Justice_Will_Always_Be_an_Issue_for_Individuals_and_Society_as_a_Whole

Justice will always be an issue for individuals and society as a whole. The topic area study is justice and the individual, which according to popular belief justice is defined as the conformity to moral rightness in action or attitude. This is evident in the prescribed text, “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. Justice will always be an issue for individuals and society as a whole which is evident in the prescribed text “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. The novel is set in the 1930s the Great Wall Street Depression, which is obvious in the backward town of Maycomb, as this, “tired old town,” locked into the bigotry of it pasts, with no money, and loss of jobs. In the town of Maycomb, “men stiff collars weltered by 9 in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their 3 o’clock naps, and by night fall were like soft tea-cakes with frosting of sweat and sweet talcum.” This slimily shows that, “there was no hurry for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb country.” Justice is seen thought Jean Louise Finch’s eyes – Scout’s eyes as she, narrates the story. She believes, “Folks are just folks,” and that everyone is equal, however justice will always be an issue for individuals and society as a whole. Harper Lee portrays this, in Scouts first day of school when she has to ironically teach the teacher, about the social hierarchy of the town. However the teacher – Miss Caroline – won’t understand that one of her students Walter Cunningham has very little as, “the crash hit [his family the] hardest,” and because of that, “the Cunningham’s never took anything they can’t pay back.” For that the Cunningham’s are at the bottom of the hierarchy – which places them in a spot where it’s easy to judge them and be prejudice. This is conveyed when Aunt Alexandra, a very strict lady, who has traditional ideas of how society works and the role of a Southern woman, should play. This characterisation of Aunt Alexandra helps paint a picture of how prejudice she is, this is conveyed when she objects Scout hanging out with a Cunningham by saying, “no Finch girl should sever consort with a Cunningham.” However Scout is frustrated by this, as she wants to be able to choose her own friends based on her own definition of what makes a good person, so she overcomes the discriminatory and prejudges of Aunt Alexandra as she realises that justice will always be an issue for individuals and society as a whole. Harper Lee conveys how justice will always be an issue for individuals and society as a whole; this can be seen through the character Mrs. Dubose. A mean, sick, very old woman who lives near the Finch family, who lives in her dream world before the Civil War – where, “Negros” were enslaved and she didn’t accept them as equals. This is ironic as, “Mrs. Dubose lived alone, except for a Negro girl in constant attendance,” (who keeps her company) yet she treated all Negros as second class citizens. This is further shown when she discriminates and prejudges Atticus Finch by saying he’s a, “nigger-lover.” As this slang term means, “when [people] think they are favouring Negros over and above themselves,” which Mrs. Dubose believe Atticus is, by taking on the Tom Robinson case. This therefore illustrates that justice will always be an issue for individuals – like Atticus as people like Mrs. Dubose will always judge them. Justice is important to Atticus Finch, as he is a fair and honest lawyer and an extremely morally upright man who strives to deal with everyone fairly. Atticus is sometimes overly optimistic, but his unshakeable hope in mankind and self-created role as the towns’ do-gooder. Harper Lee’s characterisation of Atticus is evident when he teaches his family about life but his lessons develop from daily situations, situations involving his work for instance taking, Tom Robinson’s case – “A black man who was falsely accused of raping a young white girl.” As, “if [Atticus] didn’t [take the case he] couldn’t hold up [his] head in town, [he] couldn’t represent this county in the legislature, [he] couldn’t even tell [Scout] or Jem not to do something again.” Even though Atticus feels sorry for Mayella he risks his own personal safety and reputation in making his decision to be the lawyer for Tom, as Atticus firmly believes in justice, no matter what race you’re from. Justice is further shown in Judge Taylor, as he judges all men, they can be white or black, but he judges them on their individual worth alone and not of their colour. He knew the prejudices of the white jury (of Tom Robinson’s case) yet forces Maycomb to face their own prejudices. This is illustrated when Mr. Braxton Underwood – a journalist reporting on Tom Robinson’s case, “allowed his bitter eyes to rove over the coloured balcony, and they met [Scout’s]. Gave a snort and looked away.” As Harper Lee uses this metaphor to express how easy it is to address people fears of discrimination by a simple action by sitting up on the “coloured balcony,” like Scout and Jem did, showing Mr. Braxton Underwood that the “Negros’” are just people, and mean no harm. Therefore justice will always be an issue for individuals and society as a whole, but it can be overcome with simple actions. Justice will always be an issue for individuals and society as a whole, especially in the town of Maycomb. Harper Lee uses the central symbol for the novel, the mockingbird, to address the theme of prejudice. Atticus Finch is convinced that he must install values of equality and justice in his children, counteracting the racist influence from society. Harper Lee’s use of imagery of, “mad dog” symbolises the town of Maycomb and their prejudices against “Negros.” So Atticus “takes [a] gun and walks out into the middle of the street. He walked quickly, he moved like an underwater swimmer,” as this metaphor, symbolises that the “mad dog” with rabies is, “just as dangerous dead as alive,” even though Atticus views it a “sin to kill a mockingbird” because, they “don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us.” Since the mockingbird represents victims of oppression in general and the African-American community more specifically. Tom Robinson is one example of a human “mockingbird.” He is accused of raping and beating Mayella Ewell, but he is innocent of the charges. The town of Maycomb commits the ultimate sin by announcing him as guilty, and sentenced him to death. This is as good as killing a mockingbird. Arthur (Boo) Radley is another example of a human “mockingbird” as he has spent his whole life as a prisoner of his own home because, of a childhood mistake, of hanging, “with the wrong crowd,” and getting up into mischief which landed him been charged with, “disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, assault, and battery and using abusive and profane language in the presence and hearing of a female.” Boo has observed the world around him, causing no harm to anyone, and then saves Jem and Scout’s lives when Bob Ewell attacks. The sheriff decides that Ewell’s death will be ruled an accident to avoid facing Boo to go to trail, even though Boo killed Mr. Ewell to protect the children. Atticus (the children’s father) then explains how telling the white lie was told, but Scout replies saying, “Offcourse she understands, putting Boo on trail and in the public sphere would be like killing a mockingbird.” Justice will always be an issue for individuals and society as a whole. This is evident in the prescribed text, “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. As this text conveys how prejudice a society can be and how the people who were discriminated against can overcome it, by simple actions. Bibliography: Lee, Harper, "To Kill A Mockingbird," Penguin Books,New York,1973