The Flaws of To Kill a Mockingbird
Is it possible to judge literary classics to have failings or are they beyond contemporary measurements? As perfection is not attainable in any media, "classics" such as To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel by Harper Lee, can be found to have many instances of fault and flaw. A great novel should ease the reader into learning the story's characters and histories. It should include a plot that keeps the reader up all night wanting to read more. And it should also include a theme that remains clear and focused; to reach out to a reader without being encumbered. However this is not the case with To Kill a Mockingbird. To Kill a Mockingbird has faults with its characters, plot, and overall theme.
The introduction of both the characters and their histories are flawed. The novel hastily presents a great number of characters within a short amount of written space; causing the reader trouble when trying to differentiate between them. With a few dozen individuals taking part in the goings on in the story arc, one finds oneself constantly backtracking through the story to find previous references and descriptions of the characters to remember who they are. What is worse is the fact that many of the names of said persons mentioned early in the story make no appearance at all later on in the work. "...but they were Haverfords, in Maycomb county a name synonymous with jackass...John Hale Finch was ten years younger than my father" (Lee 5).
"Jem gave Dill the general attitudes of the more prominent figures: Mr. Tensaw
Jones voted the straight Prohibition ticket; Miss Emily Davis dipped snuff in
private; Mr. Byron Waller could play the violin..." (Lee 159).
This leads t...
... middle of paper ...
...un in his hand" (Lee 112). This lesson or theme is one of several that the children learn in the story, this particular one being from the incident with Mrs. Dubose. The majority of the novel makes use these sub arcs and lessons to add meat the novel. But instead dilutes the true them of the book, and the reason for which is was made.
In conclusion, one finds that because of problems found within the characters, plot, and theme of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, that this piece of classical literature is not perfect. Clearly by realizing its faults one can see that even a well-known and loved book is often no better than any of the mediocre novels of today. Classical works can indeed be judged, and many are far from perfect.
Work Cited:
Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird. (New York, N.Y.; Warner Books, Inc., 1982) 3-5,
99, 112, 159, 164, 247.
You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen. You know Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen. But do you recall the most famous reindeer of all? Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was misperceived at first. All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names, but after he led Santa’s sleigh, they loved him. Misperceptions like this happen all throughout Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. As you read the novel you see original judgments made about characters transform into new conceptions and new understandings. Some characters twist your views of them on purpose, others do it involuntarily. To Kill a Mockingbird shows this happening over and over again. All you have to do is look for it.
Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, Harper Lee's, To Kill a Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior, to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, and the struggle between blacks and whites. Atticus Finch, a lawyer and single parent in a small southern town in the 1930's, is appointed by the local judge to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, who is accused of raping a white woman. Friends and neighbors object when Atticus puts up a strong and spirited defense on behalf of the accused black man. Atticus renounces violence but stands up for what he believes in. He decides to defend Tom Robinson because if he did not, he would not only lose the respect of his children and the townspeople, but himself as well.
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.
To Kill a Mockingbird is regarded as a classic, also due to the timeless moral values it holds dear. The words of others should not dictate personal values, using educated thought is crucial before acting and finally, statements should not always be acknowledged as truth until you are able to authenticate them for yourself.
Paul Simon, the musician, once said, “If you can get humor and seriousness at the same time, you've created a special little thing, and that's what I'm looking for, because if you get pompous, you lose everything” (Simon 1). Racism in the 1930s and until the 1960s was a very serious issue. As stated, authors have taken this serious issue and turned it into great pieces of literature. Many of them have truly shown the seriousness of racism in society. Even though, criticism continues. Some critics have argued that Scout, in To Kill A Mockingbird, is an unreliable narrator. This is simply because Scout is a child. They suspect she is too innocent, naïve, and has an unbiased view. However, Scout as the narrator is a reliable choice because she allows the reader to concentrate more on the exterior of situations, she allows the reader to make his/her opinion, and she gives the reader direction of how to cover events and certain actions in the novel. Scout, as a child narrator, helps the reader ‘read between the lines’.
Harper Lee’s only book, To Kill a Mockingbird, is the stereotypical tale of childhood and innocence, yet it successfully incorporates mature themes, like the racism in the South at the time, to create a masterpiece of a work that has enraptured people’s minds and hearts for generations. According to esteemed novelist Wally Lamb, “It was the first time in my life that a book had sort of captured me. That was exciting; I didn’t realize that literature could do that” (111). Scout’s witty narration and brash actions make her the kind of heroine you can’t help but root for, and the events that take place in Maycomb County are small-scale versions of the dilemmas that face our world today. Mockingbird is a fantastically written novel that belongs on the shelves for classic literature that everyone should take the time to read and appreciate for their execution of style and the importance of their content.
Now with over 15 million copies in print translated into forty languages, “To Kill a Mockingbird” is highly regarded as a masterpiece of American literature. It stands strong beside bestsellers such as “The Joy Luck Club,” “The Catcher in the Rye,” and “Huckleberry Finn.” But what, one may ask, are the similarities between these chartbusters?
To Kill a Mockingbird novel is a warm and humorous piece of writing though it deals with critical issues such as racial inequality and rape. The novel was published in 1960 by Harper Lee and it gained immediate popularity and success becoming a modern literature in American. The plot of the novel and characters are based on Harper’s perception of her neighbors and her immediate family. Also, it is based on her observation of events that took place near her home area in 1936 at the age of ten years. To Kill a Mockingbird symbolizes killing harmless and innocent people. Tom Robinson is an example of an innocent man falsely accused of raping a White girl known as Mayella Ewell (Lee 169). Another example is Boo who is misunderstood by the society
...ience. Yet, what can be deduced is that it is there prior to our awareness of that which is there. It is both internal and external. The body on its own provide as the access with which the world is known. This connection of the body with the world is anchored on the reality that the body is there with and in the world. The experiences of the body is not something that you extract or signify, it is there simply because the body is there.
formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I
Everyday, people have to choose between doing the right thing or the wrong thing. The article, “How newspapers reviewed ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ in the 1960,” was written by Joshua Barajas and he uses facts and statistics to show that To Kill A Mockingbird was a successful book. The author uses logical appeal well to reveal that To Kill A Mockingbird is a good book.
...t you are feeling does not resemble anything of a corpse. In all reality this feeling of relaxation is a tremendous pleasure to you.
Ladies and Gentlemen, P&C members and Teachers, I would like to utilise this time I have, to present my conscience and my thoughts for whether the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is appropriate or not for students to study in year 12. I am here to speak on the behalf of the students about why the book should not be banned and the vital role it plays in our lives. Atticus Finch, father of the narrator, Scout Finch says “When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness’ sake. But don’t make a production of it.” (pg. 97) He said that when a child asks you something, answer him. You do not get any answers by banning the book. To get the answer, you have to explore the book.
To Kill a Mockingbird is an exceptional example of a cherished classic. Leif Enger’s marvelous prose and delivery of Peace Like a River will ensure its place in the hallmarks of classic writings. Just as To Kill a Mockingbird has stayed a long-time staple of the classics, will Peace like a River will become an essential part of American literature.