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To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee: A Comparative Analysis

Decent Essays

Sometimes, the less mature mind is more persuasive than one that is more developed. The younger mind may not know everything about the world, however other minds of similar age are drawn to the other’s ideas. These thoughts compel the child more than the more complex thoughts of their elders. It is shown that friends are more influential than parents through the diction in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and a drowning in the Umpqua River in Oregon.
There are several examples in To Kill a Mockingbird that demonstrate the idea that friends have a larger influence than parents. Early in the story, Scout Finch and her friends Jem and Dill are bored and looking for something new to play. Jem suggests a game about Boo Radley, their neighbor who never comes out of the house, and Scout points out that, “Jem’s head at times was transparent: he had thought that up to make me understand he wasn’t afraid of Radleys in any shape or form, to contrast his own fearless heroism with my cowardice” (Lee 51). The connotation of the word “transparent” is negative, creating an analytical tone. Scout, the first person narrator, realizes that Jem …show more content…

On May 24, 2015, two teenage boys drowned in the Umpqua River in Oregon. During a birthday party in Roseburg, Oregon, both sixteen-year-old Dustin Conopa and seventeen-year-old Froylan Carrion-Estrada, “…were part of a group that challenged each other to swim across the river and back” (“Teens drown”). However, one of the boys began to panic. When the other went to try to help him, both went under and didn’t resurface (Associated Press). This demonstrates the influence of peers on children. The kids decided to swim, knowing the danger involved, and knowing their parents wouldn’t approve, because of the pressure their friends were exerting on them. This shows what lengths people will go to in order to impress their friends, and how much influence they

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