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Themes in To Kill a Mockingbird
Theme analysis essay to kill a mockingbird
Themes in To Kill a Mockingbird
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Is it true to say that people in today’s world consistently commence judging others without any knowledge of their lives? Criticizing other human beings is the reality of life in which we all face sooner or later. This theme is highly symbolic in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird. This novel repeatedly asks the question, “Can you truly understand another person without living in their life?” This theme takes over the book all over and that's what Harper Lee tried to express in many scenes of the book. Harper Lee signifies the theme of understanding another person in ways of socialism, frustration, and horror.
To start, Harper Lee easily used socialism as a large part of her theme in truly understanding someone by stepping into their shoes. Harper tactfully shows socialism with the character of Boo Radley. Boo is described and presented as a mysterious and rather spooky character in the novel in which everyone dares not to reveal themselves near him. As the book progresses Boo Radley is seen
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Horror is one of the most interesting portion in To Kill A Mockingbird. Towards the end of the novel, Bob Ewell makes his presence. Ewell puts fear into the eyes of both Jem and Scout as they made their way through the darkness. Atticus put of a superior fight against the Ewell’s in the trial case which embarrassed Bob. This embarrassment later caused Bob Ewell to antagonize the children of Atticus Finch. Scout was distraught with the condition of Jem after Bob Ewell broke Jem’s arm. On top of all that, Scout was worrisome of Jems devoid of consciousness. Atticus as we all know was devastated to see his son in pain. Bob Ewell, a man without a soul would never understand Atticus without “stepping into his shoes.” In the book, Harper Lee writes how Ewell spit on Atticus and threatened his family. However, Bob Ewell will never know how to stop judging the man without being
Bob Ewell decided to get back at Atticus for the Tom Robinson case by attacking his kids. Boo Radley saved Scout and Jem by stabbing Bob but Heck Tate is insistent on saying that Bob fell on his knife. Atticus agrees and then explains the situation to Scout. Scout explained to him, “‘ Yes sir, I understand,’ I reassured him. ‘Mr.Tate was right.’ Atticus disengaged himself and looked at me. ‘What do you mean?’ ‘Well, it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?’” (Lee 370) This excerpt depicts that Scout understands how turning in Boo for doing a good deed would be comparable to that of killing a mockingbird. Killing a mockingbird in these times was considered a sin due to the fact that they were completely harmless. This relates to the topic sentence because Scout compares Boo to a mockingbird, more specifically she compares the innocence of the two. She sees that a mockingbird does nothing except make music, similarly to Boo who does nothing except mind his own business and in the end save the Finch kids and the town from the burden of Mr.Ewell. Neither of the creatures cause any harm to anyone so they should not be punished for their simple ways. Another time Boo shows how he connects to Scout is when Scout walks Boo home after he saves her and Jem from Bob. She is standing on the Radley porch and reflects on the past years events through Boo’s eyes. Scout thinks, “ Autumn again, and Boo’s children needed him. Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.” (Lee 374) This quote shows how Scout begins to see things from other people’s point of view. She looks back at the past few years but this time from Boo’s perspective.This connects to my topic sentence because Scout finally sees the innocence of Boo. She sees that he is exactly like a mockingbird, this whole time they
Bob Ewell believes that Atticus is not a good man because he tries to stand up for Tom and the way he tries to get back at Atticus is by going after Jem and Scout on the way home from the pageant. “We were nearly to the road when I felt Jem’s hand leave me, felt him jerk backwards to the ground” (351). Jem and Scout were surprised by someone at a vulnerable time because it was dark and they were defenseless and taken by surprise.
How does Harper Lee use characters in To Kill a Mockingbird to communicate that people are misjudged by others in society? In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses characterisation to convey how people are misjudged by others in society. The character of Dolphus Raymond is thought to be a drunk with confused morals. Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley does not get a chance to express his personality, but as the novel progresses, Boo’s personality evolves. Tom Robinson’s character in the novel is misjudged by underlying prejudices in society.
"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" (Lee 20), said the inspirational book character, Atticus Finch, in Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird. This simple quote was used by Atticus to help relieve his daughter and protagonist, Scout, after her misfortunate first day of school. Now, however, the phrase is one of the most renowned book quotes due to its potential real-life applications. Scout may have needed to walk around in the skin of Robert E. Lee Ewell, better known as Bob Ewell, because she had some confusion over the way he acted due to the fact that she had "never heard Atticus talk about folks the way he talked about the Ewells" (Lee 87). Knowing that Atticus felt that way about anybody was a new experience for Scout. She tried to understand the reasoning behind Bob Ewell's actions, but with the good morals she was exclusively exposed to as a result of Atticus' teaching, Ewell's activities were a challenge for her to comprehend. However, Bob Ewell's actions, which included pressing charges on Tom Robinson and chasing the Finch children, did have their causes: his background, Maycomb's class structure, family problems, & an overall trait of insecurity.
When Bob Ewell spit on Atticus’s face, Atticus made the decision to just walk away. Jem was confused why he did this, but Atticus asked him if he can stand in Bob Ewell's shoes a minute” Atticus explained that he “destroyed his last shred of credibility at that trial, if he had any to begin with. The man had to have some kind of comeback, his kind always does“ (Lee, 1960, p. 292). This shows the kind of character Atticus is and how he steps up and is the bigger person. Scout grew as a character because of this lesson, and readers could really see that demonstrated when she walked Boo Radley home. . Scout was standing on the Radley doorsteps and she stated that she “had never seen our (her) neighborhood from this angle” (Lee, 1960, p. 39). Scout saw how Boo sees the neighborhood physically and she was also realizing at this point how life is for Arthur. Scout and Jem both changed by learning this lesson for the good because it helped them think about other people's
Empathy was widely displayed in the novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.’ Harper Lee incorporates the meaning empathy in her novel by having Atticus Finch demonstrate empathy, and Bob Ewell being opposite by showing hate and anger. Through both characters and families, it is clearly visible about how empathy is important in the growing stages of life. “You never really understand another person until you consider things from his point of view -- until you climb into his skin and walk around it,” these are the words that Atticus said when he taught Scout about empathy to change her way of thinking. Bob Ewell, is a hateful person, he disrespects, threatens and is an extremely violent person. His lack of empathy resulted with the death of Tom Robinson.
“‘Old Mr. Bob Ewell accused him of rapin’ his girl an’ had him arrested an’ put in jail---’” (Lee 164). To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, takes place in a settled town called Maycomb in Alabama. It is based during the early 1930’s when the Great Depression hit. Poverty reaches everyone from families like the Finches to the “white trash” Ewells. Soon the settled town Maycomb gets into conflict characterized by poverty, racism, and domestic violence.
Jill McCorkle's Ferris Beach, a contemporary novel, shares numerous characteristics with Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel written in the 1960's. Like To Kill a Mockingbird, McCorkle's novel documents the life of a young girl in a small southern town. The two narrators, Kate Burns and Scout Finch, endure difficult encounters. A study of these main characters reveals the parallels and differences of the two novels. Jill McCorkle duplicates character similarities and rape from Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird to show the reader how young girls think and develop.
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.
In 1960, a novel was written to outline injustices and racism against those who were innocent, though unfairly judged because of social expectations and prejudiced beliefs. This novel not only presented these issues, but is also considered a revolutionary piece of literature, still being read by many people today, more than 50 years later. The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, has caused some controversy about the intents of the book and the way certain people or groups are presented. Whether To Kill a Mockingbird as a narrative outshines the issue it presents is a debatable argument. However, I believe that the narrative of the novel supports the concerns exhibited for numerous reasons. In what follows, some of these are presented: the historical
“ ‘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 .’ ” (Lee 39) In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, tells a story of Jem and Scout growing up while facing many challenges. To help Jem and Scout, Atticus teaches them, his children, multiple life lessons. One that is illistrted throughout the book is to not judge people until you live life as they do.
“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 (39).” Father figure, Atticus Finch, tells this to his daughter Scout when she is confused about how others act. She acts childish and critiques other based on how they act without really knowing them. She cannot help this; she is a child learning how her society works and their social norms. Harper Lee’s coming of age story, To Kill A Mockingbird, is a story about how a little girl and her brother struggle to understand their small town society and the people in it.
In a world with high expectations and little tolerance, there is little room for those who are different from what society considers to be “normal.” In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates the need for human understanding and compassion towards people who are considered different. Three people who would benefit from compassion and understanding are Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Mayella Ewell. These individuals are highly impacted by the lack of respect and empathy from their society. Boo Radley is a character who spends all of his life without receiving a real feeling of understanding from others.
To Kill a Mockingbird “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view. Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it” (Lee 30). Atticus Finch teaches his children to look at life and people in a different way, and he also practices what he preaches to his children. By focusing on the coexistence of good and evil, the importance of moral education, and the existence of social inequality, one could argue to prove these points and how they form the themes of Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird. Throughout the novel, readers see the good and the evil come out of most people.
In Harper Lee's novel To Kill A Mockingbird the protagonist Scout face offenses by others because of her father's justice for defending an African American in court. Scout Finch lives with her brother Jem, and their father Atticus, in the sleepy town of Maycomb during the Great Depression. As Atticus, the father of the protagonist faces the moral dilemma in chapter 29-30 of the incident with Bob Ewell. Atticus moral dilemma will reveal his character and his beliefs. Bob Ewell attempted to hurt Atticus children in order to get revenge on Atticus for defending the African American who was accused of raping his daughter in court. Atticus has a hard time of choosing whether to tell the town that Bob Ewell died of an accident, or his son or Boo Radley killed Bob Ewell. Atticus is a famous lawyer in Maycomb and he believes in legal justice.