Essay On Miss Maudie's Allusion In To Kill A Mockingbird

“Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of [another]... There are just some kind of men who - who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results” (Lee 60).

In this text excerpt, Miss Maudie is speaking to Scout at twilight on Miss Maudie’s front porch. Scout is bored because she is being excluded from Jem and Dill’s plans, and so she spends her time speaking to Miss Maudie about several things. This night’s particular topic is Arthur “Boo” Radley and his family.

Miss Maudie is trying to teach Scout that some people are so caught up in their beliefs about the bible that they are worse than a man like Atticus

while drunk. This defines Atticus as a good man while also painting a picture of how some of the people in Maycomb behave. After finishing the book, it appears this quote may have been used in correlation with the rape trial, as well as the recurring theme of racism in the novel. The people of Maycomb are so tied up with believing white is superior to black that they act ever worse than Atticus, who is “drunk” on equality. As a reader you can recognize that Atticus isn’t a bad man in this scenario, despite what connotation “drunk” has, but rather he is bad in the eyes of the citizens for actually attempting to defend a black man. Going along with the common view of the era being white superiority, you may notice that despite how much the white residents lash out against Atticus and the black community, Atticus never retaliates and is considered the “better man” even while he is “drunk”. Given this information, you can see how the quote also highlights the main recurring theme of the book, which is prejudice -whether it’s racism, Boo Radley as a monster, or about Mrs. Dubose - and that we need to break free from our prejudices. Harper Lee is trying to teach us to stop forming prejudices based on stereotypes and rumors, and instead to be more passive and open-minded about others.
Entry 2
“Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try and win” (Lee 101).
Here we see Atticus talking to Scout at their home after a day at school where Cecil Jacobs said that Atticus defended niggers. Scout doesn’t quite understand what Cecil means by this, but she denies it and asks Atticus about it. Atticus explains, which leads to Scout asking if he will win his case. He says no, and Scout questions him again. He again explains to her why he decides to defend Tom even if he will lose.
Atticus tells this to Scout in order to help her understand the difference of right and wrong.

He is trying to help her understand that winning is not the only reason you should ever do something. If you want to follow certain beliefs, then you can’t speak one way and sit idly by when it is time for you to actually step up to what you claimed. At the end of the book, you can see that Scout understands this, because she thinks Tom should be innocent, and is horrified by all of the acts of violence surrounding him after the trial (him getting shot 17 times and Bob attacking her and Jem because their father defended him.) Another character, Dolphus Raymond, expresses this somewhat similarly. He likes the black people and puts effort into being with them - something that is frowned upon by the community. Despite this, he continues to socialize with them. However, he fakes being drunk in order to help the rest of Maycomb calm down about it. While this isn’t as direct as Atticus simply accepting outright that he must defend a black man and trying his best to do so, it is still very similar. In this quote. Harper Lee is looking to teach her readers that you shouldn’t give up just because you know you will lose. You need to stand up for what you think is right. She wants us to realize that it is the effort that you put into something that matters. A battle lost can lead to a war

won.
Entry 3
“They’re certainly entitled to think that, and they’re entitled to full respect for their opinions… but before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience” (Lee 139-140).
In this piece of text, we find Atticus talking with Scout in their living room after Atticus sends Jem to Mrs. Dubose to apologize for smashing her white camellias. Scout is confused because everyone else in town says Atticus is wrong for defending a black man, but he explains to her why he is defending Tom.
Atticus is again, in a way, offering more advice to Scout. Atticus is essentially pointing out that you should live by what your conscience tells you (it’s there for a reason.) He is trying to tell Scout she should be more passive, that she should respect other people’s opinions no matter what they are, but that at the same time she should first worry about what she thinks of herself and second what other people think of her. By the end of the book we can see that Scout has learned her lesson, as she is seen feeling very “old”, or that she has matured, and she has stopped fighting people who insult her family. She continues to act as she thinks is right. Again, another character that displays something similar is Dolphus Raymond. He chooses to sit with the black people because, as a person, he simply likes them more. He is compelled to be with them and so, to live with himself, he stays around the black people, and then he lives with the rest of Maycomb by faking being drunk. Harper Lee’s lesson is pretty self-explanatory in the quote; she is trying to teach us to worry less about what other people think and worry more about what you think, while also still respecting the opinions of those other people.
Entry 4
“People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for” (Lee 232).
This text excerpt shows Judge Taylor speaking to everyone in court after a request has been made to have all women and children spectators removed from the room. Judge Taylor denies the request, stating that it the right of the people to see the case and to allow their children to see the case.
Judge Taylor denies the removal of women and children from the court because he is aware that whether he removes them or not doesn’t affect the outcome, nor does it affect the public opinion. The only thing he would be doing is removing them from a first-hand experience. Therefore, he instead gives them the right to choose if they wish to be present for the case. After finishing the book, it is clear that Judge Taylor’s words still ring true, specifically focusing on racism; people still consider Tom Robinson “just another negro”, ignorant of his innocence. The jury only listened to the parts of the case they wanted to - the parts that pointed at Tom being guilty - because Tom is black and Mayella is white. Other characters in the book, like Arthur “Boo” Radley, experience this bias being thrown at them, seen when the children describe him as a squirrel eating monster that freezes flowers with an icy exhale. Harper Lee almost seems to be speaking directly to the reader when Judge Taylor says this. It appears his main purpose as a character was to voice Harper Lee’s opinions while serving in the court. The way all of the different characters are painted through the author’s view all align with Judge Taylor’s opinions: Atticus is a good man; Tom is innocent (contrary to the rest of the town’s belief); Bob Ewell is absolutely disgusting; and so on. Harper Lee is looking to teach her readers that there are some people who will ignore anything contradicting what they think. Such people block your path, and you cannot fix them. It is necessary to try and overcome those obstacles by other means if we wish to progress.
Entry 5
“Best way to clear the air is to have it all out in the open” (Lee 366).
In this text excerpt we find Atticus talking to Heck Tate about how Jem allegedly stabbed and killed Bob Ewell in order to defend Scout. Atticus wants to make it a public case in order to avoid any rumors that might surround Jem in the future like Atticus paying a fortune to cover it up. Tate attempts say something but Atticus keeps interrupting him before he can finish.
Atticus is stating that the best way to avoid rumors and eradicate confusion is to tell the truth and show everyone that you have nothing to hide. Upon finishing the novel, you may notice that this is a common theme with Atticus, whether it is stated directly or not. When Atticus is asked if he defends niggers, he says yes, and doesn’t hide it. When Atticus asks Tom about his previous arrest, Tom does not hesitate to own up and explain what happened. Now, when he thinks Jem has killed Bob, he is ready to go public with it with a full explanation, rather than hide it and allow rumors to form about what Jem did. Harper Lee, in this case, is trying to teach us that it’s better to tell the truth than be omissive or lie, because those lies will come back to haunt you in the end.
Entry 6
“We never put back into the tree what we took out of it: we had given him nothing, and it made me sad” (Lee 373).
Here we have Scout reflecting on the past summer experiences she had with the knot hole and Boo Radley. She remembers these experiences after she guides Boo home to the Radley house and is on her way back home. She thinks about all the meaningful gifts he had given them, like a neighbor, and how they had never given him anything back.
Scout’s reflection on how she treated Boo Radley symbolizes Tom’s theme, “taking”. While her statement is not entirely accurate in itself, the direct phrase is relatable to Tom. Tom is a mockingbird - he never did anything wrong (even his “disorderly conduct” was self-defense). Tom gave Mayella free labor, and she threw his life away. When you review this quote at the end of the book, you notice the theme is a recurring one throughout the book, with another character experiencing it being Atticus. However, Atticus experiences it in the more “correct” version. Scout thought she had never given anything back to Boo, but in reality, she and Jem had given him a sense of innocence and happiness that he never would have gotten otherwise. This is the “corrected” version that Atticus is affected by. He contributes to the community and he puts all his effort into the Tom case. Despite his effort, he receives nothing but a guilty verdict and, a few days later, a dead defendant. However, Atticus is rewarded in a non-physical form: trust. He is re-elected to legislature unanimously, even with the rape trial, because everyone trusts him to do what no one else wants to. In this understanding of the text excerpt, Atticus’ reward of trust is comparable to the sense of innocence and love Boo receives from the children in exchange for his thoughtful gifts. Harper Lee is trying to teach us the importance of giving and receiving gratefully. She is showing us that we should be grateful, but that our thanks does not always have to be physical, and really, it’s the thought that counts.