Both “to Kill a Mockingbird” and “the Power of one” Demonstrate That one Person Who Is Willing to Take Risks and Sacrifices Really Can Influence a Society and Initiate Significant Change in Attitudes

A shift in the attitudes and beliefs of any ancestral society is most often a convoluted and lengthy task, caused by a combination of many people’s actions. The text “To Kill A Mockingbird,” and the film “The Power of One,” address the extent of influence one person’s risk and sacrifice can have on the ideologies that are adhered to by a society. Both stories contain characters that show courage and morality by acting on their disapproval of the prejudice that is rife in their respective communities. Atticus Finch, of the text, is remarkably judicious and wise throughout the novel, and it is these mannerisms that gain him the respect of his society. Ironically, it is this righteousness that also leads him to jeopardise his standing and reputation in the town of Maycomb. Peekay, of the film, possesses a more fiery temperament than the former, however his sense of morality is just as evident. A keen boxer, Peekay’s pity for black people completely defies the discriminatory societal convictions by which he is surrounded. Both characters are heavily in favour of the condemnation of racial inequity, the most prominent and confronting theme in the two stories. Risking social standing and more importantly, the lives of themselves and loved ones, they each challenge this oppressive belief on moral grounds. Another dominant theme captured in both storylines is that of children. The life of