The story "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee teaches the reader life lessons about how prejudice is blinding. The novel tells a tale set in the early 1930s of a black man wrongly accused of a crime and he later dies because of it. This story includes injustice, racism, white supremacy, and persecution. After Mr. Tom Robinson, a crippled black man was wrongly accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, he attempted escaping prison as he could see no hope of justice because of the color of his skin. Few in this story remained to only focus on evidence instead of the fact that Tom was black. "Mr Underwood simply figured it was a sin to kill cripples, be they standing, sitting, or escaping. He likened Tom's death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children," (Lee, 82). Mr. Underwood, in this quote, has much displeasure at the fact that Tom, an innocent man with a single working arm, had to be murdered because all he wanted was his rightful freedom. …show more content…
Another introverted character, Arthur 'Boo' Radley, has developed quite the disdainful reputation by the town of Maycomb, Alabama. At the end of the story, the protagonist, Scout, and her older brother, Jem, are jumped by a hateful man and Arthur comes to their rescue and saves their lives. Flabbergasted, Scout truly understands how deeply people can be misunderstood when based on societal judgments."I told him the story was good, but the man in the story was misunderstood. People thought he was bad. But when they finally saw him 'he hadn’t done anything… he was real nice.' 'Most people are Scout, when you finally see them [Atticus],' "(Lee, 91). When their lives were spared by a man they had teased and harassed for town rumors that had been made up about him, Scout and Jem fully came to know that prejudice is truly
Harper Lee wrote a story to express the different kinds of prejudice in the 1930’s in Maycomb County, Alabama. The thesis has been explained by using actual quotes from To Kill a Mockingbird, and then gave logical explanation on how it was relevant. Prejudices affect the world even today and still they are something that is a horrible thing.
What does it mean to be a good parent? The most common definition of a good parent is one who makes their children feel valued and loved, by teaching them the difference between right and wrong. At the end of the day, the most essential thing is to create a nurturing environment where your children feel like they can mature into confident, independent, and caring adults. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird defines what a true parent really is thought hardships and struggles throughout the book. The story is set in the Depression era of a little town in southern Alabama that is struggling with thick prejudice on a colored rape case. The story is told through a character
Scout Finch and her brother Jem live with their widowed father Atticus in the town of Maycomb, Alabama. The book takes place in a society withstanding effects of the Great Depression. The two main characters, Scout and Jem, approach life with a childlike view engulfed in innocence. They befriend a young boy named Dill, and they all become intrigued with the spooky house they refer to as “The Radley Place”. The owner, Nathan Radley (referred to as Boo), has lived there for years without ever venturing outside its walls. The children laugh and imagine the reclusive life of Boo Radley, yet their father quickly puts a halt to their shenanigans, as they should not judge the man before they truly know him. Atticus unforgettably tells the children, “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.”
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
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.
Modes of Communication in To Kill a Mockingbird Effective communication is a result of the utilization of different techniques to convey a particular idea or perspective. Different methods used to express a person's feelings are found throughout society and aid in creating a learned individual, family, and community. In the novel To Kill a Mocking Bird, Harper Lee uses several modes of communication to display her feelings on moral, political, and social issues. Lee's tactics parallel those used by one character in her novel, Atticus Finch. In order to express his feelings to his children, Atticus uses three simple teaching devices; the use of examples, verbal statements, and learning through experience.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is an emblem of racial jurisdiction. All throughout the book it shows how the law applies to blacks as opposed to whites. Lee shows how unjust the treatment of blacks is and the disregard for their human rights. Though through the actions of the characters in the book; it can be said that their actions show a glimmer of hope for this very prejudiced society.
In Maycomb County, Alabama, the white community where the story takes place, blacks, such as Robinson, are seen as evil and as a disturbance. In a jury of all whites, Robinson’s truth of not raping Mayella is not justified in the courtroom. In his trial, Atticus, his lawyer, rhetorically asks the whites in the courtroom on what they think of Negroes; they are liars, deceitful, and immoral beings according to the jury, yet Atticus opposes this saying, “But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men. There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing..." (Lee 232). Atticus starts off by repeating the statement the white community addresses on Negroes, that they are evil in every aspect of life, and therefore they should not be trusted with women and in the community overall. Then, Atticus turns the tables on to the people of the courtroom, telling them that they must have lied or done evil before too, henceforth, making other people of different races evil. The racism toward Tom Robinson makes him feel as if he is guilty for his race. The white community makes Tom’s innocence feel obstructed because he has been accused of a rape as well as being told he is “evil” as well. The whites treat Robinson as if he is the worst sin,
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.
In the novel To Kill A Mocking Bird, Harper Lee uses characters to show that not all things are what they seem to be. The characters Mrs. Dubose, Boo Radley, Mr. Raymond, Mr. Underwood, and Atticus were important in showing it.
In our culture a hero shows courage and integrity. A hero doesn 't need a cape or a special power. A hero is someone who makes an impact in someone 's life. Heroes are people like the front of the line D-Day soldiers or the first responders in the 9-11 attacks. As a famous hero once said "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." This hero’s name is Jackie Robinson. Being threatened, cursed at, and treated badly, Jackie Robinson didn’t fight back and continued to play the game of baseball. Mr.Robinson helped future generations live with peace. In Harper Lee 's book,To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus is a hero. Without using any superhuman powers, Atticus shows courage, responsibility, and integrity without fighting back.
The title, To Kill a Mockingbird, is a metaphor throughout the whole book. This comes up when Jem and Scout are gifted rifles for Christmas, and Atticus told them, “‘I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit'em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’” (Lee 119) Atticus told them that killing a mockingbird is a sin because mockingbirds are completely innocent. All they do is sing their hearts out for us. Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are both two major mockingbirds throughout the story. Boo Radley lives in an old, abandoned looking house down the street from Scout and Jem. Boo got in trouble with the law when he was a teenager, and he has been inside
“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 94). This quote, delivered in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, introduces the mockingbird which is incorporated symbolically throughout the novel. The mockingbird, in presenting its gifts of music and beauty, is the symbol of Atticus’s practice of altruism because he believes in society’s responsibility to protect those who are vulnerable and innocent.
To Kill a Mockingbird is the novel penned by an acclaimed author Harper Lee. It researches the matters of race and class in the 1930’s. Scout Finch who is the main character, shares her views on situations around her.
How does it feel when one grows into adulthood? How does it feel to abandon the comfort of childhood and crash into maturity? Jeremy Finch has an extraordinary youth experience. From arrogantly antagonizing Boo Radley to slowly putting the pieces together of the ‘big picture’ of what was happening in Maycomb county. Three major events within the scattering of subplots and happenings that helped Jem mature is the entire ordeal of the radley tree, whe Jem stands up to Atticus in front of the mob, and the attack after the play.