Conveyed Principles in To Kill a Mockingbird
Vaishnavi Mahajan
Edited by Mai Do
Lee’s stance in To Kill a Mockingbird supports racial equality and that all people should be treated equal no matter what their skin color. Many examples are shown through Atticus’ character. Atticus installs the values in his children that all people should be treated equally regardless of their skin color. For the time of the Great Depression, this was very unusual, especially in the South. He supported the truth, and did not fall to social pressures. One example is seen when Mrs. Dubose (during the time she was fighting against addiction) yelled, “ [It is crazy,] not only a Finch waiting on tables but one in the courthouse [defending African Americans]!” (Lee 135). Atticus has to face judgment from many people, and bear being called so many names. In another example, his own blood related members go against him. Francis, Scout's cousin, says that, “'If Uncle Atticus lets [Scout] run around with stray dogs, that [is] his own business ... so it [is not Scout's] fault if Uncle Atticus is [an American American sympathizer] besides, but ... it certainly does mortify the rest of [the] family” (Lee 110). Everyone but a mere number of family and a friends is against Atticus for defending an African American in court.
Before trying to harm another, look at the situation from their point of view. That is what Lee wants to convey to her readers. In To Kill a Mockingbird, when Mr. Ewell accuses Tom for raping Mayella, he does not think about Tom’s wife, his kids, or that he is a good man. Mr. Ewell only saw the situation from his point of view, blinded by society's prejudice - to Mr. Ewell, there was not way that Tom could not have raped Mayella, for he was an immoral African American. In reality, however, Tom's life is one of respect and care for others. The only crime Tom is guilty of is being born an African American.
Before trying to harm another, look at the situation from their point of view. That is what Lee wants to convey to her readers. In To Kill a Mockingbird, when Mr. Ewell accuses Tom for raping Mayella, he does not think about Tom’s wife, his kids, or that he is a good man. Mr. Ewell only saw the situation from his point of view, blinded by society's prejudice - to Mr. Ewell, there was not way that Tom could not have raped Mayella, for he was an immoral African American. In reality, however, Tom's life is one of respect and care for others. The only crime Tom is guilty of is being born an African American.
Sources:
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1960. Print.
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1960. Print.