How Does Miss Maudie Use The Fire In To Kill A Mockingbird

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In the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee , she describes a story where everything is told from a little girl's perspective. Harper Lee was born in 1926 on april 28 in Monroeville, Alabama. Harper Lee is the youngest of four children and was a tomboy, her father was a lawyer and her mother was very mentally ill. In 1959 Lee finished the manuscript for the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird”. In this novel the story is told by a little girl named Scout, she tells the story of how her brother Jem broke her arm. Scout is the youngest of two with her older brother Jem and her father Atticus which is a lawyer. Their mother passed away when Jem was six and Scout was two, now Jem is ten and Scout is six when the story begins. Harper Lee uses the …show more content…

After building the snowman, Scout fell asleep after Atticus went to take Calpurnia home. Minutes later as it felt Atticus woke Scout up and she put everything on in a rush. When she noticed what was wrong she asked whose was it and atticus answered with Miss Maudie’s. On the front porch you could see the blazing fire from Miss Maudie’s house and all the neighbors crowded around. The firefighters rushed to the fire and pointed to where the water was needed the most. Scout was cold and Jem tried to warm her but it didn't help any, she was distracted by the fire to notice that Boo Radley covered he with a blanket. When this was over scout and jem were drinking hot cocoa and with the blanket in her hand, atticus asked where it came from. During this scout said “I watched our Absolute Morphodite go black and crumble.”(Lee 94) This shows that the snowman which is a white racist person was destroyed by the fire. Miss maudie does not grieve after this and thinks the fire was caused by a fire she left on for the plants. While the kids ask to help Miss Maudie she asks why the don't clean up the mud from their own yard. Scout says “ you mean the Morphodite.”(Lee 98) This could show some small remark of racism the scout doesn't understand. Morphodite is a plant or animal with both male and female parts meaning that the figure is non human. This is how Harper …show more content…

The mad dog is shown towards the end of chapter ten and everyone is afraid of the dog. The dog was at the end of the street when Jem and Calpurnia spotted it. Calpurnia ran to get mr. Radley and then ran back to call Atticus. Scout says “ He looks more sick than anything”(Lee 126) This shows how the dog is sick and is rabid the dog is, the dog being deadly is the same as racism being dangerous also. As the dog makes his way up the street a bit more Atticus was handed the gun. Scout narrates “ The rifle cracked. Tim Johnson leaped, Flopped over and crumpled on the sidewalk in a brown-and-white heap.”(Lee 127) Atticus , and older man, shot the dog dead and still holds the name One -Shot Finch. This shows that Atticus is the only person that can kill and end racism with one bullet and with one court case. This is how Harper Lee uses the mad dog to show racism in the south during the great

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