To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the most loved books ever written. Many of you may have read it when you were younger in an English class, but there are some important lessons in this novel that you may have missed. These lessons have a positive impact on children’s world view and point out the problem of racism in society. The problem of racism is prominent throughout the novel are still relevant to this day.
Set in the 1930’s in the fictional town of Maycomb and told from the perspective of Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, the story is semi biographical and is reminiscent of Harper Lee’s life. The trial in the novel was based on two court cases involving African Americans who were convicted and discriminated because of their skin colour. During this time period, society was just coming out of the Great Depression, many people were unemployed and poor, and segregation was enforced. Racism was everywhere and still is, however it is kept out of public view.
Throughout the novel, Scout and her brother Jem learn the harsh realities of the world in which they live, beginning with the trial of Tom Robinson. Along the way, they learn five very important life lessons from their father; empathy, innocence, true courage, the unfairness of the world and how to fight with your head.
The first lesson Scout learns is empathy. Empathy is an extremely important skill when trying to understand people. Atticus puts it to her saying “You never really understand a person until you consider
Author uses Atticus teach these lessons through his wise words. Atticus teaches these lessons to not only the audience, but Jem and Scout too. Some of the main things he teaches his kids about are understanding people, using the mind instead of the body, the cruel reality of stereotypes, and true
Racism is something that most people would claim they do not believe in or support; however, as clearly shown in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, racism is a disease that spreads through a region and worsens as time goes on. Racism is an issue that is still prevalent in the American society today, and Harper Lee’s timeless novel continues to teach the lesson that one needs to look beyond the color of another man’s skin and see them for who they truly are. Mr. Raymond’s conversation with Dill after Tom Robinson’s testimony initially shows that racism is better comprehended with age. He says, “Let him get a little older and he won’t get sick and cry… Cry about the hell white people give to colored folks, without even stopping to think that they’re people too” (Lee, 1960, p. 269). Here, it becomes clear that children can be naive to racism and the evil in the world, but as they continue to grow up in an area that feels so strongly about white supremacy, they become immune to the injustice and prejudice. Further, Mr. Raymond’s words allow the reader to better understand the severity of the racism in Maycomb and the entirety of the country. It also unveils a crucial theme in the novel, namely that one must consider a person of color to be no different from oneself, as all humans are equal. Additionally, racism is repeatedly referred to as a disease in the novel, which is explained when Atticus is talking to Uncle Jack about the trial and he says “‘... I hope and pray I can get
Secondly, Scout learns not to misjudge others. During the story Scout and jem receive toy guns for christmas.
Calpurnia, Miss Maudie, and Atticus teach valuable lessons to Scout about how to treat other people, to accept different perspectives, and to maintain self-control; furthermore, these lessons Scout learns are still useful since they can be taught to some people today who experience
In conclusion, throughout the novel Scout learns important things about life, people and society. There were many other things Scout learnt in this book
As Jem and Scout grow up, they learn how to empathize other people and why showing empathy is very important. Atticus takes the major role of teaching Jem and Scout
First, Jem and Scout learn that things or people aren’t always what they seem to be. There are two minor characters that most help to emphasize this important lesson. To start, there is Ol’ One Shot. In the novel, Scout and Jem jump to the conclusion that Atticus is incapable of doing anything “cool” like the fathers of their schoolmates’ can. Because of Atticus’ old age, the children take notice that he never plays football, fishes, hunts, etc. However, after Atticus is handed a rifle, they realize what he can do. Miss Maudie shouts, “I saw that, One-Shot Finch” (128), and later tells Jem, “...Atticus Finch was the deadest shot in Maycomb County in his time” (129). By this statement, and by hearing about Ol’ One Shot, the children learned that they do not know every little detail about everyone, and that they shouldn’t make judgements so immediately like they did. Jem and Scout did not know about Ol’ One Shot, but once they found out, their opinions about their father changed. Thus, they took in that people aren’t always what they seem to be. The next character
In the book To Kill a Mockingbird Scout has learned many lessons from everyone surrounding her in the community. Atticus, her father, is a very good role model and brought up his children in a very well mannered environment. From this we see Scout grow from a young girl into a young teenage girl. Many things shaped scouts perception of the world, such as the Tom Robinson case. One lesson Scout took from that incident is that everyone is equal no matter what
The lessons Scout learns from these people help her to mature from a naïve child to a child that understands how the world works. Atticus, Scout’s father, teaches her about the importance of respect and tolerance towards everyone, regardless of their background or race. When Scout comes
Both Scout and Jem learned many lessons from Atticus. Scout learned to put herself into someone else's shoes, and in their perspective. She stood on Boo Radley's porch and realized what he was going through with being alone. On the other hand, Jem learns about courage and to see things through in life. He learns about this when Atticus explains about the Tom Robinson case and Mrs.Dubose with her drug addiction.
A Father is like a hero to his children during their young years.. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, takes place during the childhood of Scout Finch during the Great Depression. Our main character, Scout Finch, shares her story of growing up in Maycomb, Alabama where she is the youngest child of two. Throughout the story, Scout learns to respect others by listening to Atticus explicitly. Jem and Scout learn to be mature because Atticus teaches and explains how your prejudice will normally lead you to make false conclusions.
Atticus edifies scout on the significance of education, immorality and injustice, and importance of accepting others through his words and actions. Atticus
Atticus, Jem and Calpurnia. She learned from Atticus by him telling her and asking questions. Like when her and Jem got guns from Atticus. One of the very important lessons she learned was not to kill a mocking bird because mocking birds do nothing except play music for us to enjoy. Scout didn’t just learn from Atticus she learned from Jem to. She learned from Jem by studying him and watching him grow up. One example of whar she learned was when she found a roly-poly and jem told her to put him back because roly-poly’s don’t bother you She learned two very important lessons from jem you shouldn’t fight and you shouldn’t harm anything that doesn’t harm you.
The theme I chose to write was racism in “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Racism is the belief in which ethnic groups account for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others. This belief has been a part of the human race ever since people are born, racism is slowly fading, but people cannot that say all do not express it. There are still some who believe one's ethnicity and appearance change everything in that particular person. In Harper Lee's novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, the town's people of Maycomb misjudge African-Americans. They treat them like trash, and through some people's eyes, African-Americans are just filthy beings. In this novel, Lee expresses one's ethnicity and appearance change other's opinions about a certain character, without knowing the character's personality and beliefs. “Harper Lee is against racism in To Kill a Mockingbird.”
In the book, one of the lessons that Scout learns is courage. The way that courage is displayed is when Boo Radley saved Jem and Scout from Mayella Ewell's father. What he did was that he killed her father before the father killed the kids. Not only that, Boo Radley was a recluse. He never came out. This showed Scout to never be afraid to stand up and fight back. The second lesson that Scout learns is acceptance.