To Kill a Mockingbird Theme Essay Why is it a sin to kill a mockingbird? In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, it tells the story of a young,curious,and adventurous girl who faces many challenges throughout the novel. Not only does the young girl, Scout, face many challenges, she especially faces challenges in her education in life. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee the author not only shows Scout’s with education in school but also with her family and friends. Scout has many encounters with education-based challenges throughout the novel in school not only with teachers but also with classmates. “Miss Caroline told me to tell my father not to teach me any more, it would interfere with my reading” (Lee 17; ch. 2).
Early in the novel, Scout illustrates the courage she embodies. On her first day of school, Scout acts as an ambassador for the entire class. She takes the duty of informing Miss Caroline of Walter Cunningham's situation. Miss Caroline had just scolded Scout for her ability to read, however, Scout still feels the classes' need for leadership. Most children at her age would fear speaking
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout’s father, Atticus demonstrates his self-control and empathy towards Scout and her problems which makes him a positive role model in his daughter’s life and maturation growth. After school, Scout exclaims to Atticus that she does not want to attend school anymore due to the fact she had a dreadful first day of the first grade. She complains to Atticus about her teacher, Miss.Caroline and how she disapproves of Scout’s competency of reading and writing. Miss.Caroline expresses to Scout that she should not be literate at her age and now has to undo the damage that has been done by her father; this statement is ironic because teachers are supposed to encourage learning and help further advance their
1. "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 have a seat now"(17) This is an important passage because Scout feels badly about knowing how to read.
After Scout’s first day of school, she tells Atticus that she wants to be homeschooled because she doesn’t like her teacher. Atticus, who wants her to receive a proper education, makes a compromise. If Scout goes to school, he will read to her every night without telling Miss Caroline. Scout slowly starts getting used to her teacher and the ways of school. Lee writes,”…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”(39).
“It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” Everything started with a man named Simon Finch, an American fur trader, that settled a successful farm on the banks of the Alabama river. Atticus, one of Simon’s sons, left for school and then came back to Maycomb to become a successful lawyer and raise Jem and Scout. The community they live in, Maycomb County, is full of prejudice and racism but also with empathy. Everyone who lives there like Atticus, Jem, Scout, Dill, Boo Radley, The two poor families, Miss Caroline, Miss Maudie, Mrs. Dubose, the list can go on, took a big part in this situation because they all either had empathy, received empathy or where the ones that had prejudice towards other people. The author gives sufficient evidence that within this community empathy can be the solution to racism and prejudice.
Scout comes home, frustrated about her first day at school. Scout’s positive expectations of school were crushed when Miss Caroline tells her to stop reading because she has been taught incorrectly. After school Scout explains her day at school to Atticus, and her teacher’s cluelessness and unreasonability. Scouts most valuable lesson from her first day of school comes from her father, where she learns to try to see situations from the others point of view. Ironically, Atticus teaches more to Scout and Jem, than their teacher, Miss Caroline,
Scout Finch, a character in the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, is like most students. When being made go to school, she says “I don’t have to go to school!” But this is something we’re all made to do because we do need some school education. But Scout does have a point that she has made. With her overall outlook with Atticus and Jem, she has seen she has been through a lot and has learned lessons through them that she couldn’t learn in school with the experience she had.
Her teacher, Miss Caroline, wants Atticus to stop reading to her nightly as he has done up until then. He makes a compromise with Scout that will also please her teacher. “If you’ll concede the necessity of going to school, we’ll go on reading every night just as we always have. Is it a bargain?”(41) He gives Scout the opportunity to learn to read with the benefit of Scout attending school without a
How would you feel if you dedicated your life to the greater good, and your efforts were ignored? It is considered a sin to destroy something that exists for the benefit of a community. Mockingbirds bring music and make the world a nicer place to live for the individuals that hear them, and killing them would be a sin according to this definition. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there are some characters that are seen as good people by the rest of the town, but they are not the ones trying to make the world a better place. On the other hand, the least respected members of the community may seem like degenerates, but are typically the least likely to ‘kill a mockingbird,’ and occasionally are the ‘mockingbirds,’
After explaining her terrible first day of school to her father, due Miss Coraline’s bad teaching, Atticus metaphorically says “You never really understand a person until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” rectifying the whole purpose of the book, Scout then becomes more patient her new teacher, she uses this technique that her father gave her to understand how people feel. When Scout asks her father if he was defending a black man, Atticus explains his duty to her and tells her to ignore judgement from others. “Try fighting with your head for a change... It’s a good one.”
As the story progresses from chapter to chapter, there has been times where the term “To Kill a MockingBird” has been mentioned. This term could potentially mean to kill off peace because in chapter 10, Miss Maudie has explained to us that “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens… They don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 119).
Some people believe the novel To Kill a Mockingbird is about love, while others believe it's about racism. The story is about a black man named Tom evicted for a crime he did not convict. The poor man was considered guilty for a crime he did not commite just because he is coloured. While the story has a lot of racism in it; it also has a lot of love. Atticus is on of many people that would protect a coloured person. Although he was put down for it he wanted to make things right. Scout," said Atticus, "nigger-lover is just one of those terms that don't mean anything—like snot-nose. It's hard to explain—ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody's favoring Negroes over and above themselves. It's slipped into usage with some
We don’t write in the first grade, we print. You won't learn to write until you're in the third grade’" (Lee 24). This quote demonstrates that Scout is a young lady that comprehended a lot by learning at home. This also shows how she wants to know a lot and go above and beyond.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird morality was emphasized within the writing. Morality is the principle concerning the distinction between behavior. The main character Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch, has displayed respect throughout the book due to Calpurnia’s teachings and the expectations of Atticus. Atticus’s conjectures include knowledge, equality, and courage. The author, Harper Lee, reveals morality within the book due to the characters having to accept different religions, perspectives, and ethics.
In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, all the literary features are established making this novel very worthy to read. This excerpt is from chapter three of the novel. It is the evening after Scout’s first day of school, and Scout seeks for help from Calpurnia, and Atticus. Scout questions the need to return back to school to Atticus, as she does not accept Miss.Caroline’s perspective on Scout having to stop reading at home.With the use of imagery and the characterization of Atticus, this excerpt proves that family with always educate you, and spoil you with