Identify someone you know personally who has attempted to change a community or society for the better. Discuss what he/she was trying to change, how he/she went about it, and whether or not he/she was successful. Reflect on this in a 300 - 400 word response. As you read To Kill a Mockingbird, consider how change occurs in the novel and if there are connections with this personal example you are writing about.
During the book ,there have been many people who have tried to change the society, although not all of them have been successful, some of them were.
ReplyDeleteIn the society we live in today, there are not many changes, although there are some...one example is of the government.They are always making changes to the rules and civilization...sometimes for the better, and sometimes not.These changes effect many peoples lives, sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad..but the main reason, is so that if it does effect the community as a whole, then it is for the better of it...!
In the book,Boo Radley,although he is a,colored, shows exemplary examples of being a hero and the changes that could be there if racism dint effect the world. He was a hero who tried, although not throughout the whole book ,to help the community.
Another main example, was scout.She was a big example because she dint believe in all this racism, to her her nanny was her nanny and thats it...she want colored and neither was her nanny. To her everyone was the same and i think that if everyone saw the world like that then life would be so much better because racism and inequality wouldn't matter.
In conclusion, i think that the person, who would have effected the community the most was scout because she dint really car about the differences in people.
There are many people in the book that have tried to change the world that we live in for the better. There are also many people in the world that have tried to change the world for the better. Nelson Mandela is a pure example of someone that has tried to change the world and i must say that he has succeeded. In my opinion in the book i think that Aducus was a hero because he prevented Tom Robinson from going to prison for something that he had never done. Many of the Heros in the world today make the world go round and without them we would never be able to live a normal life because the world would be very different in a bad way without them. I think that there are connections between Nelson Mandela and Adicus because Nelson tried to end the apartheid and get all of the black people out of jail and in a way adicus saved a man from going to jail. Another hero in the world is bill gates because he donates vast amounts of money that he does not have to donate he can keep the money if he would like. The book has many examples of people who tried to change the community and also there are too many people to mention in the world.
ReplyDeleteManny people try to change the world or perhaps just their country or community. I cannot say I have met anyone personally who has tried to change the world. However I do know of people who have tried to and succeeded in changing what they wish to have changed.
ReplyDeleteGhandi is an example of someone who has succeeded in changing things. Ghandi was faced with oppression as were all his people, much like Tom Robinson in to kill a mocking bird Ghandi was mistreated because of his skin colour. Indians were being persecuted and held inferior by the British in charge of India. Ghandi was done putting up with this and decided to make change.
Ghandi went about this in a peaceful intellectual process. Ghandi focused on public speaking, peaceful protests. Ghandi conducted many symbolic protests that were saying how the Indian people were done facing persecution. The Great Salt March was one event where Ghandi and his followers marched to the beach and made salt and then all Indians began to sell salt without tax which was illegal for an Indian. This was protest against British Tax of salt and British control over Indian people. Ghandi’s peaceful symbolic protests resemble the protest of Martin Luther King bringing forth the bus boycott during the civil rights movement in America.
Ghandi was ant-violence and this was the true key to Ghandi’s success. Ghandi unlike the British government realized that in the long run peace will triumph over evil. Ghandi used brains and was able to influence a whole race of angry frustrated people to utilize peace and words for change rather than violence.
Ghandi was successful and after several years of failed and won battles many casualties and long years of struggle India gained its independence.
Opening thoughts on To Kill a Mockingbird
ReplyDeleteSo far I don’t personally know anyone who has tried to change a community but I heard on people trying to change communities an example is Al gore he used scare tactics with his movie The Inconvenient truth but his intentions were good and he helped kick start the green movement. I would say Al gore has succeeded in his mission in changing people’s mind set about the environment because now people are recycling more than ever. In a way by starting the green movement he united the world as a green community. The person most like Al gore in too kill a mocking bird is Atticus. The main link I can think about between Al gore and Atticus ids that they both have determination. Al gore tried to change people’s minds sets while Atticus tried to defend a black man in court when all odds were against him. Atticus had strong evidence to defend tom from prison but because the world back then was very close-minded about black people.
The main way change in the book is shown is each of the main characters learn a bit about themselves and the world around them. Scout learns to put herself in other people’s shoes and doesn’t fight people when they make fun of Atticus for defending a black man because they probably were brought up that way. Aunt Alexandra becomes more tolerant to Atticus`s parenting skills. Jem also learns to put himself in other people’s shoes an example is at the end of the book he realizes that boo radley wasn’t a monster and stops trying to get boo out of his house.
So far with reading the book I haven’t found any personal connections with my life so far but I see why this books lesson is so important.
I can't say I know a person who has tried to change a community or society. However, throughout history there were many figures that have attempted, and occasionally succeeded in doing so. One very important figure would be Martin Luther King Jr. he made difference amongst other people by standing up against segregation. Martin Luther King’s thoughts and believes didn’t succeed at first because many people disagreed with his ideas. However later on, his ideas left thoughts in people causing a good change in society. Martin Luther King Jr. defended his beliefs in a peaceful way. There is one character in To Kill a Mockingbird that in my opinion has a connection with Martin Luther King Jr. The reason why I think Atticus and Martin Luther King share similarities is because they both had strong thoughts about equality amongst different races. Moreover, they both stood up for their believes in a peaceful and non-aggressive manner. Atticus was confident and stood up for his believes even though he was criticized by the rest of the Maycomb County, similarly to Martin Luther King Jr. In addition, they both stood up for their opinions in a time where many people were in favor of segregation and treated non-white people differently. For example, in the book, Atticus was the only man to defended Tom Robinson, a man who was colored Yet, didn’t have his way.
ReplyDeleteI know a person in my life who has tried to change a community. This person is my mum and the community is the nursing community in Kenya. My mum changed the nursing community by increasing the expertise to the levels in Canada. My mum did this by traveling to Canada once every three months to learn the new nursing techniques that were being used there. Then, she would come back to Kenya and teach these techniques to the nurses here. This was successful for over fifteen years. My mum was successful because her students were recruited in the developed countries like England and Canada, they became leaders of the nursing institutes in Kenya and one even started her own clinic. My mum was successful in changing the nursing standards in Kenya to that of Canada.
ReplyDeleteIn To Kill a Mockingbird, change is present from beginning to end. There is change in the Jem and Scout. Slowly, the two children begin to see how the world around them is divided and how cruel man can be. The start to see why Boo Radley never comes out of his house, and how there are still some good people in this world. Boo Radley is one of the good people in the novel that helps the kids. They do not know he is helping them, but he is like their guardian angel, keeping an eye on them. Another example of change is in the racism that plagues the book. Slowly the reader starts to see how racism is dying away. This is shown with subtleness but it is still there. The people are slowly seeing how racism and segregation is wrong and that the colored people are equal to the white people. I do not think this has any relation to the person I know who changed her community.
This took me a while to think about, but I chose Wyclef Jean, who is a Haitian singer who has had large success in the US.The big thing the made him stand out was the fact that he never forgot his home country. Haiti is not the richest place, or the best place to be, but Wyclef loved it all the same, and did many things for Haiti. Many of his songs are dedicated to there, and the profits from these hit songs are often sent to Haiti, also, he does many benefit concerts and visits Haiti often to help. When the earth quake struck Haiti, he was one of the first to fly down and help his fellow Haitians giving large donations without a thought. Recently, he tried for a presidency, but was rejected as a candidate because he hasn't been living in Haiti for a while.
ReplyDeleteIn the book, there is a change in many people's views towards black people and racism because of Atticus.Atticus is a fair man, who is a lawyer, and is not racist. When he takes the case for Tom Robinson, a black man, many people are opposed, even though Robinson is innocent. However, Atticus sticks to his guns and continues to fight for Robinson, knowing that was right even though that wasn't the most favorable side to choose. Eventually, people begin to see things Atticus's way because of his integrity and loyalty to his morals. This really has nothing to do with Wyclef, but they're bith hereos.
Well in my past life there have been a few people that had brought change to my community. However there was a very interesting person that had brought change to my family in general. My grandpa was a man of his word he had always wanted to change his community and make it somehow better. My grandpa did many things to also help the environment. He tried to change the polluted streets that his family lived on and he tried to make sure that his family was always in shape, and he made sure that every one on the block was happy with where they were. My grandpa did many things some examples would be he would wake up every morning and he would go out on the streets and collect any plastic bottles that might have been laying around he would then pick them and turn them in to the recycling company. Another thing my grandfathers would do was recycle everything he had found. In order for him to recycle everything he had decided to put out different trash bins for different objects according to their material like. People then started respecting the fact that there were separate bins and so they started collecting trash after themselves and the street was not cluttered anymore. This proves that my grandpa had tried to improve the environment for his community and it worked. another thing he would do was make sure that every one and everything was in order he as amazing. He made community meeting and tried to discover ways to make our hometown a better place. He made sure that there were no children left on the streets he would help them go to a foster home . My grandpa did many things and helped many other families. Sadly he had died this year on February 8th 2010. I just hope that people in our community still remember him for who he was and what he had done to help families and the community in general. While reading To Kill a Mockingbird, there were many changes that had occurred throughout the novel. Many changes had changed many perspectives of many people. For example Jem had experienced a very painful event. When Tom Robinson was sent to jail because he was accused of rape. And even though the Ewells had no evidence he still was put in jail. When hearing this Jem burst into tears this has then showed him another perspective of his community. He had then learned that the world was unfair.
ReplyDeleteThere is always room for change or improvement within a community, be it large or small. Change can be done by a whole group or a specific individual. I know somebody personally who has attempted to change a community or society for the better, with the help of an organization. That person is a family friend and the organization that helped him change a community for the better is called ORBIS. The name of this individual is Dr. Karim Damji.
ReplyDeleteDr. Karim Damji is an ophthalmologist who also performs glaucoma eye surgery. He has won several awards for his work, and has written several articles and medical journals on his work. He used to be a volunteer with ORBIS, and that experience helped change a community for the better. ORBIS is an international non-profit organization that performs eye surgeries on people in developing countries. It also trains eye doctors in those developing countries. This organization has the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital which is literally a hospital with wings. Dr. Karim wanted to be a part of this organization and he wanted to be able to give people in developing countries the gift of sight. So he volunteered with ORBIS in 1998 and was sent to China where he was successful in his goal. In 2000, he volunteered again and this time it was in India. He was very successful there as well.
In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”, change occurs in a subtle way. For example, slowly but surely most of the people in Maycomb began to understand about segregation and racism, and that what they did to poor Tom Robinson was wrong. That is very different from the personal example I am writing about because change occurs in very obvious way.
In conclusion, I believe that Dr. Karim Damji was successful in changing a community or society for the better. Also, I believe that change in the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” is completely different from the type of change our family friend accomplished.
Raihan Jadavji
Wow......... this question had me flabbergasted, I had no idea who too select. I decided that someone I know on a personal basis that has always tried to make their community better is probably my grandmother. It is not the big things that matter to me but the small things. My grandmother walks around every day for about an hour and collects trash. It is not my idea of a fun day but every day for as long as I can remember that is what she has done. Even at 80 years old she walks for an hour a day just to pick up garbage (it might not be her only motivation but it still occurs). If everybody in the community did their own little part for just an hour every day the world would definitely be in better shape than it is at right now. I admire her for that and wish I could have that same motivation. In “To Kill a Mockingbird” Harper Lee writes about the injustice that is a major issue at the time. Just think, if everyone in the 20th century took an hour to think about their actions before they partook in any event. We would be down 2 World Wars, Martin Luther King Jr. would still be alive and segregation (with the Jim Crow laws) never would have been put in place. Now that would happen if everyone just thought about their actions, imagine if everyone spent an hour a day making a difference, that is the knowledge my grandmother has bestowed upon me.
ReplyDeleteThere are certain people in the world who put in a great effort to change their community, or a number of communities. They give up a lot of their lives to let others lead a better life. However, I honestly don’t know any such person that I know personally. I cannot think of any individual that I have met that has changed a community. There is one individual from my family that has changed a community, that I don’t know personally though. This member of my family passed away a few years ago. He is my uncle Jan Aloysius Johannes Groenewegen, my father’s cousin.
ReplyDeleteJan Groenewegen was born and brought up in Naaldwijk, The Netherlands. He grew up at a tomato plantation, which is what his father did. However, he did not want to take over the plantation when he grew up. Instead, he wanted to work with religious beliefs. As a Catholic family, one member of the family had to work with religious beliefs, however, Jan’s brother had already taken this job. After a lot of arguing between Jan and his father, his father allowed Jan to go to college. After graduating from college, Jan went to the Belgian Congo, the nowadays Democratic Republic of the Congo.
While in the Belgian Congo, Jan helped the local people. He helped by giving less fortunate people medicine. He saved many lives by doing this. Along with that Jan build a number of structures. Things he built were things such as wells and he also built a school and a clinic. Other than those things, he also built one church. However, it was not a very good one. It was more like a shack. But it was the thought of it being a church that counted.
As he was in the Belgian Congo, Jan converted many of the locals to the Catholic religion. The main reason for Jan’s help was because of the Catholic religion. It greatly influenced him, and was what made him continue with what he was doing and to not give up.
I do not know anyone personally who has changed a community however I have heard of many great individuals who have changed a community for the better. Nelson Mandela is a great example of someone who changed a community for the better. He changed the South African Nation.
ReplyDeleteNelson Mandela was kept in prison for many years, but he still managed to forgive and forget. He became president of South Africa and made the nation multi cultured. Before Mandela came out of prison the South African nation was segregated. Whites were considered superior. He changed the nation and influenced pluralism among the people. Mandela helped get rid of the horrid apartheid in South Africa and he also made many South Africans change their ways and accept others for who they are. Nelson Mandela was very successful in changing the South African nation for the better
In To Kill A Mockingbird there is change in the Maycomb community. The community slowly changes to be more plural. The unjust court case made the people in Maycomb realize that their community was very segregated and that there was not a lot of justice. The community changed because of Jem and Scout’s father Atticus. Atticus showed the people that skin colour does not matter. He taught the people that anyone could be good. Jem and Scout also experienced change throughout the course of the novel they realized that every one was not treated equally. An example of this was the court case when Jem started to cry.
I think that Nelson Mandela and his successful attempt to change South Africa for the better was similar to the change that occurred in To Kill a Mockingbird because both the communities were segregated until they changed. The people of South Africa realized that treating others badly because of their skin colour was wrong just like the people in Maycomb who realized that what they unjustly done was not right.
Imran
When a person looks at the world they might have wished it was perfect but sadly it isn’t. But the important thing is that there are always those people who try to change their community for the better. A person I think contributed a lot to his community was my Great-grandfather who sadly passed away two years ago at the age of 93.
ReplyDeleteMy great grandfather lived a long and successful life while at the same time tackling all the demands of his community. Born in 1915 around 80km away from Addis Ababa, my Great Grandfather didn’t have the best of childhoods because he wasn’t the most educated of people. But even despite that he was able to build himself from scratch by teaching himself how to read and write. As he grew older he knew he wanted to make a difference in his community, so he slowly started to climb the ladder of success. The great things he did showed in his attitude as he had the willpower to do good. Some of the things he achieved include contributing to rural development by building a school with proper education, something he was deprived as a child and also something he wanted to improve. He also provided financial support by constructing churches, infrastructures and roads in his area. At his time he also owned a lot of land during the Haile Selassie regime that owned him the name landlord.
In conclusion, my Great-Grandfather died a hero in his community and his legacy teaches many of us about the values of giving and compassion.
In the novel, there were several examples of people who tried to change the community’s point of view on the blacks, specifically Tom Robinson. Atticus in my opinion was the one who was the closest to be successful but unfortunately the jury announced a guilty verdict against the convict. Although there were others who were in favor of helping Tom Robinson such as Scout, Jem, Dill, Hecktate, judge none of them could do much to help him as they would also be humiliated and hated by the community such as when Bob Ewell attacked Atticus’s children but because Atticus was favoring and fighting for a black’s rights, Boo Radley saved the kids.
ReplyDeleteIndia had a time in its history when we were enslaved by the British. During this time a man named Mahatma Gandhi emerged and along with is accomplices who shared the same goal as freeing India from the British rule. He had a huge amount of supporters and fans and after some of his speeches there would be riots and etc and many would be killed. Although Gandhi didn’t believe in using violence to achieve his goals which others were growing angry of as Gandhi’s motto was “If someone slaps you on your left cheek, put forward your right cheek and soon they will feel guilty and surrender”. Some people like Nathu Ram Godsay didn’t believe in Gandhi and ended up shooting him as many were being killed and also he believed India was being divided because of him.
Gandhi was however successful on 15th August 1947 when India had finally received its well deserved independence but also has left people thinking after witnessing the state of our country now whether we would have been better of without any corruption if we were still under there rule.
I would have to say someone that has changed some communities is my dad: Dr. James Mwanzia. He worked for about 10 years with WHO (World Health Organization) and he helped a lot of the poor and unfortunate sick people in various countries in Africa. My father and a team of others were sent to some of the rural areas to talk and teach them about cleanliness and hygiene. They also gave them their vaccinations and polio drops and a whole bunch of things so that they could keep healthy and live a good strong life. He did a lot of things for charity and fundraisers making people around him aware of what the other people of the country are suffering from so that they could help. He was and has been very successful at doing this and I think its great.
ReplyDeleteAnother person I have learned about is Martin Luther King Jr. He didn't like how the world was being racist with one another and being segregated. He out of all the black people had so much courage and stood up for his race by saying that we should stop this and become equal because we are all human, just because we're different skin colors doesn't mean we're different from each other. Martin saw past that and looked at who we are inside and saw that there wasn't a difference. He was a very strong people and he made a lot of people change in ways. He's also one of the people that decreased racism today. Sadly not everyone liked him and thought that was he was saying wasn't true and he ended up getting shot. But even if he died, his words and speeches still stayed on through history and they will stay for a very, very long time. I would say that these men were both very successful.
The definition "someone who has attempted to change a community or society for the better" directly makes me think of my mum, Celine Fomete. She worked for The UN in the past, but just quite recently she joined the Kibera Initiative Group which helps children of various ages, and even up to adults achieve their everyday life goals and feel free like every other human.The Initiative organizes certain events through which the children and adults of the community get to explore different aspects such as sports. They are able to enjoy various activities and meet new individuals while bonding with them and making new friends. I think its nice for them to have the opportunity to do this as they are not as fortunate as us, because somehow it lets them believe that they can always achieve more if they try. What my mom does is simply amazing, and i hope to obtain such qualities, if possible in the near future.
ReplyDeleteThe second person i thought would fit this statement so well is Rosa Parks, and even though i hadn't had the chance to know her personally, i still respect her thoroughly for what she did. From the second Rosa Parks refused to give her seat to a Caucasian passenger, she knew what she was in for, but she still went on full of courage and boldness. If it wasn’t for what she had done, the people of today might not have been living with the same rules and regulations of which they know today. Rosa Parks could have been shot directly and sent to jail, which happened, but did she care about that when she acted out? What she had in mind was the faces of her people when they find out they were as equal as everyone else and finally had the right to vote. Therefore, I would say, both women have or are changing the community in different ways, however they are both positive and are for the best.
I do not think I know anyone personally who has changed the community or society, but there are many historical figures who have. One of them would be Martin Luther King Jr. who tried to stop segregation and make the society a better place. When he first started, many people were against him, but later on, more people were supporting him, including some white skinned people. By doing this, he actually succeeded in making a difference in the society in a peaceful way. In the book "To Kill a Mockingbird", Atticus is a lot like Martin Luther King Jr. because he stood up for what he believed him, even though everyone was against him. He kept on fighting for Tom Robinson even though he knew he was black, and he would be found guilty, he still fought for what he believed in. That is a very good attitude to have, and I think more people should have the same type of positive attitude.
ReplyDeleteCome to think of it, I believe my mother stands up for what she believes in as well. If she hears that I am being bullied or something bad has happened to me, she goes to that person, or to the principle and stands up in what she believes in. She kind of changes the school community when she reports an issue by doing this, and therefore making the principle change rules or do whatever he needs to do to stop the issue. And she takes people off the streets and puts them in her offices and gives them jobs, and I believe that is really changing the society because there are now less people on the street because of my mom. I think she has a very big heart for caring about her children, and other people who she doesn't even know, but wants to help. I find it amazing, and that is one of the many reasons she is also a role model to many. She tries to change our community one step at a time.
In conclusion, I believe that everyone should really stand up for what they believe them, and they might just change the world like Martin Luther King Jr, and even become role models in our community!
Opening thoughts on to kill a Mocking Bird
ReplyDeleteI feel as there are many people in the world who are still alive or have been deceased that have tried to change the world for the better. I personally do not know these people even though they play a huge role in my life and the way I take on challenges and how I choose to conquer them. These people play major roles in people’s lives, not just mine because weather you are in Russia, Kenya or Chile everyone looks up to these people and how and what they do to make an impact on the world. They are the true heroes of today world and for me the person who I look up too and has inspired me and who I think who accomplished a lot of what he set out to do was the man that is known as Nelson Mandela. He is one true hero that accomplished what he set out to do. He fought for what he knew was the right thing to do and conquered what his battle.
Nelson Mandela fought for racism and segregation to no longer take place because he knew it was wrong. He fought for what he knew was the right thing to do. He used methods that people found obscure and would have never thought of. Nelson Mandela was a man that was determined man that didn’t stop fighting until the battle was over. He fought for what he knew was the right thing to do. The person that resembles Nelson Mandela is the book is Atticus because they are both determined men who knew what was right and they tried to fight for what they knew to be the right thing. Atticus knew Tom Robinson was innocent but even when there was evidence the jury still thought and strongly believed that he was guilty because of the color of his skin. Both Atticus and Nelson Mandela Knew that segregation and a partied were wrong and tried to do their best to make everything fair and square. Not everyone was successful but it was the attempt that counted. “it’s not the dog in the fight, it’s the fight in the dog”. I think this quote really portrays that Nelson Mandela and Atticus tried and did all they could to help the people they knew were suffering the most.
Even though I don’t have any personal experiences that are similar to the ones in the book, some of my friends have and hearing from how they felt, it really hurt on the inside and this book teaches us life lessons that no one should abuse or ignore.
I do not know anybody personally at the moment that has changed the community for the better. But I do wish that I would meet someone to lead others into following his/her idea. But one person I know of that managed to influence many people into doing good deeds and to always enjoy what you have in life. This person might have seemed to be fictional but this man was the founder of Buddhism, the Buddha himself.
ReplyDeleteHaving learned the outline of his teachings in the past years of school I learned that he taught many to always do the right thing. To never do wrong or say anything wrong. This to me is a great accomplishment. With quite a lot of people following these teachings people would eventually all become noble within their souls. To leave one's royal household to seek spiritual enlightenment and passing that knowledge to others is definitely going to change people's views about how to live. I really do believe the Buddha has done amazing deeds within his community when it comes to changing the way man lived.
Like in To Kill A Mockingbird, the changes the Buddha introduced into life caught on very slowly. In the first few chapters of the book Scout and Jem do no realize the presence of racial inequality. However later on when others start mocking their family because Atticus chose to defend Tom Robinson when he was accused they start to notice that the "coloured" folk were not treated as good as the white people. Jem had become incredibly emotional when they pronounced Tom Robinson guilty, it occurs to him that the white man can do whatever he pleases and get away with it. No matter how good the defense a "coloured" man's word will always come last in court. I am really glad today that people have changed drastically as to get rid of racism and injustice itself.