More handpicked essays just for you.
The psychosocial effects of trauma on children
The psychosocial effects of trauma on children
The psychosocial effects of trauma on children
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Wept for the End of Innocence
The capacity for humans to do good and evil the shows ethics of humanity. In Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird, she is flashbacking her experiences growing up in Maycomb as a six-year- child from an adult perspective. Scout describes the situations her widowed father Atticus is dealing with, such as his legal defense of the Tom Robinson case. In the realistic fictional novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding the behaviour of the children changes when they are away from society. A group of British schoolboys were stranded on a secluded island, in the middle of a war. Throughout this period the boys change overtime from being civilized to allowing savagery to take over. In both books To Kill a Mockingbird
…show more content…
and Lord of the Flies the theme of children growing up and losing innocence is a common aspect in which they are influenced by society, exposed to new ideas, and other characters. To begin, Jem and Scout realize the cruelty and prejudice of their society.
Jem and Scout both lose their childhood innocence after witnessing Tom Robinson becoming a victim in a racial injustice. They see that he is wrongly convicted of assaulting and raping Mayella Ewell. Jem believes that there is no way that Atticus can lose the case, however she must take into consideration that there is no evidence in the Ewells' conflicting testimonies, but Atticus fails to consider the jury's racial bias. Judge Taylor reads the verdict which is guilty and hence Jem bursts into tears repeatedly saying, "It ain’t right" to his father on the way home, (pg. 215). Following his loss of innocence, Jem becomes judgemental about the prejudice his hometown has and tells Miss Maudie, "It’s like bein‘ a caterpillar in a cocoon, that’s what it is..I always thought Maycomb folks were the best folks in the world, least that’s what they seemed like,"(Pg, 219). Scout begins to notice the unfair racism throughout Maycomb for the first time. Overall, both siblings lose their childhood innocence after first hand witnessing racial injustice in …show more content…
Maycomb. Meanwhile, within the novel Lord of the Flies innocence is lost through the boys. The boys were placed in a situation where they had no other choice but to grow up and mature. Due to the fact that the children faced traumatic events they had to learn how to survive and maintain a functional society. Slowly they figure out the importance of having authority and why their needs to be a leader, but there are no adults to precede the role of authority. Therefore the children continue to control power and take the role of authority. Another option is to discuss the society-building without any adults in a novel.
We may assume that boys were trying to build an utopia with its own rules and activities, which could later represent the social roles division. The building process was exciting for children on each and every step, however, each time everything was falling apart. You may analyze how this process was developing and whether there were any specific moments when boys could have saved themselves from failure.
Nonetheless, talking about social roles you may focus on leadership and power. In every society, even a small group, social roles will always be divided and the leer will be chosen. In “Lord of the Flies” Ralph is said to be an official leader since he is the one, who inspires and guides the rest of the boy. However, Jack is willing to be a leader as well since he is the one to get the food. The two boys see each other as a threat to each other, this is why you may discuss the dynamics of leadership and power in this
novel. In addition, Racism was a very large part of society in the south during the 1930’s. Many colored people were thought of as less than their peers. Whites were considered better than African Americans were, and almost every white person accepted the unjust judgment. Racial discrimination hit hard in the south. Many of the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird were impacted by racial discrimination, including Calpurnia, Scout, and Tom Robinson and his family.When Tom Robinson was accused of raping Mayella Ewell, First Purchase, as well as the Finches, backed him up. They went out of their way to make sure he got what he deserved: freedom. Reverend Sykes makes sure that if Tom Robinson is falsely accused, his wife, Helen, and their children will not have to deal with the harsh world that they live in alone. “Reverend Sykes then said, ‘I want all of you with no children to make a sacrifice and give one more dime apiece. Then we’ll have it’”(Lee 163). They scrounge up their money little by little, even though they may need it for important things like food and clothes, knowing it is going to a family more in need than their own. Though Calpurnia and the people involved in Calpurnia’s life are greatly impacted, Jean Louise Finch, a.k.a. Scout, deals with more confusion and frustration brought on by racial discrimination. Furthermore, without rules, savagery takes over. Without rules, man is free to do whatever he show more content. The boys don’t put into practice their teachings from church/school on the island, but become savage beasts. This shows us that man is civilized in our society, only because of the fear for higher authority, not because that’s their nature. Initially, man can only cover up inner savagery so long, before it breaks out, given the right situation. This states that with or without rules man will become savage when given the right situation. Every single man in this world is filled with inner savagery. But in this society, they tend to restrict the savagery from escaping. Given the right situation, their true nature, savagery, will be released. For example in the Simpsons, Ned Flanders, is the most civilized person. But yet on one particular episode he becomes savage when he is presented with the perfect circumstance. Golding quotes beautifully, “Then dog-like, uncomfortably on all fours yet unheeding his discomfort, he stole forward five yards and stopped. There was a loop of creeper with a tendril pendant from a node. The tendril was polished on the underside; pig, passing through the loop, brushed it with their bristly hide.”- Lord of the Flies (pg. 48) Jack is the leader of the church choir, but yet he shows no qualities of a church choir leader once he starts hunting for boars. To conclude, in both books To Kill a Mockingbird and Lord of the Flies the theme of children growing up and losing innocence is a common aspect in which they are influenced by society, exposed to new ideas, and other characters.
A child’s journey to adulthood will corrupt their innocence. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the two main characters Jem and Scout are forced to grow up and face the realities of their world as their father prepared for one of the most controversial cases in his career. As the trial date gets closer and closer, Jem and Scout witnessed negative and positive things caused by the folks of Maycomb, they were not prepared for. Through all the commotion Jem and Scout learned the importance of benevolence and courage as it influenced their changing perspective on the world. The qualities Jem and Scout learn from benevolence and courage change how they see their world by showing them fairness, kindness and bravery.
Recently, I have read both a Raisin in the Sun and To Kill a Mockingbird, both considered literary classics. They share a number of similar themes and character that face similar situations. Ultimately, they have extremely different plots, but address the same issues; some that were common around the time they were published, and some that carry relevance into current times. What I wish to bring to light in this essay is that in both novels, there are many characters that lives’ hit a shatter-point in the course of the story. This shatter-point is where the characters’ lives are irrevocably changed, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. What I’m going to explore is how these characters cope with the emotional fallout of what the aforementioned shatter-point left in its wake.
Lee uses Scout and Jem’s tumultuous childhood experiences to... has had many trials through her life, and on was in fact a trail of Tom Robinson, a black man accused in raping Mayella Ewell, one of the daughters of Bob Ewell, the town’s idler. Atticus, the children’s father, was defending Tom Robinson, and the case seemed to be in favor of him, all the way to the point of Jem stating, “He’s not leaning, Reverend, but don’t fret, we’ve won it..Don’t see how any jury could convict on what we heard-”(Lee 176). Jem is very confident in his father’s argument, and believes that the case will lean to Tom,
Protecting the innocent is a major theme in To Kill a Mockingbird. It is shown in many ways. Some ways include how Atticus tries to protect Tom Robinson, how Boo Radley saves Jem and Scout, and how Heck Tate tries to protect Boo. Harper Lee may be trying to show how society should protect the innocent through her characters and their actions.
Before the trial starts, Scout had to endure her classmates refer to Atticus as ‘nigger lover’ because of his defense of Tom. Scout and Jem also hear comments and gossip being made about their father in Maycomb, and they see the support Tom gains from the black community when they visit his church with Calpurna. The kids see the anger and evil of the society when they help Atticus from the lynch mob at the jail before the trial. Scout and Jem attend the trial in person, and they witness the evidence given and they agree that Atticus has made a substantial case for
Loss of Innocence in Killing a Mockingbird Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather, the streets turned red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square. " (Lee 9). This environment, as Scout Finch accurately describes, is not conducive to young children, loud noises, and games. But, the Finch children and Dill must occupy themselves in order to avoid boredom.
Innocence is defined as the state of being not guilty of a crime or other wrong act. The definition does not have any exceptions depending on race, age, gender or other physical characteristics. Yet in the south, the innocence of a guilty white man, is more important than the innocence of an innocent black man. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, is about a young girl named Scout who lives in Maycomb County, Alabama. The novel is separated into two parts, the first part is about the adventures of Boo Radley. While the second part is about the trial of Tom Robinson. In the first part of the novel, Scout along with her brother Jem and her friend Dill investigate the mysterious life of their neighbor, Boo Radley. Boo has not left
In the courtroom that night it is revealed that the alleged crimes of Tom Robinson, a decent Negro man, most likely did not happen. As Atticus says in his closing argument, "The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence to the effect that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place. It has relied instead upon the testimony of two witnesses whose evidence has not only been called into serious question on cross-examination, but has been flatly contradicted by the defendant. The defendant is not guilty, but somebody in this courtroom is” (Lee 271). Showing the clear innocence of Tom Robinson due to lack of evidence, Scout thinks that the white jury will do the right thing only to find out that they still, unfairly, accuse him of being guilty. Scout and her brother, Jem, get very upset when they hear the verdict, however, it allows them both to learn the lesson that the county is unfair towards anyone who is not white. The county demonstrates this evil racism due to the social divisions in Maycomb between the whites and the blacks and because the whites see the blacks as unworthy of rights and freedoms. It was not just the trial itself that displayed evil in the world, but the comments and arguments surrounding the case did
Reassuring that Tom Robinson’s case is dealt seriously, Atticus exchanges his identity as the noble man he is for the reputation of a villain that the town flames and calls names such as “nigger lover”. Sacrificing Atticus’s identity does not give him much room to speak during the case, in fact, without his title as an intelligent, helpful, and wealthy citizen, the people of Maycomb could potentially harm Atticus, which forces him to take a slightly more cautious approach with the people of Maycomb. Concerned with the matter of how her father finds that his actions are right when the majority of the town finds it is wrong. Atticus then responds strongly to Scout, saying that he could not live with himself or tell her and Jem to do the right thing if he did not take the case seriously himself. Atticus’s identity sacrificed for the intention of saving his kids from “Maycomb's usual disease” which is racism.
Having grown up in the home of a lawyer, Jem understands the ways of the courtroom and recognizes Atticus’ behavior in court. When Tom Robinson is put on trial for being accused of raping Mayella Ewell, Atticus is appointed his attorney. As questioning continues, Atticus blatantly proves it was impossible for Tom to even commit the crime. Jem says to Reverend Sykes, "...don't fret, we've won it....Don't see how any jury could convict on what we heard" (Lee 279). Jem’s response to Reverend Sykes comment
Atticus does realize, however, that Jem and Scout will undergo cruel comments, but he believes Scout and Jem will be able to conquer them. When Bob Ewell spat Atticus, as well as threatened Atticus, it is made clear that his intent is to seek vengeance. “It was Miss Stephanie’s pleasure to tell us: this morning Mr. Bob Ewell stopped Atticus on the post office corner, spat in his face, and told him he’d get him if it took the rest of his life” (Lee 290). This quote communicates that Mr. Ewell will stop at nothing to get revenge on Atticus for making him seem as he is a fool, which ultimately results in him dieing and wounding Atticus’s children in a way that exposes extensive clarity. Jem’s arm is now broken and Scout was injured. However, in the end, Boo Radley saves both Jem and Scout and everything serves justice when Bob Ewell seems to kill himself when falling on his knife. This signifies that Bob Ewell would no longer pester anyone about anything and will no longer be abusive of his children and continue his irresponsibility. In addition, some may counter that Atticus knows he is putting Jem and Scout in a difficult position where nearly everyone in Maycomb is criticizing them and their family. “‘Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for’” (Lee 135). Mrs. Dubose goes as far as saying that Atticus is worthless, by her definition, and is simply yet another case of the point exhibiting Maycomb’s racism and discourtesy towards Atticus, Jem, and Scout. Despite this, as a result, good is the outcome. Jem and Scout learn to overcome harsh occurrences through the use of courage, another one of Atticus’s means of getting his children to do what is honorable, and get his children to get the better of those brutal moments that drag others
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...
verdict of the trial, Jem and Scout see the hate in jurors for blacks, for it is obvious that Tom Robinson is innocent. Another new and disturbing element that Jem and Scout discover is child abuse. Having never been hit by Atticus, the children know nothing of physical, mental, emotional, or sexual abuse. However, Mayella Ewell knows too well of these abuses and is a victim of them from her own father. Bob Ewell shows he has no consideration for her by his actions or words, and this is clearly displayed during the trial when he is being asked on the stand, "Are you the father of Mayella Ewell?" (172) His crude reply is, "Well, if I ain’t I can’t do nothing about it now"(172). This shows he has no class or respect, while on the other hand, Jem and Scout are used to seeing the example of their tactful father. Also, during the trial it becomes lucid that Bob Ewell beat Mayella up and not Tom Robinson.
The illusion of innocence is deeply instilled in the outlook of children. Reality soon takes its grip as kids begin to grow and mature, and they lose their pure qualities that they have once possessed. Their father Atticus shelters Jem and Scout from the town’s disease, teaching them the act of sympathy and how to distinguish the good aspects over glaring at the imperfections of people. The loss of innocence portrayed in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is exposed as the lives of Jem, Scout, and Dill go through their racist and prejudice society, learning how the worlds dreamlike qualities is nothing more than just a childhood fable. The children’s judgment of people and society quickly sheds as Lee displays the harsh realities to Jem, Dill,
Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird: The Significance of a Mockingbird In a society surrounded by corruption, racism, and cruelty it is rare to find purity. Innocence is constantly being destroyed. For this reason, the harmless citizens need to be treasured and protected. Harper Lee’s classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird portrays the injustices of the 1930’s that expose the innocent to the malice of the society’s intentions. Some characters in the novel are characterized as harmless and pure and are symbolized by mockingbirds.