Compare how the composers of To Kill a Mockingbird and Persepolis use characterisation to explore the conflict between personal and public worlds.
Everyone is different, has their own personality and views but it is not an uncommon occurrence when their way of thinking clashes or is challenged with others. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird (T.K.A.M) and Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis, while set in different time periods, explore similar issues of discrimination which are shown through techniques used by the authors.
In both books, Harper Lee and Marjane Satrapi have built their stories around young female protagonists, Scout a hard-headed and impressionable tomboy from T.K.A.M and Marjane from Persepolis. By having the stories be narrated from a child‘s perspective, it allows readers to understand the characters’ unsophisticated and open minds. While living in different settings and having separate values, both Scout and Marjane come across aspects of sexism and misogyny. From a young age, Scout had learnt from her older brother, Jem, that things associating with girls are bad and things associating with boys are good, “Jem told me I was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, that's why other people hated them so, and if I started behaving like one I could just go off and find some to play with.”(Ch.4, Pg.45) When Scout was two, her mother died of a sudden heart attack so she never had any major female influences or role models growing up.
Lee comments on the issues of racial and gender prejudice by following the struggles of authentic characters such as Scout, Tom Robinson and the persecutors Aunt Alexandra and Ewell. Scouts character does not value the social expectations of women and their
First of all, Scout is more a tomboy than a girl. Boys tend to live by the phrase, “Boys rule. Girls drool.” Scout expresses,” I was not so sure, but Jem told me I was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, that’s why people hated them so, and if I started behaving like one I could just go off and find some to play with.” (45). This quote implies that Scout thinks girl things are bad and boy things are good. She has constantly been taught this. Scout believes she can avoid being a girl by not acting like one. Being a girl to Scout is more about what she does than what she is born with. Another example of Scout being more of a boy is how she reacts to the situation with Walter Cunningham and Miss. Caroline. In the text, Scout states, “Ah-Miss. Caroline? Miss. Caroline, he’s a Cunningham.” (22). The gender role of a girl would usually to sit back and watch everything go down. In Scout’s case, she is outspoken and has no filter. She has to tell Miss. Caroline what everyone else is thinking. It is in this sense and others that Scout challenges the traditional gender roles throughout the
An author’s construction of the protagonist/s creates as compelling method to demonstrate the tension between an individual’s values and wider society’s intolerance. Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis (2000), an autobiographical graphic novel, and Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird (1960), a traditional prose-fiction novel, use similar techniques to draw connections to the conflict between the two worlds, despite the two different textual forms. As Satrapi and Lee depict characters struggling to mediate between their individual progressive ideologies and society’s discriminatory dogmas, both texts ultimately present the irreconcilable nature of the divide between the personal and public. As such, the audience is able to establish a range of connections when both texts are considered together, through the confliction between the opposing public ethics and individual ideologies.
The movie, To Kill a Mockingbird, was the film adaptation of Harper Lee’s award-winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. The movie was two hours and ten minutes long, which took up three entire English classes including a discussion. It was extremely long time period to give up, so why did Doc choose to watch the movie?
As most everyone knows, there are differences between a book and it’s movie adaptation. This is applicable to the book and it’s movie counterpart To Kill a Mockingbird, as well. But aside from the differences, there are also similarities between these two.
First of all, Lee’s critical tone of prejudice is demonstrated by Scout’s innocent curiosity and perception of her surrounding society. Specifically, Lee’s critical tone is illustrated by Scout’s curiosity and the numerous questions she asks her family members throughout the duration of the novel. For example, when Scout raises questions to her Aunt Alexandra concerning her prejudice towards the Cunningham family, her innocence is exhibited by her desire to understand the world, but also to question it. A specific example of Scout’s curiosity is when Aunt Alexandra informs Scout not to invite Walter over for dinner, which leads Scout to ask “Why not, Aunty? They’re good folks” (223). Aunt Alexandra responds with: “The thing is, you can scrub Walter Cunningham till he shines, you can put him in shoes and a new suit, but he’ll never be like Jem” (224). Aunt Alexandra’s response exemplifies her prejudice towards the structure of the social classes in Maycomb County. However, Scout’s innocent nature enables her to remain uncorrupted by prejudice and to question the unquestionable. Lee’s use of a child as a narrator allows her to ask the tough questions regarding Maycomb County’s way of life and question why it is prejudiced towards a certain individual or group of individuals. Moreover, Harper Lee’s choice of narration
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a beloved novel published in 1960. After reading the novel there were some moments and people that I found particularly enjoyable. My favorite part of the novel was when the children went to Boo Radley's house to try to get a look at him. In addition, Atticus Finch was my favorite character in the novel. In my opinion the book was very good. I felt that it really showed the thoughts and actions, both good and bad, of the people in the South during the time of the Great Depression. At some points it was sad and at others it was comical but overall it conveyed the message that it was trying to send and everyone could learn something from it.
In the movie, as well as the book, there are multiple times where the rhetorical strategy logos is used. An example of one of them is when Atticus says, “The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence to the effect that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place.” I know it is logos because it is a fact that the state hasn’t given any medical evidence to prove that Tom is guilty of the crime he is being charged for. Atticus is using this fact to try to persuade some people with logic that it wasn’t Tom who did anything to Mayella. I think that this part was better in the movie because the actor who played as Atticus made it more dramatic which made the whole situation more effective and serious.
No matter where or who a person is, they are always learning something, either about themselves or about the environment around them. In Harper Lee's heartwarming novel titled To Kill A Mockingbird, the main characters Jem and Scout grow and mature throughout the story as they learn both more about themselves and the world around them. As the story progresses, they learn many life lessons including those about prejudice, people and how they have been categorized and judged, and, last but not least, gender issues.
In both the two bildungsroman novels, To Kill A Mockingbird and Persepolis, the external world has a great influence and impact on our character’s sense of selves, by creating a society that has been ingrained with strict, oppressive governing values. The theme of growing up also helps the reader to delve into the perspective of our young narrators who we see grow up, creating and maturing their own opinions and values on their surroundings.
Good morning everyone! My name is Jacob Gravel, I am a life scout working towards my Eagle and am currently the Senior Patrol Leader of troop 85. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Pastor Goodrich for his patience and time for helping us plan out Scout Sunday. Also, to you the church, for supporting and sponsoring our troop so that it’s rich history can be continued. You are all invited and welcome to share a delicious meal prepared by the scouts and attend our next Court of Honor which will be at Plum Creek. If you would like further information, please speak with one of the scouts after the service.
“By watching her I began to think there was some skill involved in being a girl” (154). Scout Finch thinks that being a girl is boring and uneventful--that being a girl means having to wear dresses and behave. But, as she watches Calpurnia (the family maid) working, Scout realizes that there's more to being a girl than just being pretty. Scout Finch is just a young girl wrapped into a timeless story involving a heart wrenching trial, her stubborn brother Jem, and her wise, loving father Atticus. In Harper Lee’s realistic fiction novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Lee explains the heartfelt story involving two young children of a local town lawyer whose curiosity leads them to many adventures, but when a local black man is put on trial for the rape
To Kill A Mockingbird (1960), a novel by Harper Lee, and Persepolis (2000), an autobiographical graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, both exhibit conventions of the Bildungsroman genre, despite being published 40 years apart in different formats. Both texts explore similar conflicts between personal and public worlds through use of characterisation.
Harper Lee demonstrates the gender inequity In to Kill a Mockingbird through the description and words of the female narrator, Scout. The prejudice of Maycomb is shown so clearly, even an innocent child like Scout can see the raging extent of gender prejudice that surrounds her. Scout having traits that are more masculine in quality automatically makes her an outcast and disliked by Maycomb's many conforming ideals. Scouts innocence allows the novel to develop through an unbiased perspective. Women had little to serve in juries and there was the constant expectation all women had to act and dress like a Lady. Aunt Alexandra an evident example of having strong beliefs on how separate genders should behave, constantly scolding Scout for wearing her overalls and behaving too tomboyish." I was not so sure, but Jem told me i was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, thats why other people hated them so, and if i started behaving like one i could just go off and find some to play with. (4.119) Scout is raised to believe boys were better than girls, raised in a bigoted and heavily bias community, scout finds it a difficult and unfair experience trying to understand the unjust perceptions of the adults around her. Having Scout narrate the whole novel allows Harper lee to highlight the gender inequity in Maycomb.
Set in revolutionary Iran during the 1980s and 1990s, Persepolis, a beautiful film, tells the story of a young girl, Marjane, growing up during the revolution. The theme of Persepolis is about tension and freedom: the tension of the country, the self-inflicted tension of Marjane, and the need of freedom for everyone. Director Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud uses movement, humor, expressions, sound, and editing to pull this theme together. The combination of these different techniques in each scene completes the total effect of the movie.