jury members had been affected by the ignorance of society. They convicted Tom because when they grow up they learned racists beliefs and they do not know any other way. In Maycomb, racism is a normal part of everyday life. When kids at Scouts school call Atticus a n***** lover. Atticus explains to Scout what it means, "Scout," said Atticus, "n*****-lover is just one of those terms that don't mean anything—like snot-nose. It's hard to explain—ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody's favoring Negroes over and above themselves.¨ (144). The racists views and attitudes determined the guilty verdict of Tom. In Atticus closing argument, he says "She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man¨(272). Society has a set of rules which are not written but known, these rules tend to be ignorant and impartial. When it comes to race and the misguided beliefs about race, there is a profusion of ignorance. The expectations on race set by society affect the actions and events of life.
Imagine a place where the verdict of a rape trial stems from racial prejudice rather than the proper evaluation of proven evidence. This is Maycomb, Alabama, the strange, Southern town where Scout and Jem Finch grow up during the 1930s in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. In short, the novel travels a thin line between a light-hearted narrative of the siblings’ childhood with their single father, a defense attorney named Atticus Finch, and the injustices that arise within their close-knit community. The complexities include extreme racism, a peculiar social hierarchy, and general misunderstandings of certain people within the small town. These are all seen as “Maycomb ways”, almost as if they are considered facts. Through her writing, Lee conveys an important message that an essential part of a child’s education often takes place in a home or community rather than a classroom by utilizing the characters, Atticus Finch and Tom Robinson, a black man accused of rape whom Atticus is defending.
The fear of stepping out of your home because people will make fun of you or talk about you can be overwhelming. In Harper Lee’s coming of age novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, a young girl named Scout is introduced to two characters who allow her to visualize a different perspective in racism and reality. Much like Boo Radley, Tom Robinson is looked at in a different perspective for a crime he may or may not have done. Boo Radley is viewed in the
police force and its citizens all experience fear by how people treat each other unfairly, create rumors, and form racist opinions. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee is presenting how fear can prohibit people from treating each other fairly by showing how Maycomb treats Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. Fear prevents Tom Robinson from being treated correctly and judged with fairness by the people of Maycomb County. The whole town of Maycomb was in the courtroom while Tom Robinson was being cross examined Mr. Gilmer.
One of many themes that is evidently present throughout the book is prejudice. The main action is of Atticus defending the innocent ‘Tom Robinson’ who is falsely accused of the rape of a white girl. Tom is discriminated because of the colour of his skin and 99% of the population of Maycomb see nothing wrong with thinking in this way. All except the Finches really. Being