Review of TKAM

One of the things I learned about in To Kill A Mockingbird was that before judging someone you should look at the situation from their point of view, or as Atticus said walk around in their skin. Also, I realized that case with Tom Robinson is similar to the Emmit Till case in that a unpopular white family was heavily supported in a case against a black man. This showed that Single stories of race trumped the single stories of socioeconomic status. I also realized that today there is more gender discrimination than just unequal pay. I would feel better about my grade if the zero on my Invisible Privilege paper was removed since I turned it in. Performance-wise, the semester is less than half over and their is still time to improve. One single story that comes up a lot in To Kill A Mockingbird is that Blacks are always looking for trouble. A way people can lose this single story is by getting to know an African American, or looking at the world from their point of view. Someone like Link Deas, Tom's employer, was able to get to know him over the years that Tom worked for him and knew that Tom would never try to get into trouble. However, you could also get to know an African American that does fit the single story, so it doesn't always work. The second option is likely what Atticus did when he came to accept African Americans, which is to see the world  from their point of view. He could see that they are people just like everyone else, so some are going to be good and some are going to be bad. Then, in addition to getting to know Tom Robinson, he was able to tell what kind of person he was not because of his skin color but because of his personality and actions.
#endsinglestories
 

Is Tom Robinson Guilty?

I do not believe that Tom is guilty because there is no way that Tom could be beat Mayella that badly on her right side with his crippled left arm. In addition, Bob and Mayella both have different stories about the same thing that happened even though they are on the same side, so they are likely lying. I do not think that Mayella has a single story about blacks in this situation, but is being motivated by society to say what she does. She is also motivated by the fact that she kissed him. She doesn't want anyone to know so she tries to get rid of him. She most likely lost her prejudices after how nicely she was treated by Tom, and that's why she found it okay to kiss him. Bob has the same prejudice as most everyone else, which is that black are liars that are nothing but trouble. This single story is dangerous to Tom because he could go to jail for it, and it is dangerous for the other blacks in Maycomb as well because they could be falsely accused and be killed or sent to jail as well. Atticus wants to disrupt this single story by showing how nice Tom is obvious it is that Tom is guilty to show that it isn't the black man, Tom, who is lying, but the white family, the Ewells. This would show that black people aren't always lying, and white people aren't always telling the truth. He could also show that blacks can be nice and aren't always mean and causing trouble. It was shown through people like Tom's employer that that single story wasn't going to affect their opinion. #Bobisguilty

Atticus' Parenting

I believe that as a parent Atticus does not want to be a hypocrite when teaching his kids. If he did not chose to defend Tom Robinson because of his race, he would be doing the opposite of what he tells Jem and Scout to do. He would be affected by single stories, which is what he tells Scout not to do, but instead to walk around in their skin and see the world from their view. He would also want to be leading by example, so he can show Jem and Scout that he also fallows what he teaches, no matter what. By representing Tom Robinson he shows that he, too, walks around in a person's shoes before judging them. #leadingbyexample

Messages From Single Stories

I believe that in To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee is trying to expose the dangers and results of having single stories of race, gender, and socioeconomic status. She shows the effects of race single stories through Tom Robinson, who loses a court battle which  he had all the proof in the world to win but still lost, just because of his race. These single stories cause himself to lose hope in himself and make him think he's no good, so he tries to run away which gets him killed. Lee shows gender single stories through Scout, were she is told by Jem that she can't do things she wants to be as a girl, or she can't be herself. Single stories about socioeconomic status were shown when Scout would say that certain kids like Walter couldn't do certain things because of what their parents or family were known for doing this. This, like the other two single stories, doesn't allow them to be themselves. Walter might be like his dad and not take what he can't take back, but he might not. Single stories might be true about a person or group, but you can't assume that it is because everyone's different.

Danger of SIngle Stories

I believe that when a single story is repeatedly made about a person or group, they can start to believe it about themselves. When the person is constantly told they are something, it eventually gets to them and can lower their self esteem. If no one else believes in them other than themselves, they might think they aren't good enough, and they might try to change themselves or prove they are, which can get them into trouble. Especially with racism, if someone choose to ignore the single stories, the people making them may try to scare them into being it or teach them a lesson for trying to be better. I learned in health class that single stories like this and girls thinking they aren't good enough often causes them to loose a lot of self esteem and try to be something they aren't. The single stories can cause both physical and mental damage for the people the story is about.

The Meaning of Single Stories

I believe that Harper Lee is trying to show that you can't judge a person on there gender, race, or there socioeconomic status because then that person can never change out of it. For people who are unlike there group or try to change for the better, they will till be viewed the same as every one else. For instance, Scout is more boy-like and is encouraged to be more boy-like by Jem, but to others she should be doing thing that a girl would to do. If a person different than what is expected from stereotypes, they won't be respected for who they are and will be expected to do what they wouldn't do. Someone like a nerdy African American might not be respected for being smart and be expected to be athletic or rowdy, which aren't him. #diferentisgood

Single Stories Today

I believe that most of the single stories that have been in To Kill a Mockingbird, still exist today, just not on as high of a scale. Especially for women and African Americans, society has become a lot more accepting and see them as equal. For example, when Jem is saying that Scout acts like a girl, in which he says it several times, he meant that girls are lesser. Today, though, I believe that it is used much less often. In addition, the phrase was made common when society viewed women as lesser people, and it is difficult to get rid of an old phrase. Today, people are just accustomed to using the phrase as a way to say you are bad at something, but are not trying to insult girls by saying it. In racism, that was also a common practice back then the no longer exist for a majority of people, with a few left who still do it. In most groups that were discriminated against, now it usually comes up in jokes. In the article Canadian youth must be properly educated on how racism persists in Canada, the author says that "Being racist is something you laugh about in the bar or at the gas station, like mocking the Oilers. At the very least, most people know that racial slurs are wrong, but it makes little sense why racism would be a major theme in a university course." A lot of people know just assume that racism isn't a big deal anymore and just joke about it. However, this can be taken the wrong way, or the people can get used to the jokes and eventually decide that being racist is ok, which could lead to resurgence of racism as a whole. Younger children can also overhear this and think this is ok. So while discrimination is not as big of a deal now, how we act about it now could affect how we view it in the future. #no racist jokes

Single Story message

Harper Lee is trying to show how incorrect single stories can be. In several occasions, she has used other characters' single stories on some of the main characters to show how wrong they can be. One example was on pg. 61 where Miss Maudie created a single story about Scout's father's ability to parent. There have also been the points in which scout is judging the other kids based on their families, which would probably be offensive and does not necessarily apply to them. #Being in a small town where everyone knows everyone might not be so great

Jem's Single Story

Jem creates a single story about Boo Radley, a man who never comes out of his house. He created his single story first off of him getting in trouble with the law when he was young. His father grounded him to the house and 15 years later, he stabbed his father. Jem thought of Boo as a horrible, gruesome person who he could toy around with. Thus, it was turned into a game to try to lure him in, which made him look like a joke. #they have never even seen him

About Me

I'm Ben, I'm 15 and I am a Freshman at Westerville Central. I have been living in my current house in Westerville for 10 years now. I have one sister and 2 cats, one boy and one girl. At Central, I am in the Marching Band, Young Republicans Club, and Super Smash Bros Club. For our unit on the book To Kill a Mockingbird, my goals are to always be caught up with the reading and put in extra time reviewing the chapters. I depending on how we are reading this, I can make a schedule and divide the pages evenly per day, and leave room for days when I don't have enough time.
#never done a hashtag before