Examples Of Religion In To Kill A Mockingbird

Words: 670

Pages: 3

Open Document

What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the word ‘religion’? Usually, thoughts of morals and following the guidelines of a powerful deity comes into mind. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the citizens of the town of Maycomb claim to be very religious people. However, they aren’t what they try to make themselves out to be. It turns out that most of their actions do not follow their sacred teachings and preaches.
An example of this is when Calpurnia, the Finches’ caretaker, brings Jem and Scout; our protagonists, to a church specifically made for colored people. While they were there, one of the members of the church, Lula, asks them “...why you bringin’ white chillun to a [colored] church…” (pg. 158). Calpurnia responds to them, saying that she has to bring them because they are part of the family she takes care of. She continues to argue with her in order to get them out, until Calpurnia says something very important. What she …show more content…
This happened a few days after Tom Robinson was officially dubbed guilty. While the police were taking him to the jail, Tom tried to run away, and before he knew it, he was shot, now unable to redeem himself as the innocent man he truly was. This implies citizens of Maycomb are so deep into their ideals that they would kill someone to keep their favor of segregation alive. Even when their Bible strictly states that the unjust murder of another is something you shouldn’t do.
As you can clearly see, most of the people of Maycomb simply use religion as a crutch to make themselves look better than they really are. They are willing to kill, humiliate, and lie their way out of situations when they know what they’re doing is wrong. Though they do it all for the sake that their precious ideals are kept. All while using their mask of religion to deceive people. As the wise philosopher Aesop once said, “Always practice what you

To Kill a Mockingbird Essay example

persecuted on another for being a different race or having a different religion. Those feelings did more to separate the country and cause division between the masses. Acts of segregation were most evident during the 1930's. During that dark period in American history segregation was evident throughout the events of the enactment of the Jim Crow Laws, the Scottsboro Trials and the events depicted in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird. Segregation and discrimination is a terrible thing. There were laws…

Words 719 - Pages 3

How Does Atticus Change In To Kill A Mockingbird

In the story To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the main character in narrator, Scout was taught and learned valuable lessons from her father. This book takes place during the 1930s in a town called Maycomb. Scout’s father Atticus is a huge, positive influence on her and her brother Jem's lives because of his happy and inspiring nature. They learned about topics such as empathy, personal integrity, courage, parenting and about racism relating it to mockingbirds. In the town of Maycomb, racism…

Words 1332 - Pages 6

Theme Of Heroism In To Kill A Mockingbird

may fit into the category of a hero. But what characteristics really make someone a “true” hero? In 1960, Harper Lee published To Kill a Mockingbird, a book which tackled racism along with several other very important issues such as growing up and the loss of innocence. Many times in her book, she gives examples of what a true hero is. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee describes a true hero as standing up against injustices even if the majority disagrees, pushing through a losing battle…

Words 1014 - Pages 5

essay rough copy

George Westgarth Ms. K. Oliver ENG2D1 10 April 2015 Role models in To Kill a Mockingbird Martin Luther King Jr. once said “I criticize America because I love her. I want her to stand as a moral example to the World.” In the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Jem and Scout encounter quite a few different role models. These mentors range from family, friends, and people throughout the neighbourhood. Since the kids (along with Dill) practically raise themselves by exploring their neighbourhood…

Words 1565 - Pages 7

Essay On To Kill A Mockingbird

Decaprio English I 11 August, 2014 “To Kill a Mockingbird” “To Kill a Mockingbird”, what can be said about this novel that has not been said already? Written by author Harper Lee, the story is told through the eyes of a young “tom boy” nicknamed Scout Finch. It is interesting to see such a deep novel told through the eyes of such a young child. The story has conflicts at every corner, for example: the altercation with Boo Radley and his father. One of the major conflicts…

Words 1058 - Pages 5

Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

a Part-Time Indian, and To Kill a Mockingbird. One book that we read that had examples of prejudice in it was The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. In the book the was the main character whose name was Junior. He lived on an indian reservation. Indians were teased and made fun of by white people constantly. “One time my dad got pulled over three times in one week for DWI, driving while indian” said Junior (Alexie, 46). That quote is one of the many examples of prejudice found in the…

Words 800 - Pages 4

Plessy Vs Ferguson Essay

case, but, blacks all across America heard what had happened, he even went to the Supreme Court. Plessy refused to be segregated from whites and ended up in jail. Even though the case was wrongfully decided, this case is very related to ¨To Kill A Mockingbird¨. The Plessy vs. Ferguson took place on May and April of 1896. Homer Plessy was traveling by train on the East Louisiana Railroad Co. and the train required African Americans to sit in a different part of the train than the whites. (People…

Words 574 - Pages 3

The Mariner Symbolism

All authors tell stories to help readers make sense of the world. Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Mariner tells a cautionary tale to a Wedding Guest about to enter a spiritual desert as the one he once knew: That moment that his face I see, I know the man that must hear me: To him my tale I teach. (I. 588-590) T.S. Eliot’s Prufrock invites a companion along on a journey, “Let us go then you and I” (I. 1) and then proceeds to tell this individual a story about his troubled life. Fitzgerald uses Nick Caraway…

Words 936 - Pages 4

Tom Robinson's Trial

Atticus Finch, in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and Henry Drummond in Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, both struggle to establish the concept of equality in the prejudiced South. Atticus’ primary struggle is to overcome the deeply ingrained Jim Crow laws that have permeated the Southern Community. Drummond strives to establish the concept of secularism and to uphold the ever present issue of having personal beliefs in…

Words 1245 - Pages 5

Stereotypes In To Kill A Mockingbird

discrimination that put people into categories that could be based on gender, race, religion, and what people know (or sometimes don’t know) about people. Getting past these barriers focuses people for what they are made out of. Not their gender nor the color of their skin, yet, for who they are as a person. To learn from mistakes, often people need to hear from others in an example of how to better themselves.In To Kill…

Words 2018 - Pages 9