Essay on How Harper Lee Was Influenced by The Times

In To Kill A Mockingbird it’s very evident that the belief system of the parents has directly shaped the values and personal identity of their children. Throughout Mayella Ewell’s life her father, Bob Ewell negatively impacted her values and belief system by imposing racism and prejudice towards black people on her. Despite her attraction to Tom Robinson the father’s racist attitude makes it impossible for her to naturally express her interest. At one point during the trial against Tom Robinson, Bob Ewell states “I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin' on my Mayella!” (Ch.17) This statement clearly indicates how racist he his towards black people as he dehumanizes him by not even saying his name or “him”. He also emphasizes Tom Robinson’s race by calling him a “black nigger” and compares him to an animal in a way by utilizing the word “rutting”. Bob Ewell’s racist values led

The 1960's were a changing time for America. Soon to be gone were the conservative fifties as many post-war baby boomers became young adults. The youth of American was no longer content to continue with traditional thinking, it was a time for a revolutionary change. The changes would affect values, laws, education, lifestyles and entertainment. All of this would take place during a turbulent time for our country. The Civil Rights Movement, the Viet Nam War, Communism, war protesters, draft dodgers, political unrest and assassinations were all a part of everyday news.

Trying to get Tom Robinson killed, spitting in Atticus’ face, beating up his own daughter, and attempting to kill Jem and Scout are all terrible things that Mr. Ewell has either succeeded or tried to commit. The stereotype of the poor white southerner, along with the theme of the mockingbird, the destruction of innocence, is strongly supported by Bob Ewell and his actions against his community. First off, Bob exemplifies his stereotype when he tries to throw his own crime against Tom because he is “below him.” And he doesn’t do it so subtly either. When Bob was describing Tom in his testimony, he said, “I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella” (Lee 175). This one quote shows just how trash Bob is. The way he phrases his accusation achieves an impressive feat of multitasking as he dehumanizes Tom by not even speaking his name, emphasizes his race over everything else, compares Tom to a beast by saying he was “rutting”, shows Mayella as a passive victim, and puts his own power over her by saying “my Mayella”, as if Tom is stealing property from the Ewell’s.

The novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee has many parallels between the town in the book, maycomb, and the author’s, Harper Lee, life. First, scout is a tomboy and so was the author. Mrs. Lee, like scout wore pants in a town where all the girl were wearing skirts. Next, the town of maycomb was a small town, and so was the little town Harper Lee grew up in. Another parallel is,in the book, before Tom's trial there was a mob at the jail he was in. In Harper Leeś life there was a trail much like Toms, before the trial there was a mob at the jail the accused were held in. Next, both cases, Tom’s and the one in Mrs. Lee's life, you will see that a black male or males are being accused of rape with no evidence against them. In addition

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch states: “The evil assumption- that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women… Which, gentlemen, we know is in itself a lie as black as Tom Robinson’s skin” (pg.232). To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is the story of a lawyer’s two children growing up in Maycomb, Alabama to a world that seems more and more corrupt to them. The side plot of the Tom Robinson v. Ewell family case highlights some of the more corrupt and wicked elements of the general Maycomb views. Thus, Tom Robinson and Bob Ewell show the prejudice between whites and blacks.

Tom, a black man was accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white women, and she took it to court. Mr. Gilmer questions, “‘You're a mighty good fellow, it seems—did all this for not one penny?’ ‘Yes, suh. I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more'n the rest of 'em-‘ ‘You felt sorry for her, you felt sorry for her?’ Mr. Gilmer seemed ready to rise to the ceiling.” (Lee, 264). Tom was a good guy, so it didn’t make much sense on why Mayella tried to make him look like some monster that raped her. It was easy for Mayella to make Tom look bad, because Tom (a black man) doesn’t nearly have as good as a life as Mayella, (a white woman). Yet, Tom tells everyone that he feels bad for Mayella. In their society, Tom shouldn’t think this because in everyone else’s minds, he isn’t the same and can’t be better than her so how could he feel bad for her? However he acknowledges that he feels bad for Mayella and wanted to help her. Tom was accused of something he did not do because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Mayella got away with accusing Tom because she’s white and he’s black, symbolizing another example of a mockingbird in Maycomb. Later, Tom was shot 17 times trying to run out of jail because he knew he was supposed to be a freeman. Scout explains, “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

An author finds their character’s struggles and successes in the people from every generation. Inspirations from lifelong events create not only great works of literature, but also books that become highly notable works of art. The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is told by young girl, Scout, along with her brother, Jem, and friend, Dill. The novel tells the story of Atticus Finch, a white lawyer, and Tom Robinson, a black worker, accused of raping a white woman. Finch defends Robinson, however, the judge and jury believe the woman’s story and allowed Robinson to be killed. Harper Lee had influences in her life which affected her writing. These influences included growing up in a small town in Alabama, the people in her life, and the hardship of living during the time of the Great Depression.

Bob Ewell uses the incident between Mayella Ewell and Tom Robinson as a way to gain reputation and respect in the white community and to conceal his family’s poor living conditions and parental incompetence. Atticus explains to Scout the status of the Ewell’s family, “The Ewells had been the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations” (37). Bob Ewell acts selfishly by filing a lawsuit against Tom Robinson to cover up his daughter’s sin of kissing a black man. He is fully aware that Tom does not stand a chance against a white man. However, he is unaware of how badly his family is already perceived by the community.

Racism in To Kill a Mockingbird In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee focuses more on the aspect of racial discrimination rather than “poor white trash” discrimination (Hovet 187). It is so conspicuous that a man loses his life because of it. Racism is very prominent in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, as well as the South as a whole in the 1930s, but becomes crucial when Tom Robinson, a black man, is accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman, causing the lives of their families, the Finch family, and the citizens of Maycomb County, Alabama, to be changed forever by death and overcoming prejudices. Atticus Finch is an upstanding lawyer, father, and citizen of Maycomb who must overcome the obstacle of defending Tom Robinson

Most literature, fictional or nonfiction, has some theme. That theme can be linked to anything: real life, your social life, or just applies to you personally. The book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, is an amazing piece of literature. Telling the story of discrimination from previous ages, through the seven year old protagonist Scout Finch. Written as a memoire of Harper Lee’s own personal experience with racism, this book outlines all forms of discrimination: sexism, classism, racism, and domestic abuse.

Harper Lee is well known for writing the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird, which takes place during the time period where racism is high and the Great Depression is just developing. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee uses real-life events as inspiration to write her novel. Events like when the Jim Crow laws were still effective, the behaviors of mob mentality, and the racism in the Scottsboro Trial.

The 1950s were quite prosperous in their eyes, yet the roots of the 1960s had upheavals that developed right out the underlying social and political problems of the 1950s. There were riots, protests, and boycotts. A lot of this was a fight for equality. Specifically, civil rights protests and encouragement for women to stay as housewives paved its way to a larger and more varied civil rights and feminist movement. Women and blacks believed the time came to stop sitting around and be treated as unequal. It is important to understand that this was a drastic shift in the lives of blacks and women. They were slowing granted the rights and opportunities they did not have in the 1950s. Women went from not being able to make a decision on their own

Nelle Harper Lee, better known as Harper Lee, was born on April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama. She went on to further her education at Huntington College, University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, and Oxford University. (Harper). She was the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, that was published in 1960 about a family in Maycomb County in southern Alabama. She incorporated her mother and father into major points of the novel. She made the main family have part of her mother’s name, “Finch,” and one of the lesser families have another part of her mother’s name, “Cunningham” (NEA). Her father was a lawyer in southern Alabama, much like the father of the Finch family. Her father once defended two African American men that were accused of murdering a storekeeper and lost the case like Atticus Finch does in the novel.

Excitement, drama, and mystery is all found in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. In the novel there are many comments about life in the South during the 1930’s by the author Harper Lee. Mystery, excitement, and drama are just a few things that the reader will love in this novel. Equality, racism, and the roles of women are just a few things that are mainly focused on in this essay.

It is commonly acknowledged that Literature is the reflection of the society. It is indeed true that literature reflects the attitude and perception of the society where it is written. Literature mirrors the vices of the society with an intention to make the society realize its mistakes and make amendments. The vast literature, produced from time to time, bears evidence to the fact that man is prone to discrimination. Treating a person or particular group of people differently, especially in a worse way from the way in which you treat other people, because of their sexuality, skin, and class has, been core theme of the Harper lee’s master piece To Kill a Mocking Bird. The novel is told from Scout’s perspective; through Scout, we witness the social construction of race, class, and gender. The novel continues to be taught in classrooms due to its illustration