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Critical analysis on harper lee
Critical analysis on harper lee
Critical analysis on harper lee
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In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout starts off childish, then transforms into a more mature person. In the beginning of the book, Scout is very childish and insulting to the people around her, she doesn’t think about the things that she claims about others. While the teacher wanted to give Walter a quarter for lunch, Scout said “He had probably never seen three quarters together at the same time in his life...”(Lee 26). Scout is referring to Walter Cunningham when the teacher offered to loan him a quarter for lunch. Scout claims that the Walter’s family is poor and will stay poor, instead of just explaining the situation to the teacher, Scout insulted and was judgemental towards Walter family. Scout just jumped to conclusions about …show more content…
When Bob Ewell attacked Jem and Scout, there has been a little investigation as if he died or who has killed him. Harper Lee states “Bob Ewell Fell on his knife, he killed himself”(370). This quote shows what has been concluded about Bob Ewell, Scout instead of being so in shock that he has attacked and attempted to kill, says that he deserves that consequence after what he’s attempted to do. Scout handled the situation very calmly and this can show that she is turning more mature by the moment. Arthur Radley has saved Jem and Scout from Bob Ewell, when they went home to treat Jem, Scout spotted Arthur Radley standing and called him inside. Scout states in the story “You’d like to Jem, wouldn’t you Mr. Arthur? Come right in…”(371) The quote given to Scout has made her incredibly more mature because in the beginning of the book she was extremely scared of Arthur Radley, more commonly known as Boo, and she calmly called him in, if in any case he wanted to say goodbye. Scout handled the situation very well because she didn’t show her shock for surveying Boo. In the later part of the book, Scout overall has turned more mature and aims to resolve issues in a calm and mature way, rather than her being childish old
Scout reveals her misjudgement on Ms. Caroline in the beginning of the story. Ms. Caroline notices Walter Cunningham with no lunch and offers to buy him lunch but he refuses the offer because Cunninghams don't take anything they can't pay back. Scout informs Ms. Caroline about the situation and she gets upset with Scout and spanks her leaving Scout with a bad impression. Scout informs her dad about the situation and Atticus tells her,¨ “First of all,” he said, “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-”...
At the beginning of the book, Scout was not a nice child. She had hard times controlling herself, and usually she was not able to. She knew Atticus wouldn't like it if he heard of her fighting, but still she fought a lot, like the time she got angry to Cecil Jacobs and fought him (pg. 99). She was also mean and rude, which can easily be seen as she got angry and protested it when Walter poured syrup all over his dinner (pg. 32). As she was young, she also was not able to look at things from other people's perspective. This could easily be seen in her first day of school, as she only saw things from her point of view, never caring about her teacher's perspective (pg. 26). Her youth also ...
First of all, Scout allows the reader to focus more on the exterior of situations. Children tend to experience things differently from others. Events that take place in society may be of great importance to adults and mean nothing to children. Things of importance differ between children and adults. But sometimes, a child’s perspective may be the best way to look at things. In To Kill A Mockingbird, the whole town was talking about Tom Robinson’s trial, especially since he was African American and Atticus, a white man, was to be his lawyer. According to reviewer Edwin Bruell in Racism in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, “[To Kill A] Mockingbird, he tells us, is about the townspeople, not about Robinson” (Mancini 101)....
Scout first learns to show compassion and tolerance by refusing to go to school because she hates Miss Caroline. Atticus tells her that, 'First of all, if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along better with all kinds of folks. 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'; (30). When Atticus told her this, she began to accept Miss Caroline as well as other people's differences and opinions.
Jem is growing up all the time. This can be seen when he stops Scout
Characters in a book not only tell the story, but teach the reader a lesson. To Kill a Mockingbird is a book that exhibits racism and gives the readers a taste of what it was like in the 1930’s. One of the several major characters of this book is Jean Louise Finch, better known as Scout. She matured greatly because of women characters such as Miss Maudie, Calpurnia, and her Aunt Alexandra. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout teaches all readers the lesson of how it is important to have a motherly figure in your life; she does so through possessing the traits of being curious, tomboy, and hot tempered.
In the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Jean Louise Finch shows herself to be a quick tempered child. Scout shows her temper when she says, “catching Walter Cunningham in the schoolyard gave me some pleasure, but when I was rubbing his nose in the dirt then Jim came by and told me to stop.”(pg.30) In my opinion, when Scout was taking up for Walter Cunningham for being poor, Miss Caroline assumed that Scout was not telling the truth but being a smart allelic, and Scout got in trouble. If Scout had explained herself a little better it would not have been such a bad misunderstanding. Like the time when Walter was putting syrup on his vegetables and meat, Scout was making fun of him and she got in trouble and says, “but he’s gone and...
In the beginning of the story, she was very ignorant and immature to racism “Catching Walter Cunningham in the schoolyard gave me some pleasure, but when I was rubbing his nose in the dirt…”(Harper Lee 30)This quote shows how immature Scout was by fighting over pointless reasons and had little things get her upset. Later on in the novel, Scout started to mature and understand the harsh realities of the world. When Tom Robinson gets arrested and sent for jail, she realizes that people are judged because the color of their skin and she states “ ...Nothin’s wrong with him. Naw,Jem, I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.”( Harper Lee 304) This is where Scout really grows up and knows that should not be black or white people or rich and poor people, we should just be
Scout Finch is not the stereotypical girl from the 1930’s. Agents the wishes of everyone around her, she grows up in overalls instead of dresses. Scout plays in the dirt and sand, instead of in the kitchen. In the novel To Kill a Mocking Bird, by Harper Lee, Scout is the wild spirited narrator, growing up in the small town of Maycomb. As she gets older, she learns mostly from her father Atticus how to interact with people. Scout learns to show dignity and respect to everyone, under any circumstances.
Near the exposition of the book when everything is wrapping up and all of the loose ends are being tied, a very important thing happens. Jem and Scout learn to accept Mr. Radley. This shows the utmost maturity in Jem and Scout because Mr. Radley, “Boo” was a major part of their childhood. When Arthur Radley was at the Finch’s, Scout asked him “You like to say goodnight to Jem, wouldn 't you, Mr. Arthur?”(318) One sign of maturity is Scout calling the character previously known as Boo, Mr. Arthur Radley. This signifies she has not only done away with the childish names, but other childish aspects that she has carried with her. Even though Jem is unconscious we know he is accepting of Boo because of Mr. Radley’s actions. The act that sealed their newfound friendship was when “Mr. Arthur 's hand came down lightly on Jem 's hair.”(319) This brief physical touch was a small motion, but a great achievement. It was a symbol that the children were growing and maturing. Jem and Scout had
...his town, but all you gotta do is step back inside the courthouse” (Lee, 269). This initially corresponds in Scouts head, as she than changes her negativity to positivity. This is because she as a main character understands that her knowledge hasn’t developed yet, due to her age, and that she can’t judge someone by their actions. She has to judge a person by finally seeing who they really are and uncovering their true reasons and morality, in order to see how nice they are, not interpret and judge a human being by their actions, and what they do. In general, Scout as a major character in To Kill a Mocking Bird, understands that people are nice “when you finally see them” because of, Calpurnia, Mrs.Dubose and Mr.Dolphus Raymond. She mainly does this by putting herself into the other person’s shoes and identifying who they really are.
When Aunt Alexandria is asked if Scout can have Walter Cunningham Jr. over for dinner again, Aunt Alexandra explains that since Walter is of lower status than them, he cannot come over. This makes Scout react in the following way: “I don’t know what I would’ve done, but Jem stopped me. He caught me by the shoulders, put his arm around me and led me sobbing in fury to his bedroom” (Lee 301). This kind of aggression shows Scout’s emotional confusion about societal discrimination, and she believes that she should be able to play with him regardless of societal status. Also, her physically aggressive reaction to discrimination shows that the only way she knows how to resolve problems is with physical aggression to things she does not understand. Additionally, Scout’s cousin Francis calls Atticus a “nigger-lover” multiple times. This causes Scout to react very aggressively as shown in the following passage: “This time, I split my knuckle to the bone on his front teeth. My left impaired, I sailed in with my right…” (112). Scout’s physical response reveals that when the honor of someone she loves is at stake, she will defend it as best as she can even though she does not fully understand the accusations in the first place. Also, her reaction displays that she believes in Atticus and therefore, she believes in what he does. She has been exposed to the Tom Robinson case enough to understand that it is defending a black man, and the fact that she defends her dad’s actions shows that she believes it is right as well. Scout’s aggressive reactions to the discrimination she faces in her town demonstrate her moral
In the first week of school, Scout comes in conflict with Walter Cunningham, out of nicety, Jem invites walter to dine with them. On the dining table however, Scout calls Walter’s eating style is barbaric and he belongs with the savages because he is poor. After the trial, Atticus tells Scout that the Cunningham almost gave Tom acquittal. Surprisingly, Scout decides to invite Walter Cunningham to dinner with her. In the beginning, Scout calls Walter barbaric because she associates being poor as barbaric, she thinks about the simple truth and associate likely aspects together. However, she realizes that the Cunningham is good welled and lives with less prejudice despite their poor living conditions. Therefore, she matures as she sees people with their actions instead of making simple distinctions. Lastly, Scout matures because she no longer makes mindless assumptions with simple
As a growing young girl, Scout was learning and experiencing things just like any other child would though growing up. She got older and was able to understand things a lot better as well as being able to apply lessons she had learned in her everyday life. She began to act slightly more grown up in situations such as Aunt Alexandria's dinner party. Scout forgot how much she despised her Aunt and how much she disliked dresses and joined the group of women in their conversations. Despite how she didn't want to "act more like a lady", she played along with her Aunt's "campaign to teach me (Scout) to be a lady" made an exception to please her Aunt and to create some peace between them. Upon hearing the news of Tom's death she concludes "if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I." This shows how Scout was beginning to act more ladylike for her Aunt.
When she was younger and knew less of the world, Scout responded in an immature way to practically everything. In the schoolyard, after Scout was reprimanded for standing up for a boy in class, she thinks “Catching Walter Cunningham in the schoolyard gave me some pleasure… I stomped at him to chase him away” (Lee 22-23). This quote shows how Scout would