Theme Of Ignorance In To Kill A Mockingbird

244 Words1 Page

The game that Scout, Jem and Dill play in chapter four of To Kill A Mockingbird reveals that ignorance is relevant in both the lives of the adults and children in Maycomb, and has an effect on the actions of their daily lives. Jem describes the play about Boo Radley as “a melancholy little drama, woven from bits and scraps of gossip and neighborhood legend: Mrs. Radley has been beautiful until she married Mr. Radley and lost all her money” (Lee 39). Here, Scout blatantly admits to making up aspects of the game that she and the boys play everyday during the summer. This suggests that the children know they are uneducated on the subject, but do not care to question the adults to find the real answers. The adults are just as guilty, keeping the

Show More
Related

  • Education In To Kill A Mockingbird

    751 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character- that is the goal of true education.” -Martin Luther King, Jr. Not everyone during the Great Depression had a valuable education. White families were typically the ones who evoked an education. Blacks had a more difficult time being accepted to have a valuable education. In To Kill A Mockingbird, the Finches, Cunningham's, Ewells, and the Black community all live a different stance in education.

    Read More

  • Themes And Symbolism In To Kill A Mockingbird

    896 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Narrow-Mindedness Depicted in To Kill a Mockingbird

    811 Words  | 2 Pages

    Prompt: Explain how the fictional Maycomb County in Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird represents many of the societal problems we have today, and explain how Atticus Finch's empathy for a ll people serves as a model we should all follow.

    Read More

  • Literary Devices In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1240 Words  | 3 Pages

    The story “To kill a Mockingbird” takes place in an old tired town in Alabama during the Great Depression. In the story the main conflict involves a black crippled man, Tom Robinson, accused of raping Mayella Ewell, the daughter of Bob Ewell. The Ewells were the lowest of the low in Maycomb; they lived in the town dump and had no education. The Accusation of Tom Robinson was caused by the Ewell’s in an effort to better their lifestyle and increase their rank in the town. Although the story is told from Scout’s eyes, the whole story revolves around this questionable trial and shows that being vulnerable and innocent is a dangerous characteristic to have and can easily be taken advantage of.

    Read More

  • Loss of Innocence in To Kill a Mockingbird

    2420 Words  | 5 Pages

    Through their own games and through the games of the adults, the children learn values of respect, courage, and understanding. As most children naturally do, Jem, Scout, and their newly-found friend Dill find amusements to make the days pass with excitement. When they first meet Dill, they begin the "day's play in the backyard"(11). The implication is that it becomes routine for them to play and that each day brings on a different experience.

    Read More

  • Decoding Symbolism and Prejudice in 'To Kill a Mockingbird'

    1551 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout the novel Harper Lee explores the racism, prejudice, and the innocence that occurs throughout the book. She shows these topics through her strong use of symbolism throughout the story.

    Read More

  • Growing Up in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird

    950 Words  | 2 Pages

    Scout starts to understand people’s needs, opinions, and their points of view. In the beginning, Scout does not really think much about other people’s feelings, unless it directly pertains to her. Jem and Dill decided to create a play based on the life of one of their neighbors, Boo Radley. According to neighborhood rumors, Boo got into a lot of trouble as a kid, stabbed his father with scissors, and never comes out of the house. The children create a whole drama and act it out each day. “As the summer progressed, so did our game. We polished and perfected it, added dialogue and plot until we had manufactured a small play among which we rang changes every day” (Lee 52). Scout turned Boo’s life into a joke, something for her entertainment. She did not think about how Boo would feel if he knew what they were doing. Near the end of the book, while Boo was at the Finch house, Scout led him onto the porc...

    Read More

  • Theme Of Cruelty In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1000 Words  | 2 Pages

    They have many misconceptions of people, places, and concerts in Maycomb county. However as they are young and don't really have opinions themselves. They abide by those presented them. At the start of the novel Scout and Jem see Mr. Arthur Radley or "Boo", as a dangerous, crazy, and rather isolated man. Although never being in his presence or in association with him they always make assumptions about him. They constantly pestered his household and played games that mocked him, "..time to play Boo's big scene...steal the scissors...Jem would fake plunge into Dill's thigh..."(LEE40).They also had the misconception that Boo was kept inside forcefully by his family. Boo was also blamed for unresolved events. As time goes by they mature and start to develop more of an understanding of Boo, "..I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in his house all this time...he wants to stay inside"(LEE227). Jem develops an understanding as to why Boo Radley stays inside. It's not because his family forces him to stay inside. He realizes that when living in a town like Maycomb, there is an incredible amount of judgement and labeling that occurs. It becomes evident to him that Boo has no place and isn't welcomed into the society. Especially with having a stereotype "glued" to his identity. Scout then has an

    Read More

  • Examples Of Ignorance In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1057 Words  | 3 Pages

    What is ignorance? Ignorance is defined as, “the state of being ignorant; lack of knowledge, learning, information, etc” (Dictonary.com). When ignorance is in a novel, it gives the readers a chance to see some insight on who the characters are and the families they come from. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, there is a reoccurring theme of ignorance, the theme of ignorance is shown between a series of racial ignorance, situational ignorance, and gender ignorance. Ignorance in the story causes many conflicts between the characters or themselves in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Ignorance In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1471 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many of our society’s issues are rooted in ignorance. Those that are not open to the uniqueness of others fear people who are different from them or disagree with their opinions, as “Fear always springs from ignorance”. (Ralph Waldo Emerson) The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a story about a town that is extremely prejudiced. Most people of the town believe that black people are not to be trusted, or are bad people, often because racism is taught in their town. The people's fear of others destroys some of the true “mockingbirds” in the story, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. To Kill a Mockingbird is a great example of how ignorance and mystery create fear. The “Help”, directed by Tate Taylor, is a movie about the struggles of the

    Read More

  • The Evils Of To Kill A Mockingbird

    1677 Words  | 4 Pages

    Has evil always been around, or did man create it? One could trace evil all the way back to Adam and Eve; however, evil came to them, but it was not in them. When did evil become part of a person? No one knows, but evil has been around for a long time and unfortunately is discovered by everyone. In many great classics in literature evil is at the heart or the theme of the novel, including Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. This classic book demonstrates the growing up of two children in the South and illustrates the theme of evil by showing how they discover, how they deal, and how they reconcile themselves to the evils they experience.

    Read More

  • Themes of Prejudice and Tolerance in To Kill a Mockingbird

    816 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel. It is set in the 1930s, a time when racism was very prominent. Harper Lee emphasizes the themes of prejudice and tolerance in her novel through the use of her characters and their interactions within the Maycomb community. The narrator of the story, Scout, comes across many people and situations with prejudice and tolerance, as her father defends a black man.

    Read More

  • The Theme of Racism in To Kill a Mockingbird

    1053 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, many minor themes are present such as gender and age. However, the largest and therefore major theme of the book is racism. All of the events and themes in the book had only one purpose, to support the theme of racism.

    Read More

  • The Theme of Racism in To Kill a Mockingbird

    2121 Words  | 5 Pages

    One of the widely recognized controversies in American history is the 1930s, which housed the Great Depression and the post-civil war, the ruling of Plessy versus Ferguson and the Jim Crow Laws, and segregation. While textbooks detail the factual aspect of the time there is only one other literature that can exhibit the emotion experienced in the era. To Kill a Mockingbird is the acclaimed novel that displays the experiences of the South, through inequality and segregation, social class differences and the right to fairness. The novel’s experiences are narrated through a grown Scout, who appears as a little girl in the novel, offering her innocent views on the happenings in Maycomb County. The most observed aspect of the novel is race and racism; with Tom Robinson’s trial being the prime focus of the novel, the issue of race is bound to be discussed throughout the novel is race, racism and segregation; with Tom Robinson’s trial being the focus of the novel, the issue of race is heavily represented throughout the novel. With Mockingbird being a common book among English Language Arts and Literatures classrooms, the topic of race is bound to surface amid a young, twenty-first century group of student of students with the inevitability of this discussion, the question remains on how to approach the conversation as an educator. As an educator, one should seek to establish the context of the times, prepare the students for the conversation and examine the other characters and situations similarly to race. Educators must also be introspective before examining their students’ feelings, so that they are not surprised by their emotions and can also express their feelings to their students. The discussion should target a goal, one of examin...

    Read More

  • Leadership and Followership

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the most important components of leadership is the leader. A leader is responsible for his or her followers and the overall goal of the group or organization. Leaders are the people held accountable or everything that happens, good or bad. On the other hand, the second major component of leadership is the followers. Without followers, a leader would be worthless. Followers make up the backbone of a leader because they are the masses that get goals accomplished. A leader is just one person, but the number of followers is countless. In order to be an effective follower, there are a countless number of characteristics that allow a follower to be the best they can be. Five of these characteristics include a positive attitude, communication skills, being part of the process, being open to new ideas, and patience.

    Read More

More about Theme Of Ignorance In To Kill A Mockingbird

Open Document