As Mahatma Gandhi said, “Morality is the basis of things and truth is the substance of morality.” Demonstrated every day in reality, and expressed in many works of art and literature, this maxim may best be shown in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. To Kill a Mockingbird is the multifaceted and passionate story about and narrated by young Jean Louise “Scout” Finch as she grows up in 1930s Alabama, telling of the lessons she learns about prejudice, justice, and social rules. The narrative of her family, her neighbors, and society in general are seen through her eyes, and her own growth in response progresses throughout the book. The themes of To Kill a Mockingbird - of innocence, prejudice, morality, belief, and justice - each …show more content…
Even direct evidence can’t change what they think of Arthur. It is easy to see how smoothly and quickly these rumors can be adopted as fact; there is only a short step to this “knowledge” being passed on. When Scout first describes the situation regarding Arthur, she mentions that “Jem received most of his information from Stephanie Crawford, who said she knew the whole thing.” (11) This is one of many times in which Scout mentions Jem, her older brother, gathering this information. It is always framed this way, coming from an outside source, to subtly show the reader that it should not be accepted as fact. Yet, Scout rarely reiterates “Jem said that”; she accepts it as truth. The reason that Scout and Jem accept what they hear so quickly is that they are children; they have been taught to believe what they are told by adults and it is in their best interest to do so. Gullibility, which results from this, is a primary facet of innocence, and it is this innocence that allows the most absurd of lies to be carried on. Gossip and rumor - the ability to take a kernel of truth and grow it into any falsehood desired - is quite frequently seen throughout To Kill a Mockingbird. Since it is incredibly rare that the rumors are true, this theme contributes largely to the theme of truth in general, and its recurrence in the Maycomb community shows how important Harper Lee deems it.
What plays an even more influential role in
To Kill a Mockingbird is the story of the trial of a black man, Tom Robinson for the raping of a white woman, Mayella Ewell, in racist Alabama in the 1990’s.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the trial in the novel is one of the most important incidents that takes place in the text. It is very important to our understanding of the text as a whole as it shows the racial discrimination in that time period of the 1920 – 1930’s and how society in the 20th century has improved and has become more accepting of different races throughout the world as a whole. The topics that will be discussed in this essay are the trial and how it represented a prejudiced society, what happened after the trial and the effects that the trial had on the children.
Perspectives can change beliefs in many ways. In Harper Lee’s novel ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’, Bob Ewell hears and sees Atticus defending Tom Robinson who is black, therefore, he believes Atticus ‘loves niggers’. Jem, Scout, and Dill have never seen Boo Radley come out at day and they hear rumors that Boo only comes out at night. People believe rumors and their perspectives until they get the truth and change their beliefs.
To Kill a Mockingbird was a very influential book in the eyes of a growing young woman in America in the 1930’s from the eyes of Jean Louise as a child and Jean reminiscing or reflecting as an adult about the past. Mayella Ewell was a white woman who was looked down upon by her own race and the African Americans were too scared to talk to her. Mayella was looked at to be powerless over her own life and others. If she is, then why does she win the case against Tom Robinson? In the town of Maycomb race, class, and gender played larger roles than some may think let's determine how.
Tom Robinson had been accused to raping Bob Ewell’s daughter, Mayella. Although Atticus provided all the evidence that proved he was innocent, the jury declared him guilty and he was sent to a prison. There, he was shot dead by the guards after allegedly trying to escape. But this is all suspicious since Tom knew that he might still have a good chance of being released. It is also skeptical because the guards shot him seventeen times, an unnecessary amount, Atticus said “seventeen bullet holes in him. They didn’t have to shoot him that much” (Lee 268). Atticus realizesDill dares Jem to run up to the Radley’s door and touch it, which is a big deal to them. Scout’s comments and reactions aided in triggering her older brother to accept Dill’s dare. Scout teases and mocks him about being scared. She says that “in all his life, Jem had never declined a dare”, and he wasn’t about to now (Lee 14).When he hesitates, she laughs at him. He can’t admit that he’s scared, especially not to his little sister who would never let him live it down.
Understanding perspective is essential to understanding people. Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird presents this idea in multiple passages of her writing. It can be seen in the rough, unknown troubles that people face despite their wrongful actions. As well as the rumours that are untrue and give complete false impressions of people. Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird uses these topics to illustrate the dangers of judging others before getting to know them.
Is Mayella Powerful? In the past, we lived in a large racial society where many White Americans did not accept African Americans as their equals. In Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, the novel focuses on the story of a rape trial located in a non-existent town of Maycomb, Alabama. It’s about a black man, Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping a poor white woman, Mayella Ewell.
my thesis statement is that the case Atticus has to battle with will lose and he will be very upset about it but he will teach scout an important lesson about equality. In the next few chapters’ scout and gem will probably be worried about Atticus because of the trial. Scout is too young to understand discrimination but over time she will learn how wrong is and she will form a new point of view with her possibly supporting the black community. She would probably be criticized and called a nigger lover and be out casted by the white community. For now, scout is clueless about discrimination against black people. Both scout and gem are becoming worried for Atticus’s well-being. He shows stress over the case because he knows
The way someone acts and presents themselves may be deceiving. People are scared to be judged or scrutinized by others. One might even go to extreme lengths to impress or give the impression that they are someone else. In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, the people of Maycomb do exactly that. This small town in southern Alabama is full of people disguising themselves and putting up facades to hide their darkest secrets and true feelings, instead of facing reality.
Throughout most novels, characters encounter obstacles or events that once faced change their lives for the better or worse. In this book, that obstacle is racism. This is evident in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird when ... ____________________. Due to... ____________________. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Dolphus Raymond, Tom Robinson and Bob Ewell each encounter racism in different ways; however, they all suffer as a result.
The novel To Kill A Mockingbird is successful in delivering the story in a manner that captivates the audience. The story began by setting the scene, mood and also by introducing each character, which familiarized the reader with the environment. The author wrote the story in a manner that flowed with real life events of a time relative to the story, such as the segregation, racism and any financial struggles. It also did well to give each character a realistic mindset and reactions based on each person’s respective characterization. In a similar way, the story was written from the perspective of Scout, and the story was effectively narrated with the innocence and a lesser knowledge coming from someone of her age. Additionally, the story did a particularly good job at introducing details that were important to the story as it progressed so there were no surprises based on a sudden law change, for example. This aided in building the story to its climax, and other peaks of action. Each element to the story worked in sync to maneuver easily through the plot in a well thought out and executed story.
In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird a major theme is the loss of innocence. Whether from emotional abuse, racial prejudice or learning, Boo, Tom, and Scout all lose their innocence in one sense or another. The prejudice that each character endures leads to their loss. Through the responses of Boo, Tom, and Scout, Harper Lee shows how each character responded differently to their loss of innocence.
“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”. Discuss this quote from Atticus in relation to 3 characters from the novel.
I grew up in a home where my parents taught us to serve our country, community and those around us. They taught me through example, my father was a scout leader when I was a child. He often took me camping and to merit badge Pow Wow’s. As a boy I began to dream about becoming a boy scout. When I became old enough I joined the cub scouts. While in Cub scouts I learned about being part of the pack, about working together to accomplish large projects, to work together to accomplish a larger goal. Then when I was older I was able to join the boy scouts they taught me about being a citizen in the community, about being a good neighbor. They taught me about doing a good turn daily, and being prepared. When I was 13, I became a life scout. Being a life scout is not anything special, other than I was able to start working on my eagle project.
The American actress Goldie Hawn once said that “the biggest lesson you can learn in life, or teach your children, is that life is not castles in the skies, happily ever after. The biggest lesson we have to give our children is truth” (Safire 99). In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch, a lawyer, emphasizes teaching his children the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. To Kill a Mockingbird exposes the reader to several situations in Maycomb County, Alabama, in the 1930s, and reveals Atticus’s beliefs concerning those situations. Atticus’s beliefs can be seen through the lessons he teaches his children, which center around a reliance on coping skills and personal fortitude when dealing with unjust