Preview

Tkam - Scouts's Perception of the World

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
655 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Tkam - Scouts's Perception of the World
English Essay
Scout’s Perception in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ (movie) The Classic Motion Picture produced by Robert Mulligan ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ investigates the racial prejudice in Maycomb, a fictional town in the deep south of America. Through narration by a grown up scout, the leading protagonist we gain an insight to how the world ran in her youth. As Scout recites her exhilarating Childhood we witness her discovery of prejudice and racial profiling in her community. As these stories unfold we see her innocence fade as she becomes enlightened to the world around her.

In the beginning of the text Scout shows no racism or prejudice, she believes in equality as this is what her father Atticus has taught her. He does not tell her to do this but instead he leads by example. One of the ways he does this is by showing no prejudice to Calpurnia, the houses maid who happens to be African – American. Scout had never seen any other treatment that people received. This changed when Scout, Jem and Dill visit the courthouse they observe the harsh treatment of Tom Robinson. After she starts school other children say how Atticus is defending a Ni**er, she confronts Atticus and he responded "For a number of reasons. The main one is that if I didn't, I couldn't hold my head up in town. I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do something' again”. These courses of events cause scout to realise how other people think.

Scout discovers the most about the beliefs of her town when she attends the trial of Tom Robinson, who is a wrongfully accused farmer who is a Negro. We see Atticus put forward a defence which disproves the testimony against Tom by Mayella Ewell, the woman who accused Tom of rape and assault. Scout believes in her father and in human kindness although she did not expect the jury to vote Tom guilty. She realizes that Tom was not voted guilty because of the information given by Mayella or Atticus, it was simply because he is black.

The Story of Boo

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Innocent people are being targeted for the color of their skin and their social class just like the residents of Maycomb,Alabama during the 1930’s in Harper Lee’s book “To Kill A Mockingbird”. In this book, which is based on a white family and told through the eyes of the youngest child, “Scout Finch”, you learn about her residential city Maycomb, and its many issues with racism and social discrimination. You also learn about Scout's father , Atticus Finch, who is an attorney for a hopeless black man striving for innocence due to being falsely accused of rape. Throughout this essay, you will read about the characters of “To Kill A Mockingbird” and how they mature due to racism and social profiling. Scout changes her racist and social view of Maycomb after her dad talks to her about the various situations and why they happened.…

    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    She's still learning and hasn't had enough experience to to think about discrimination. Her main influence is her father, who is a very moral man and has done everything in his power to keep Jem and Scout pure of racism. In chapter 9, Scout listens in to Atticus’ conversation with Uncle Jack about his Tom Robinson case then explains how he hopes Jem and Scout will take advice from him rather than town due to Maycomb’s “usual disease”, prejudice, against his pure heart that will help them more in the long run. Scout never found out how Atticus caught her listening in that night but she mentions that it was not until later that she realized Atticus wanted her to hear every word. This is a great representation of flashback narration, showing how she's more informed of what had happened now that she's more grown. Flashback narration creates an authenticity that is very attractive to readers and allows the adult version of Scout to inject more mature explanations when…

    • 886 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the 1930’s in Maycomb Alabama, prejudicial, preconceived and hypocritical views reigned over empathetic and open-minded attitudes, but by Harper Lee’s use of Scout as the protagonist in the novel, a sense of hope is created. Scout represents exploration and the need for knowledge and through using her as the protagonist, harper lee can convey that through having an educated and understanding generation, there is hope for the future. Scout, being the daughter of the most progressive thinking man in Maycomb, is able to empathise with many people and through using her optimism and developing views and opinions she is able to “finally see” that most people are “real nice” if you get to know them and prove that there is a real sense of hope carried throughout To Kill a mockingbird.…

    • 875 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In a small and peaceful town in alabama, everything is peaceful for the residents at Maycomb, the people are happy and everyone is nice to each other...that is until a thirst for power changes the residents of Maycomb. ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ takes place in the great depression era, people are poor and buying food for their families is hard and stressful, everyone feels powerless and useless, the story is told by Jean Louise Finch(Scouts) memories, she talks about her brother Jem and her father Atticus and all the adventures she had with Jem and her friend Dill. The story takes a turn when Tom Robinson, a black man, is accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman, when he in fact did not rape her, she tried to seduce him but got caught and blamed Tom, and since Tom was black, people were corrupted by the ‘Evil Assumption” and he gets put in jail until trial.…

    • 783 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tom was wrongly accused of assaulting and raping Mayella Ewell and was sent to jail. Scout experienced many racial injustice throughout this trial. During the trial Scout noticed that a lot of people went instead of only the family, she also noticed that all the black people sat at the bottom and the white people sat at the bottom closer to the…

    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Shoot All The Bluejays

    • 417 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Atticus , her father , was defending a Negro named Tom Robinson and everyone that was racist would disagree with her father’s actions, but Scout who looked at her father liked he would never do anything to make the community mad at him. Scout…

    • 417 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Atticus Finch Stereotypes

    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Books filled with controversy rarely get recognition for shaping people’s lives; however, To Kill a Mockingbird overcomes this stereotype by showing the good in an otherwise not so good community. This community, known as Maycomb, exemplified traditional racial views that southerners held during the 1930’s. Most of the community, and most of Southern America, shared these same racial views, but Atticus Finch’s beliefs differ from those around him. Throughout the book, Atticus stands up for people of all races despite what those around him think. The courage shown by Atticus has greatly impacted all aspects of my life, including my faith, and demonstrates the determination that I wish to possess.…

    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Atticus Finch Empathy

    • 814 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird takes place in rural south Alabama in a town called Maycomb during the Great Depression, in a time when many Southerners both accepted and expected discrimination toward minorities. Atticus Finch, a widowed father of two, trying to raise his children well, teaches them to see things from another’s perspective. Lee incorporates the crucial quality of empathy in the feelings of the characters and expresses the empathetic theme with the influence of racism and prejudice in Maycomb society within the main characters Scout, Jem, and Atticus.…

    • 814 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To begin with, Atticus demonstrates empathy towards African Americans when he agrees to defend Tom Robinson, an African American, who is being falsely accused of raping and beating Mayella Ewell, a white woman. Atticus explains to Scout that everyone is equal despite their skin color and is the reason why he is defending Tom. Also, Atticus defends Tom because he is trying to fight for equality in his town Maycomb that is known for great discrimination. Atticus understands the fear and pain Tom Robinson and his family feel about the case, regardless if they are African American.…

    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Because of Scout’s innocence, she doesn’t understand the true definition of racism. Scout hasn’t experienced racism and is confused by it, because she is very young and hasn’t matured in knowing the true definition of racism. In the novel, Scout asks Atticus if she can go back to Calpurnia’s church on Sunday, Aunt Alexandra responds for Atticus and tells Scout she may not go. Aunt Alexandra tells her this because she thinks that the Finches’ are in a “higher” ranking than the African Americans. Scout didn’t see why Aunt Alexandra said no, as to why she didn’t want her to go back to Calpurnia’s church. Scout doesn't necessarily get the fact that it is unusual for white people to be around African Americans. In other words, Scout doesn’t apprehend racial tension.…

    • 544 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Scout and Jem’s father, Atticus, is an honest white man who is defending an innocent Negro man, although he is frowned upon by others. The white folks of Maycomb County think that they have a higher social status than the black community, and that the views of a Negro does not matter. The most blatant example of racism in the novel is when Tom Robinson was convicted of raping Mayella Ewell. Although the people of the town know that Tom Robinson was innocent, the jury still saw him as guilty because he is an African American man, and would never be able to win over a white man. This jury ruling causes both those who encouraged Robinson’s conviction and those who were convinced of his innocence to question their views of justice and fairness. This decision forces Scout and Jem to confront the fact that the beliefs that Atticus has taught them cannot always be accustomed with the reality of the world and the evils of human nature. Even their neighbor, Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose, who the children are scared of, is racist and calls Atticus a "nigger-lover" to his children. The children despise of her and “hated her. If she was on the porch when [they] passed, [they] would be raked by her wrathful gaze, subjected to ruthless interrogation regarding our behavior, and given a melancholy prediction on what [they] would amount to when [they] grew up, which was always nothing”…

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee (1960) is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel that offers a view of southern life in the 1930s through the eyes of a young girl named Scout, whose view of the adult world evolves as her family is exposed to its evils and injustices, changing from that of an innocent child to that of a near-grown up. Discrimination and prejudice are integral parts of the novel’s themes, and plays an important role in Scout’s development of a sympathetic, mature perspective. This essay will explore and analyze the various forms discrimination takes throughout the novel.…

    • 771 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To Kill a Mockingbird tells the story of life in the 1930’s from Scout Finch’s point of view. In any story there are problems and situations that nee to be dealt with. Atticus, being a defense attorney, shows Scout a first hand view of what really goes on in the little town of Maycomb, Alabama. This sparks her curiosity in her father’s newest case, which is Tom Robinson a middle aged black man with a wife and kids. He was arrested under the accusations of beating and raping Mayella Ewell a white female of the age of 19. Many don’t realize that segregation was beginning to heat up in the South during the 30’s, but that is the cause of tense controversy in Tom Robinson’s case.…

    • 435 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the entire court case, all of the evidence went against Bob Ewell and supported Tom’s innocence. The marks on Mayella’s body showed that she had been beaten by a person who was left handed, as Bob was. Also, Tom could not use his left arm because it was caught in a cotton gin when he was little, and was now substantially shorter than his right. The fact that this was not the first time Tom has been called over by Mayella to do work for her was also suspicious. For the first time in the history of Maycomb county it appeared as if the jury was going to side with a black man. Before the jury went outside to decide the verdict of the case, Atticus gave a speech to the entire courtroom in which he said, “‘You know the truth, and the truth is this: some negroes lie, some negroes are immoral, some negro men are not to be trusted around our women-black or white. But this truth applies to the human race and to no particular race of men’” (Lee 273). This proves that he truly believes in justice and in the good of everyone. He proves that Tom Robinson should not be punished just because of the color of his skin. Although everyone in that courtroom knew that Tom did not rape Mayella Ewell, he was still found guilty because they could not get past the color of his skin. “Throughout the book Scout sees adults accepting society’s rules rather than confronting them” (May 3). The people of Maycomb…

    • 1129 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Lee’s, To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout defines the image of a curious and outgoing child. Scout is young and does not yet understand the quirks and roles of societal members, which makes her the ideal candidate to use when discussing the morality of discrimination. Discrimination and social injustice are both constant themes throughout the story, such as in the Tom Robinson case. Tom Robinson, a black man, is accused of rape and found guilty even though there is suitable evidence that proves his innocence. The sheer fact that Tom Robinson is black puts him under a lot of scrutiny. Scout and Jem are in shock after witnessing the results of the hearing and do not understand why Tom Robinson was found guilty. Dolphus Raymond, a local “drunk”, tries to explain to Jem and Scout the social injustices blacks face in Chapter 20 when he witnessed Jem crying about the hearing, “[...] Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they’re people, too”. In this quote Dolphus expresses his mutual distaste of discrimination of black people with Scout and Jem. Scout’s morals are shown because she continues to agree with Dolphus’ thoughts. Scout may be young, but she is beginning to understand the atrocities of the society she lives in. Earlier in the story Scout also experiences discrimination herself from her Aunt Alexandra. Scout is not particularly “lady-like” and her Aunt does not approve of her “boyish” style so she forces…

    • 1598 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays