All children go through changes and instances in their life that push them towards the brink of adulthood, especially those living in Maycomb County. The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, elaborates on the lives of the main characters, Jem and Scout Finch, and how they experience profound ordeals that try to open their eyes to the real world around them. In the first part of the book, Jem and Scout are introduced to the reader as representations of innocence. When people are born, they are filled to the brim with innocence, but as they get older, the world withdraws that innocence out of them. Harper Lee illustrates this theory from the start of the story using the lives of the children. Scout maintains a bit of her childhood innocence even after everything she and her brother have to bear, whereas Jem has his eviscerated by each vexing incident. Jem endures critical moments in his life that commence his transition from a child to an adult.
First, the death of Mrs. Dubose has a great mental effect on Jem. Before she dies, both Jem and Scout think of her as this cruel old lady who speaks negatively of their father for “lawing for niggers” (Lee 135). This offends Jem immensely and in that moment he forgoes his commitment of being a gentleman like his father and destroys her camellia bushes. Even after receiving the consequence of reading to her for about a month, Jem did not become conscious as to why there is an alarm or why it keeps getting prolonged each day until
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has been banned and/or challenged over thirty times since its publication in 1960. Effectively preventing many students from enjoying the novel and benefitting from its message. To ignore racism is no different than denying it ever existed. To Kill a Mockingbird is appropriate for mature adolescence/students and should not be banned from schools. Despite its sexual related content, or profanity, a valuable lesson remains that should be taught to students.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has many ongoing themes such as Walking in Someone Else 's Shoes, Social Classes, Scout 's Maturity, and Boo Radley. These themes contribute to the story in many ways.
Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is the story of two children coming of age and learning about their hometown and the whole world. The two children in the story are Jem and Scout Finch. Jem and Scout live with their father, Atticus, in Maycomb County. Throughout the story, many problems arise which teach both children about bravery. The three bravest characters in the novel include their neighbor Mrs. Dubose, a convicted black man named Tom Robinson, and their father Atticus.
The word courage is defined as “The quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc, without fear.” In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch strongly demonstrates courage though his words and actions. He defends Tom Robinson even though doing this he puts his family at risk for discrimination due to the prejudice and racial inequity in Maycomb. In addition, Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley displays courage as he reveals himself to those who were around him such as the children after being shut away from the rumors that surround him from the people of Maycomb. Arthur displays courage as he attempts to communicate with Jem and Scout. Finally, Miss Maudie, portrays courage as she watches her house
An award winning book and classic for modern American literature implies the remarkable novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Nelle Harper Lee. The narrator and main character of this book is Jean Louise, more commonly known as Scout Finch. This book is set in the slow-paced town of Maycomb where the community is small, but the struggles many. In this small town, social norms play a big role in everyday life. The social “laws” are found to be stronger and more enforced than the real law. Citizens of this southern community must stay in their class or endure suffering as an outcast. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, specific circumstances in the 1930s South impacts the theme of Small Town Life. The study of eugenics and stereotypes impacts the identity of the citizens of Maycomb on a daily basis and affects the social norms for different people.
In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates that “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” throughout the novel by writing innocent characters that have been harmed by evil. Tom Robinson’s persecution is a symbol for the death of a mockingbird. The hunters shooting the bird would in this case be the Maycomb County folk. Lee sets the time in the story in the early 1950s, when the Great Depression was going on and there was poverty everywhere. The mindset of people back then was that black people were inferior to whites. There was still prejudice against innocent colored people, when they did no wrong. Tom Robinson was an innocent man who did nothing but help Mayella Ewell. When Atticus described the mockingbird as an animal that “don’t do one thing, but sing their hearts out for us,” it’s similar to Tom Robinson. He never accepted money from Mayella for doing her chores, but out of the kindness of his heart. Just like how a mockingbird does not sing for anyone but themselves. However, since Tom is black, the townspeople supported Mayella’s testimony over his. They thought with certainty that a black man raped a pure white woman, because it was in their nature. A mob attempted to intimidate Atticus out of the way in order to step inside Tom’s jail cell and kill him. The citizens’ symbolical “gun” was racism and criticism towards the case. After Tom was jailed, he tried to jump over the jail fence. However, the security guards shot him seventeen times before he
Throughout the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee conveys the concept of courage through differing individual’s perspectives. In the racially segregated community of Maycomb, the existence and genuine form of valour is misinterpreted by the citizens. Audacity is associated with physical strength and will; one’s engagements and victories. However, Harper Lee explores its disparate forms through opposing individuals, defining the presence of authentic courage. Readers are exposed to several forms of courage, from individuals who acquire diverse values and beliefs. Lee discovers intellectual courage through the maturation of youthful Jem Finch’s into an adult. In the life of a principled lawyer, Atticus Finch’s moral fortitude is vividly illustrated as he continues to defy all social conventions when defending Tom Robinson. Through the eyes of a morphine addict, Lee introduces emotional courage in Mrs. Dubose’s when suppressing her unprincipled habits. By imbedding the quality of “courage” in the lives’ of various characters, Lee effectively illustrates the numerous forms of the motif ‘courage’ and its genuine definition: intellectual, social and spiritual.
During the Civil War period, a pro¬slavery mob chained Francis McIntosh to a locust tree, burnt him fatality in 1837. There are a lot of abolitionists, like Elijah Parish Lovejoy, who lost their lives when criticizing lynching. Elijah Parish Lovejoy showed both physical and moral courage fighting against inequality. The real courage of abolitionists during that time was gaining equal opportunities for African-¬Americans, and be treated the same as white people, no matter the consequences. Even after a century, there is no slavery anymore, there is still racism happening. In Harper Lee’s book To Kill a Mockingbird, she shows the real meaning of courage fighting for equal rights in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Great Depression. Lee shows that the society is unfair and teaches people how important it is to have courage. The novel is narrated by an innocent girl named Scout, whose father, Atticus, is a famous lawyer, and tries to provide equal rights to the people. She lives with her father Atticus and her older brother Jem. The two siblings grow up learning about prejudice, unfair treatments in the society and they started to understand the moral of life. In the event of Tom Robinson, poor black men, is being accused of raping a white girl which is not true. He is being treated unequally, they stand up, show respect to the African¬-Americans and fight against racism. Atticus and his children display the real courage when the majority of people in the town is
Growing up is an important part of life that we look forward to, as becoming an adult seems exciting, but realizing the truth may be difficult. In the novel, “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Harper Lee shows the significance of growing up through his literature. Lee shows this through one of the protagonist in the novel, Scout looses her innocence as she discovers the harsh reality of society. In addition, her younger brother Jem also learns from his experiences, as he gains a new perspective and point of view from others. Scout and Jem also grow from their encounter and relation with Boo Radley. The two siblings both go through an emotional growing up development, as they learn from past experiences and see the world in a different way. One will lose their innocence from experiences that will change their point of view of things, but also gain wisdom and knowledge as it leads to the result of growing up.
Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, AL. Recently, she died on February 19, 2016 in her hometown. One of her most famous books published, To Kill a Mockingbird, occurred on July 11, 1960. It instantly became a success and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961. The novel received positive reviews and achieved bestseller status. The plot and characters loosely resemble the author’s observations of her family and neighbors along with an event that occurred near her hometown around age 10. Many people look at To Kill a Mockingbird as autobiographical of Harper Lee’s life. Lee’s father is similar to the character Atticus Finch, being an attorney who defended two African Americans accused of murder. Also, Lee had a brother who like
In the novel titled “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee set in Alabama, in a southern county in the era of the Great Depression, between 1933 and 1936 illustrates that to understand and empathize with others, all you need is imagination. Perhaps that is the reason why Harper Lee let it be an innocent girl of almost 6 years to tells the story, because children can use their imagination. However, Jem and Scout met too many people along the story and from each person the children learned something such as don’t prejudge others, be strong in the most difficult times, to never give up and most important to defend innocent people.
In nineteen forty-nine, a twenty-three year old Harper Lee arrived in New York City where she worked for the British Overseas Air
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Taught me many lessons that I apply to my life each day. To Kill a Mockingbird has made an incredible impact on my life and has made me realize many things. As I have gotten older I have begun to realize how things are not always as they appear to be. Whether it is people, situations or even opportunities. You may think you know or understand someone when in reality you may not even understand anything about the person at all. Today, society is often quick to judge and make assumptions about individuals without even knowing their story and sometimes even half of their story. Being a teenager and a young adult in the world today can be difficult. We are told how to act and how to dress according to the world’s standards. Harper Lee taught me the importance of being myself through her story about Scout. I now know how important it is to stand up for myself and never let anyone belittle my values.
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a story about a young girl named Louise “Scout” Finch and her older brother Jeremy (AKA Jem)’s life in the “tired old town” of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. The story starts off by Scout explaining the events that lead to her brother, Jem, breaking his arm. Scout and Jem lived with their father, Atticus Finch, a lawyer in Maycomb County, and their cook Calpurnia. Scout’s mother died when she was two, so she didn’t have much memory of her.
The text type of To Kill a Mockingbird is a fiction novel which deals with the racism the author observed as a child in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama. To Kill a Mockingbird was written by Harper Lee, who wrote her novel in a retrospective point of view. There were numerous aspects of historical, personal, cultural and social context in To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee was born on the 28th of April, 1926, in Monroeville Alabama. Monroeville was a close-knit community that has many similarities with Maycomb, which is the setting of To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee’s father was a prominent lawyer, whom she drew inspiration for the protagonists father, Atticus Finch. Among Lee’s childhood friends was Truman Capote, from whom she drew inspiration to the character Dill. These personal details help portray Harper Lee’s own childhood home, where racism and segregation was highly evident. Another example of context which helped shape To Kill a Mockingbird were the events that occurred during Harper Lee’s childhood. In 1931, when Harper Lee was five years old, nine African-American men were accused of raping two white women near Scottsboro, Alabama. After a series of lengthy, highly publicised, and often bitter trials, five of the nine men were sentenced to long term imprisonment. Many prominent lawyers and various members of the general public saw the sentences as spurious and believed that it was motivated by racial prejudice.