Tom Robinson was accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Everyday Mayella had a chore or job for Tom to do, as Tom walked home everyday. Tom said he did these for her because he "felt sorry for her," but when he said that in court, it was unacceptable because at the time, a black man could never feel bad for a white person.
She invited him into do a chore one day and took him to her room and kissed him, but she didn't realize her father was watching. Bob Ewell saw what was going on, and he came in and started beating Mayella. Tom ran not because he was guilty, but because he knew that no one would believe that he didn't initiate what had happened. Mayella's father decided to take it to court, probably to cover up what he was actually doing to her at home, and Mayella stayed on her fathers side, out of fear of her father and out of shame for liking a black man.
In the courtroom, Atticus proves Tom is inocent because Mayella has a bruise on her right eye and and tom couldn't use his left hand because when he was younger his left arm had gotten caught in a cotton gin and ripped it apart. Atticus had Bob sign his name on a piece of paper, and saw that he signed it with his left hand, proving that it could've been Bob Ewell that caused the bruises on Mayella, and not Tom. Atticus proved Tom innocent, but because of racial discrimination in this time, he was guilty, all because he was black. The jury should've come into the courtroom in the first place with no racial bias to have given Tom a chance at all.
Saturday, November 28, 2015
OBJECTION!-Post 4 (Trials and Tribulations)
As we get near the end of TKAM, we read about Tom Robinson's trial. In the trial, Robinson was wrongly convicted of raping Mayella Ewell despite Atticus' great defense that obviously proved not only Robinson's innocence but showed significant evidence towards Bob Ewell being guilty of beating his daughter. Which sadly means that the Jim Crow era's racism strikes again. It was quite evident that the jury was racially bias and that Robinson should have walked away a free man. Let's examine why.
First off, there were some contradicting testimonies in the trial. For instance, Heck Tate said that Mayella had bruises across her body's right side, meaning that the guilty party of those bruises was left handed; to which Atticus proves Bob to be left handed by asking him to right his name and he did, with his LEFT hand. What about Tom? Well it was shown to everyone in the jury that Tom could not use his left hand due to it being crippled by a cotton gin many years back, so he did everything with his RIGHT hand. In a court hearing nowadays, that would be a point against Bob Ewell (*insert dramatic music*).
See that the evidence doesn't stack up against Tom so far!
Next we have the witnesses' stories. Tom's story is different than the other three as he said that Mayella had often asked him to do jobs for her and that on that particular one she tried to kiss him to which Bob Ewell saw so Tom booked it. Mayella on the other hand stated that this was the first time she had asked Tom to do a job for her in the house and it was then he took advantage of her. This is the main contradiction (and yes, November is NOT in the spring in Alabama people) as Heck Tate and Bob's testimonies occurred after Tom and Mayella's with the exception of Bob allegedly coming to Mayella's 'rescue' after he had heard her screams.Speaking of, it was pretty obvious the Mayella was lying in he testimony out of her fear of her father as shown by her constant hesitations and overusing the 'believe me, I'm a crying and scared woman ' and 'please pity the poor, crying, innocent little girl' cards (no offense girls, those 'cards' are just somethings that has been around because of the patriarchy's double standard and was a large part of Mayella's cross examination responses). After all of the evidence was provided, the jury after many hours concluded Tom to be guilty of all charges. Which was completely false if you looked at all the evidence. This was me when I read that Tom was convicted:
I believe (as well as majority of the readers) that Tom was innocent and should have been declared so by the jury because of the evidence greatly supporting that. Looking at Mr. Gilmer's cross examination of Tom, he asked why Tom ran away, to which Tom responded it was because he was black and the if Gilmer was black he would understand. That definitely showed oppression.Oppression also showed itself at the trial again with the jury's decision.Tom was convicted mostly not because of the evidence, but because he was black. Had Tom been a white man, he mostly likely would have been declared innocent. Thus oppression was shown via the racism of the jury. That racist decision ultimately lead to Robinson's death when he was shot seventeen times while trying to escape the jail he was sent to without hesitation.
The trial of Tom Robinson reminded me of the Duke lacrosse rape scandal that happened back in 2006. That trial also had three innocent people wrongly convicted of raping an 'exotic dancer'. However, these three men were later proven innocent in 2007 because of DNA evidence that failed to see the light in the first trial and were all white unlike Robinson. Though the similarity of a bias jury and thus miscarriage of justice still remain. That in both cases, Robinson's and the first Duke trial, despite the evidence proving the innocence of both Tom and the men they were still convicted by a bias jury (which showed oppression in both cases). Which is sad because it is written law that a jury should NEVER be bias so it can be "a fair trial by jury."
In conclusion, Tom should have walked away innocent; but because of the jury's racist mindset and thus bias he was convicted. The trial helped show oppression of blacks on numerous occasions such as Tom's answer to the prosecution's question and the final decision. A similar case became present in 2006 with the Duke lacrosse scandal. However with three white men also getting their lives ruined by a bias jury and miscarriage of justice. My question is, why must oppression exist and will the U.S and the world ever be an actual place where "all men are created equal?" Like seriously, despite the Jim Crow laws being eradicated, racism and oppression against colored people and even still women is still very present in today's society, which is extremely sad. The founding fathers of our country would certainly be disappointed in us that even after 240 years the things they and many people of ALL races and genders fought and died for still haven't been fully established like equality.
-TP
P.S
A Study from Gallup in 2013 shows that a lot of other people agree with my last statement
So a black man by the name of Tom Robinson was accused of raping a teenager by the name of Mayella Ewell and was found guilty, even though there was clear evidence that he never raped her and that it was her father, Mr.Ewell, who had beaten her and raped her after Tom Robinson what helping Mayella with work and she tried to make a move on Tom. I think that this shows how racist the south used to be, and how much they oppressed the black people even though they clearly are innocent.
This is just plain ridiculous, that if a black person was accused of a crime in the south, it was almost impossible to let them free and find them innocent of a case, that not one single person in the jury said that he was possibly innocent. This just shows how much they were oppressed and how wrong this is. What should have happened is that at least one person in the jury should have said that he was innocent, or the judge should have put his own voice into the case. This still happens today, with young black teens being shot for LOOKING like they have a gun but in reality only have a bag of skittles or aren't holding anything at all.
The trial in TKAM has many conflicting testimonies from different witnesses. In Mayella's testimony, she said that it was the first time she had ever asked him to come inside the house. She also had many slip-ups in her explanation. In Heck Tate's testimony, he says that all of her bruises were on the right side of her body. When Bob Ewell is on the witness stand, Atticus asks him to write his name. In doing this, everyone realizes that Bob is left handed. This means that he could've beat Mayella up instead of Tom, since the bruises were on her right side. But, we still weren't sure yet, because Tom could be left handed too. When Tom stands up to be on the witness stand, the audience is aghast. Tom is crippled in his left arm. This would mean that he didn't beat Mayella up. When he talks, his information is different than the other three's. He said Mayella often asked him to go inside for different jobs. He also said that Mayella tried to kiss him, but then Bob Ewell saw it through the window and Tom ran away. Tom has a whole different story. When the jury decides if Tom is guilty after all the testimonies, everyone says that he is, even though most of the evidence with hands and conflicting information points to Bob Ewell.
First of all, I do believe that Tom is not guilty. I think that Tom's story was right, and after he ran away Bob Ewell must have beat Mayella up for kissing Tom. When Tom said that he had run away, Mr. Gilmer (the prosecutor) asks why he ran. He said that if Tom was such a big man, why was he afraid of Mayella? Tom responded that he ran because he was black, and he said if you were black, you would understand. This definitely proves oppression to me. He was so afraid of what might happen that he had to run away. Next, the jury all voted that Tom was guilty when Jem was sure that the evidence proved him not guilty. They only did this because Tom was black. Anyone could see that he wasn't guilty, yet the jury said he was just because he was black. I would have no doubt that if the roles were switched, a white man would be found not guilty. This angers me, because this leads to Tom getting in jail for something he didn't do. When Tom tries to escape, the guards don't hesitate to shoot him. They shot him seventeen times. They didn't just mean to stop him from running away with one shot, they meant to kill him. That is completely unnecessary, and I am so sad for Tom's wife- Helen. She had to raise so many kids on her own. And when Link Deas employed her, she would walk a mile to go out of the way of the Ewell household. When Link Deas told him to stop harassing her, she walked on the public road past the Ewell house and found Bob following her. Link Deas finally put it to an end when he threatened Bob. This makes me so mad. The trial is over, you've basically killed this woman's husband with your lying on the witness stand, can you stop bothering her? Bob just has so much prejudice inside of him, and is disrespectful and oppressive to the black people and Atticus.
Society killed Tom. I believe that the way the society was oppressive to black people was the reason that Tom was found guilty, and later killed when he tried to escape from jail. If a white person was in jail, do you think they would shoot?
Heck Tate:
Bob called me because "some [n-word]'d raped his girl," (223) and when I got there, I found her beaten up on the floor. She said Tom raped her.
Bob Ewell:
I was coming home from the woods with kindling when I heard Mayella screaming. So, I dropped my kindling and ran to the house. When I got there, I saw "that black [n-word] yonder ruttin' on my Mayella!" (231). I went in and Tom fled form the scene. Also, at the trial, I wrote my name and it turns out that I'm left handed.
Mayella Ewell:
I was on the porch while my dad was in the woods getting kindling. He asked me to chop up a chiffarobe, but I didn't feel strong enough so I offered Tom a nickel to do it for me. When I went into the house to get a nickel, I turned around and he (as in Tom Robinson) attacked me. "I fought'n'hollered, but he had me round the neck. He hit me agin an' agin--" (241). Then I fainted and woke up with my dad standing over me. My wounds were located on the right side of my body.
Tom Robinson:
I walk past the Ewell home every day on my way home from work, and sometimes Mayella asks me to do quick chores for her. I did them for free, but I never went onto their property without an invitation. On this evening, Mayella was on the porch and asked me to help her with something. When I asked where the kids were, she said they were out for ice cream. She asked me to get something off of the chiffarobe and after that she hugged and tried to kiss me. I got away from her and as I left I heard Bob yell "you god-damn whore, I'll kill ya," (260). Also, I have a limp left arm, because it got caught in a cotton processing machine when I was younger.
Then the jury deliberates and finds Tom guilty of raping Mayella.
The jury should have found Tom innocent, because CLEARLY he was innocent. First of all, how would he have choked her and beat her at the same time with only one arm? Oh yeah, he can't. And even if they slid past that obvious piece of evidence, he would not have been able to inflict that much damage on Mayella's right side without the use of his left arm. Things literally do not add up. Secondly, this evidence clearly points toward Bob. Bob is left handed which means that he could inflict those wounds upon Mayella, plus he drinks and that leads to violence.
If the jury examined the evidence and testimonies, they would've found Tom to be innocent, however that would be proving that blacks can be right when whites are wrong, and their society just can't handle that. If Tom was a white man, the trial would've gone differently, and that shows oppression towards blacks in this community. The entire jury was white, so that definitely contributed to the verdict being what it was. So I just have one question for the jury:
Oppression Post Three: The Trial in To Kill a Mockingbird, A Flawed Jury and Underlying Racism led to this preposterous defeat. By Oliver Egger
As you know if you have once glanced down at to To Kill a Mockingbird is that Tom Robinson was innocent all a long. What lead to Tom's conviction was not the evidence but the racism so deeply imbedded in that southern culture. All the testimonies are completely false in this book. Mayella and Bob are lying to try to avoid the situation at hand and blame it on a black man. For example proof of there lies can be seen when on page 241 Mayella says referring to Tom Robinson, "He hit me agin an' agin" and then only a few moments later on page 247 and 248 when Atticus asks, "Do you remember him beating you about the face?" The answer to that question if this was truthful would have been a clear yes her answer (after long silence as she thought up a lie) was, "No, I don't recollect if he hit me. I mean yes I do, he hit me." Are you kidding me? Minutes after she said he "Hit me agin an' agin" she can't even remember if she did hit her. Did I forget to mention that she had bruises on the right side of her face and Tom couldn't even use his left hand to leave such blows or injuries? Its lies and the jury knows that and thats whats tragic. These people are so lost in their white privilege and desire to meet the status quo of that time that they convict an innocent black man when all the evidence points way from that fact. What should have happened would never happen but it should have been Bob Ewell being the one convicted for abusing her daughter who even admits she can tolerate Bob but not when he's drinking. The jury knows the true story but they are lost in their skin color and they burn there opportunity to actually save Tom and take steps to disband the racist culture. But of course they tragically could not be so radical and diverge so much from the oppressive norm of southern society. This oppression is seen today and back in the time this book was set. For example a tragic case in Georgia back in 1945. The case was Lena Baker who killed her employer Ernest Knight who kind kidnapped her and kept her in his house assaulting her. When he threatened her with an iron bar she found a gun and shot him, killing him. She reported the case immediately to the police where she was arrested instantaneously. She went to court and the jury sat there all white and all male and they saw and knew she acted in self defense (for all the evidence showed that) but to meet the status quo they convicted her. Her state appointed lawyer then dropped her as a client leaving no optional for an appeal. On March 5, 1945 she was executed by the electric chair (in 2005 the state of Georgia granted her an unconditional pardon admitting the case was flawed and in fact she was of course innocent. ) Lena, Tom Robinson and many more are an example of trials completely mishandled and wrong because the jury was lost in the racist oppressive flow of society and didn't dare open their mouths to the atrocities they let occur. Tom is just a character but he is a symbol for the oppression the Scottsboro boys faced and Ed Brown and Arthur Ellington and Henry Shields and of course Lena Baker all felt. The oppression was unthinkable, let us not forget these unthinkable acts of oppression, no let us reminisce and remember that age of inequality so we can make the future one blooming with the values of equality that we all strive for.
The trial in To Kill A Mockingbird had ended up with Tom Robinson announced guilty. On page 195, Atticus was talking to Jem about the trial when he says "In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins. They're ugly, but those are the facts of life." I felt as if Tom Robinson was not black, the trial would have gone differently. It is because of his race, (white) people already had an opinion on him, just because of the color of his skin. On page 273, it said "the evil assumption-- that all n lie, that all n men are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber." This evil assumption. Of course, I think Tom was not guilty and that Mayella is being actually abused by her father Bob Ewell. Though I believe the judge, jury, etc. should have given Tom a fair chance. There are many examples of today black people being oppressed, and PoC in general.
Canadian government is actually turning away from single men refugees.
http://www.her.ie/news/canadian-government-to-turn-away-single-male-refugees/266354?preview=1&utm_content=bufferab40b&utm_medium=Social+organic&utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer
There are many places not allowing refugees, because of ISIS, and I see how they may feel scared about ISIS sneaking in. Though also remember these are people who left their country from this violence. They need somewhere to go.
OK. So It's pretty fair to say that anyone who has read chapters 17 through 21 in To Kill a Mockingbird noticed many problems in the court trials. Some of those stories that don't add up have have been put into clear view with the prosecution worksheet we got in class yesterday. If we're being direct, Tom is innocent so lets keep this one short. First lets talk about the little alliance we've got going on between some of the four witnesses. Mr. Tate and Bob Ewell obviously talked before this trial. Bob has Mayella scared and hushed up the whole time. We see this on page 245 when Atticus asks Mayella if she loves her father up at the stand. She said he's "tollable, 'cept when-" yup you guys can guess what happens next. She looks at her dad and he give her the look. We've all gotten the look before, either from our parents or out friends or Mr. Hawks at school. The look that dares you to utter another word. So Mayella shuts up, that is until her father relaxes and she isn't afraid to nod in agreement to Atticus. Basically its Heck, Bob, and Mayella against Tom. Tom who is in a very unfair situation. We can't overlook the racial inequalities in this situation either. I mean, look at what we've got here. A couple of white people being tried against a black man...in the South...in the early 1930's. What was expected when there's a racist white jury? Moving on to the testimonies. (The testimonies that were sworn to be true.) It seems that Bob and Heck didn't have enough time to formulate a good story but the jury eat up their lies anyways. So Bob sees Tom having sex with Mayella and he gets mad. He gets so mad that he decides to go tell his friend about it. So he leaves his daughter who is fighting for her life and getting beat up by a crippled black man and goes to his friend Heck's place and tells him to come look. Heck goes back to the house alone and finds Mayella, who was either hollering or passed out (we've heard both) and takes her to the watering hole to clean her up. This makes sense cause its normal for your dad's friends to wash your face after unconsented sex. At this point Bob is either chasing Tom or calling a sheriff. Mayella has finger marks on her gullet and a black eye but this doesn't warrant any type of medical attention. Mayella is lying through her teeth up at the stand. Tom is telling the truth. They should've asked the seven other kids who live with Mayella if Tom had ever come over to help out before, or if this was his first time. Anyways, Ewell gets what he wanted. The obviously abusive father walks free. Before this post is over, lets talk about George Stinney. The 14 year old boy was accused of murdering two pre-teen white girls in South Carolina around 1944. The all white and southern jury had no evidence against this boy. The only reason they had to question him was because he and his sister had spoken to the girls before they were murdered and a couple police officers claimed he confessed it to them in secret. George Stinney was killed on the electric chair at age 14 making him the youngest person executed in the 20th century. Last year in December though, some new evidence popped up. He was declared innocent. Just a tad bit too late. Hmmm...
"Although Maycomb was ignored during the War Between the States, Reconstruction rule and economic ruin forced the town to grow. It grew inward." (174)
Here, Scout is telling us about how the town is laid out socially and a little bit of the back story behind why Maycomb is the way that it is. To summarize this section of the reading, the town is very small due to the fact that after they were reabsorbed into the union via the Reconstruction rule, they became even more secluded from other areas. This caused a very close society within the walls of Maycomb, but they were nervous about outsiders and change caused by the outside world (as were many small communities with the same issue).
Towns at this time were usually dominated by whites. This is very dangerous, because if you put a bunch of people who have the same strong opinions into a room, they will form stronger versions of those opinions once they get riled up and excited about things. For instance, if you put eight people from the same fandom into a room, they will get more excited about their fandom as time passes. The amount of excitement will grow exponentially when you put more people in the room.
This fandom scenario not only applies to Doctor Who, but racism as well. That is basically what has happened in Maycomb. Their thoughts have been fermenting and growing stronger, which leads to the general oppression of blacks and women (which sucks). The Reconstruction rule, while good in writing, did not always have a good impact on the way that southern whites thought of blacks. It actually lit a fire that led to them being the same amount or (in my opinion) even more racist (I only say this because there was no need for the Jim Crow laws, and whites created them just to keep blacks further down in society).
Sadly, this putting down of blacks happens throughout all of To Kill A Mocking Bird, and creates a hostile society for most of the people living there. There are a very small amount of people willing to publicly defend blacks at this time, and those people in the book and in history should be applauded along with the people who are the victims of oppression that have to go through this for their entire lives (no matter what kind of oppression they are going through, be it racism, sexism, or just general undeserved judgement).
On page 175, it says "There was indeed a caste system in Maycomb, but to my mind it worked this way: the older citizens, the present generation of people who had lived side by side for years and years,". I was thinking about this, and thought about how racism is not something you are just born believing. You are taught it. At this time, and in a good amount cases nowadays people are taught racism. Just keep that in mind.
On page 180, the start of Chapter 14, Atticus told Scout a definition of rape in which he says "rape was carnal knowledge of a female by force and without consent." This was of course about the Tom Robinson trail, in which he was accused of raping a white woman.
I had researched about the Scottsboro Boys trail. It was basically nine black men who were falsely accused of raping two white women. Deputies had actually pressured the women in accusing the men on raping them. To think if the deputies weren't even there, the women might have not even charged the men on raping them. The deputies had pressured the women in doing this, because they knew they could get away with this. Because the men's color of skin is not white but black they knew they could get away with this. PEOPLE'S COLOR OF SKIN SHOULD NOT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS. The fact that it does have a say in this, and even years after this, today we still have this issue. In the end of this, eight of the nine men were sentenced to death, while the youngest was sentenced to life imprisonment. What should have happened was that there should have been an actual trial. Where the color of your skin does not mean anything. Where there should be actual evidence of this happening. Of course that did not happen.
See more at: http://www.blackpast.org/aah/scottsboro-boys-trial-and-defense-campaign-1931-1937#sthash.CKzPAtOI.dpuf
So the evidence clearly showed that Tom Robinson was not capable of strangling or hitting Mayella on the right side of her face In Chapter 19 In the first paragraph it says; "As he raised his right hand, the useless one slipped off the Bible and hit the clerk's table." Tom was unable to use his right hand even if he could use his right hand he probably wouldn't have hit her with his right hand. I feel like Mayella lied on Tom because she didn't get what she wanted from Tom so she wanted him to get in trouble.
In my opinion I just feel like there could be no other possible person who could do this but Mayella's father Bob Ewell, and the fact that Tom Robinson Is black, they are most likely going to believe her. Atticus is doing the right thing by defending Tom because, Tom seems to be Innocent about the whole thing, and Mayella used Tom as a scapegoat to clear her fathers name probably because she is afraid of her father and does not want to get beat on by him even more for telling the truth about what happen. And plus as far as she was in this lie she probably would get into more trouble for lying about the whole thing and wasting every ones time just because she does not want to admit they she willingly tried to kiss Tom.
In 1931 nine African-American teenagers were accused of raping two women on a train. Their eventual trials in Scottsboro were composed of an all white jury. They recieved very poor representation for their cases and in the end, before any of them got a fair trial, eight were dead. Turns out, there was actually substantial medical evidence that the women were not raped, showing, along with the use of an all white jury, that the trials were unjust.
Similar to Atticus's case for Tom Robinson in To Kill A Mockingbird, the Scottsboro boys were treated unfairly because of their race. The court system at the time was very biased against African-American prosecutors and defendants.
They should've given the Scottsboro boys and Tom Robinson a fair trial because in the end if they had, they probably would've had a different outcome.
"Come on scout" he whispered. "Don't pay any attention to her , just hold your head high and be a gentleman ." but Mrs. Dubose held us: "Not only a Finch waiting on tables but one in the courthouse lawing for niggers."
This quote shows how rough that time period was for African Americans, and how a man who stands up for what is right is shut down by society. Just for doing the right thing How awful!
This quote reminds me of the Emitt Till case where the white man's biased opinions got in the way of them looking at the obvious.
""Scout, I'm tellin' you for the last time, shut your trap or go home--I declare to the Lord you're gettin' more like a girl every day!"" (69)
"After one altercation when Jem hollered, "It's time you started bein' a girl and acting right!" I burst into tears and fled to Caplurnia." (153)
This is going to be a patriarchy/oppression blog so be prepared for that (but it works because the patriarchy is a form of oppression).
In the first quote, Jem is talking to Scout to get her to stop talking when she was trying to explain what she was feeling to Jem and Dill (she didn't want to go near the Radley house). They did not listen to her and instead, Jem insisted that she stopped acting like a girl and be more "boyish" so they could have fun and irritate the neighbors.
However, in the second quote, Jem yells at Scout to get her to act more "girlish." Although the book doesn't tell us exactly what caused him to say that, it did give us enough information to infer that he began adopting the "proper" way that things should be. This mimics the events that occurred on page 108 when Aunt Alexandra basically tells Scout that she needed to be more lady-like.
All of this talk of acting more or less like a girl or a boy irritates me a lot. First of all, it contradicts itself. As Jem grows older he is exposed to more things that may make him more judgmental (in the book it says he "had acquired an alien set of values"), and honestly younger Jem seems like a cooler person than preteen Jem. Secondly, he is being oppressive. He is pushing the expectation of women in society onto his sister, and that's not okay, because she should be able to do whatever she wants. This isn't completely his fault, because his society told him to and he probably wants to fit in, but he should still be more open-minded.
This trend of patriarchy has always been around and occurs in most societies and, though people think it has stopped (which is why a bunch of people hate feminism and think it is useless), the patriarchy is still very much alive and influences pay to the different genders and their "roles" in society.
"Atticus, are we going to win it?"
"No, honey."
"Then why--"
"Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win," Atticus said. (101)
I don't really know whether or not this is a quote that "relates to your motif," but I think it does so I'm just gonna roll with it.
Basically, what's happening here is that Scout doesn't understand why her father, Atticus, is defending Tom if he cannot possibly win the case, and Atticus responds by saying that he has to. He believes that this is his one most important case in his entire life, because Tom is innocent. By defending a black man at this time he is putting his entire reputation at risk, but he really doesn't care about what other people think about him as long as his kids know that he is doing the right thing.
So now I'm going to explain why I think that this belongs in oppression. To me, this is literally what oppression does to different people in society. There are those who inflict change (I don't know if that makes sense but...) and there are those who feel like things aren't going to change because that is all that they have known and just think that life will go on as it does everyday and that one person won't make a difference.
Oppression comes from society as a whole, but if all of the people that think that one person won't make a difference do something, then it will have a great impact on what the oppressors and the oppressed view the world around them as. Atticus is one of these people, and though the large majority of whites in their society feel that oppression should continue, he decided that he needed to do something to stand up for something that he believed in.
However, like I previously said, whites in Maycomb are definitely oppressive. They treat blacks as much lower than themselves and, sadly, that's just how life was all over the place.
And this brings us to the sad stuff. We still have major oppressive tendencies towards blacks, women, the LGBTQ+ community, other races, some religions, and a bunch of other groups of people (basically everyone who isn't a born a straight white male, at least in American society). This is what causes tension between groups of people, because we make a lot of assumptions that are usually not true. (And before you try to argue with me about how I am pigeon-holing straight white males, I'm not. I'm just saying that they have the most privilege and I do believe that everybody can be oppressive to other groups of people.)
Society doesn't need to forget or get over what happened in the past, the oppressors just need to know that oppression occurs all the time and that life is going to get worse if we keep treating people who aren't exactly like us like crap.
"Although Maycomb was ignored during the War Between the States, Reconstruction rule and economic ruin forced the town to grow."
Many cities in the south didn't send troops to fight in the Civil War and were ignored by those who did. But after the war when the US government was enforcing reconstruction, when they were trying to rebuilt the south in ways that could benefit both whites and freed blacks economically, it turned out to be a mess. The "Radical Reconstruction" period militarized the south and allowed blacks and whites to work together. Many revolutionary changes were being made and there were black people being elevated into the political sphere. This lasted for about ten years. Even though the North sent troops to the south to assist with Reconstruction, there were problems. Carpetbaggers were republican supporting people who came from the north to try and ruin and take advantage of the issues in the south. Scalawags progressed the idea that yeah black people can have rights but white people are just better and should be in control of everyone's political and economic life. Then Andrew Johnson along with the Republican congress passed "black codes" minimizing the amount of labor blacks could work and inherently forcing them to work for next to nothing as the hands of their old white masters. In TKAM you see Calpurnia, not a slave but still working for a white man. To make matters worse, an economic depression hit in 1873, clouding peoples visions. White Americans didn't want to pay for reconstruction and were tired of it. Cities started seeing reconstruction as a waste that they didn't even want that was draining their money. (Maycomb was one of them.) President Ulysses Grant's horrible first term and reputation didn't help. Once the North got tired of trying to boss the South, they withdrew their troops and all the efforts of reconstruction were reversed. The south was free to their own racist devises until the Civil Rights movement or the 1960's
Carpetbaggers invade the South
Anti-reconstruction and Black right to vote cartoons. Black men are often portrayed as dumb
Oppression post 2- The Scottsboro trials a clear reflection on To Kill a Mockingbird
SPOILER ALERT! This quote talks about the end of the book so if you haven'r read there or don't want to know what happens scroll past this and come back to it around chapter 25 "How could this be so, I wondered, as I read Mr. Underwood's editorial. Senseless killing—Tom had been given due process of law to the day of his death; he had been tried openly and convicted by twelve good men and true; my father had fought for him all the way. Then Mr. Underwood's meaning became clear: 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 was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed." -Jean Louise FinchThat quote is one of the most powerful quotes in To Kill a Mockingbird. This shows how the racism had pre-dictated the trial and pre-dictated the fate of Tom Robinson before the trail even became. It was decided the moment Mayella Ewell said a black man raped her, the white jury couldn't be swayed no matter how innocent he was. This was so true seen out the Jim Crow laws and of course the Scottsboro trials. The Scottsboro trials led to nine black boys being charged with rape. There was no evidence and medical evidence was found that showed evidence proving its falseness. How could this happen? How could this overwhelming evidence lead to these boys charging? Well of course the souths oppression and racism lead to this pre-decided trial which is the same that happened with Tom Robinson. Right when the white women accused the black men their was no need for a trial, it was already pre-decided. In both these cases there was an all white jury and the black men were wrongly convicted. This oppression was constant and lots of times undocumented. In the Scottsboro trials we only remember it because it made its way to the Supreme court leading to laws forcing at least one African American on the jury. To Kill a Mockingbird reminds us of the unrecorded defeats of racism. To Kill a Mockingbird is a exact mirror of these trials but also show a different angle of the mirror. Its shows oppressions unrecorded and how valuable it is to remember how many cases, lynches and all white juries that occurred in the south so we can gaze back at the reflection of the past and learn to defeat the oppression of the present.
(Left) Scene with Tom and Atticus from movie adaption of To Kill a Mockingbird
(Left) Scottsboro boy Haywood Patterson with Lawyer Samuel Lebiowitz
"I felt Calpurnia's hand dig into my shoulder. 'What do you want, Lula?' she asked, in tones I had never heard her use. She spoke quietly, contemptuously. 'I wants to know why you bringin' white chillun to the nigger church.' 'They's my comp'ny,' said Calpurnia. Again I thought her voice strange: she was talking like the rest of them." -Lee, 158
The quote above shows a clear glimpse into the social aspect of the era To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in. That's to say, the Jim Crow era (1896-1965). Not to mention (as I will probably later on) that in the years TKAM portrays, 1932-1935 that the Great Depression was in effect. Though the quote above better shows the oppression in the Jim Crow era so that's what I'll role with for now.
The quote above was from Scout listening to a conversation between Calpurnia and Lula in chapter 12. While Scout innocently thought Calpurnia and Lula's speech was "strange," she was subconsciously participating in slight racism when she said that Calpurnia "was talking like the rest of them." Though because she was brought up in a time where oppression of blacks and racism were just a part of life that she most likely didn't know it was wrong besides when Atticus mentions/hints at that it was. Speaking of being a product of their time, the children making fun of Scout and Jem and the adults throwing jabs at Atticus about him being a "nigger lover," certainly fit that category. However, in today's society she should've known better and those people dissing Atticus about defending Robinson, a black guy, would/should most likely have held their tongue.
Let's take a quick rewind back to eighth grade social studies. For those who need a refresher about the Jim Crow era, it was a time of extreme oppression and segregation of black people. The legal segregation part of it comes from the Plessy v. Ferguson which put into play the 'separate but equal', or segregation and the start of legalization of the Jim Crow laws in 1896. It went downhill pretty fast after that with most everything being segregated from churches to schools to water fountains. Yes, WATER FOUNTAINS, like seriously though!
a segregated water fountain
The terms 'white supremacy' and 'white privilege' were quite popular in this era. The terms and picture above help show how oppression is a mental game as well as a physical one.Not so fun fact: Hitler thought white supremacy was so real that he thought Germany and white people in general would sweep the Berlin Olympics in 1936. Though Jessie Owens sure showed him up, winning four gold medals in track and field that year (and inspiring a certain boy to paint himself black and run around a track a bunch). In fact, there was a victory against Hitler's claim before he was even in power when Jack Johnson became the first African American heavyweight champion of the world in boxing back in 1908. But it would take until 1954 when things truly started to change with the unanimous supreme court decision to end school segregation in Brown v. The Board of Education and in 1955 with the Montgomery bus boycott starting with Claudette Colvin who refused to give up her seat on the bus 9 months before Rosa Parks and when she was only 15!
As the civil rights movement gained speed, things started to get better for African Americans as quite a few of their boycotts, sit-ins, and protests worked. One of the most famous being the Selma march led by Martin Luther King Jr in 1965. People of all ages played a part in the movement from children to old people. For instance, here's a very quick but somewhat informative video about Birmingham, Alabama that isn't too far away from where the fictional town of Maycomb would be.
The Jim Crow era would last until 1968 with President Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act of 1968 shortly after King's assassination. But going back to TKAM which takes place in the 1930's, it was socially acceptable for people to be racists. Even so much that kids like Scout unintentionally are. Thus it is so unlikely that Atticus will win Robinson's case with the jury and/or the judge's bias that he flat out admits he will lose but will continue the case for personal reasons like how he wants to treat every person equally. Which back then was a very rare thing. And it was good that he tries to pass this on to his kids. Another brownie point towards dad of the year to you Atticus.
Though the Jim Crow era wasn't the only thing going on during the '30's. There was also this thing called the Great Depression (pretty sad name for a pretty sad time, genius). Now, for a quote that has Scout explaining to her teacher about the Cunninghams' situation.
"He didn't forget his lunch, he didn't have any. He had none today nor would he have any tomorrow or the next day. He had probably never seen three quarters together at the same time in his life. I tried again:'Walter's one of the Cunninghams, Miss Caroline.'
'I beg your pardon, Jean Louise?'
'That's okay, ma'am, you'll get to know all the county folks after a while. The Cunninghams never took anything they can't pay back...They never took anything off anybody, they get along on what they have. They don't have much, but they get along with it.'" -Lee, 26
The Cunninghams are one of the many people who were hit hard by the depression. It was a time of constant struggle for most all but the really rich but it was especially bad for the farmers. Everyone in Maycomb was 'poor', even the Finches according to Atticus, but it was mostly because the farmers couldn't grow hardly anything and thus the economy went downhill nationwide at the time. Many people irl though struggled more than the people of Maycomb like in the cities with the many Hoovervilles built because people couldn't afford anything else. The stock market crash in 1929 also left tons of people in huge financial debt or ruin. Also, many people stood in line for hours or even a couple days for food rations that would be just barely enough to live though many people went hungry.
A Hooverville of Seattle
Many people stood in line for food rations, and the sign just made things feel worse
So in conclusion, Scout and the kids of Maycomb's somewhat innocent racism was a part of life to them as they had grown up in the Jim Crow era, a time of extreme oppression of blacks. Also during the same time that made matters worse for the people was the great depression. Which, as seen by the Cunninghams, left many a people in a very bad situation. Thus you should watch what you say and never take things for granted as it could be a whole lot worse for you (remember the golden rule guys). And please, mind your tongue, and treat people equally for the love of God, like come on, we as a people should be so much better than racism and extreme oppression like in the Jim Crow era, seriously.
To Kill A Mockingbird is a perfect example of a book based on somewhat in the early 90's. It points out oppression to multiple groups of people, examples being women, and black people. To think this was written years ago, and we still to this day face issues concerning these groups disappoints me.
On page 105, Uncle Jack was telling Scout "You want to grow up to be a lady, don't you?" The context of this was that Uncle Jack was unhappy with Scout, because she was cursing. He explained to her that it was unladylike. Interpreting this, Uncle Jack was saying though it was unladylike to curse, men they can say whatever they want. Cursing or not. As a female, if I want to curse, then I will. My sex has no affect on if I'm "allowed" to curse or not.
Though that is not all Uncle Jack has told Scout, on page 115 "You'll have a very unladylike scar on your wedding-ring finger." This now has become double standards. A women having a scar?!?!?! What happened to her??? Did she cry???? That poor delicate thing.
On the other hand, it it were to be a man getting a scar, it would be treated differently. They would have been seen as tough and strong to deal with something that hard to have led to them having a scar.
"Your father is no better than the n****r's that he works for!"
This was said by Mrs. Dubose while Scout and Jem were walking by her house, And I thought that this represented the history of oppression since this shows that people use to think that it was a disgrace to work and defend for black people, and back in the day this was the case, that people would sometimes be attacked or even killed for defending a black person in a case.
This is also related to history because back in small towns in southern states like Alabama, where they use to rely a lot on slaves, racial oppression was a big problem after the civil war up to the 1960's. Also, one of the many reasons why the civil rights movement occurred, was because of lawful inequality towards black people. during the time, a white man could murder a black man and get a way with it, but if a black person ever stole from a white person, they could possibly be killed for it.
Some of these issues have happened in the pass and are still happening today, like police brutality, or countries being prejudice towards certain races or religion, such as India.
"Your father's no better than the n-s and trash he works for!" (page 135)
This was said by Mrs. Dubose in Chapter 11. She was a very sick, old woman, but what she said was still her beliefs. TKAM is set in a Southern town called Maycomb in Alabama in the 1930's. At this time period, people were still very racist and racism was still prevalent even when slavery had ended. Black people were being oppressed with the Jim Crow laws, which prevented them from voting. They were also being oppressed with the "separate but equal" laws. These laws made segregation legal. White people and black people had to use different water fountains, bathrooms, and even sometimes restaurants. This angers me because these things weren't even equal. https://www.google.com/search?q=black+and+white+water+fountains&safe=strict&espv=2&biw=1309&bih=707&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjJ_f_9m6DJAhUG6iYKHR25B-gQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=A2rAFtge4V_7PM%3A
Pictures like in the link above prove that white people had privilege, and it really wasn't equal - just separate. I think this quote and complete situation is wrong because she is saying that it is bad that Atticus is standing up for a black person in court. She is calling black people "trash", and using an offensive word to describe them. I wish that people like Mrs. Dubose would be proud of Atticus for going against the racist norm and standing up for his what he thought was right, but it would never happen because the society was so racist back then.
This reminds me of the event in Paris with ISIS (and yes I know everyone is referring to this) because Mrs. Dubose had never even met Tom Robinson and had already called him trash just because of his skin color. With the Paris event, some people assume that everyone that is Muslim or wears a hijab or even was of Arab descent is a terrorist. First of all, some people that "look like Muslims" just because they are of Arab descent aren't even Muslims. Second, ISIS is a small extremist group. Almost all Muslims are peaceful and stick to their religion in a kind and peaceful way. I hate when people automatically assume something about someone just because of their physical appearance or religion. When you walk down the street and see someone in a hijab, you shouldn't label them as a terrorist. They had nothing to do with the attacks, and it must be very hard for them to even walk out of their house without people looking at them and profiling them. Mrs. Dubose hadn't even met Tom and called him trash, just as people see someone who is Muslim and call them a terrorist. Think about if you got looked in public when you were just minding your own business. Be aware of your privilege, and don't oppress others if you don't even know anything about them.
In the passage scout's father is defending a man named Tom Robinson who is accused of raping a woman,
of course it is a very hard time for African-Americans during this time, then to be accused of raping a white woman its less likely for this just to die out, Tom Robinson was found guilty, I personally think because of his race. Maybe the woman could have been lying about it the whole time, just to try to save herself from whatever. During this time black people had a very hard time so when they were accused of a crime they got harsher punishments than the whites would and when they are on trial almost all of the entire jury is white and most likely they are going to be found guilty.
I guess maybe for a long time during these events white people thought they were the dominate race and they started thinking they were better than everyone else, and that's why blacks were treated so badly during this time because white people never had any respect for black people and they felt like they didn't deserve any respect. That's why now its kind of better because most people have gotten over the whole race ism thing.....now I'm not saying all people are not raciest
My quote is "Got in a fight with another man, he tried to cut me." I expect the fight to be like this
I think this shows how someone tried to beat or oppress Tom. I cant relate to this quote because I have never been attacked before. But I feel like beating people sometimes. I can see how back then Tom couldve been accused for something false and get attacked. Which is exactly what happens in the story. Also, he couldve been attacked by racist people and he couldve been fighting for his rights but they probably didnt agree with him just like Rosa Parks but I dont think she got beaten for it. Another good example for that was how Martin Luther King Jr and how he got beaten and put in jail for fighting for his "Separate but Equal" rights. Tom couldve been treated badly going on a bus or going to drink water and he got so mad he wanted to fight. During this time period, this type of things used to always happen maybe on a daily basis.
Chapter 11 page 141,
"So you brought that dirty little sister of yours, did you?" was her greeting. Jem said quietly, "My sister ain't dirty and I ain't scared of you," although I noticed his knees shaking.
Jem says this and is showing arrogance but no fear. I admire Jem doing this because Mrs. Dubose says plenty of ignorant things and gets away with it. It was about time someone stood up to it.
In history raciest white people would say even more ignorant things about black people and get away with it because of the law. Black people would be criticized for the smallest things and get penalized for it. For example the Emmett Till incident in 1955. All he did was whistle at a white woman and he got jumped and killed.
In the time period TKAM was written and the time period TKAM was based off of has a lot of similarities with black peoples rights and lifestyle. TKAM shows what struggle African AMericans went through.
Oppression is shown in "To Kill a Mockingbird" because in chapter 2 page 28, Miss Caroline says:
"Jean Louise I've had enough of you this morning. You're starting off on the wrong foot in every way, my dear. Hold out your hand."
Miss Caroline then beats Scout with a ruler on her hand for simply telling Miss Caroline that Walter did not have enough money for lunch. Miss Caroline was wrong for this and only beat Scout because she had the authority and because she did not like her.
Later that chapter, Miss Caroline is put in her place by another teacher because Miss Caroline's teaching method was not good. Miss Caroline deserves this and needed this lesson because if she had not gotten it, she probably would not have stop being the horrible teacher that she is.
After class Scout sees Miss Caroline with her head down in shame because she was critisized. Scout shows sassieness by saying "She was a pretty little thing." When I read this I could not hel but to laugh out loud.
Oppression: To Kill a Mocking Bird is a reflection of America Today By Oliver Egger
"The jury sat to the left, under long windows. Sunburned, lanky, they all seemed to be farmers, but this was natural: townfolk rarely sat on juries, the were either struck or excused. "
To Kill a Mocking bird was published in 1960, that is fifty five years ago but still we indulge with its sentences and contemplate each word. Why is that? Why do we become lost in the pages of this book, totally emursed in a life very distant and different from what we know. Now let me answer the question, because thats what my job is. The answer is simple, this book even though it takes place in a time almost ancient to us and shows a life almost primitive to us it still shows a timeless mirror of corruption, racism and oppression in the American government and economy. Ok, now don't panic were going take this one step at a time, through this transtion from 1960 to 2015 you will be shocked by how many and how few things have changed during this time. This quote comes right before the beginning of the trail of Tom Robinson. Here was an all white jury, all farmers and relatively uneducated to anything but the life they knew. There were no townsfolk in the jury just the farmers who in the end are the reason why Tom become acquitted in the first place. This is true oppression, a man helpless to his fate, no matter what Atticus can do. Now how can this reflect America? We have an African American president, doesn't that mean anything?
In 2012 in the presidential elections a mere 58 percent of eligible voter population actually make a drop in the pond. That one of the lowest turn outs for a presidential election since 1942. 1942 people, thats a long time ago and the reason for that low turn out was because we were imbedded in the largest war of modern history and it was the 3rd election of debatably the greatest president in American history, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Now we understand there is something really wrong with the peoples involvement in our government. This all tied back by what I would call an Oligarchy. For example in To Kill a Mocking bird where the choices are made by all white farmer juries and not one hundred percent in the interest of the everyday man or woman. This is seen through Trump and Carson, people shaking their heads in agreement even if they don't believe what they say they believe. This is just because they do not want to step up the challenge of becoming involved in a government based around peoples involvement. Donald Trump has a net worth of over
four and a half billion dollars.While the average American net worth was 600,000 in 2009. If I did my math correctly Donald Trump has exactly 7500 times more money than the average American. Now don't you think its a little messed up now that poor and middle class people think they accurately represent them. If we want to overcome this corporal oppression, with the wealthy on top. There are steps to overcome this systematic oppression against the 99 percent, first of all you need to vote. 58 percent of people voted in 2012 and 100 percent of Americans complain about there leaders and that my friend is absurd. You elect officials so they represent you, not the Republican Wall Street machine or their wealthy buddies on Cape Cod. The other step is to talk to people and start a movement towards political freedom and democracy. You need to become involved and actually make an influence on what our leaders decide. Or of course we just float around aimlessly forgetting ignoring the pounding headache that says you should have become involved. Of course you could always just strap the headphones to your ears and blare out the sounds of bullets in Syria. You are oppressing your own freedom but not doing anything. When 2016 rolls around look stop complaining about unmaintained roads, taxes and paperless schools because in the end you can dictate those changes by voting for the person who actually represents the American people. Thats the power of freedom, don't let it become oppression. Don't complain about the Syrian refugees because if we had voted for the choice best for are country maybe ISIS wouldn't be spreading terror on innocent members of the human race. We have advanced, we have a black president, we have no more soldiers in Iraq, Gay marriage is legalized in America,we taken steps toward health care for everyone and there is much more to be proud of. But we still have a long way to come, we must not fall into the past world of deeper oppression. We must overcome these challenges like we do as Americans and find a way to be more than just another citizen and become a leader.
Oppression Post #1
" "First of all," he said, "if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-" "Sir?" "--until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." Atticus said I had learned many things today, and Miss Caroline had learned several things herself." (pg. 39)
This bit of knowledge was shared by Atticus to Scout after she had spilled her day's misfortunes with Atticus. He enlightened her with this, actually, really nice quote that shows Atticus's compassion. As a lawyer, he has learned how to respect most people, if not everyone, and see thing from their point of view. It is very easy to oppress someone by not seeing things from their shoes, which happens all the time. It's hard to learn to listen to everyone especially if your own views go against what they have to say.
Even today, jumping to conclusions is an issue. In public schools for example, the main reason kids have trouble fitting in is that their peers judge them too quickly. If people took time to know someone before they made an opinion, things would kinda go a lot smoother. Not taking the time to see things from others points of view can lead to bullying in schools, so taking the time to explain to kids why having a wide perspective is important can help both you and them down the line.
I'm glad that Atticus taught Scout this bit of information early on in her life, because it will probably stick with her longer. I really agree with Atticus throughout this book so far and the life tips he always has for Scout and Jem always have a way of working themselves into the plot later.
Back to the main topic, I've personally experienced both sides of this lesson; I've had my ideas be overlooked, and I've jumped the gun on people, making opinions before I really get to know them.. Atticus, you're a good man. Keep teaching your kids this way, and they'll have a long life ahead of them.
"You aint got no buisness bringin white chillun here-they got their church, we got ours,aint it, Miss Cal?"
This quote was said by one of the churches for black people and I thought that this shows oppression both ways.This shows that they are both oppressing each other, because the white people didn't allow black people int their own church, so black people have a separate church for themselves, and its probably not as nice as theirs.Also, the ones being oppressed didn't like it when white people used their things since they found it unfair that they weren't allowed to go to the white peoples church but were allowed to go to their church.
What I think is wrong is that they weren't allowed to go to church together, even though that they believed in the same religion. But it wasn't only the church back then, it was everywhere in the south. There was separate seating at restaurants, bathrooms, schools, even the water fountains were different from the ones that white people used, and most of the times the black people's facilities were not as good as the white people's. Now what could have fixed the problem was that they could have let everyone use the facilities that white people were using, or at least make the black people's facilities nicer.
Oppression is still going on today, like police brutality which is putting the police above every one else. Now not all of these are done on purpose or for racial reasons, but there are still quite a few of these happenings that have been caused by racism.
Oppression takes many forms in Maycomb, Alabama Which is not surprising for a little southern town in the middle of nowhere. The 1930's was a prime time for oppression's of all sorts such as gender,racial and wealth stereotypes. for me the quote that best explains this would be "Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not hope to be a lady if i wore breeches; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasnt supposed to do anything that required pants. Aunt Alexandra's vision of my deportment involved playing with small stoves, tea sets, and wearing the add a pearl necklace she gave me when I was born." this quote demonstrates sexism.
"Don't you contradict me!" Mrs. Dubose bawled. "And you-" she pointed an arthritic finger at me- "what are you doing in those overalls? You should be in a dress and camisole, young lady! You'll grow up waiting on tables if somebody doesn't change your ways- a Finch waiting on tables at the O.K. Cafe- hah!"
I was terrified. The O.K. cafe was a dim organization on the north side of the square. I grabbed Jem's hand but he shook me loose. pg. 135
Jem and Scout were walking back from the store on a Saturday and Mrs. Dubose started a conversation with them, asking whether or not they were 'playing hooky'. Afterwards, Jem got so angry at her for calling their father a 'n***** lover,' that he took Scout's new baton and ran and cut the tops off if all of her camellia bushes.
Mrs. Dubose's statement that Scout should not be wearing pants, but instead "more ladylike clothing," is coherent with the time period it was said, but still not okay. She's trying to enforce the idea that a female, regardless of what she likes, should only wear clothes to eventually get her a husband and clothes that enable her to do a very restricted list of things. From the book, we know that Scout loves running and playing outdoors which would not be very easy to do in a dress like Mrs. Dubose thinks she should wear.
This also hit personally for me because I hate the idea that women have such a specific, demanding stereotype. If a girl likes to wear a suit- great. If they like to wear lots of makeup- great. If they like to have tons of piercings- great. Short hair, short shorts, long shorts, whatever they want. A person should be able to wear or look however they like as long as it's not hurting anyone else. If someone feels confident or comfortable in something I can't think of any reason that someone should tell them to do differently. The idea that women have to be fit, pretty, girly and sweet to make boys like them is ridiculous because people who don't fit that stereotype are totally excluded simply because of what they feel confident or good about themselves in. Now I'm not saying that anyone who fits some of those characteristics should feel bad, they should be embraced as themselves just as much as everyone else, but anyone who doesn't should never be put down or isolated because of their preferences in their personal appearance.
"'Scout, you'll get in trouble if you go around saying things like that. You want to grow up to be a lady, don't you?' I said not particularly. "Of course you don't.'" (page 105)
In this quote, Uncle Jack is telling Scout that she shouldn't be cursing, and referring to the activity as unladylike. Then, he asks her "You want to grow up to be a lady, don't you?" and she tells him that she doesn't and he responds with "Of course you do."
This angers me because he is setting a certain standard for women and what is ladylike. Why is it normal and accepted for men to cuss, but not for women to cuss? Also, he asked her if she wanted to "grow up to be a lady" and she says no. He then tells her "Of course you do." This implies that he wants all girls and women to follow a certain standard, and doesn't even give Scout a say in her own thoughts about her adulthood. This is just so wrong in my eyes because Scout's uncle shouldn't be telling her to act a certain way. When she gets older, she doesn't have to act ladylike and can cuss if she wants to. The only thing I thought was right about this situation is Scout telling him honestly that she didn't want to "grow up to be a lady." I like that she stuck with her own values and stood her ground, even when Uncle Jack didn't like her response. I think to make this right, men need to realize that they have a privilege and are oppressing women all the time. I think men need to understand that not all women are the same. Also, I would like to know what "ladylike" means, and why Uncle Jack thought that all women should be like that. Also, to make this right, I think that men should imagine if they were all expected to act the same way and think about how difficult that would be.
This relates to a scene also in TKAM on page 108 when Aunt Alexandra is telling Scout that she should wear dresses and act a certain way, and not do things that require pants. The scenes both involve people telling Scout how she should act and dress, when she wants to just live her life and do what she wants. Both of these scenes anger me, and I would like to tell both Uncle Jack and Aunt Alexandra to leave Scout alone and fix their own lives and opinions before they start judging other peoples'. The thing I found interesting about this scene, though, was that the oppressor was a woman herself. This happens in every day life, when some women want others to act like them for reasons I don't understand. Why shame others for wearing something different than you or acting different than you when it doesn't affect your life? I will never understand these people and what caused them to think it was okay to try and control other people's actions and preferences. Don't shame women if they like wearing dresses, don't shame women if they don't. It's quite simple.
