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To kill a mockingbird harper lee issues
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This is the most important passage for a few reasons. First of all, it shows Scout that sometimes what she considers right, like talking like white-folks', isn't what is right to other people. Also it opens her eyes to the fact that negroes and whites might not be as different as she always thought if people like Cal can go back and forth between talking like white folk and negroes so easily. In addition, Scout is learning that sometimes behaving slightly different around some people, like acting more calm or speaking slightly different than normal, can be beneficial to both parties. Overall, this passage shows many social skills that Scout learned by going to church with Cal. These skills will help her grow as a person and will hopefully aid
One of the principal aims of To Kill a Mockingbird is to subject the narrator to a series of learning experiences and then observe how much she profits from her experiences. There is rarely a chapter that does not teach Scout something new or does not build toward a new learning experience. So, one rewarding approach to the novel is through an examination of these experiences. In the largest view, Scout learns about (1) justice and injustice through the Tom Robinson trial; (2) prejustice and its effects on the processes of the law and society; (3) courage as manifested in ways others act; and (4) respect for individuality of the human being. On a smaller scale, Scout learns numerous things about numerous people; she becomes aware of the difficulty of being a lady, particularly when under dressed; and she learns when to fight and not to fight.
In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee, the author, wrote about the journey of a little girl, named Scout, as she grows up. Scout’s father Atticus serves as a grand part of her aging because he teaches her many life lessons. The most significant of all the lessons and a pivotal moment in the novel occurs when Atticus tells Scout that “you never really a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them,”, which contributes to one of Scout’s intellectual changes and the theme, understanding requires time (Lee 372).
One thing that Scout learns is not to believe that everything she hears as the truth. This is a very good lesson because if you did, you become very confused because people can rarely agree on how a story went. For instance, when Scout wants to know more about Boo Radley, Stephanie Crawford gets excited because she sees this as an opportunity to open her mouth and goes on to tell Jem that, " she woke up in the middle of the night and saw him looking straight through the window at her .... said that his head was a skull" (13.) Then Jem goes further into what he heard by saying, " he dined on raw squirrel and any cats he could catch" (13.) This shows how the town compensates not knowing things about others by making up stories. Also Scout sees lies getting passed off as truth when Atticus takes on Tom Robinson as a client. Mean things are spread about Atticus and his credibility is questioned. Since Scout has a short temper and ears that hear everything she is easily offended at the comments that are said, such as the comment made by Mrs. Dubose, " Your father father's no better than the ni**ers and trash he works for." This angers Scout and Jem very much. It also shows that the town isn't happy with the moral decision's that Atticus makes and feel the need to bash him in unfair ways. Scout learns that if she keeps listening to what is said, she would go insane from not hitting anyone.
Being very young in the beginning of the book, her views of racism have been guided by the people she's around. Before the trial, Scout’s life was relatively sheltered. She knows that blacks are segregated, but their lives do not touch Scout except for Calpurnia. Scout really isn't exposed to the harsh realities of racism until the trial. Here, Scout encounters the taunting of kids and adults. She endures remarks about her father being a "nigger lover" and then finally the travesty of injustice that happens to Tom. Here father provides her with many answer to all the questions she has on the subject, and helps her understand that black people are just regular people, and they need to be treated as regular people.
Harper Lee introduces Scout as an insensible tomboy caught in the midst of contrite prejudicial conception. She has not yet discovered what is right and wrong due to various misconceptions that the people of Maycomb influence her with. ?Don?t say nigger, Scout. That?s common? (75). This particular quote is said by Atticus, Scout?s father, while referring to Scout?s racial ignorance towards African Americans. This quote portrays her social standing at the beginning of the novel as she tends to act ignorant by speaking with rude racial terms. ?Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don't pretend to understand? I just hope that Jem and Scout come to me for their answers instead of listening to the town. I hope they trust me enough?? (92). This quote expressed by Atticus describes Scout?s mental and emotional state near the dawning of the novel. Scout is given influential lessons through the form of words on what to think therefore she is misguided by false pretenses. These ?pretenses? may be misleading, consequently Scout is basing her beliefs about prejudice on the conceptions of others instead of what Scout truly believes. Although Scout?s ...
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)....
Little by little Jem, Scout, and Dill get exposed to the real world; changing their perspective and their attitude towards people and subjects. This event focuses on Scout and Jem, Atticus is away and Calpurnia decides to take them to her church. While they are at the church Jem and Scout notice, Calpurnia talks a different way to negros than to whites. “‘Cal,’ I asked, “why do you talk niggertalk to the—to your folks when you know it’s not right?” ‘Well, in the first place I’m black—’ ‘That doesn’t mean you hafta talk that way when you know better,’ said Jem. Calpurnia tilted her hat and scratched her head, then pressed her hat down carefully over her ears. ‘It’s right hard to say,’ she said. ‘Suppose you and Scout talked colored-folks’ talk at home it’d be out of place, wouldn’t it? Now what if I talked white-folks’ talk at church, and with my neighbors? They’d think I was puttin‘ on airs to beat Moses.’ ‘But Cal, you know better,’ I said. ‘It’s not necessary to tell all you know. It’s not ladylike—in the second place, folks don’t like to have somebody around knowin‘ more than they do. It aggravates ’em. You’re not gonna change any of them by talkin‘ right, they’ve got to want to learn themselves, and when they don’t want to learn there’s nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language.’” (167) Calpurnia
Her dad explains to her that it is okay to be called a African-American lover. Her dad tells her that it is not a bad thing to love everyone. Despite all the racial discrimination around her she still loves everyone equally. Scout’s father explains to her that he tries his best to love everyone equally. He was trying to imply that she should love everyone equally as well. He states, “I do my best to love everyone...I’m hard put, sometimes-baby, it’s never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn’t hurt you” (Lee, 109). Scout understands that loving everyone no matter their skin color is right. This shows the reader that her moral beliefs are humane and intact and that they mostly come from her father's advice. Another example of discrimination is when Scout and Jem were at an all black church with Calpurnia and Calpurnia's friend Lula expresses herself to Calpurnia saying, You ain't got no business bringin' white chillun here—they got their church, we got our'n. It is our church, ain't it, Miss Cal?" (Lee, 48) Lula explains that she feels that Scout and Jem have no right to be at the church. This is where Scout finally experiences racism first-hand. She does not know what racism is yet because is so young, but she does realize that she should not be there. She feels as if she needs to leave and that shows what her morals really are. She truly cares about people and what they have to
Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” takes place during the 1930’s in the fictional and quiet town of Maycomb, located in Maycomb County, Alabama. The town of Maycomb is described as a tired old town that moves very slowly and its residents have nothing to fear but fear itself. Being in set in the South during the 1930’s the story does tackle racism and inequality for African Americans as racism was becoming more and more prominent in the 1930’s. The fact that the story takes place in a backwater county in Alabama makes the the injustice even more prevalent. The story goes through the early years of the main characters Jem and Scout so the exact time is always changing, however, the more important and intense parts of the story takes place
Level Headed- It has been a few days since poor Tom’s trial, and I had an encounter with Mr. Ewell today. I was leaving the post office when he approached me. He was really mad and he started cursing at me, he then proceeded to spit on me, and then he threatened to kill me. I just sat there and took it, he needed to get his anger out somehow, so why not let him. I understand why he was angry, who wouldn't be in his situation.
The passage I have chosen is from the book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. In this passage Atticus Finch is trying to teach his children, Scout and Jem, the real or his definition of the word courage. He is explaining to his children that courage is more than just men with guns. He says to not connect courage with fighting, but to associate it with standing up for what you believe in. It takes little character to point a gun and pull a trigger, but it takes a whole lot of courage to accept a difficult challenge in which you can ultimately be defeated in. It made me realize that courage goes beyond a physical act, it shows one's integrity and strength. I learned that a person is courageous when they follow their own beliefs and stick to
In To Kill a Mocking Bird, By Harper Lee, Fictional Novel, Scout has had many experiences with several characters. She as one of the main characters throughout To Kill Mocking Bird, has always judged other characters or people based on their appearances and actions. Atticus, scouts father explains about this by telling Scout that most people are nice “when you finally see them” (Lee, 376). But how does this theme apply to past minor characters? Does scout later realize that her thought of who the person was before was false? .Based on past characters scout judged before and after. The author Harper Lee shows that in the book To Kill A Mocking Bird, misunderstandings and interpretations, demonstrates the fact that, once you put yourself into someone else’s shoes, you as a human being will later understand and reflect on what you knew about the person before and determine who the person really is, and what morals do they as a character demonstrate. Though this, the theme implies to minor characters in the book such as: Calpurnia, Mrs. Dubose and Dolphus Raymond. Firstly, based on To Kill a Mocking Bird, Scout, understands the fact that most people are nice at first when you see them because of Calpurnia. From the book…”Hush your mouth! Don’t matter who they are anybody steps foot in this house’s yo company” (Lee, 33). In chapter 3 based on this quotation, When Walter Cunningham arrives inside Scouts home, Scout judged Walter. This made Calpurnia as a minor character angry and so she tells scout based on the quote. This makes Scout as a major character feel a bit mad because, Scout never agrees with Calpurnia’s teachings. Though later we as the reader realize that Scout has a change of character in the book. For e...
In previous eras, anti-Black sentiment was widely acknowledged and sometimes encouraged in the United States. Black litigants have endured a long history of racist attitudes and inequality in the criminal justice system To this day, it is impossible to determine if jurors present an unbiased trial for the defendants regardless of their racial background. Although the undercurrent of racism may continue to be present in modern juries, racial prejudice in the modern legal system is certainly less flagrant as many.
Scout Finch, the youngest child of Atticus Finch, narrates the story. It is summer and her cousin Dill and brother Jem are her companions and playmates. They play all summer long until Dill has to go back home to Maridian and Scout and her brother start school. The Atticus’ maid, a black woman by the name of Calpurnia, is like a mother to the children. While playing, Scout and Jem discover small trinkets in a knothole in an old oak tree on the Radley property. Summer rolls around again and Dill comes back to visit. A sence of discrimination develops towards the Radley’s because of their race. Scout forms a friendship with her neighbor Miss Maudie, whose house is later burnt down. She tells Scout to respect Boo Radley and treat him like a person. Treasures keep appearing in the knothole until it is filled with cement to prevent decay. As winter comes it snows for the first time in a century. Boo gives scout a blanket and she finally understands her father’s and Miss Maudie’s point of view and treats him respectfully. Scout and Jem receive air guns for Christmas, and promise Atticus never to shoot a mockingbird, for they are peaceful and don’t deserve to die in that manner. Atticus then takes a case defending a black man accused of rape. He knows that such a case will bring trouble for his family but he takes it anyways. This is the sense of courage he tries to instill in his son Jem.
Imagine being in a countryside and it is spring time. There are lush green trees on both sides of the road and space between them is filled with different kinds of bushes. There are pathways from the road, leading to the houses where the bushes have been cleared. The air is fresh and calm. No mobiles, no vehicles, just the sound of wind in your ears. You are a 6-year-old girl, full of energy running without any reason. You are thinking about nothing in particular and looking curiously everywhere. That’s what “To Kill a Mockingbird” is, it is a beautiful summer in a book.