Bildungsroman

Unfair treatment makes discrimination evident. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird takes place when The Great Depression occurred during the 1930’s in an Alabama small town called “Maycomb”. To Kill a Mockingbird is written in the perspective of a little girl by the name of Jean Louise Finch (Scout finch) who is a stubborn, impulsive and outspoken little girl who throughout the novel gains maturity, becomes more observant, and understanding through life alongside her father. Harper Lee’s award winning novel is focused around the social, gender, and racial discrimination and, the affect it has on the people of Maycomb.

In the novel written by Harper Lee titled To Kill a Mockingbird, it is a story that revolves around two children named Jem and Scout and their experiences in a prejudiced town as they grow up and mature into young adults. They learn lessons regarding what the real world has to offer during a time of segregation. As they discover new ideas, they also manage to learn more about themselves. Lee utilizes imagery, direct characterization, and dialogue to express the recurring theme of coming of age, also known as Bildungsroman.

The author portray Mayella Ewell as a symbol of ignorant innocence warped into an outlet of evil, specifically the strain of racism. She is the victim of horrible and abusive influence. Her character development and testimony truly show this in the book. When Atticus begins to cross examine her on the witness her weak character begins to shed light on the lies her father installed into her head. Not only is her memory foggy due to the strenuous abuse, but also she lies on oath. “No answer. ‘What did your father see in the window, the crime of rape or the best defense to it? Why don’t you tell the truth, child, didn’t Bob Ewell beat you up?.’” (Lee 187). As her testimony continues, it is self-evident that Mayella is not being fully truthful and her father emotionally, physically and sexually exploits her. Mayella is forced to keep her and her father’s secret under safe keeping, but some of her account and questioning sheds light on the raw ways of Bob Ewell and the keeping of his family. “‘Do you love your Father, Miss Mayella?’ was his next. ‘Love him, watcha mean?’ ‘I mean, is he good to you, is he easy to get along with?’ ‘He does tollable, ‘cept when--’ ‘Except when?’ Mayella looked at her father, who was sitting with his chair tipped against the railing. He sat up straight and waited for her to answer.” (Lee 183). Through slight inconsistencies and small actions as her time of the witness it is easy to tell that Mayella knows her father’s wrongdoing and that she is being used for his evil purposes.

I am reading the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. This book is about a girl named Scout Finch who lives with her brother, Jem, and her father, Atticus, during the Great Depression. They live in a small town called Maycomb, Alabama. Maycomb is a town where everybody knows everybody. There is currently a trial taking place; Mayella vs. Tom Robinson. Tom has been accused of rapeing Mayella. Tom has pleaded not guilty for the crime he has been accused of. In this journal I will be evaluating Tom’s character and questioning why the Ewells may be lying.

Whatever respect or sympathy the reader might have had for Bob Ewell is dispelled by his behaviour in the courtroom and the evidence that Atticus produces that he was the cause of Mayella's beating. Not only is he a self-righteous bully but he is prepared to sacrifice Tom Robinson's life for his own selfish ends. The reader is more likely to feel sympathy for Mayella as the trial progresses. Her loneliness and need for simple human contact are made painfully evident as Scout comes to understand that she is 'the loneliest

Literary elements take up substantial fragments in stories today. In the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird”, there is a young boy named Jem Finch and throughout the story, you start to realise that he’s growing up, not physically, but mentally, we call that ‘the coming of age’. Jem’s coming of age experience is developed at Mrs.Dubose’s (a bad tempered old lady) house through conflict, irony, and symbol.

Mayella is the oldest child of the Ewell family but she has taken on a maternal role in the family. In the novel it is implied that Bob Ewell sexually assaults his daughter. This reinforces the feminist reading that focuses on the effects of discrimination against women and the lack of power and rights of females in the 1930's. Lee has written the novel in first-person and from the view of Scout, the protagonist. Scout is forced to be a stereotypical girl by the more strict characters of the novel, for example Aunt Alexandria. An example of this is,

To Kill a Mockingbird has two major genres that it can be shelved under; Bildungsroman and Southern Gothic. A bildungsroman, otherwise known as a ‘coming of age story’, usually focuses on one character as they ‘come of age’ and ‘grow up’ in either a mental or physical sense. To Kill a Mockingbird has more than one character experience a ‘coming of age’, but the character who ‘grew up’ the most was Scout. Over the course of the novel, she learned a multitude of lessons that helped shape and carry out the ending.

The Finch kids demonstrate friendly and kind attitudes, showing no malice towards anyone, yet a wicked man attacks and injures them, do to his rotten view of justice. Walking home from the school one evening, Bob Ewell charges at Jem and Scout, attempting, most likely to kill them both. This situation reestablishes the sense of injustice among the pages of To Kill a Mockingbird. Two adolescent bodies and souls experience physical wounds, as well as mental shock, and crime committed against the children as well as the town of Maycomb. “My arms were beginning to tingle, and they were red with small hexagonal marks (Chapter 28). Scout’s injury’s shows the true violence of Bob’s attack and a violation of human morality. Bob Ewell committed a heinous act, and while the children did nothing wrong, they are unjustly hurt because of someone else’s lack of morals.

After Tom Robinson is convicted guilty of raping Mayella Ewell, Atticus begins to explain to Jem that they did not win the case because of having an all white jury. Atticus explains that once the children grow older, they will realize that white men do not treat black men with respect and “no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family comes from, that white man is trash” (187). Atticus does not try to hide his disagreement of racism, which displays that he is socially aware and knows that everyone deserves to be treated equally. Scout starts her first grade year at school and comes home complaining to Atticus that she never wants to go back to school, like Walter Cunningham. Scout’s father makes her feel compassionate by saying “you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view– until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (22). Atticus making Scout understand that everyone may have different hidden conflicts to deal within their life reflects Lee’s views of treating everyone fairly. Atticus’s sister, Alexandra, moves into the Finch’s house and does not approve of having Calpurnia, a black maid, around the children. Angered by Alexandra’s disprovement, Atticus tells her that Calpurnia is “a faithful member of this family and you’ll simply have to accept things the way they are” (115). Atticus standing up to Alexandra’s remarks about not wanting to have the children raised by a black maid show’s Lee’s views on how all races should receive the same treatment. The characterization of Atticus emphasizes Lee’s strong feelings about how standing up for the equality and justice of people makes our society

When real life problems are seen from the perspective of a child, they often change the child in dramatic ways. Such is the case in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, a story narrated by a young girl living in Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. The young girl, Scout, lives with her brother and father, a lawyer who is defending a black man accused of raping a woman from town. In the beginning of the story Scout spends her time playing silly games around the house and yard with her brother Jem and neighbor Dill. As she becomes more aware of the social bias and racial tensions that are building in the small town, Scout and her world begin to change. Although Scout may not fully understand the ins and outs of the real world, she

The Ewells are a large family and are considered to be poor white trash, therefore Maycomb treats them as if their invisible. The truancy officer only requires the Ewell children to attend the first day of school. The city of Maycomb disregards the Ewells and doesn’t care about their education because they don’t matter in society. The city of Maycomb permits the Ewells to hunt out of season. Since Bob Ewell , their drunken father, doesn’t feed his children, the city has to let him hunt out of season to shut the kids up from crying when their hungry. The class tells the teacher to disregard Burris because he’s an Ewell that’s how the Ewells are and Burris was proud that his family is white-trash. The Ewells are considered the most rude people in Maycomb, for instance Burris Ewell a first grader tells his teacher,“Ain’t no snot-nosed slut of a school teacher ever born c’n make me do nothin’” (Lee

Everyone goes through a gradual change from youth to adult hood; growing up is an essential part of life. There comes a time in everyone’s life when this transition occurs. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout Finch’s experiences lead her to the realization that she needs to mature and consider others prior to making a decision and acting upon it. Evidently, in the course of two and a half years, the 6-year-old transforms from an unruly and wild girl to a proper Southern lady of Maycomb. It is clear that Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming of age novel by looking at Scout’s innocence and immaturity at the beginning of the novel, her challenges and struggles, and her eventual maturity toward the end of the novel.

Scout and Jem soon discover that their father is defending a black man named Tom Robinson who’s accused of raping Mayella Ewell. In school and around the neighborhood, the siblings have to deal with nasty opinions of their father and racial slurs. Both Jem and Scout find it difficult to keep their tempers as

First, during the trial, it is suggested that Mayella Ewell is sexually abused by her father. Mayella reveals this incriminating evidence when she was making advances towards Tom, as Tom recalls “‘She says what her papa do to her don’t count’” (Lee 260). Sexual abuse can greatly damage one's well being and leads to distrust, low self-esteem and impulsivity. Next, Mayella Ewell is emotionally abused by her father, Bob Ewell. This is evident from the way he talks about Mayella. For instance, when describing the alleged rape, Bob Ewell states “‘(...) I heard Mayella screamin’ like a stuck hog inside the house’” (Lee 230). The comparison of his daughter to a pig is both negative and degrading; a clear sign of emotional abuse. Finally, Mayella was undoubtedly physically assaulted by her father. This is evident to Atticus Finch as well as he declares “‘Why don’t you tell the truth, child, didn’t Bob Ewell beat you up?’” (Lee 251). It is an unavoidable fact that Bob Ewell assaulted his own daughter and likely not for the first time. Thus, the evidence of Mayella’s prolonged abuse by a loved one certainly does not make her virtuous, but it allows readers to experience and gain a better understanding of her thoughts and