Introduction
The minorities around the globe have come through a vigorous struggle to achieve equality in the world today. Racial, ethnical and religious prejudice has claimed numerous lives for thousands of years. And to our dismay, such prejudice is the cause of hatred among people of a single society, community and nationality, let alone the entire globe. Fortunately, the consciously aware members of any society have been trying to eradicate such prejudice of hatred among people for decades. This battle between spreading awareness of tolerance and to do the right thing against hatred and discrimination, have been fought through art, literature, music, politics, social work and now the media. Harper lee’s “To Kill a Mocking Bird” is an example of such attempt to eradicate hatred in hope to attain love and peace among all. This novel is still applicable today because of its theme of tolerance and teaching people to do the right thing.
Main body
Atticus Finch is the protagonist and strongest character of the novel. It is through his character that the author covey’s his theme of tolerance and to always do the right thing. Atticus is a humble, honest and respectful person. He teaches his children humility and respect for others feelings through his own example. He becomes the voice of those who could not fight for themselves in a bias community. He gives Jem soothing closure to his discomfort on witnessing the world’s unjust and wrong behavior. He teaches his children to never give in to harassment of the society and to get scared by bullies such as Bob Ewell and the leave the path of truth. Regardless of how tough their path gets they should always do the right thing. Tentative and fickle minded children learn to respect others privacy and be considerate of their feelings; the transition of their relationship with Boo Radley, from taunting and harassing to being his friend, illustrates that.
Atticus refuses to accept the racial prejudice in his society. It for this reason Atticus is always in a heated argument with his sister, Alexandra, over their color maid, Calpurina. Alexandra wants Atticus to ‘get ride’ of Calpurina because she is ‘black’ but Atticus on the contrary treats Calpurina with respect and honor she deserves (for she was the maid and the surrogate mother of his children) which Alexandra could not tolerate and did not approve of.
Atticus is not only a role model for his children but also for his community. He becomes a role model for the members of his community when he takes on Tom Robinson’s case. Tom Robinson was a poor, black man working in a white neighbor hood. Tom was falsely accused of raping BobEwell’s daughter. Mayelle Ewell (Bob’s daughter) exploits Tom’s kindness and makes advancements towards him and on turning her down, Tom gets in trouble. Bob falsely accuses Tom of raping and beating his daughter. Knowing that the entire community does not approve of Atticus defending a ‘Black’ man, Atticus takes Tom’s case and works on proving his innocence with complete honesty because Atticus believes in truth and does not judge people based on the color of their skin but rather on the personal attitude and actions.
Atticus faces great trouble for adhering to his beliefs. And that trouble turned fatal when Bob attacked Scout and Jem (Atticus children) to kill them. Good intentions always pay off and fortunately the children were saved by Boo Radley. Bob fell victim to his own evil plan and got stabbed.
Even though Atticus could not save Tom (who was shot trying to escape prison), but he was instrumental in setting an example to always serve the truth and defend the innocent.
Conclusion
People should look beyond personal appearances and eradicate racial and sectarian differences for we all human beings and we should abide with humility and love among ourselves.