To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - The Many Faces of Evil :: Free Essay Writer

The Many Faces of Evil in To Kill A Mockingbird     Our greatest evils flow from ourselves (Tripp 192). This statement, by Rousseau, epitomizes umpteen points of evil that are discussed in Harper Lees novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. In our world, we constantly come face to face with evil. Evil presents itself in many forms, including prejudice, alcoholism, drug abuse, irresponsibility, and violence against others. The most usual faces of evil in To Kill A Mockingbird are prejudice, alcoholism, and gossip.             Dispersed throughout To Kill A Mockingbird are numerous illustrations of racism. Statements such as Your fathers no better than the niggers and trash he works for (Lee 108) are common throughout the entire novel. The use of racist statements such as these seemed to bother many people who were then driven to ban Lees book from their schools. If we look back to the times when the book was written, we can understand t he use of the word nigger. During the early 20th century, the word nigger was used as commonly as many people today use the word black.  The general public either didnt form or didnt care about how demeaning the word nigger was. Eventually, some African-Americans became so used to hearing it that they no longer paid any guardianship to it. Atticus Finch, Scouts father, however, had a different way of thinking. Although Atticus was Caucasian, he realized that the word nigger was wrong to say. He did not use that word and he instructed his children not to use that word either. This courtesy did not catch on. People continued to refer to African-Americans as niggers and called anyone who was kind to niggers a nigger-lover. Scout realized this and, as she matured, she came to understand how wrong the use of the word nigger actually was.             Jean Louise, Scout, was subjected to more evil than racism. Robert Ewell, a violent alco holic, attempted to murder Scout and Jem in a drunken rage. Mr. Ewell appeared in many places throughout the book, and it was his daughter, Mayella Ewell, who pressed false charges against Tom Robinson for the offense of rape and battery. Almost every time Ewell was mentioned, he was pictured as either violent or totally inebriated. He used the welfare checks that he received, not to purchase food for the family, but to buy salute for his personal consumption.