Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Essay on poverty in rural community
American culture summary
Working class during the great depression
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Essay on poverty in rural community
In the excerpts from the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and the memoir, A Part of the Sky by Robert Peck, Walter Cunningham and Robert Peck come from similar backgrounds, and exhibit similar characteristics. Not only are their situations unusually alike, both living in poverty due to the great depression, but they also handle the situation in somewhat like ways.
Perhaps the most evident similarity is that both Walter Cunningham and Robert Peck are living and working on farms during the Great Depression. Walter is shown to have hookworms, and “People caught hookworms going barefooted in barnyards and hog wallows,” (line 3 TKAM) while Peck describes his somewhat destitute experience on his family's farm in line 2 and 3 of APOTS. It is know that the Great Depression severely affected farmers, which somewhat explains the reason that their living conditions are so atrocious.
…show more content…
Another similarity between the two is the fact that neither can steadily attend school.
It can be inferred, even by someone with very limited information of to Kill a Mockingbird, the Walter can’t attend school- someone who owns no shoes, has hookworms, doesn’t have proper hygiene, and works on his family’s farm is very obviously not going to be able to go to school for longer than a few weeks. Robert Peck is told by the town clerk that “You’ll [Peck] have to register and attend school” (line 20 APOTS). Both of them not being able to attend school is clearly from living in poverty- if they were not quite as poor as they are, then they would have had to attend school for more than a few
days. A final similarity is the fact that both of their families don't own their properties. While in To Kill A Mockingbird, the Cunninghams’s property is in entailment, Walter Peck says (regarding his property) “Its morganged… only four more years to go and it's all ours” (line 23 APOTS). This is also tied in to their lack of wealth- although many people still rent their apartments from landlords today, the richest people in society all own their land. In conclusion, Robert Peck and Walter Cunningham not only share many similarities, but they all revolve around their shortage of money, due to them being farmers during and after the Great Depression. Both of them would’ve been able to attend school or have their families own their properties if they had not been as poor. Their financial situation directly influences every single part of their lives.
Walter’s family owns a farm, and Walter is obligated to help his father with tasks such as chopping wood. He has been in the first grade for three years in a row because every year he is forced to miss school during the harvest. While having lunch at the Finch’s home, he tells Atticus “Reason I can’t pass the first grade, Mr. Finch, is I’ve had to stay out ever’ spring an’ help Papa with the choppin’ but there’s anothr’n at the house now that’s field size (Pg. 31-32).” Although Walter would like to receive an education, he must help his father to get food on the table and to keep their farm operational. However, now that he has a sibling who is old enough to take his place on the farm, he will finally be able to move on from the first grade. His family values education and wants him to be successful in life. Burris Ewell, however, does not value school at all. Like Walter, Burris has also attended first grade for three years. “Been comin’ to the first day o’ the first grade fer three year now…. Reckon if I’m smart this year they’ll promote me to the second (Pg. 36).” Burris’ father does not value education, because he lets his son attend one day of school per year. Burris also does not care about his education. On the first day of school, a student explains “The truant lady gets ‘em here ‘cause she threatens ‘em with the
The Scottsboro Trial and the Tom Robinson Trial are almost identical in the forms of racism and prejudice shown and the the actual trial and the trials outcome. The racism and prejudice is clear and is a key factor throughout both cases, which took place in the same time period. Both trials are very common when it came to the time period, the time the trials have taken place in, those who were persecuted and lastly, why they were persecuted in the first place. “All blacks were liars, and always was not to be trusted was a major part of all of these trails” was the thought during this time. Someone that was white was believed no matter what when it came to a black mans word. Both trials were perfect examples of how the white people of Alabama were above the law. They showed that they could do whatever they wanted to the black people and get away with it. Examples in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Portrayed similar factual evidence that the Tom Robinson trial and the Scottsboro Trial are similar.
The ¨story of Emmett Till¨ and ¨To Kill a Mockingbird¨ are very similar. Two african americans have almost the exact same story. The man named Tom robinson was killed for harassing a girls, As was Emmett Till. I will give reasons that these two murders were very similar to each other.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is one of the most successful works of fiction in American Literature. Although To Kill a Mockingbird is classified as a work of fiction, there is evidence to support the claim that To Kill a Mockingbird was modeled after the Scottsboro Trials of 1931. There are many parallels between the trial of Tom Robinson and the Scottsboro Trials. The Scottsboro Boys were nine, young, African American men who were falsely accused of raping two white women while illegally riding a train in Alabama. Harper Lee was also about six years old when these trials took place. This is the reason why Harper Lee chose to write her novel through the eyes of a six year old. The trials inspired her to write To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper
In the novels Night and To Kill A Mockingbird there is a similar theme of the struggle between good and evil. This is shown through the persecution of innocent people because of their race. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Tom Robinson was killed after being convicted of a terrible crime that he did not commit. Bob Ewell accused Tom Robinson of raping his daughter to bring him to court, however Bob Ewell simply wanted another black man that he hated to die. The jury unanimously and easily decided for Tom to be put to death, not because they believed the Ewell’s, but because Tom was a man of colour which to them meant he was less than human and deserved to die. Atticus explained the jury to his children by stating, “ In our courts, when it's a white
Also, children of poor families dropped out of school because they felt obligated to help support their families financially. In To Kill A Mockingbird Scout describes the Ewell family, who only attend school the first day of every year because their family is poor: They come the first day every year and then leave. The truant lady gets’em here ‘cause she threatens ‘em with the sheriff, but she’s give up tryin’ to hold ‘em. She reckons she’s carried out the law just getting’ their names on the roll and runnin’ ‘em here the first day. You’re supposed to mark ‘em absent for the rest of the year (Lee 27).
Whether we read books, watch movies, or simply live life, we cannot ignore that writers, directors or people create pairs of characters that may have things in common and characteristics that show them as opposites. Sometimes, they may seem obvious but at other times, the individuals have to be analyzed and understood. They are placed in stories to show the good and the bad in the story. However, placing similar and somewhat opposite characters together is clearly portrayed in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. These characters go through some of the same situations but they can be distinguished differently by the way they choose to deal a situation. Sometimes, their intention may be alike however, in the end, their doing is what makes them two different people. This contrast is especially evident when comparing Walter Cunningham Sr. and Bob Ewell, Boo Radely and Nathan Radely, and, lastly, Miss. Maudie and Miss. Stephanie.
The story To Kill A Mockingbird has a wide variety of characters and situations that make it an all-time favorite. The ever-growing popularity of this story has caused a movie version, based on the book, to be showcased. There are noticeable differences between the two that could change the entire feel of the story. The omitted scenes from the book, that are never shown in the movie, include: Jem and Scout going to church with Calpurnia, the school scene in which the Ewells, Cunninghams, and Scout’s teacher and classmates are introduced and talked about, and how Aunt Alexandra, the great influencer of the children in the book, never appears in the movie along with other Finch family members.
Symbolism. Why is it important in a novel? Why do authors incorporate symbols into their writing? Symbolism aids the reader in understanding what the author wants to portray. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, she writes about the racism in a small town in Alabama named Maycomb set in the 1930’s and about two children growing up and learning that their town is not as perfect as they thought. The theme topic appearance versus reality helps to get a better understanding of the symbols used in the novel and that you should not judge something by their appearance, you should judge by the reality of what it is. “As Atticus once advised me to do, I tried to climb into Jem’s skin and walk around in it.” (Scout page 77) In her novel, there are many symbols throughout the narrative that relate to the theme topic appearance versus reality. Harper Lee writes symbols into her novel, such as the snowman, Mrs. Dubose’s Camellia flower and Dolphus Raymond’s Coca-Cola bottle to help reinforce the theme topic of appearance versus reality throughout the novel.
Walt Whitman’s 1859 poem “Out of the Cradle Rocking Endlessly” depicts the mockingbird as a symbol of innocence that chants or sings of fond memories from the past. By contrast, Harper Lee’s famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird, published in 1960, written almost a century after Whitman’s poem, portrays the mockingbird as innocent but as a fragile creature with horrific memories – memories of discrimination, isolation, and violence. Harper Lee wrote her novel, which is rooted in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, in the Deep South, during a time of segregation and discrimination, social issues which can be seen not only in the novel but were witnessed by Harper Lee in her own life. While Lee does insert bits and pieces of her own life into the novel, this fictional story is told by the character Jean Louise Finch, better known as “Scout.” She tells a horrific yet heroic story about a time in the 1930’s from a childhood perspective. The title of Lee’s book is not at first as apparent as it would seem. In fact, the only literal reference to the mockingbird appears only once in the novel. The reader, then, must probe deeply into the characters and events of the book to uncover the significance of the mockingbird. After seeing the treatment and the unyielding courage of Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and Atticus Finch, the reader can easily identify these three as mockingbirds.
As most everyone knows, there are differences between a book and it’s movie adaptation. This is applicable to the book and it’s movie counterpart To Kill a Mockingbird, as well. But aside from the differences, there are also similarities between these two.
David Guterson’s Snow Falling on Cedars is a novel based on the discrimination of a different racial background and how that it has impacted the life of an innocent citizen that has been charged for murder solely based on assumptions rather than an a well examined investigation. Living in a mostly white residential community, the Japanese - American’s need to be extremely careful in their actions as it may be looked upon differently from the caucasian’s. This is similar the coloured citizens of Maycomb do in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, where Tom Robinson is accused of raping a white woman and put in jail. Both novels show similarities in writing styles and themes as well as characters reactions. Guterson and Lee both show similarities
A Time to Kill and To Kill a Mockingbird both have a number of similarities to be compared and contrasted. Both stories can be compared in their themes about justice and racial prejudice. However, this is where the similarities end. The themes and ideas in both novels are vastly different in shape and scope. In A Time to Kill justice is the main theme and most of the ideas are focused on justice and the gray in between the lines of black and white set by the law, racial prejudice is also touched upon very frequently in the comparisons between Jake Brigance and Carl Lee Hailey and how he wouldn't even have had to face trial if he was a white man. In To Kill a Mockingbird justice is a theme which is not expanded upon or explained in nearly as much detail as it is in A Time to Kill. To Kill a Mockingbird also has a much larger variety in it's themes, ranging from the themes of justice to the exploration of a child's way of perceiving right and wrong as well as the idea of coming of age. These stories are honestly and objectively far more different than they are alike.
The novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee is a simplistic view of life in the Deep South of America in the 1930s. An innocent but humorous stance in the story is through the eyes of Scout and Jem Finch. Scout is a young adolescent who is growing up with the controversy that surrounds her fathers lawsuit. Her father, Atticus Finch is a lawyer who is defending a black man, Tom Robinson, with the charge of raping a white girl. The lives of the characters are changed by racism and this is the force that develops during the course of the narrative.
Harper Lee and Oodgeroo Noonuccal both portray the effects of prejudice upon individuals and how they explore, learn and change from it. Harper lee thoroughly demonstrates this, through her characters, as they grow, develop and understand the world around them. Further, she uses individuals with innocence as an influence to promote change within society and Individuals that have the willingness to discover can encourage their own self growth to promote change in their communities. Oodgeroo Noonuccal implements cultural diversity to demonstrate how prejudice can isolate individuals. Composers have the capacity to pursue individual's preconceived ideas on prejudice with the the intent to make change in society.