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To kill a mockingbird inportance of maycomb
Show how the setting of maycomb is significant in killing a mockingbird
What aspect of society does the town of Maycomb represent? to kill a mocking bird
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“Learn to deal with the fact that not everyone is perfect, but everyone deserves respect, honesty, justice and equality, I’m for truth no matter who tells it, I’m for justice no matter who it is for or against” (anonymous)
If Maycomb had the ability to speak this is what she would utter. Maycomb is in the heart of Alabama and is the setting of To Kill A Mockingbird. She has been around for years and years; She is talked about as boring and old, yet the youth keeps her young. She was told once that she had “nothing to fear but fear itself”-indeed this was correct. The old town is kept vigorous as courage is demonstrated from adults sticking to their values no matter what, Few adults see new moral values. Atticus and Miss maudie are open to these new moral values that are not yet seen by the rest of the town except by the young kids like Jem
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and Scout. Maycomb’s uniqueness comes from a variety of attributes. She is old, as she has embedded old values in her, yet she is young in some ways, for modern influence shows in her, as evidenced by Scout and Jem. Maycomb is respectful, intelligent, and compassionate for she looks for the good in people as shown by Atticus and Scout. Maycomb follows old fashion values, but she can also express new moral values as well. As Tom Robinson explains to Mr. Glimer as he was question “She’s mistaken in her mind” (Lee 264) This applies to Maycomb as well. There is a trial going on in the town because Tom Robinson (a black man) is accused of raping a white woman, Mayella. Tom is found guilty unfortunately. Maycomb thinks, “They couldn’t be fair if they tried. In our courts when it’s a white man's word against a black man’s, the white man always wins...people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box” (lee 295) This quote shows how she knows, she is aware of and she has to go along with racism because it is an old value practiced often. But then Maycomb is very upset after the trial and when she goes into deeper thought, she concludes that, “Doesn’t make it right...you can’t just convict a man on evidence like that” (Lee 295). This quote shows another side of Maycomb, the side that thinks morally correct, the youthful part of Maycomb. She thinks like a child,as children have not yet been intoxicated by the inequality of the world; they see the good in all, like Maycomb does sometimes. She struggles to embrace because of the influence around her. Macomb is conflicted in her views, it is difficult for her to see what is right or wrong- and she is resistant to change due to her environment. Yet part of her is ready to change, to make the world develop and transform into a place where equality reigns supreme. Maycomb is compassionate about people and considers things from their perspectives, which helps her to be respectful.
On the Front porch of the finches house, Maycomb learns a valuable lesson, this lesson is made a part of her identity. She is told, ”you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb in his skin and walk around in it.” (lee 39) This shows how Maycomb respects others more because she looks at things from not just her perspective, but others as well. , She puts this into play often, for example “I had never seen our neighborhood from this angle...Atticus was right. You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough” (Lee 273,274) This helps her to show more compassion and respect towards others because she knows where they stand and how any situation can be mean more for someone, it can trigger their emotions of past events or a funny comment can become very personal. This ability to walk around in someone else's skin becomes her identity as a compassionate and respectful human
being. Intelligence is demonstrated in Maycomb. At school Maycomb is asked to read by her kindergarten teacher. She writes, ”as i read the alphabet a faint line appeared between her eyebrows, and after making me read most of My first Reader and the stock-market quotations from The Mobile Register aloud, she discovered that i was literate and looked at me with more than a faint distaste.” (lee 22) This quote shows the overall intelligence of maycomb. She is so intelligent, her teachers are surprised by it and do not appreciate it, because they want to teach her their way. Kids are jealous of her as well. But Maycomb's intelligence does not stop at book smart, it is balanced out with her street smart too. She knows what is going on in the town, she can understand it, and even explain it to people. Her intelligence gets her in trouble as well. Maycomb is yelled at and asked not to learn outside of school. Just because she is asked though, doesn’t mean she stops there, Imagine if you were to stop doing something every time you were asked. You would never learn anything. So Maycomb continues learning outside of school and she advances in book smarts and life lessons. Maycomb is unique because of its many character traits demonstrated like respect, compassion, and intelligence. Advances in Maycomb's intelligence are made throughout the book and not just advances in her school smarts, but she learns lessons essential for life. Maycomb is also special because of her conflicted views… old or new values are a constant thought in Maycomb’s mind. Maycomb shows both old values and new ideals, but she is conflicted in her views and is resistant to change. Maycomb is old, yet the youth keeps her young. Maycomb is respectful and compassionate because she looks at things from others perspectives as well, not just her own, which makes her selfless. Intelligence is a strong essence in Maycomb. Readers can learn a lot from Maycomb. If you think about it, Maycomb is like an old dry ball of clay not quite ready to be shaped, but has the ability and potential to change. Society is like this as well today. Will it remain another hundred years, or will you, the youth, with compassion, courage and respect change the way your society will be looked at in history?
To Kill a Mockingbird focuses on “Maycomb’s usual disease,” as a pivotal part of the book, but also shows that compassion and wisdom can exist in these most bleak areas. The prejudice and bigotry comes from the lack of knowledge of Maycomb, and their fear of changing what they have grown up with. Pre-conceived ideas are the main reason that Maycomb is ignorant of black people as they are afraid of what a change of those pre-conceived ideas will bring. Even so, compassion still exists, as Atticus is able to save Scout and Jem from the influence of ‘Maycomb’s usual disease.’ Wisdom is also embodied by Atticus, where his wisdom, which is not necessarily knowledge but life experience, is able to force him to do things which are right, shown in his reluctant shooting of the rabid dog.
In Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird" shows and teaches many lessons throughout the passage. Some characters that learn lessons in this passage are Scout, Jem, and Dill. Scout and Jems father Atticus, is taking a case that affects their lives in so many ways. They all learn new things throughout the story and it impacts their lives greatly. There are lots of things including the trial mostly that change the perspective of the world they live in. The kids are living in the Great Depression and it shows just how bad things really where. Scout, Jem, and Dill have experiences that force them to mature and gain new insight.
“Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not,” says Oprah Winfrey. Integrity is shown through unyielding support of ideals on morals, while being complete or deliberate. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there are several strong examples of integrity. The author in To Kill a Mockingbird illustrates integrity fully and completely through two characters that really stood out to me: Atticus and Mrs. Dubose.
"Let the dead bury the dead." This quote from the Classic American novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, sums up what we will be talking about today. My understanding of this quote is that what's done is done, one man is dead for no good reason, but the one who killed him is with him in death. No harm, no foul. But is this really right? The first thing we need to look at is the actual problem, then the question posed. So without further ado, I present my essay:
The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is about a black man named Tom Robinson who is being charged with the rape of a white girl named Mayella Ewell. While the lawyers are giving their closing statements, Atticus Finch, the lawyer for Tom Robinson, makes his closing statement using ethos and logos persuasive methods to show that Bob Ewell and Mayella Ewell were lying. The logo is the principle of reason and judgment. Ethos is appealing to somebody's emotions. These persuasion methods were effective because Atticus uses this technique a lot one example of this is when he uses logos and asks Bob Ewell to put his signature on a piece so that he could see what Bob Ewell's dominant hand was because according to heck Tate her right side
In To Kill a Mockingbird, this theme of deluding oneself rather than admitting a painful truth is shown through the town of Maycomb itself, Mayella Ewell’s internal and external struggles in dealing with her feelings for Tom Robinson, and how Jem refuses to believe that the world he grew up in turns out to not be what he had imagined.
Examples included Mrs. Dubose, Bob Ewell, and Miss Gates, all of whom were vicious, spiteful, venomous, and intolerant. Miss Gates said she hated Hitler, but was then unkind to black people. Bob Ewell spit in Atticus’ face because Atticus destroyed his credibility at the trial. Mrs. Dubose was taking her pain out on Jem and Scout, two young children, by yelling at them and insulting their father. Maycomb was an atrocious person, antagonistic and racist. Today, there are still places and people like Maycomb. Our society must attempt to be more thoughtful and help others. We can all make an effort to be like Atticus, Boo Radley, Miss Maudie, Jem, and Scout- kindhearted characters. This novel shows that there can be moral people in a cruel place, good in evil, but it also proves the opposite. All of humanity has a wicked and villainous side, with no exceptions. Life is full of love and compassion, corruption and hate, and there will always be another side of the spectrum- another version of the
Do you not believe we need more compassion and tolerance in the world? Why can we not be like Atticus, Jem or Scout from To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee? These characters show great compassion and tolerance throughout the novel despite the society they live in. They have the courage to stand up for what they believe in.
Black and white, right and wrong; do decisions that simple and clear even exist? Does a decision ever mean gaining everything without giving anything up? Many characters in To Kill A Mockingbird are forced to make difficult, heart wrenching decisions that have no clear right answer. Harper Lee presents many of these important decisions in To Kill A Mockingbird as ethical dilemmas, or situations that require a choice between two difficult alternatives. Both of these alternatives have unpleasant aspects and question morals and ethics. A person is put in an awkward position, with their mind saying contradicting things. These dilemmas are presented in many different ways. The decisions in the beginning of the book are simple and can be solved quite easily, yet they are symbolic of later decisions. Other dilemmas place adult-like decisions in the lap of a child. One dilemma concerned a man burdened with the strict traditions of the South. Then there are the two biggest dilemmas, Atticus' decision to take the case and Heck Tate's choice between truth and the emotional well being of a man. Lee's ingenious storyline is established by these crucial and mentally arduous choices faced by the characters.
Lee uses Atticus’ good nature and respect for people to promote the theme; being strong in one 's beliefs and honest sets a good example for society: “‘First of all,’ he spoke, ‘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-,” (Lee 39) Atticus indicates. This quote shows how fair Atticus is, he try’s to understand other people in different situations. His advice is very true and is valid throughout the entire book, it could even be considered a theme on it’s own. Atticus’ quality of respect is very high and continues on into the trial further into the book which helps him during the case and helps Lee build to the theme: “‘Gentleman,’ he was saying ‘I shall be brief, but I would like to use my remaining time with you to remind you that this case is not a difficult one, it requires no minute sifting of complicated facts, but it does require you to be sure beyond all reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the defendant. To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white,” (Lee 271) Atticus voices in his final words at the trial. Lee uses Atticus’ powerful personality to express her views to the readers. In Maycomb no one ever did anything that was against the majority, so when
A small city nestled in the state of Alabama, Maycomb has got its faults, just like any other place in the world, but one of its main faults or (pg.88) “Maycomb's usual disease,” as Atticus calls it in the book is prejudice. Jem and Scout learn a lot about prejudice when a black man named Tom Robinson is accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell and their father, Atticus, is called on to be his lawyer. They realize the hate that people have buried deep within their heart when they see a black man accused of doing something only because of his color. On pg.241, Scout starts understanding this and thinks, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.” As the case continues, up until the death of Tom Robinson, Jem and Scout learn more and more about prejudice and how the hate that people have towards others causes them to take wrong actions. They also see how unfair it is that a white man can get treated better and think of himself better than a black man only because he was born white. This prejudice and the trial cause Jem and Scout to get in argum...
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.
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
He states, “Scout, you never really understand people until you consider things from their point of view- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (39). This means how sometimes unless you are someone you can’t fully understand them and how they feeling and behaving. Atticus explains to Scout that caring about others will help Scout understand them more. It will help Scout further understand why something may be happening. Also, Miss Maudie also explains how the Mockingbirds in the trees help further understand life lessons. Miss Maudie states, “Mockingbirds don’t do nothing but make music for us to enjoy… they don’t do one thing but sing our hearts out for us” (119). This means how in life, people shouldn’t naturally hate someone or something. People need to be able to care and have empathy for others. People in the book become the characteristic of mockingbirds. For example, Boo Radley. Boo doesn’t do anything to annoy or harm people, but the children decide to
During our lives, we develop morals and values through life experiences. They can be influenced by our society and the people we surround ourselves with. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates courage, social inequality and prejudice through the characters and events in the book. We experience life lessons through the protagonist Scout Finch as she develops her own values. This is displayed through a variety of life lessons and values throughout the novel.