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The symbol in the killing mockingbird
The symbol in the killing mockingbird
Important symbols that show up to kill the mockingbird
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Many critics agree that Harper Lee’s novel, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, is an astounding work of literature. Her work has influenced many other authors and works of literature throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Lee is praised for her ability to spark a sense of healthy confusion in her readers. This confusion refers to the combination of pleasure and disquietude produced by the unfolding events in the plot and is a big part of what makes her novel so well-renowned.
There are a multitude of examples regarding healthy confusion in Lee’s work. One prime example is when Calpurnia takes Scout and Jem to church with her one Sunday when Atticus is called to session for the state legislature. What is unique about this experience is that the church
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Calpurnia takes them to is not only her church, but it is also know as a colored church. This means the members who make up the church body are primarily, if not all, African American. Even though they may be anxious, both Scout and Jem are very intrigued by the church and excited to experience this new environment. As a gesture of respect, the men and women step back and took their hats off as the children walk by with Calpurnia. However, they are interrupted by an African American woman introduced as Lula shortly after who criticises Calpurnia for bringing ‘white chillun’ to their church. Calpurnia informs her that Scout and Jem are her company however Lula retorts, saying that she reckons that Cal’s ‘company’ is at the Finch house during the week. By saying this, Lula is trying to abase Scout and Jem due to the fact that they both come from a completely different background than the residents of the church. It can also be said that Lula is trying to degrade Calpurnia for associating herself with the Finch children since it is a well known fact that the Finch family used to take part in the slave trade. Still, Calpurnia stands her ground, and comforts Scout, telling her not to worry. Lula then begins to approach Calpurnia and the Finch children. While she does stop when Cal tells her to, she still makes her case, saying to 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?” Calpurnia dismisses this accusation by telling Lula, “It’s the same God, ain’t it?” With that, Lula sulks away and a new crowd of people approach Scout, Jem, and Calpurnia, welcoming them into the church. While at first glance it seems very shabby to Jem and Scout compared to their own church, they are both curious about the various ways that First Purchase African M.E. Church is distinct. The children were fascinated to discover how everyone sang the hymnals without hymn books. They also noted that, although similar, there were a few differences in the church practice compared to their church, like how the Reverend asked the Lord to bless the sick and suffering but directed the deity’s attention to a few specific cases. After the congregation draws to a close, Reverend Sykes talks for a while with Scout and Jem and informs them that the church has been especially glad to have them. This scene is an excellent example of healthy confusion in the novel. Lee has crafted the story so that her readers are able to experience many diverse viewpoints and ideas in a brief period of time. While some of these beliefs may be pleasurable and exist in harmony such as Scout’s and Calpurnia’s, others such as Calpurnia’s and Lula’s greatly contradict, causing the disquietude which is an essential part of healthy confusion. Another notable example of healthy confusion is the scene in which Boo Radley saves Scout and Jem when they are attacked by Bob Ewell as they are walking home after the halloween pageant.
Scout participates in the pageant at the request of Mrs. Merriweather. Unfortunately, Scout spaces out and misses her cue to walk on stage and as a result, walks on extremely late, something the crowd thinks of as quite comical. Mortified, Scout decides to keep on her bulky costume for the trek home in an attempt to hide her embarrassment. Jem and Scout decided to wait for the crowd to disperse before exiting the auditorium to find that it is pitch black outside. Jem grabs onto the outside of Scout’s costume to steady her as they start home. However, shortly after they depart, Scout realizes that she left her shoes backstage, but as she and Jem turn back, the auditorium lights turn off leaving them no choice but to continue …show more content…
home. As they start again, Jem suddenly tells Scout to hush, claiming that he heard something. Scout plays it off as a trick but when she hears the tone of Jem’s voice she realizes that he isn’t joking. They proceed, not having heard any other sounds while having stopped again. Though as they walk, this time Scout claims she can hear footsteps and the rustling of fabric coming from behind them. A few moments afterwards, Jem asks Scout if she can take off her costume because the reflective paint on it may be giving them away. She is able to but tells Jem that she can’t put her dress on afterwards because it is so dark outside. The children pick up their pace until they reach the big oak tree, where they pause and listen again.
Their stalker slows down, stops, and immediately starts sprinting for Jem and Scout. “Run Scout! Run! Run!” Jem screams as he runs away himself, but as Scout takes a giant leap forward, she finds she cannot keep her balance. “Jem, Jem, help me, Jem!” Scout pleads as something crushes the chicken wire of her costume, thus trapping her in it. Scout fell down and rolled, struggling desperately to escape her wire prison. She feels Jem roll against her and he suddenly shot up like lightning, pulling Scout along with him, though his efforts were futile as Scout is still trapped in her costume and can’t move very far quickly. Jem and Scout are nearly to the road then Jem’s hand left hers and he is thrown backwards onto the ground. Scout hears a dull crunch and a scream from Jem, and she immediately sprints for him, unknowingly running right into the arms of her attacker. The man tries to squeeze the breath of of Scout but is suddenly jerked backwards and thrown to the ground, almost taking Scout with him. Scout is relieved and thinks Jem is up but as she calls his name the man leaning against the tree and breathing heavily doesn’t respond. She then thinks it is Atticus, but still no response from the mysterious man. Scout dizzily found her way back on to the main road and saw the man turning the corner, burdened with a heavy load, when it dawns on her that he is carrying Jem’s limp
body. After Jem is carried into the Finch house and the doctor stops by, confirming that he is in fact far from dead, Mr. Heck Tate returns from the searching the street and presents what saw to the family: Scout’s dress, her costume, and Bob Ewell dead lying under the tree, much to the shock of the family. Mr. Heck Tate later had Scout recount the events that that happened and it is then that she reveals their savior, the ‘malevolent phantom’ of Maycomb County, Boo Radley. I think this scene is a very important example of healthy confusion in the story because while the reader experiences a high level of fear for the children, it is replaced by a warm feeling of gratitude and respect for the man once detested by the majority of the county and even his own family. In conclusion, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a classic American story that has been able to exquisitely showcase a balanced combination of pleasure and disquietude otherwise known as healthy confusion. Lee’s novel will continue to serve as a model for authors for many years to come and will continue to inspire people throughout the world.
to the rules of the new teaching system does not allow Jem to read or
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
Shaw-Thornburg, Angela. “On Reading To Kill a Mockingbird: Fifty Years Later.” Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird: New Essays. Meyer, Michael J. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press, 2010. 113-127. Print.
Scout Finch and her brother Jem live with their widowed father Atticus in the town of Maycomb, Alabama. The book takes place in a society withstanding effects of the Great Depression. The two main characters, Scout and Jem, approach life with a childlike view engulfed in innocence. They befriend a young boy named Dill, and they all become intrigued with the spooky house they refer to as “The Radley Place”. The owner, Nathan Radley (referred to as Boo), has lived there for years without ever venturing outside its walls. The children laugh and imagine the reclusive life of Boo Radley, yet their father quickly puts a halt to their shenanigans, as they should not judge the man before they truly know him. Atticus unforgettably tells the children, “You 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.”
Walt Whitman’s 1859 poem “Out of the Cradle Rocking Endlessly” depicts the mockingbird as a symbol of innocence that chants or sings of fond memories from the past. By contrast, Harper Lee’s famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird, published in 1960, written almost a century after Whitman’s poem, portrays the mockingbird as innocent but as a fragile creature with horrific memories – memories of discrimination, isolation, and violence. Harper Lee wrote her novel, which is rooted in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, in the Deep South, during a time of segregation and discrimination, social issues which can be seen not only in the novel but were witnessed by Harper Lee in her own life. While Lee does insert bits and pieces of her own life into the novel, this fictional story is told by the character Jean Louise Finch, better known as “Scout.” She tells a horrific yet heroic story about a time in the 1930’s from a childhood perspective. The title of Lee’s book is not at first as apparent as it would seem. In fact, the only literal reference to the mockingbird appears only once in the novel. The reader, then, must probe deeply into the characters and events of the book to uncover the significance of the mockingbird. After seeing the treatment and the unyielding courage of Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and Atticus Finch, the reader can easily identify these three as mockingbirds.
This points out that Scout has grown out of her childish beliefs off thinking that boo was a crazy, scary and dangerous person, but Scouts find out that he is harmless and not really that bad of a person. This demonstrates how Scout stopped fearing and started to see the world in a different way.
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 to the teacher is such a bold fashion. Scout shows advanced maturity for her age, and this allows her to successfully act upon her courage, rather than suppressing its existence. Walter Cunningham, himself, was shy and fearful of speaking to the teacher. Scout over came the petty fears that plagued the remainder of the class, and acted out of Walter's best interest. Her courage spoke in Walter's absence, and inability to express his monetary situation.
Lee spins a tale laced with morality and the difficulty of the choice between what is right and what is easy, setting world problems into the smaller scope of a quaint southern town to teach her readers about the ways of the world. For these reasons, her masterpiece of a novel should be considered a Great American novel, and certainly a classic that will endure for years to come. Works Cited Kipen, David. A. “David Kipen.” Scout, Atticus, and Boo: A Celebration of Killing a Mockingbird.
On their way home from the Halloween pageant at their school, they hear a mysterious sound. They make it out to be footsteps but think it is just a classmate. As they walk the more frightened they get and the more they don’t believe it is their classmate. The mysterious sound then turns into running footsteps. “He was running, running, running toward us with no child’s steps. ‘Run Scout! Run! Run!’ Jem screamed” (Lee, 351). Jem’s love and respect for his sister are made clear when he warns her and tries to save her, even if that means not saving
Many students believe that Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a commentary on social issues in 1930’s America. However, over time new themes for discussion have grown from the novel. The courage and leadership of characters in To Kill a Mockingbird have become common subjects discussed by today’s students. In this way, Lee’s novel has evolved to meet the changing ideology of humanity. At the time of the novel, standing up against common customs and beliefs was unacceptable, a violation of societal rules. Several characters in To Kill a Mockingbird express outrage at the collective belief system of their community and show resilience in the face of persecution, much as many current leaders face when espousing unconventional views or actions.
Scout is coming to a realization that Atticus is more than he appears. Scout thinks that Atticus has been trying to beat Jem and her in chess, but in reality, he was never trying. “‘Atticus Finch could beat everybody on both sides of the river.’ ‘Good lord, Miss Maudie, Jem and me beat him all the time.’ ‘It’s because he let you…’
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is an emblem of racial jurisdiction. All throughout the book it shows how the law applies to blacks as opposed to whites. Lee shows how unjust the treatment of blacks is and the disregard for their human rights. Though through the actions of the characters in the book; it can be said that their actions show a glimmer of hope for this very prejudiced society.
The esteemed Harper Lee novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird” written in 1960, is a classic American novel that explores many themes and concepts such as racial injustice, moral courage and loss of innocence that affected so many people throughout the 1930s in the United States. Lee wrote this book during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s while the novel itself was set in the time of her childhood. Consequently, it’s likely she would have experienced many of the events that Scout Finch experiences throughout the novel. Throughout the Pulitzer-prize winning novel, the loss of innocence is manifested through the three main characters, Scout, Jem and Atticus Finch. As the novel progresses, the characters are confronted with a series of great injustices
Scout’s first day of school is not what she dreamt of, and it actually turns out to be a nightmare. As she explains to Atticus her issues, he replies with an insightful piece of knowledge, “If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better
Scout Finch, the youngest child of Atticus Finch, narrates the story. It is summer and her cousin Dill and brother Jem are her companions and playmates. They play all summer long until Dill has to go back home to Maridian and Scout and her brother start school. The Atticus’ maid, a black woman by the name of Calpurnia, is like a mother to the children. While playing, Scout and Jem discover small trinkets in a knothole in an old oak tree on the Radley property. Summer rolls around again and Dill comes back to visit. A sence of discrimination develops towards the Radley’s because of their race. Scout forms a friendship with her neighbor Miss Maudie, whose house is later burnt down. She tells Scout to respect Boo Radley and treat him like a person. Treasures keep appearing in the knothole until it is filled with cement to prevent decay. As winter comes it snows for the first time in a century. Boo gives scout a blanket and she finally understands her father’s and Miss Maudie’s point of view and treats him respectfully. Scout and Jem receive air guns for Christmas, and promise Atticus never to shoot a mockingbird, for they are peaceful and don’t deserve to die in that manner. Atticus then takes a case defending a black man accused of rape. He knows that such a case will bring trouble for his family but he takes it anyways. This is the sense of courage he tries to instill in his son Jem.