Examples Of Black Characters In To Kill A Mockingbird
Submitted By Veronicawww
Words: 801
Pages: 4
Black Characters that are portrayed as Survivors
During the time period in which the story takes place, black people were not considered equal to white people and were treated horribly as if they were weak and naive. Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, describes the racism and prejudice towards black people and how she makes a good diction against it. The black people in the novel are strong-willed for not succumbing to white people for they have their own volition. They are treated like they are naive or ignorant but they have their own intelligence and experiences that proves their strength. Everybody deserves the same justice that everyone else is given in a court of law, no matter if someone is better than them. Throughout the novel, the black characters are shown as strong-willed, intelligent and people who search for the same justice that everyone is afforded in a court of law.
The character that shows a good sense of choice is Tom Robinson who is expressed as having a strong will. He was determined to tell the truth throughout the trial to prove his innocence and he was unwavering when he was guilty as didn’t complain. Tom made a good choice when Mayella was trying to trap by backing away and trying not to harm her. When Atticus announces the news of Tom’s death, he says he got killed because he was trying to escape prison.
“I told him what I thought, but I couldn’t in truth say that we had more than a good chance. I guess Tom was tired of white men’s chances and preferred to take his own. Ready, Cal?” (Lee 238).
Tom tried to escape prison knowing the consequences. He would rather die running from prison than succumb in prison for something he did not do; his will cannot be caged. Tom demonstrates great will up to his death as he is a symbol of a mockingbird; killed despite being innocent.
One of the black characters who lives in the Finch’s’ household is named Calpurnia who displays great intelligence. Calpurnia gives life lessons to Jem and Scout and teaches them how to treat everyone with respect despite their differences. When Walter comes over and has dinner with the Finch household, Scout judges Walter for pouring molasses on his food. Calpurnia scolds Scout for this.
"Hush your mouth! Don't matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this house's yo' comp'ny, and don't you let me catch you remarkin' on their ways like you was so high and mighty! Yo' folks might be better'n the Cunninghams but it don't count for nothin' the way you're disgracin' 'em—if you can't act fit to eat at the table you can just set here and eat in the kitchen!" (Lee 29).
She tells Scout not to judge people who are different and to respect them for who they are. Everyone should respect everyone else even if you are better than them. When you are better than somebody, it doesn’t show how good you are for the way you shame them. Calpurnia throughout the novel displays a strong sense of morality and is an example of great intelligence on showing how
Related Documents: Examples Of Black Characters In To Kill A Mockingbird
different perspective, the bandits are not as bad as they seem, especially when compared to the man and child. Thus, it can be said that the line between good and evil within and individual is often blurred. Over the course of the novel, the man, portrayed as a nurturing and devoted father, exhibits behaviors comparable to those of the bad men. The father’s main purpose in life is the survival of his son. McCarthy states “That the boy was all that stood between him and death” (29). In essence, the…
winner of the Coretta Scott King Award. The Story When 15 year-old Amari’s family is murdered and her village burned to the ground, her happy life and dreams are brought to an abrupt and horrifying end. Shackled and humiliated, she and other survivors of her village are sold into slavery and transported from her native Africa to the colony of South Carolina. On the same day that a plantation owner buys Amari as a birthday present for his 16 year-old son, he also secures the services of a young…
pastel based painting that depicts two people walking down a vibrantly lighted pathway. It conveys the idea of personal discovery between a couple through curiosity of trials and challenges within the unknown through its use in balance, colour, characters and symbols. The artwork is organised into three distinct sections, the first is characterised by its use of vibrant, warm, comforting colours, the 2nd by its gloomy, purple hues & cold colours & the 3rd which shows us a reflection of people being…
Black Robe' Movie Critique Black Robe' is the story of a young Jesuit Priest from France who embarks on a religious journey to convert, to Christianity, the Aboriginal tribes of New France. Set primarily in Ontario during the mid 1630's, Father Lafargue travels from Quebec via the Ottawa River to the home of the Huron people in what is now referred to as the Simcoe Region of South Central Ontario. He is aided by a band of Algonquin-speaking people, numbering roughly 20 and a young Frenchman…
television sitcom, Pleasantville. It depicts a highly stereotypical image of the 1950’s lifestyle. The film explores change in vast variety of ways. As the town people discover sex, art, books, music and the notion of nonconformity, colour emits into their black and white world. In turn it is a broad liberal response to the conservative works to idealize the 50’s. the vision of the conventional America changes from a sun-drenched suburban street to a world full of emotion. 'Flames and dangling wire' is…
childhood years were spent as part of a rich black community and as part of a large family that had been in the Omaha area for many generations. Her sense of belonging and connection to the community changed when Union was about eight years old. In 1981 her father was transferred, and the family moved to Pleasanton, a predominantly white suburban neighborhood in northern California. Union's mother made sure her daughters received an education in black culture and history, but Union still longed to…
AQA DRAMA GCSE 2014 QUESTION PAPER Section A Question 1 I performed a devised piece of drama on the 30th of April. My piece was 4 different, true stories of survivors of the holocaust, which we performed as verbatim. We performed the piece in a traditional black box dome studio to so people on a raised stage. We felt that this would make the performance more intimate and therefore more poignant. The audience sat around the Thrust stage which was covered in chicken wire to remind the audience…
uprising against the Vietnam war ran rampant and attracted a new type of patriotism, standing up for your rights and against government authority. This ideology formed a new generation, a generation where conformity was looked down upon and radicalism was praised. These groups included black, white, men, women, upper class, working class, anyone that wanted the political power to change. As the 1960s progressed, so did the radicalist and activists. After feeling defeated by the war, the government, and fellow Americans. These people were dropping from…
having an affair with his wife - Daisy having to choose between Gatsby and Tom - Wilson killing Gatsby 4) Major Characters: Tom: Tom is Daisy’s husband as well as Nick’s old college friend. He often has many mistresses despite the fact that he is married to Daisy. Tom is very jealous when he discovers Daisy’s relationship with Gatsby. Gatsby: Jay Gatsby is the main character in the story. He grew up a poor boy but he soon built a very successful life for himself out in the East. He fell in…
It is, in contempt of question, her hand” in which the spelling CUT refers to an Elizabethan slang term for vagina, could only be detected by a trained and focused ear (2.5.77-79). The Fool in Twelfth Night often appears to be the most educated character in the entire play. His tricky play on words continually allows him to insult his superiors right to their faces, such as when he says to Olivia, “Wit, an't be thy will, put me into good fooling!/ Those wits, that think they have thee, do very oft/ prove…