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Problems with racism in literature
Character development to kill a mockingbird
Character development to kill a mockingbird
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Sometimes a loss of innocence through contact with evil and life experiences leads to maturity. It helps one see the world for what it really is and gives a shot of reality instead of just living in a dream world. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout’s early childhood innocence is lost as she becomes a near grown up. She starts to see Maycomb in a different light and learns to accept people as they truly are instead of what she thought they were. This is because she comes in contact with racial prejudice, Boo Radley and she real people of Maycomb. The differences in social class and distaste between the blacks and the whites are clear in the small town of Maycomb. So clear that most of the town’s children are quickly catching on. This racial discrimination is also known as ‘Maycomb’s disease.’ When the news had gone around town about Atticus fighting for Tom Robinson, the disease got even worse. Children at school were taunting Scout telling her Atticus is a “nigger lover”. It wasn’t until Atticus said “It's never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn't hurt you.” (Lee, 108) that Scout realized how discriminatory those people were. She also experiences this at Calpurnia’s church when Lula tells Calpurnia "You ain't got no business bringin' white chillun here—they got their church, we got our'n. It is our church, ain't it, Miss Cal?" (119) This is where Scout’s shift of view begins as an adult problem begins disrupting her little happy world and she realizes she can’t do much about it. Scout and her brother Jem always run past the Radley house in fear of the man going by the name of ‘Boo Radley’ in the neighborhood. They play games a... ... middle of paper ... ... to understand Jem’s view on them as well. The very people she grew up around were killing a mockingbird without any second thoughts. Scout learns to accept people as they truly are instead of what she thought they were and starts to see Maycomb in a different light as a result of coming in contact with racial prejudice, seeing the world from Boo Radley’s perspective, and losing her early childhood perception of Maycomb. These experiences help her grow out of her ignorance and develop an adult-like view on the problems facing her. She takes initiative to look at how Boo Radley must have felt over the past years and ask Atticus what it really meant to be called a ‘nigger lover’. These events show Scout trying to see things for what they really are, instead of what they seem to be. Works Cited Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mocking Bird. London: Heinemann, 1960. Print.
Through the development of Scout’s relationship with Arthur Radley, Scout develops and becomes more empathetic. Atticus Finch, Scout’s father, is her most consistent role model and used by Lee as the moral compass. Atticus is a firm believer in teaching by example, and his respect of his children is such that he treats them almost as adults, emphasised in the line ‘he played with us, read with us, and treated us with courteous detachment’ pg. 6. This refusal to shelter Scout from the harsh realities of life in Maycomb allows her to learn from experience. The strong moral guidance offered by Atticus allows Scout not only to learn from experience, but also to develop her personal integrity. Atticus exemplifies his strong beliefs, as illustrated when he says ‘Shoot
To Kill A Mockingbird tells the story of a young girl, Scout, who comes of age and eventually comprehends that not all people are open-minded, or kind. Scouts interactions with other people help to shape her and allow her to accept that not everyone has the same thoughts and opinions as her. Scout and Jem’s interactions with Atticus help the reader clearly understand that he is a responsible, courageous, and non judgmental man.
“We see the town of Maycomb in its worst light, willing to execute an innocent man for a crime he did not commit rather than question their belief in black inferiority and their social taboos about interracial relationships” (Felty 299). This quote may seem extreme, but it is completely accurate in Scout’s hometown Maycomb, Alabama. In the town of Maycomb, prejudices and discriminations are a common idea in the life of its citizens. This is shown in various ways. For example, African Americans are treated as lower class citizens because they are discriminated by white people. Scout perceives these prejudices and discriminations in different ways throughout the book. Scout’s views on the prejudices and discriminations in her society evolve
At an age when other children would be easily impacted by such ideas, one would think that Scout too would be changed, when in fact it is the opposite for her; her stubbornness and defined sense of self respect cause her not to be afflicted. While the young girl is only slightly influenced by these ideas, her perspective of human nature is much broadened as she learns that prejudice is a disease with far reaching roots. Aunt Alexandra’s behavior throughout that book illustrates that while prejudices are natural among individuals, the way that one chooses to assert his own can have a profound effect on
Life is like a forest, if a tree doesn't get enough sunlight it will die. in this case the sunlight and soil is Atticus and the sampling is Scout. Just as a sapling needs sunlight and nutrients, a growing child needs a wise adult. Maycomb is like a tree without sunshine and Atticus is keeping the town alive. He is trying to keep life fair and just for everyone in the town but not always succeeding. In this unfair society, one is usually faced with a restrictive social ladder that restrains its occupants into stereotyped categories. In this type of pessimistic backdrop, it is only natural to copy the actions that surround you. Set in the small sleepy town of Maycomb,Alabama, a court case arises bringing out the worst in everyone in the town. Atticus' wise teachings, Scout meeting both the black people in church and Boo Radley, and discovering the way Maycomb thinks of others helps Scout, older and wiser.
The Radley family has a presence that startles nearly all of Maycomb County in some way. For example, every resident of Maycomb County would never set foot in even the Radley house yard. However, this was not the case for protagonist Scout Finch and her brother Jem. This show of bravery represents outstanding courage. Moreover, the main area of fear of the Radley family is provided by Boo. Boo is the child of the family, and is rumored to eat grotesque foods such as live rats. Although very few people had ever seen Boo, nobody dared to search for him. That is, except for Scout and Jem. Despite being terrified of what Boo could be, Jem and Scout searched tirelessly for him. Even after their father forbid them to search for Boo, Jem and Scout would not be denied and searched for him anyways. The courage shown by the young children in this novel is good.
She begins to understand more about the people in her town, like the Ewell's, her father, and Tom. The trial helped her mature because she learned about the racism in her town, and how wrong it was to be a racist. When she learns about the living style of the Ewell's, she accepts it, and does not make fun of it. Scout learns about Atticus's job, and how hard it is to defend someone, let alone a black man, in court. She respects him for that. He mentioned that "[...] whenever a white man [cheats] a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash" (220) and this taught Scout about how disgusting racists can be. All of this helps her mature because these people are subtly teaching her how to grow and become a better person by using their own
“Maturity is when your world opens up and you realize that you are not the center of it.” –M.J. Croan. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates the path to maturity through the character Scout who exhibits the journey it takes to accept one’s responsibility and limitations. Shaping the mockingbird as a representation of innocence, it is stated “it is a sin to kill a mockingbird”, symbolizing Scout as she gradually becomes more mature throughout the novel, consequently leaving behind her innocence while also reconstructing her empathy and tolerance for others. Similarly Scout and I were both naïve to the world around us, but because of witnessing first-hand the inhumanity around us blatantly displayed a lack of empathy people contain within them. This was a learning experience for myself because it brought home racial discrimination in an event that will
In Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” Scout is an example of a character whose coming-of-age process involves gaining new views on life. Scout always remembers when her father, Atticus, told her to “consider things from his point of view” (Lee 39). Scout learns that before she judges anyone or makes a big decision she needs to put herself in their situation. Scout learns to actually look through many different perspectives. In chapter 12 Scout realizes Maycomb is not such a great town after all. The people seem nice until their racism and prejudice shows through. Scout is always discovering ways to grow up and not end up like the adults in her town. Scout is becoming a very responsible and independent young woman.
Over all, the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee have grown and matured throughout the whole novel. Boo’s maturity development is shown when he faces his fear of being with the outside world, Aunt Alexandra having some difficulties facing prejudice but, becoming more accepting of others, and Scout developing and learning lessons that she could apply to her everyday life. It shows that no matter whom the person is or what their troubles are, they all grow and mature in their own unique ways.
Jean Louise Finch, known to Maycomb as Scout, is affected by racial discrimination in many ways throughout To Kill a Mockingbird. Although most discrimination appears as white people against African American people, there is one case where the discrimination appears as African American people against white people. On a Sunday when Jem and Scout’s father, Atticus, is not home, Calpurnia, their cook, takes the two children to her church. Once there they were confronted by a woman named Lula. She is racist against white people, and shows it by saying, “‘I wants to know why you bringin’ white chillun to n***er church’” (Lee 158). By writing this event into the story, Harper Lee shows how racial discrimination can affect anyone of any race. “The society that imprisons Tom Robinson is the same one that imprisons Scout…” (Durst Johnson 301). Although their reasons for being confined are different, the same society caused it.
When one loses their innocence, it changes their outlook on life and causes them to have a sudden realization that the world is not as peaceful and bubbly as it seems. Throughout Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout learns many lessons about the reality from the adults in her life that cause her innocence to fade away as she matures. Scout witnesses prejudice, racism and hypocrisy in her small town of Maycomb, causing the tree of her innocence to lose its leaves and grow back into understanding.
Innocence is the stage that separates a child from the adult world. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird the loss of innocence is the way to adulthood. In Lee’s novel, a young girl scout starts to grow and see that reality is not always what it seems. She was forced to see the ugliness and the prejudice of society but at the end of it all she became a much wiser person from it. It was with the use of foreboding experiences such as dealing with the verdict of the Tom Robinson case that forced a change in her mentality. It was also with the use of motifs, like the mockingbirds that in themselves represent innocence. In short, it takes losing one’s innocence and nativity to become a wiser person to the ways of the
As the book comes to a close, readers can see just how mature and empathetic Scout has become. After Scout and Jem, Scout’s brother, are saved by Arthur “Boo” Radley, the town shut-in, Scout walks Boo home and after he walks back into her house, she turns around and just stares out at the street from Boo’s point of view instead of from her own. Her father taught her that you should
A small city nestled in the state of Alabama, Maycomb has got its faults, just like any other place in the world, but one of its main faults or (pg.88) “Maycomb's usual disease,” as Atticus calls it in the book is prejudice. Jem and Scout learn a lot about prejudice when a black man named Tom Robinson is accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell and their father, Atticus, is called on to be his lawyer. They realize the hate that people have buried deep within their heart when they see a black man accused of doing something only because of his color. On pg.241, Scout starts understanding this and thinks, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.” As the case continues, up until the death of Tom Robinson, Jem and Scout learn more and more about prejudice and how the hate that people have towards others causes them to take wrong actions. They also see how unfair it is that a white man can get treated better and think of himself better than a black man only because he was born white. This prejudice and the trial cause Jem and Scout to get in argum...