Characters In To Kill A Mockingbird

Minor characters are often more important than they initially seem, and can be just as engaging and complicated as major characters. Furthermore, protagonists are isolated without the people that surround and influence them subliminally. This applies to the intriguing minor characters one has the privilege of discovering in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Specifically, Lee uses minor characters to effectively disprove stereotypes and establishing setting. Not only do they influence the direction of the plot, but also Scout and her development as a character. Lee carefully selects minor characters to send important messages and reinforce themes by using characters as symbols. Fundamentally, the minor characters in “To Kill a

Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.”

Matt Berman from Common Sense Media commented, “This richly textured novel, woven from the strands of small-town life, lets readers walk in the shoes of one fully realized character after another.” To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, one of the major messages is identity. Harper Lee lets the people look into the perspectives and identity of some of the characters that make it seem very life-like. In the novel, many characters possess both admirable and dislikable qualities which are shown through their actions. With the nurturing of her father, Scout contains the charming qualities of being courage and mature for her age. The father that instilled these characteristics in Scout, is Atticus Finch. While dealing with the stressful case of Tom Robinson, Atticus maintains to keep the likable aspects of sympathy and strong will. The antagonist in this novel fighting against Tom Robinson is Bob Ewell. Bob Ewell has instilled, in him, the terrible qualities of cruelty and racism. These life-like characters that Harper Lee illustrates gives people a clear vision of who the characters portray.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a beloved American classic set in 1930’s Alabama. The novel follows the lives of two children, Jem and Scout, as they grow up. However, the theme of this story is cultivated by two secondary characters-- Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. From them, we find out that things are not always as they seem to be.

Imagine you are a lawyer tasked with an impossible case, and everybody in your community is against you, but still there is a shred of hope you cling to. What might that be you ask? That to which you cling are your morals. In To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus Finch had been given the Tom Robinson case, where a black man was convicted of raping a white woman. As a single father of two children, he continues to reinforce his values throughout the trial and during his daunting task of raising his children. In To Kill A Mockingbird what Harper Lee suggests about the nature of morals is that you should try to stand up for what you believe in even if people oppose or reject your ideals. Even when faced with an insurmountable opposition you should stand up for your morals because in the end if your don't follow your beliefs you are just contributing to the problem. We should try to create a voice for what we believe in and impress that upon the next generation so they can continue to exercise their beliefs to make the world a better place.

The third most prominent theme in To Kill a Mockingbird is names and their power and significance. Multiple times throughout the book, we see that the names being used have a big impact on the county’s social pyramid. For example, when Atticus is cross examining Mayella Ewell, he respectfully calls her things like “Miss” and “Ma’am.” However, Mayella is offended by the names, and yells, “Long’s he keeps on callin’ me ma’am an sayin’ Miss Mayella. I don’t hafta take his sass, I ain’t called upon to take it” (Lee 243). Mayella isn’t used to being respected like that. When in a professional setting like a courtroom, the respect and maturity being shown towards her catches her off guard, and she mistakes it for disrespect. We see another example of the significance and power of names in To Kill a Mockingbird when Scout, Jem, and Atticus visit family for

Throughout To kill a Mockingbird many characters have showed growth, maturity, and empathy. 2 main characters that have showed empathy are Scout and Atticus finch. Scout thinks that Boo Radley is a monster, later on in the book he ends up saving Jem and Scout and Scout realizes that there was more to Boo Radley than just a monster. Atticus Finch was the lawyer for Tom Robinson on his trial; even though they lost the trial due to racism it proves how Atticus has empathy for not only white people but black people as well. Overall, Harper Lee is trying to tell us that you should not judge people by what you hear about them, you should judge them on how you feel about them and their qualities based on your perspective.

Atticus Finch believes “ You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view” (Pg 39). He tells this to his young, and naive daughter Scout, when she makes false accusations about the people in the town she lives in, based on what she has heard about them. Over the course of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the main characters, Scout and Jem learn about prejudice. Some of the most prominent characters in the novel such as, Mrs. Dubose, Mr. Raymond, and Boo Radley have a big impact on the kids in showing their true identities, in contrast to what they have been made up to be by the kids, and society. As a result they learn that it is really hard to blame a person when you look at things from their perspective.

“‘You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-‘“ (30, Atticus). In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses misunderstood characters to show that things aren’t always what they seem. Through characters such as: Boo Radley, Mrs. Dubose and Calpurnia, Harper Lee shows that people place their faith in public image and rumours rather than striving to know the truth. This is one of the bigger problems that arises in the novel because it hides important facts and magnifies powerful lies. Although it is human nature to assume and suspect, without complete information it is impossible to truley know someone. The chacracters demonstrate this by their surprise discovering the truth about those they think

Because of a common culture, racism plays significant role in the treatment of the individual. Atticus tells Scout that “as you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat on black men every day of your life,” (Lee 252). Here, it is evident that the weak are being deceived by the powerful. Furthermore, duplicity causes the weak to lose their esteem and opportunities to improve their standard of living. Lee also proves that a person’s level of wealth will affect how he or she is treated. The Cunninghams, a group of extremely poor people, is alienated when children like Scout are told that “[they] are trash…that’s why you can’t play with them,”(Lee 254). Due to isolation and discrimination inflicted upon by poverty, the ones who are not as fortunate are looked down upon and denied opportunities. Lastly, those who have a poor reputation fueled with rumors will encounter prejudice in almost every act they do. Boo Radley, a man who has been isolated for many years and is the topic of many rumors, is mocked by other people: Scout describes him as “every passing Negro laughing the night was Boo Radley loose,” (Lee 62) and Boo Radley is also blamed for any mishaps in town. Based on Boo’s degraded social status, he is mocked and mistreated, which leads him to live isolated in his house. All these examples portray that a person’s background is

In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, each character from start to finish unquestionably has a change in how they really see Maycomb and life. The characters that changed generally certainly are Atticus Finch, Scout Finch, and Jem Finch or (Jeremy Atticus Finch), which truly really is very astonishing, which really is genuinely huge. There actually thought on life changed radically however in a sort of okay route after in every practical sense certain occasions past, They likewise for the most part basically had individuals they unquestionably in every practical sense conversed with that particularly basically helped them change like Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose, Jem Finch, and Atticus Finch.

People are not who they seem to be in To Kill A Mockingbird. Are one example being Atticus himself. He has a different point view on himself that his kids don’t seem to really see about him. For example the town calls him the “one shot flinch”. Another on is he intelligent and an amazing at what he does and if you didnt know what he does he’s a lawyer. He also stay’s calm and collected in sistuations that somebody else wouldn’t handle very well. Next we have Boo Radley. He’s known as a dirty , gross boy. Also rumors has it that he’s a trouble maker or thats what everyone hears. But as we read on in the book we got to know him a little bit more. He has good intentions. Also he helps people and an example of him helping is that he folded jems

In To Kill a Mockingbird, the setting, Maycomb, acts like a character by setting expectations, influencing characters decisions, and creating conflict that drives the plot. The small, southern town plays a large role in many of the story’s underlying issues, and is probably one of the most prominent characters in the novel itself.

Can you recollect a person that you hate all the time? Is this person rude, not sociable, emotionally abusive, or just plain racist? In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the novel digs deep into the roots of Social Classes. One of these classes, in particular, is “White Trash.” “White Trash” is a class that has the poor white people that don’t contribute much to society and sometimes even make the society worse. There is one character that everyone loathes in Maycomb, and he is Mr. Ewell. Harper Lee portrays Mr. Ewell and his kids as uneducated, racist, murderous pigs because of three reasons. This family disrespects other members of the community in cruel ways, abuses their power by accusing a black man of rape, and tries to kill two

A person is more than their outward appearance. Their name can tell a lot about them. Names are an important factor to a person’s personality. People tend to pick a name for their children that represents someone they care about and respect. They hope their child will live up to the name. It is no surprise that over 1,300 children have parents that want their child to achieve the high level of success and respect Atticus Finch receives (“Mockingbird Moments”, 2010). In her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses Atticus Finch’s actions and children to portray his influential, flawed, and innovative personality.