Mitzi provides a wonderful guide essay for 10th graders

This is the first essay turned in, so I am sharing it to get the discussion rolling. Please respond! --ct

Across literature and history, heroes have evolved who risk all in pursuit of "justice for all." People like Martin Luther King, Jr. battling for civil rights for the African-American, Antigone defying King Creon in spite of her gender for her religious values, and Harvey Milk standing against deeply ingrained conservative values to pave the way for gay rights--all have been the Davids bringing down Goliaths in order to keep society advancing into the light of a free society rather than regressing to the dark ages of slavery and servitude. One of the greatest "Davids" in literature battling numerous injustices in society is Harper Lee's Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. He stands against the racial prejudice of a small southern town and instills in his children the ability to stand strong against formidable odds for what is right, no matter what a person's ethnic, socio-economic, or mental background.

The most obvious barrier that Finch must chip away is the racial prejudice that has been ingrained in Macomb, Alabama since the town's existence. When he decides to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman in the deep South during the Great Depression, the entire town, including Finch's friends and family, encourage him to "let this cup pass," and let someone else take the case. Lee uses the allusion to Christ's sacrifice to reveal the risks that he will have to take to do what is right -- risks like having his friends and his own family turn against him and his children, and attempts made on his children's lives. His commitment to doing what is right is especially highlighted by the fact that he must fight his battle alone. There is no one in the town who has the strength to support him openly. Lee uses the motif of Atticus Finch being in the "light" and those who may agree with him, but will not speak out to support him always hiding "in the shadows" to amplify his heroism, or, more importantly, the heroism of anyone who openly stands for what is right even though it is not popular .

To what extent, though, is Fich successful in bringing down the barriers of social injustice that exist in the town of Macomb? Like in the real world, walls are slow to crumble; however, there is substantial evidence that Macomb is progressing by the end of the novel. The people of the town who support Atticus Finch in the shadows early in the novel begin to come out of the shadows. For example, Mr. Underwood, the editor of the newspaper, openly writes an article about the injustice of the death of Tom Robinson; Miss Maudie unabashedly puts Mrs. Merriweather in her place for her hypocritical comments about the African Americans in Macomb being upset about the outcome of the trial; Link Deas gives Mrs. Robinson a job and openly protects her from Mr. Ewell who accosts her on her way home. Although a complete transformation does not happen by the end of the novel, Finch's sacrifice is the catalyst that enables others to have the courage to step out of the darkness and into the light of justice. The battle against racial prejudice, however, is not the only social injustice that Atticus Finch fights against.

The not-so-obvious, but equally important barriers that he must obliterate are the barriers of social injustice that are beginning to encroach on his own children's minds in the beginning of the novel. Through his lessons to his children, especially Scout, he instills the moral values of "walking around in another person's skin" and looking through his eyes before judging another person based on his socio-economic standing or the gossip the town has spread about a person. Scout begins the novel as potentially susceptible to catching the "usual disease" of Macomb when she has clearly developed prejudicial ideas from "hearsay" about the less fortunate of the town -- ideas about the poor but prideful Cunninghams, ideas about the filthy and lawbreaking Ewells, ideas about the drunken and slovenly Dolphus Raymond and ideas about the monstrous and evil phantom Boo Radley. Through steadfast and patient guidance, Finch steers Scout into developing an understanding of each character that she has pre-judged to a true understanding of the circumstances with which each person is living -- that one can respect the Cunninghams for working hard to pay back anything they borrow, that one can find pity for Mayella Ewell who must be the loneliest person Scout ever met, that one can understand Dolphus's choice to be viewed as a drunk rather than endure the town's wrath for merely enjoying being with people of another race, and that one can protect the innocent of the world like Boo Radley who do nothing to warrant the abuse inflicted by others. In the end of the novel, it is not just an appreciation that Scout has of her father's heroism in standing up for Tom Robinson when no one else would, but a deep admiration and respect for teaching her that people must develop empathy and understanding for one another if there is to be true justice in the world. What better way to change the world than through the living legacy of children.

In looking at beyond the character of Atticus Finch to understand the motivation for creating such a character, it is essential to understand the times in which Harper Lee lived and wrote. Obviously, in writing To Kill a Mockingbird , Lee was “slaying” a few “giants” of her own. Though not intended to be autobiographical in nature, Lee, in growing up in the Old South during the Great Depression, was well aware of the social injustices in her world. She witnessed the trial of the Scottsboro Boys, the plight of the poor, and the pettiness of “small town” southern politics. Lee’s condemnation of the social injustices that existed in her world was not considered “politically correct” for the 1950’s; therefore, by writing the novel, Lee herself stepped into the shoes of her protagonist and wrote an enduring testament against social injustice – a novel that ushered in the civil rights movement of the 1960’s and helped to cause positive change. Like the people of Macomb who are freed to speak their conscience and Scout who learns and appreciates the lessons that Atticus instills in her, readers of To Kill a Mockingbird are empowered to live their lives in a “search for justice” by speaking out against the inequalities that will always exist in the world and pass on the legacy of empathy to future generations.