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“To Kill a Mockingbird”, written by American novelist Harper Lee, is known as her best work, winning the 1961 Pulitzer and being one of the books to earn her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007. An in-depth view into the serious issues of rape, racial, and social inequality — this piece seeks to educate readers about the real world struggles the minority is made to face on a daily basis. It also seeks to fan the flame of good in our hearts and help tilt the balance to the favor of good, since it is believed to be the best solution to mankind’s woes.
Key points
1
There is a constant tussle between good and bad both within and without any individual and it’s imperative that we remember good will always prevail
This theme is strongly evident in the overall message and the struggles of the main characters and their struggle with the forces of good and evil. This theme is the core of human morality and the constant tug of war between both sides of the coin. The main character, Atticus, a lawyer, is faced squarely with human’s propensity for evil when he represents an innocent man in a rape charge.
Humanity struggles with good and evil daily; this struggle is the core of our existence.
To his surprise, after appealing to the good in the hearts of the jury and the court, the guilty verdict was passed anyway. Prior to this, he believed all people had the potential for good and that this potential will always prevail regardless of how much bad threatens to overcome them. He taught this ideal to his children; Scout and Jem, who grew up to also think like their father.
This was up until they were made to witness the wrong verdict passed on the innocent man charged with rape and battery of a white woman. They too expected good to prevail and the right verdict to be passed, but their faith in the capacity for good in all people was crushed.
This was up until they were made to witness the wrong verdict passed on the innocent man charged with rape and battery of a white woman. They too expected good to prevail and the right verdict to be passed, but their faith in the capacity for good in all people was crushed.
Sometimes, good will not prevail but you must not lose hope yet.
Their town was smack in the middle of the depression era and was in the famed racist South region of the United States. This influenced the verdict greatly as the defendant, Tom Robinson, was a black man. This realization that so many people preferred to kill an innocent man because of the color of his skin shook them to their cores. This event almost shifted their minds to entertain evil but their struggle ends when they are faced with the great evil in the form of Bob Ewell, who tries to kill them and they are saved by an ultimate good in the form of Boo Radley.
The ideals they were raised on hold that good and evil are in a constant struggle but good will always prevail eventually and that they should always hold out hope that it will. In today’s world, we are also faced with this struggle and it seems like bad has the upper hand, but like in the book, if you are patient, good will prevail.
The ideals they were raised on hold that good and evil are in a constant struggle but good will always prevail eventually and that they should always hold out hope that it will. In today’s world, we are also faced with this struggle and it seems like bad has the upper hand, but like in the book, if you are patient, good will prevail.
2
To nip the tendency to be bereft of morals in any individual, make sure they’re properly educated
The struggle for good and evil is often helped along by certain factors and chief among them is education. What an individual is taught to believe is true will go a long way to affect how they think and behave in their lives moving forward. It informs their perspective of the world and guides their mind to affect their behaviors. A good education is a gift and a literal enlightenment, but a bad one is a deadly weapon of ignorance.
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3
Social inequality continues to be a great problem amidst people, oftentimes earning them the wrong treatment by virtue of their social class
4
Good in our own hearts should be preserved and nurtured at all cost
5
We must endeavor to see life from the other person’s perspective in order to gain new understanding
6
Racism makes it much more difficult to live for an already socially marginalized few and must be kicked out by all
7
Bravery in the face of great injustice is the only way to effectively tackle it
8
It is imperative that one is armed with the laws that would be or are made in line with upholding basic human rights
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