To Kill A Mocking Bird Essay The author Harper Lee, wrote a non-fiction novel titled "To Kill A Mockingbird," which took place in Maycomb, Alabama during the great depression. The main theme of the story is that it is a sin to kill a Mocking bird. This means that picking on people who are helpless and harmless, is a bad thing to do. 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.
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
Despite the early introduction to this lesson, Scout doesn’t fully understand it, or at least learn it, until the very last chapter when she finally meets Boo Radley, and stands on his porch thinking about the compilation of events which make up the book, from Boo’s point of view, “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough.” This shows the understanding Scout has finally had of the way people are perceived and the way they actually are. It shows that she has learnt what many
While Atticus is the true hero scout is also a hero in the book too. Scout is a girl that is about to turn 6 when the book begins and 8 when it ends Through Harper lee’s display of scout we see her understanding of life. Through the book, Scout successfully Finds herself in a difficult situation at the jail. A Large crowd of Maycomb white men storms into jail looking for Tom Robinson. Scout, Jem, and Dill are told to stay home by Atticus while he Visits Tom at the jail. Scout Jem and Dill arrive at the Jail soon after they see the crowd and cease the argument on killing Tom. The mob stop fighting and Mr. Cunningham notices what he has done wrong. Scout shows courage in the book through standing up for what she believes is the right thing to do. Throughout the book, harper lee displays scout begin curious and brave. Scout Jem and Dill go to Boo Radley's house, a man in his thirties that has not been seen since he did some bad things. Scout Jem and Dill show courage and go over to their house for the summer they wanted to see what Boo Radley looks like. The kids play games in their yard, Like who can touch the door and run back. Scout shows courage in the book to see if Boo Radley wanted to play games with them or not and also see what he looks like. In the book, there is a lot of Put yourself in other people’s shoes First. Scout
After Scout fights with Cecil Jacobs at her school for calling Atticus a ‘nigger-lover’, she is told by her father to “ just hold your head high and keep those fists down.” (Lee, 76) Atticus is expressing that one should not let others get to them and stand up for themselves. She takes up the courage to do so the next time she is yelled at by the boy, although with much difficulty. Through this account, Scout’s willingness to learn and grow is portrayed. Also, Scout is able to stand by her morals when she confronts the mob with Jem and Dill. She demonstrates this by kicking the man who harmed Jem and eventually repressing the mob to leave the county jail, in order to protect her brother and Atticus. The ultimate fear Scout conquers was her unease of ‘Boo’ or Arthur Radley. In the beginning, she identifies Arthur as a mysterious and frightening person who lives on the other side of the street. After Arthur saves Scout and Jem from Bob Ewell’s attack, she realizes that Arthur wasn’t so frightening anymore and learns to embrace her fear. She does so by walking Arthur home and when she stands on his porch for the second time, not with fear, but with understanding. Scout was able to progress as an individual, stand up for her beliefs, and embrace her fears throughout the
If going about the book To Kill a Mockingbird in a chronological manner the first lesson that Scout learns is the lesson of empathy. When Scout goes into the first grade she meets her teacher Miss Caroline, Miss caroline is a young and new teacher from alabama. In chapter two of To Kill a Mockingbird Scout gets in trouble for knowing how to read which in infuriates Scout. Miss Caroline claims that if Atticus continues to teach Scout it will only hurt scout more, however Scout claims that Atticus did not teach her but rather she simply knew how. Moving on Scout grow a distinct dislike for Miss caroline and voices this to Atticus. As a result Atticus makes a compromise with Scout that if she goes to school then they will continue to read together as usual. The importance of this scene is that Scout is growing as a person and learning more and more about looking at things from others perspectives. Although
‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is a novel written by Harper Lee. It is set during the early 20th Century in the fictional town of Maycomb. Lee has decided to write the novel from a child’s point of view because a child is innocent but as the novel progresses the narrator, Scout, loses her innocence as she deals with the complications of her father being a lawyer. The novel revolves around racism and Scout sees discrimination wherever she goes whether it is racial or social prejudice. The town’s people agree with the idea that whites are superior to blacks. An example of this is when Atticus, Scout’s father, has to defend a black man who is accused of raping Bob Ewell’s daughter.
The single most important piece of advice Scout received was given to her by her father in the third chapter of the book. Atticus says, “If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. 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” (Lee 39). Throughout the book, Scout and Jem had been fascinated with Boo Radley,
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.
One truth Scout learns is that not all people are what they seem. For the entirety of the book, Scout perceived Arthur Radley as a terrifying murderer. When she finally meets Arthur, she realizes she was wrong. Scout could not understand Arthur because she had not “climbed into his skin and walked around in it” (Lee 39). This truth is exceptionally important because in high school there is the possibility to make many new friends and enemies. One must know that people are not always what they seem. You should not be quick to judge because you do not know what is going on in their life.
People can get away with killing pigeons, cardinals, and blue jays, but it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. A mockingbird wouldn’t hurt anything; it’s only purpose is to sing songs for the everyday people. Jem and Scout had to restrain from shooting the mockingbirds due to their father’s warning. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is written from the view point of a little girl, Scout, in the 1930’s during the Great Depression. Her father, Atticus, is assigned a court case where he has to defend an African American that is accused of raping and assaulting a white woman. While her dad is away at work, Scout, her older brother Jem, and summertime friend Dill try to make their mysterious and perhaps dangerous
Crime occurring on campus at The Ohio State University is taken extremely seriously by faculty, students, and parents alike. It is a sensitive issue with numerous different opinions on how it should be handled. Some people believe in knowing as much specific information as possible about the crime and suspect, while others believe the release of this information will just lead to witch hunts and may negatively affect some students due to a multitude of reasons including ethnicity, background, or race. My plan is to discuss these two points of view and some psychological evidence that supports both beliefs.
Scout learns 3 important things about life in the book. One thing she learns is that life is unfair. She experiences this in a court case with her dad defending a black man named Tom Robinson who is accused for raping Mayella Ewell the daughter of Bob Ewell. Mr. Atticus had very good reasons on why Tom should not be accused of rape and everyone in the court including the jury and judge were sure that he would win but at the end of the case the jury decided
Scout’s maturation and non-judgmental attitude that develops throughout To Kill a Mockingbird help her mature into an individual with integrity. Contrary to the beginning of the novel, Scout establishes herself as a wise character in the latter portions of the book. After an incredulous Atticus is told that Jem did not kill Mr. Ewell, Scout reassures Atticus by saying, “Well it’d sort of be like shootin’ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?” (Lee 276) Taking Atticus’ advice into consideration, Scout climbs into Boo Radley’s skin and finally respects Boo’s decision to remain indoors and not be proclaimed a hero. Additionally, Scout matures into a very open-minded
The novel To Kill A Mockingbird is successful in delivering the story in a manner that captivates the audience. The story began by setting the scene, mood and also by introducing each character, which familiarized the reader with the environment. The author wrote the story in a manner that flowed with real life events of a time relative to the story, such as the segregation, racism and any financial struggles. It also did well to give each character a realistic mindset and reactions based on each person’s respective characterization. In a similar way, the story was written from the perspective of Scout, and the story was effectively narrated with the innocence and a lesser knowledge coming from someone of her age. Additionally, the story did a particularly good job at introducing details that were important to the story as it progressed so there were no surprises based on a sudden law change, for example. This aided in building the story to its climax, and other peaks of action. Each element to the story worked in sync to maneuver easily through the plot in a well thought out and executed story.
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.