I did not expect that I would like To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee as much as I do. Written from the perspective of Scout, a young girl in the 1930’s, this book takes a look at many issues, including racism and sexism, all from the innocent eyes of a child. This book reveals many of the issues and struggles faced during the Great Depression. So far, this book is excellently written. Scout, Jem, and Dill are very complex characters. At first, I thought they were very old; Jem and Scout seem much too intelligent to both be under the age of ten. My first impressions of Scout, Jem, and Dill are basically the same as they are now. I still think Scout is sassy, passive aggressive, and impulsive. She is also a tomboy. At first, Jem seemed almost angelic, like he could do no wrong. He always played with his sister, tried to be a gentleman, etc. Jem is a good kid, but he tends to show off and is sometimes mean to Scout, like when he and Dill refused to talk to her. Dill is a small boy with a huge imagination. “Dill Harris could tell the biggest ones I ever heard.” (Ch. 5, pg. 52). I can relate to Scout the most. I also have an older brother that I used to play with all the time, but he was sometimes rude and called me names, much like Jem when he calls Scout too much of a girl. Though I may not have been as intelligent or sassy, I was definitely a tomboy. Though this book is written from a young girl’s point of view, even in the first hundred pages there are various forms of
Thoughts are like seeds that take root in our minds. They spawn feelings and more thoughts that can have powerful consequences. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the views of the townspeople in the 1930’s Southern town of Maycomb greatly impact the lives of two innocent men. The people make false accusations against Tom Robinson and Arthur “Boo” Radley because they are different. These characters are representative of the author’s reoccurring symbol of the mockingbird, which signifies innocence, and subjects them to vulnerability. Tom Robinson and Boo Radley, although innocent, fall victim to the hatred of society and thus emerge as mockingbirds. Tom Robinson, is black man, who is wrongfully
In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, they were both kids. They were both immature children, they both taunted Boo Radley, they both interpreted things similarly and they both eventually "came of age". Yet they were both different; one was innocent and one was narcissistic and more. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Jem and Scout are two very similar and different characters throughout the entire novel. They show both common and differentiating traits that determine their character. The traits that these characters had in common were they both thought similarly when a situation arose especially when they were at a younger age, they both started out as immature kids and obsessed over childish things like Boo Radley, and they both eventually "came of age". The traits they differed in were that Scout throughout the whole novel was an innocent character even in her "coming of age" while Jem was a narcissistic one, Scout went against what her family/town wanted her to be (a lady) while Jem tried more and more to be like Atticus and lastly Scout never understood racism while Jem showed he somewhat did understand it. These two main characters are similar like brother and sister and different like boy and girl.
Caring and noticeable is Harper Lee's, To Kill a Mockingbird take readers to the source of humans action, through faults and experiment, kindness and trouble, hatred and love, and the struggle between blacks and whites. Atticus Finch is a lawyer and a single parent at Maycomb town in the 1930’s. He was set by the judge to defend the guy who was charged with raping a white woman: Tom Robinson(Black man). Friends and neighbors of Atticus Finch were not happy with the fight Atticus was putting up to defend the man who was charged for raping a white woman. Not only does Atticus enjoy being a lawyer, Atticus even enjoy being a father of Jem and Scout. Atticus Finch is a excellent character who is known for certain accomplishment and superior. He is known for many stuff. Atticus Finch has remained a hero in modern days for american literature for decades and an honorable figure due to his honesty as a parent, a lawyer, and a respectable community members.
In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee creates an amazing story, but there is one thing that is controversial in the book: Did Atticus do the right thing by taking on Tom’s case? In the book, Tom Robinson, who was a black man, was wrongly accused by Bob Ewell for raping Ewell’s daughter, and Atticus, a lawyer, decides to take on the case in a Maycomb, which was a very racist town. Bob Ewell, who is mad when Atticus makes a fool of him, goes after, and hurts, Atticus’s kids. So, the question is, did Atticus do the right thing by taking on the case, and by doing so, put his kids in danger? Most likely, the answer is yes, even though he put his kids in harm 's way, he still did the right thing, since his kids only came out of the experience with mild injuries, but a lot of knowledge and experience about how to live in the racist town of Maycomb.
Even though some people aren’t treated equally, many are seen as equal and are treated equally. Some people are seen as unequal because of race, job description, or even age or gender. We are all humans, and are born with many of the same qualities. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Tom Robinson, is treated unequally throughout the book during the case because of his race, but after his trial and death, people such as Aunt Alexandra start to see Tom and others like him as equal. Even though Aunt Alexandra is initially a racist against blacks, she begins to see them as equals once she hears about what the officials did to Tom and how they excessively shot him.
In the book to “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee there is one very important character in the book that is not present, the Mother of Jem and Scout. Their mother died when Jem was six and Scout was two. This is when Cal steps in to mother the children. Later on in the book Aunt Alexandra comes to live with them to help with Scouts becoming of a lady. Atticus their father tries’s his best to guide them in the right direction. Things would definitely be different if the Mother was still alive.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee takes place in Maycomb County, Alabama in the late 30s early 40s , after the great depression when poverty and unemployment were widespread throughout the United States. Why is the preconception of racism, discrimination, and antagonism so highly related to some of the characters in this book? People often have a preconceived idea or are biased about one’s decision to live, dress, or talk. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee examines the preconception of Scouts teacher saying Atticus is teaching her wrong, Aunt Alexandra having views that are discriminating, and Tom Robinson not having a fair trial because of his race. Scouts teacher gets upset with her after Miss Caroline figures out she’s literate and Scout makes it worse by antagonising Miss Caroline by trying to explain things to her. “Teach me?” I said in surprise. “He hasn 't taught me anything, Miss Caroline. Atticus ain 't got time to teach me anything”… “If he didn 't teach you, who did?” Miss Caroline asked good-naturedly. “Somebody did. You weren 't born reading The Mobile Register”… Miss Caroline apparently though I was lying. “Lets not let our imaginations run away with us, dear,” she said. “Now tell your father not to teach you any more. Its best to begin reading with a fresh mind. You tell him i 'll take over from here and try to undo the damage.” “ma’am?” “Your father does not know how to teach. you can have a seat now.” (Lee 22) Scout 's teacher Miss Caroline
The same cool air that flows through the sky, is the same as the rotten prejudiced air, in which, the people of Maycomb breathe every day. It’s an unnecessary sickness that spreads throughout the whole town. In Harper Lee’s novel of To Kill a Mockingbird, it symbolizes the many divisions and classifications used in Maycomb to differentiate different groups of people. Although, each individual is in fact different, the people of Maycomb are blinded to the fact that, “’there’s just one kind of folks. Folks’” (Lee 304). Scout understood the fact that people shouldn’t be judged based on divisions and classifications, and rather focused on people’s similarities. Scout’s mature way of understanding, le her see something, that most people in
People often fear what they don 't understand. Evolutionary psychology can be traced back millions of years, when fear was avoided because of its repercussion of death. An aversion to the unknown was usually safer. Therefore, evolution culled for human traits that feared and avoided the unknown. Fear of the unknown shows how people become narrow-minded and ignorant to their surroundings, and how people behave when they believe something will happen even though they are solely intolerant. This ideology directly correlates to Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a MockingBird. Throughout the story, the townspeople attempt to overcome their various fears by turning against each other. In Maycomb, fear enforces racism and causes the townspeople to
There was a copious amount of discrimination in the 1930’s deep south, whether it be racism or sexism. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, conflicts arise when an African-American man is unjustly accused of raping a white woman in the sleepy town of Maycomb, Alabama. Citizens of the town are forced to choose whether they believe to follow what the rest of the town thinks, whether that is their true opinion or not, and be honest with themselves and stand up for who they really think is innocent. However, as shown throughout the book, many people have trouble publicly announcing their opinions on the matter, choosing to convey their opinions in more subtle ways. Because of different occasions that question people’s morals and virtues
Imagine making 95 cents a week, and not even being able to use the bathroom that everyone else uses. At this time period black people were treated like dirt, and they were basically slaves that did whatever a white person said. Well this is exactly what
Winston Churchill once said, “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” Many believe that courage is the ability to do something that is challenging and requires lots of effort, but that is not all. According to Psychology Today, six attributes of courage include feeling fear yet choosing to act, following one’s own heart, persevering in the face of adversity, standing up for what is right, expanding one’s horizons, and facing suffering with dignity and faith. People in the real world can show unexpected and overlooked forms of courage, just like Atticus Finch does in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird. The setting takes place in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, where a young girl named Scout Finch learns to see the lively views of society. Maycomb society is characterized by racism hypocrisy, prejudice, and fear. Scout lives with his brother Jem and his father Atticus, who is a well-known lawyer in town. Atticus is defending Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping Mayella Ewell, the loneliest girl in the whole town. After the jury debates over the verdict, Tom Robinson is guilty for what he has done and gets sentenced to prison. Mr. Bob Ewell, father of Mayella, wins the court case, and starts to go after the Finch kids with his pocket knife. Boo Radley, a neighbor who has not gone out for many years, notices this and peacefully saves the Finch kids from Mr. Ewell. Lee clearly demonstrates through
The well-known history novel To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper lee takes place in Maycomb County during the great depression. In this town, the main characters’ father, Atticus Finch, is tasked to defend a black man named Tom Robinson in a race-induced rape trial. Many themes in this novel were represented, however a few minor points stood out. A major point that stood out was the development of the main character Scout and her brother Jem. Also racism and evil contrasted to good and compassion are very evident throughout this novel.
Imagine a world without law, surrounded by anarchism and people who can do whatever they please. A world without law would result in a corrupt and unfair society, ruled by the authoritative elite. In the narrative, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, law is a major theme in society that controls the actions of the people and the destiny’s of the wrongdoers. A world without law is a world of chaos and calamity; therefore, laws are established to keep order and safety in the world that God created.
Racism, the belief that one race possesses inherent traits that make that particular race superior to other races. In 1900s black people were treated cruelly, and even got killed because of racism. They were considered inferior to the white race. These factors inspired Harper Lee to write “To Kill a Mockingbird” she expressed her feelings and thoughts of how black people were treated brutally. People used to judge each other based on their skin color, and race. The society used to turn a blind eye to the racial problems. Jim Crow Laws, Scottsboro Trial, and African American Church Burning were some reasons why Harper Lee decided to write her book about the injustices and discrimination black people faced back in the 1900s.