In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, the author uses characterization to bring her characters to life. Harper Lee introduces the characters of Scout, Jem, and Atticus Finch, the protagonists. Direct and indirect characterization allows the reader to further learn about and relate to the fascinating characters. She uses them to further connect the reader to this iconic story. By conveying the story through these characters, the reader is immersed into the novel.
Harper Lee published her famous book, To Kill a Mockingbird, more than fifty years ago, but it is still one of the most read books of this age. Before her death, Harper Lee earned $9,249 a day, giving her a net worth of thirty-five million dollars. This money is well earned, however, as Lee used her words to impact and shape the way people thought to improve the world we live in. Former first lady Laura Bush called the book "a novel that has enshrined for generations an ideal of American decency” (al.com). Clearly, one can already see that the book is well known and influential enough to impress people all over the world. To Kill a Mockingbird is about a young girl by the name of Scout who grows up in a racist town. The story tells the reader
Harper Lee is a famous author who wrote the award winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird. She grew up in the heart of Alabama and tied in many aspects of her southern childhood into the novel. There are historical and biological influences in the book To Kill a Mockingbird that reflect Lee’s life and the society around her during the 1930s.
Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926 and grew up in Monroeville, Alabama. As author of the worldwide bestselling novel To Kill a Mockingbird, her childhood life had a strong influence on the book. Many aspects of the story suggest that some characters and events are actually based on her real-life experiences. The time, place and environment in which the book is set are distinctly similar to that of those in To Kill a Mockingbird.
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.
In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout Finch, and her brother Jem, learn the importance of seeing things through other people's eyes. At the beginning of the story, the people living in Maycomb County, can be considered "mockingbirds" because they are innocent. Their father, Atticus, leads as a strong example while defending Tom Robinson, a black man convicted for rape. The residents of Maycomb (besides the Finches) fail to see situations through other people's eyes. For example, when the trial takes place, most people do not have empathy toward Tom Robinson, resulting in some of those "mockingbirds" becoming killed. Trying to see situations through other people's eyes can keep someone from hurting somebody who is innocent.
As humans we are capable of having thousands of different emotions. The ways these emotions have an effect on us is how we live our daily lives. We live each day making choices based on how we feel. We can choose to do wrong or right by what our instincts tell us. These ethics and morals in our lives influence us as people. The novel written by Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird citizens of Maycomb, Alabama all face many different challenges in their lives. Atticus, a father of eight-year old girl Scout and Jam, a ten-year old boy must take on a challenge and defend a black man in court. Tom Robinson is the black man who is falsely accused of rape. Aunt Alexandra who conflicts with Scout about the clothing she wears, and Boo Radley the strange
In Harper Lee’s, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper uses many literary elements to grab the attention of the readers. Many of these literary elements help contribute to the point of coming of age as well; these apply to the book but can go with the movie. Some of the literary elements are also used to show the way African-Americans were treated near the 1900’s era and to show how accustomed people were to racism.
“I am not Abnegation. I am not Dauntless. I am Divergent” (Roth 442). This quotation display a certain substance we all need understand about ourselves in life; we are more than one thing, one personally, and one judgement, we are all divergent. Divergent is a powerful word in which means that we are all different than what the world may want you to be or how you are portrayed to the rest of the world. Divergent means, you are not just one human you are one different human being who has many aspects that make you the person you are. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, judgement is evident when characters Arthur Radley, Atticus Finch, and Dolphus Raymond are misjudged for the way they community sees them, which is being
The concept of conforming to society or not has gone through the minds of almost everyone. Recently, I had read two novels. The first concerns a young girl’s journey in discovering what the world is like - unfair, unjust, misleading. She also learns not to be prejudiced and she learned how to not give up: she learned this all from her father. The second follows a teenage girl’s only known world as it’s destroyed. This is the beginning of her troubles since the elders exiled her and her partner. All that they had left were the dangers of the world above ground and her partner’s long ago memories. Though both of these novels seemed as if they have nothing in common, they do have something: the conception of harmonizing or not. After reading
Classic stories have a protagonist who involuntarily steps into struggles, obstacles, and times of self-reflection. The reader envisions the character throughout the plot fighting barriers and instinctively discovers how the character progresses from the beginning, many times having to face personal conflict, to see positive change in the end. In Harper Lee’s, To Kill A Mockingbird, the main focus and perspective are from Scout who comes face to face with challenges along her journey. She must learn to become the person who she wants to be without the negative impacts of the environment and traditional values she succumbs to. Through the significance of the Cunningham’s, Reverend Sykes, and Miss Maudie, the juxtaposition Scout embraces among these characters help her grow to understand the importance of seeing the
Harper Lee grew up as a tomboy in a small town in Alabama. Lee’s father was a lawyer and a
When children grow up, they learn about moral lessons through experiences. Five years old kid usually are innocent and believe that everyone is fair and kind. However, they learn to distinguish between good and evil as they continue their journey of life. This is also true for the two young protagonists, Jem and Scout, in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. In their small town called Maycomb, they learn various lessons from neighbors like Mrs. Dubose and Boo Radley, while observing through a trial where an innocent, black man named Tom Robinson gets convicted for a crime. With scenes like these, they learn the true definition of human nature and become less innocent through the wisdom of Mrs. Dubose, Boo Radley’s protection, and Tom Robinson’s fate.
According to the Alabama Academy of Honor Archives, Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama to Amasa Coleman and Frances Finch Lee. In the south, it is customary to be called by your middle name. Therefore, throughout the rest of this paper, Nelle Harper Lee will be referred to as Harper Lee.
This brings me to television programming and how it impacts out lives. Television is hands down the most influential form of media we have. Hundreds of millions of people sit down each day to plug themselves into their favorite sitcom or program. Television shows help us not only structure our appearance but also shape our morals and