Is Maycomb a good place to live in? Is Maycomb corrupted?
[focus on 2 main themes: Courage and Prejudice]After doingthe MI test, my 2nd and 3rd MI is Kinaesthetic and Linguistic respectively. For Kinaesthetic(Intrapersonal), I have chosen to do "Write a diary entry for a major character of the novel" . As for Linguistic, I will be doing "Imagine you are one of the characters. Deliver a speech on what you think of the above question".
Kinaesthetic - Diary Entry (scout)September 5th 1933
Dear diary, today was an unexpected day. It made me both sad and confused. How could this have had happened? I felt this was too unfair, too unkind. The trial I had attended today has changed my perception of the people of Maycomb. I cannot believe that white people are so prejudiced against the blacks. I do not see the reason why. We are all of the same kind, yet we have what they call segregation. This meant lesser friends for us, lesser help from them. Till now, I still cannot believe that Tom Robinson was not acquitted even though he spoke the truth. However, he was still convicted because he was black, the minority. I am deeply saddened by this. I wish that we would not experience any more of this discrimination against the blacks, or niggers as they call it.
September 8th 1933
Dear diary, up till now, I still cannot forget the trial of Tom Robinson. I had faith that Atticus would win the case, but it was all for nothing. I could tell that Tom Robinson was really determined to win. He was really courageous to speak his mind, against the whites. I felt that this really inspired me to be like him. To never give up no matter what. I think Atticus was mighty brave too. He was fighting till the end as well. Even though he was against the odds, he still stood to fight. He was also defending a black man, where the chances of winning were zero. He definitely has shown me what courage is all about. Someday, I hope that I can someday be just like him.
Linguistic - Speech (Atticus)(During trial)
We are all equal. Nobody should be discriminated. We are all people. We must give them a fighting chance. We must not be prejudiced against them. Maycomb is our homeland, what we do affects all of us, even the verdict of this trial will affect us.
We, in Maycomb, have never witnessed any major changes, we go about with the same lifestyle, the same mindsets. What we do wrong is that we hate the black people. Why? Because we are never willing to change. The past is over, now is the future. We cannot be so deep-rooted in discriminating against them. We cannot be so unkind towards them. Think, if you were one of them, how would you feel? Unhappy? Sad? Angered? That is why we should abolish the mindset of segregation.
Tom Robinson here has displayed courage just by turning up. He knows that although he will surely lose, he still turns up, hoping for a chance. The chance is decided by you. He has come to fight for justice, he is against the odds, yet he does these so willingly. Remember, all of us are equal, we are all humans, we are all the same.
Do you want other outsiders to think that Maycomb is corrupted, Maycomb is unfair, Maycomb is old. Do you want that? Nobody wants so. We want to be the best. The first step is to abolish segregation. Respect begets respect, nobody wants segregation, a loss of workmanship, a loss of helpers, a loss of friends. Nobody will win if there is segregation.
