To Kill A Mockingbird Deceptive Appearances Analysis

The characters of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird are all different in their own way. Sometimes they can seem like the most infuriating people in the world, but then again they can be helpful, loving, and caring. The citizens of Maycomb County are stereotyped a lot throughout the book. They are labeled as many different things, but some of the stereotypes made aren’t entirely correct. A lot of people in To Kill a Mockingbird stereotype others by the way they look or talk based on what society considers normal. Two of the main characters in the book are stereotyped; Scout and Atticus Finch.

Thomas Gray once said “Ignorance is bliss”. As children grow up, they learn many unpleasant truths. Scout too is introduced to many harsh concepts like prejudice. In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses deception and racism to show Scout’s coming of age.

Prejudice is one of the world’s greatest struggles. It does not only hold society back, but is harmful to the people who do good .In Harper Lee’s book To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout and Jem live through and witness prejudice and racism in the small town of Maycomb. They see someone wrongly accused of a crime because of his race. Scout and Jem also witness and take part in prejudice against a man no one knows anything about. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee uses characterization to show the negative effects of prejudice and racism.

The way someone acts and presents themselves may be deceiving. People are scared to be judged or scrutinized by others. One might even go to extreme lengths to impress or give the impression that they are someone else. In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, the people of Maycomb do exactly that. This small town in southern Alabama is full of people disguising themselves and putting up facades to hide their darkest secrets and true feelings, instead of facing reality.

At some point everyone has judged someone or has been judged , and this leads to stereotypes and prejudice. In to “Kill a Mockingbird” Harper Lee displays how judging a man by his color leads to unfortunate events. Through symbolism , stereotypes, colorism , Harper lee shows that everyone eventually judges even if they don’t see it as judging .

Harper Lee’s novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” is set in a small, southern town, Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The story is told through the eyes of a girl named Scout about her father, Atticus, an attorney who strives to prove the innocence of a black man named Tom Robinson, who was accused of rape and Boo Radley, an enigmatic neighbor who saves Scout and her brother Jem from being killed. Atticus does his job in proving there was no way that Tom Robinson was guilty during his trial, but despite Tom Robinson’s obvious innocence, he is convicted of rape as it is his word against a white woman’s. Believing a “black man’s word” seemed absurd as segregation was a very integrated part of life in the south. The social hierarchy must be maintained at all costs and if something in the system should testify the innocence of a black man against a white woman’s word and win then what might happen next? Along with the prejudice amongst blacks and whites, the story also showed how people could be misunderstood for who they truly are such as Boo Radley. Without ever seeing Boo, Jem and the townsfolk made wild assumptions on what Boo does or looks like. Even so, while “To Kill a Mockingbird” shows the ugliness that can come from judging others, its ultimate message is that great good can result when one defers judgement until considering things from another person’s view. Walter Cunningham, Mrs. Dubose, and Boo Radley are all examples of how looking at things

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird the author, Harper Lee, develops the topic of stereotyping and prejudgement as something negative through the characters’ speech and actions. The characters are standardized a great deal throughout the book. They are categorized as different things, but most of them prove the falseness of labelling to emphasise the theme of the novel, as well to teach the reader a moral lesson; to be less judgemental and be willing to accept others. In the novel, stereotyping others is based by the way they look or talk established on what society considers normal.The technique of stereotypes helps create the theme of the coexistence of good and evil. In chapter 20, for example, Scout and Dill find out that Mr.Raymond’s paper bag turns out to be Coke instead of whisky, and his constant drunkenness is fake. He explains, "When I come to town, […] if I weave a little and drink out of this sack, folks can say Dolphus Raymond's in the clutches of whiskey-that's why he won't change his ways. He can't help himself, that's why he lives the way he does" (268). The evidence portrays

In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, characters are used to demonstrate the misjudgement by others in society. Arthur “Boo” Radley is thought of in a very dimensional and untrue way by the children. Dolphus Raymond makes unnoticed compromises in order to live in the community which he does not fit in. Tom Robinson is a kind and humble African American, who is misjudged by society due to the colour of his skin. Lee uses characterisation to show readers how society judges others.

Discrimination and stereotypes are still involved in today's ever-growing society. People are judged by their race, gender, and, wealth; people are expected to act a certain way because of these things. In To Kill A Mockingbird it tells the readers about a small town, Maycomb, that faces many challenges because of how individuals are judged and treated. If someone were African American he/she would thought to be less of a person and were treated as if they were trash. If someone were to be a woman they were thought to be weak, emotional, and dramatic. If someone were poor he/she were thought to be dirty, rude and were treated like trash. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses stereotypes related to racism, gender, and wealth to teach her audience about how individuals were treated during the Great Depression.

Appearance versus reality is a huge issue throughout To Kill a Mockingbird. It is when someone believes they know someone but, in reality, they are actually a completely different person. There are tons of rumours about Arthur (Boo) Radley in the town of Maycomb. Arthur (Boo) Radley is rumoured that he eats cats and squirrels, he was locked in a room by himself for years and is a dangerous person to be around. This is because Arthur (Boo) Radley never comes out of his house, therefore, remains a mystery to everyone. In reality, Arthur (Boo) Radley ends up saving Jem’s life and he is a part of appearance versus reality. This is proven in chapter 31 when scout said: “Boo had drifted to the corner of the room, where he stood with his chin up,

In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, a reader can learn many lessons that are hidden as the story progresses. It not only is a story about the many life events that surround Scout's life, but it is also about the several truths and lessons about life that are given in the story. One of the themes that stays consistent in the book is many people are complicated and one must get to know a person before judging them. Throughout the story, there are several characters that don't portray the same impression of who they really are. One example of a character who exemplifies this theme is Mrs. Dubose.

“Morals, Manners, Customs, and Public Perception” by Judge Paul Heath Till uses the theme of Southern Civility to express the change and influence our fast-changing society plays in the reconstruction of the Southern culture. Judge Till’s explanation of the Southern Civility can also be reflected in Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”, who uses the culture of the South to emphasize the conflicts and the expectations that the family must live up to be accepted into the community. The Southern civility is presented in both texts through the understanding and importance of family and the basic concept of values and mannerism.

Aside from clothes and Tim, deceptive appearance is also an important theme symbolized by people’s different dependencies. Although the weakness may look like one thing, it might actually mean another. For example: ‘“secretly Miss Finch, I’m not much of a drinker, but you see they could never, never understand that I live the way I do because that’s the way I want to live.”’ (Lee 268) Dolphus Raymond’s “apparent” weakness/dependency seem to be an addiction to spirits. But as we take a closer look he reveals to us that his so called addiction is only a cover up so people would spare the time to try and figure out his motives. “His left arm was fully 12 inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side.”’ (Lee 248) Tom’s state implies that he committed the crime and looks as if he is guilty, but his dependency being his left arm proves that he couldn’t have done the crime. “Mrs Dubose was a morphine addict, she took pain-killers for years…she was going to leave this world holden to nothing and nobody.”’ Hearing this from Atticus jem realizes, “You mean that’s what her fits were?” (Lee 147 and 148) Jem has always seen Mrs. Dubose as a horrible old lady with a bitter tongue. But as he looks past the deceptive

Harper Lee's ‘To kill a Mockingbird’ explores the prejudicial issues which plague over the town Maycomb. Harper Lee uses the trial of Tom Robinson a black man accused of rape on a young white girl, Mayella as a central theme to portray the prominence of racial discrimination in Maycomb. The racial prejudice is also widely shown through the characterisation of Atticus. Having Scout as the narrator allows Harper Lee to highlight the gender inequity through a youthful unbiased perspective. The chauvinistic attitudes and prejudiced views of most of the town’s folk leaves Maycombs social hierarchy in an unfair order, victimising many of the town’s people due to their socially non-conforming habits some ‘socially unaccepted people’ including Boo

In both the text “To Kill a Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee and the film “A Time to Kill” directed by Joel Schumacher, similar ideas are presented using language devices and stylistic features in differing ways to appeal to their target audience. Each have very similar storylines in which a white lawyer defends a an African-American in a prejudiced court case. Racism is a key idea presented strongly in each due to the eras they are set in. The era and country set in each story provide a strong base for the prominent issue. With the unpleasant happenings in each text and through the racist acts the idea of compassion shines through. As well as compassion being a significant idea, forgiveness is also presented through the racists acts.