AP American Government and Honors English 3

Tory Schleper

Mr. Jennings and Mr. Esselman

May 16, 2012

Contrasting Rebels

Calling all rebels! Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird was written to captivate peoples’ hearts and move them to take action. The story takes place in 1930’s in Maycomb, Alabama allowing the powerful conflict: racism. The setting also allows Lee to create Atticus, the hero of the novel. Atticus being the hero influences his children, Jem and Scout, to transform into respectful adults. This essay investigates the themes of the novel in which people let others influence their actions when real heroes go against their society and do what they know is best. After analyzing the novel the paper flows into the history of the 1950’s and the 1960’s. Following the complex analysis of To Kill a Mockingbird the history of the 1960’s is examined. Starting this section is an analysis of the rebels in the 1950’s. A section on Jack Kerouac is displayed to create an overview the theme of the Beat Generation. Following the thoughtful analysis of the Beat Generation the 1960’s is then analyzed. The information about the rise of the civil rights movement is includedtocompare it to the complex society of the Beat Generation. Reading you will find an educational compare and contrast essay between the Beat Generation and the generation of the 1960’s. Rounding up the essay is a clever sum up between the book and its historical counterpart which relates the content of the book to the history of the 1960's.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a tale of growing up, courage, and love. Through the use of Scout, Harper Lee is able toshow the life of a young white girl living in the Deep South. Lee's use of setting allows her to bring about the racism of the 1930's to create the conflict in the novel Lee's creation of Atticus Finch allows Lee to create the good man who stands up against his society to prove to them what is right and what is not . Through these themes Lee is able to introduce a mood of enlightenment. Through the setting, characterization and narrative point of view Harper Lee writes a novel about what it really means to grow up and find the truth about yourself and the people around you. People in the world judge other by their looks and not by the contents of their hearts. People let others influence their actions when real heroes go against the society and do what they knows is best.

The Deep South in the 1930’s was filled with racial tensions andhad a class divide of the wealthy whites and the poor blacks. The setting helps show this conflict by bringing out racism as the conflict in the novel. In the small town of Maycomb, Alabama there are very few lawyers and Atticus happens to be the best one in the town. The hatred caused by a white male representing a black man causes the conflict in the novel:Atticus, a white lawyer, should not represent Tom Robinson, an African American. The whites and the blacks should not be mixing with each other and when they do, it causes uproar. This allows the trial of Tom to take place because of the ignorance of the society they live in. People just assume that Tom raped that girl when in reality they are not sure what really took place.The environment influencesJem and Scout's lives and how they learn to grow up and become comfortable with themselves.

Lee is able to create a man that is a hero to his small town of Maycomb, Alabama and a true hero to his children Jem and Scout. Lee making Atticus Finch a lawyer makes him represent the “good” in people. In "To Kill a Mockingbird: Harper Lee Tragic Vision" Dave R.A states that Atticus is the hero of the trial seen and is also the hero of the novel. The people in Maycomb, Alabama do not like whites helping blacks which represents the moral conflict that Atticus goes through bydecidingto represent Tom Robinson , a black man, even though he knows the problem it will cause him and his family. "Grandma says it's bad enough he lets you all run wild, but now he's turned out a nigger-lover well never be able to walk the streets of Maycombagin," (Lee 110). Even their own family looks down on them because Atticus is standing up for what he believes in .

Atticus represents the honorable manone who is lovable, kind, and intelligent who will not let an innocent man die for a crime he did not commit. Atticus gives his children an explanation on why he has to represent Tom Robinson in court. “The main one is, if I couldn't hold up my head in town, I couldn't represent this county in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again," (Lee 100). Atticus feels like it is his duty to represent the people who do not have a voice in the world and actually feels bad when he is not able to do that job. Atticus being a lawyer shows that he is a smart man that knows the importance of school and the importance of respecting others even when you think that they do not deserve your respect.Atticus stands up for what he believes is right which draws criticism from the people who claim to be his friend. This makes Atticus the town hero because he is the only man in town that would help poor Tom Robinson and not let the pressures of his society get the best of himself. Atticus is also shown as a good father by giving his children the advice they need to grow up in the racist society. Making Atticus the "good" guy lets her create his foil who is BobEwell.

Bob Ewell represents thebad in the world and is shown to be a lazy, racist pig. During the court scene Bob Ewell calls Tom Robinson a"nigger" many times and shows racism towards people of the opposite color."He stood up and pointed his finger at Tom Robinson. '-I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin' on my Mayella!" ( Lee 231). Bob Ewell truly believes Tom Robinson raped his daughter just because he was black and he thinks his daughter would never try to seduce a black man.

Ewell's family is very poor and his kids refuse to go to school and learn, which is very different from Atticus's teaching on his kids. Atticus teaches his kids the importance of school and that also tells Scout that she cannot drop out of school just because she is mad. This teaching is very different then Mr. Ewell's teachings because he does not care if his kids go to school or not. "Report and be damned to ye! Ain't no snot- nosed slut of a schoolteacher ever born c'n make me donothin'!"( Lee 37). Mr. Ewell's son storms out of class and calls the teacher a slut, which represents his lack of manners because of his father's lack of respect for women and people of the different color .Lee showcases Atticus as being the best of the best which is shown through his actions in and out of the courts. Robert Ewell is the worst of the worst and does not try to do his best in life. Robert just tries to float through life while Atticus tries his best to try to make life work for him and his children. Through his teachings of life lessons Atticus tries his best to raise his two kids who seem to be having trouble growing up.

Scout struggles to be like her big brother and to understand the world that she lives in. Jem, Atticus's son, is also struggling with growing up and looks to his father for guidance. Scout looks up to Jem who can't completely relate to his sister. “Aw, she doesn’t know what we’re talkin’ about,’ said Jem” (Lee 279). Jem always talks down to Scout because he thinks she is not old enough to understand what he knows. Scout is not very "lady like" and struggles to fit into the outline of a girl and just wants to be like her brother Jem. When Scout's aunt comes she starts to bother Scout about being more lady like and stop acting like a man. " We decided that it would be best for you to have some feminine influence. It won't be many years, Jean Louise, before you interested in clothes and boys-," ( Lee 170). People notice that Scout is not very lady like and they try to make her feel bad about it.

Lee shows the power of Atticus's teaching on his children by showing the change of Jem and Scout of an early age to a more respectful view of Scout and Jem. Atticus's constant lessons about not bothering others and treating others with respect pays off when Jem and Scout finally realize it is not nice to mess with "Boo Radley" and that he is a man who probably doesn't want to come out because of the racist environment they live in. At first Scout thinks Boo is a nasty man who will try to get her in the night. "... Boo was about six- and - a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch... bloodstained," ( Lee 16). This shows how Scout was very immature and does not realize that maybe he is not a mean man. Later, Scout is able to realize that Mr. Radley is not such a bad man after all which represents her transformation into becoming a grown up . At the end of the book Scout leads Mr. Radley to house and overcomes her fears of him being a terrible monster."I led him to the front porch, where his uneasy steps halted. He was still holding my hand and gave no sign of letting me go," (Lee 372).When Scout walks over to Mr. Radley's house it is a big moment in Scout's life becausesheis realizing that not what everyone says is true and she is realizes she can't judge a book by its cover.All of Atticus's teachings start to wear on Scout and she realizes that her father really did know what he was talking about all those nights.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a story of growing up, courage, and heroism. Lee is able to craft a fine piece of literature that is able to explore the topic of racism in a small town and how it affects everyone around it. Through the narrative point of view of Scout Lee is able to tell a story that is affected by setting, conflict, and a hero that represents the good in the world. The love between daughter and father is shown and is transformed as the novel ends.

When examining the 1960's one must first compare it to the past . The past generations of youngsters and rebels that have graced the nation must be compared to the generation of the 1960s. In particular the Beats of the 1950's can be compared to the generation of the 1960's. Behind all this you get a simple comparison: the old versus the new. The old thoughts of the Beats who thought by bringing music and poetry it would be enough to change the direction of history. The new thought of the kids of the 1960's who believed that peaceful protest and the will of the people to put forth the effort could change the fate of the future. Youngsters are influenced and inspired by their rebels to take charge, but sometimes realize that some changes must take place to get better results.

The Beat generation evolved in the 1940's but didn't come to popularity until the 1950's. Its purpose was to rise against the consumer society that America had presented itself to be. The Beat generation wasstarted by a man named Jack Kerouac (Cook 103). Kerouac is best known for writing the book On the Road which tells the story of a few young men traveling around the United States. Though he did help create a movement that created a new culture Kerouac was no saint. In the time after the publication of On the Road Kerouac suddenly became depressed, drank heavily become addicted to drugs and would go through three marriages. Kerouac would go to interviews drunk and would die on October 21, 1969 of abdominal bleeding (Pundyk). Kerouac, who embodied the counterculture, was idolized by thousands during the 1950's and became the spokesperson for the Beat generation. So who were the Beats and why were they following a man who used alcohol, drugs, and embraced sex?

The Beats were rebels who were tired of their consumer society. They were people who were fed up with the traditional teachings of their parents and wanted to form a new straightforward kind of thinking (Rhan). Talking about sex, drugs and homosexually was highly condemned by the older generation of thinkers and the Beats would soon come to embrace it boldly speak about it though literature. Allen Ginsberg's book Howl openly talks about homosexually ,drug-addicts, drifters, prostitutes, and swindlers and was highly looked down upon by society (O'Sullivan). William S. Burrough's novel Naked Lunch tells the story of his life traveling from America and Mexico and his addiction to drugs. Highly read, it is another key component that shows the theme of the Beat generation (Burroughs).

The Beat Generation influenced the use of drugs, poetry , and jazz and created an entire generation of young hippies. ( Cook 103). The Beat generation stood up against society through peaceful protest but not like what you may think. They took action through song, poetry, and writing .( Cook 103). They also took action by smoking pot, having sex, speaking about homosexuality, and listening to rock n roll. By doing this they were rebelling against their society which in return would hopefully cause change. Though the Beats tried not to cause violence they were met with negative feedback from many news critics. The new critics criticized the Beats for threatening the status by questioning the conservative way. They also made it a point to criticize the Beats because they were living a loose life style full of drugs and sex. (Cook 107). The Beat literature was often treated as pornography and was censored for the public's good ( Rhan). Although the Beats did not take the fight head on they did make some progress.

Through social events as the one that took place in 1959 the Beats were able to inspire thousands of people to stand up and fright for civil rights. In 1959 in the Loop hotel in Chicago there was a reading of a poem called Big Table read by Paul Carraoll . About 700 people showed up and the crowd went crazy even before the poem was finished. (Cook 109). These events show how powerful the poems, music, and books were at the time of the 1950's. One of the most important achievements of the Beat generation was the fact that it was able to move an entire other generation into existence: the generation of the 1960's. The generation of the 1960's would of never of been heard from if it wasn't for the starting foundation of the Beat generation of the 1950's.

After reading about the old way one must ask about the new way. The 1960's generation was tired of running from the system and wanted to attack it straight on. Attack the system through peaceful protest such as sit ins, read ins, paint ins, wade ins and kneel in at white churches (Anderson 46- 47).The generation of the 1960's was a generation of affirmative action unlike that of the Beat generation whosmoked pot and got laid hoping for change to land in their lap. This new way of rebelling was storming the nation and by February 1, 1960 the change had come. Four African American students in North Carolina , who attended A&T college, walked into a white restaurant, sat down at the white reserved bar, and demanded that the white waitress served them. After being denied the four boys left but it was not the end. Day after day the boys would bring more and more people and soon white students joined in on the sit in. As the days went on the local whites started to get fed up and turned to violence to stop the peaceful protest. A bomb threat was made and the restaurant was shut down ( Anderson 43-44). This was an event that would change the fate of the civil rights movement. Soon students would start leading sit ins in Winstion- Salem, Durham, Raleigh and other cities across North Carolina . By the end of February 1960 there were sit ins in 7 differentstates , and in 30 communities ( Anderson 45). The domino effect had begun. As time went on restaurants were not the only locations for peaceful protest. Soon peaceful protest in places such as white only libraries, white only art galleries, white only beaches , and white only churches. Soon colleges would start expelling black and white students who joined in any form of peaceful protest because the colleges were under fire from radical whites ( Anderson 46). By 1960 students started posting newspaper articles explaining their reason for participating. " Every normal human being wants to walk the Earth with dignity and abhors any and all proscriptions placed upon him because of race or color," ( Anderson 47).