This cult classic shows life through the eyes of a young girl named Scout Finch as she experiences different situations in the town of Maycomb that changes her perspective of life. To Kill a Mockingbird is loosely based off of the life of the author Harper Lee, who was also a girl growing up in Alabama during the Great Depression. As a child growing up in the South during the 1930s, it is difficult for a child to be sheltered away from the financial instability and hardships of families within her community. So as a father, one must teach their children about different situations that they will encounter throughout their life, which is what Atticus tries to teach his children-Jem and Scout. Throughout the novel we encounter multiple climaxes, …show more content…
The trial involves Tom Robinson, Mayella Ewell, and Robert Ewell; the trial is determining the verdict of Tom’s charge of first degree rape. While Mayella is on the stand, exposing herself and her side of the story, Scout is hearing her testimony and developing her own opinions about Mayella. Hearing about Mayella’s lifestyle and situation furthers Scout’s understanding of empathy and sympathy. While viewing the trial, Scout starts to understand Tom and Mayella’s characters better by the questions they are being asked. When Atticus is questioning those on the stand, he has them explain their personal lives so that the jury and the people in the courtroom can better understand them. When Mayella is on the stand, she is being cross examine by Atticus and he asks her a series of questions. He asks her about how many siblings she has, her mother’s current status, and if she has any friends. She answered with hostility and accused Atticus of making fun of her. When asked if she has any friends, she is confused and does not understand what he means. Her reaction to his question gives reason to believe she has never heard the term “friends” before or does not have any. Scout notices Mayella’s hostility towards the question and she contemplates“As Tom Robinson gave his testimony, it came to me that Mayella Ewell must have been the loneliest person in the …show more content…
After the whole ordeal with Jem, she walks Boo home and starts to analyze the past couple of years. As she stands on Boo’s front porch, she can see everything from his point of view. She sees two children running towards their father and then re enacting dramas in their yard in the summertime. Scout was seeing these couple of years through the recluse- Arthur “Boo” Radley, “Atticus was right. One time he said 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”(374). Scout has come to the realization of what these couple of years have been and what they have done to her. She’s grown as a person and has developed feelings that she was afraid of showing in her younger years. She no longers interprets Boo Radley’s reclusive lifestyle as mystery for children to solve and talk about as a myth. She now knows that Boo’s been living through her adventures with her and watching her grow up, he’s been watching and interacting with them in the way that he knows how to. Boo’s probably never going to have the children therefore he acts as if Scout and Jem are his own.
Throughout this novel, Scout has learned lessons and grown with the help of not just her father, but with the help of every character. She has learned something from almost every character in To Kill A Mockingbird. She learns about the racial
Scout identifies Boo as a mockingbird, equating that he is defenseless with purity, just like the bird. She can acknowledge his perspective in their town, as she knows the scrutiny he’d face if this were revealed publicly. This proves that Scout is growing in her courteousness and maturity after her exposure to the world’s harsh reality. Likewise, Lee indicates Scout’s attainment of maturity when she’s able to express her sorrow for the neglect the town has put Boo Radley through. As Scout walks Boo home, she reflects on the number of times she and her older brother, Jem, have made the visit outside of the Radley home, growing more curious every day.
At the beginning Scout thought Boo Radley was a scary old man who is chained up in his basement and eat squirrels. They heard stories like he was cutting a newspaper and ended up stabbing his father in the leg. Since then their friend Dill has been working with them to retrieve Boo from his home. Jem and Scout have been getting gifts from Boo in an oak tree knothole and they think that’s his way of communicating with them. But when Mr. Radley filled the hole with cement the children experienced another time with Boo when Mrs. Maudie's house was on fire and out of the blue Scout had a blanket around her that wasn’t there. Towards the end of the chapter, Jem and Scout found themselves in a hassle after walking home from the pageant. Jem got broke
In our culture we place people in boxes, and attach stereotypes to different types of people. It is difficult to break free from the conventional ways of our pasts. In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee a character defines the way we as a society view stereotypes. Boo Radley is an important character in To Kill a Mockingbird yet the only time we have actually witnessed him is the very last scene of the book. Readers only hear town gossip, and see small kindnesses from him in the form of trinkets hidden in trees.
Another character that helps Scout to become accepting is Tom Robinson. He teaches Scout how pervasive racism is and the importance of fighting it. When Tom Robinson gets shot by trying to escape, Scout begins to experience for the first time, how strong racism and prejudice is between whites and blacks. After reading Mr. Underwood’s article, she realizes that Tom Robinson is a “dead man” once Mayella Ewell “open[s] her mouth and scream[s]” (Lee 241). Society is so unjust; Tom is stuck in a situation, where it is impossible for him to win the case, since a black man’s word will never be more respected than a white woman’s. After the trial, Scout is more aware of the need to treat all races equally. One day after Scout and Jem visits Calpurnia’s church, Scout asks if she can “‘come see [Calpurnia] sometime’” (Lee
Her dad Atticus Finch is single-handedly trying to help defend a black man named Tom Robinson from being accused of rape. Scout's narration is an advantage in the novel. She does very detailed actions throughout the novel, she is a young curious girl and she shows a good view of how a six year old learns what slavery is. Scout causes a lot of little problems throughout the novel, which leads to interesting big events. Scout and
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a timeless novel that has been both accepted and refused by many readers. To Kill a Mockingbird took place is a town called Maycomb. It is narrated by a young girl named Jean Louise Finch, otherwise known as Scout, who learns how to deal with many things in her life. While learning to deal with racism, injustice, and criticism, she also finds courage being showed by many of her role models. The theme courage is best depicted through Boo Radley, Scout and Atticus.
However, All of Scout and Jem’s life, Boo was looking out for them. After the fire at Miss Maudie’s house Atticus explained to Scout that, “Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you” (Lee 96). Boo Radley doesn’t do much, but when he does it’s a big deal. He usually just locks himself up in the loneliness of his house, so when Scout found out that he was right behind her she made a huge deal about it. Boo always has the best intentions for Jem and Scout and he only leaves the house to watch after them. Boo was continuously leaving little hints for the children to know about his existence. First he was leaving hints with the items he left in the tree for them, then he put the blanket on Scout. Boo is also responsible for saving the lives of Scout and Jem. “Thank you for my children, Arthur” (Lee 370). Boo finally revealed himself to the children when he saved them from Bob Ewell trying to kill them. Since Boo grew up with never leaving the house very much, when Boo finally did leave his house he grew up. He would have to deal with a new environment. He matured when he had the courage to leave the house and not be in “his element”, which would be in the darkness and loneliness of his house.
Scout was an innocent girl trying to develop an understanding as to why all of Maycomb was against Boo Radley. When Atticus told the kids, Jem and Scout to keep out of Boo’s business, they of course, did the opposite. “As Mr.Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his parent’s leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants, and resumed his activities” said Miss Stephanie Crawford, the town gossip to Jem. (Ch.1, page 13). In this quote, Miss Stephanie was informing Jem about Boo and what he’s known for. This shows that Jem, being the curious kid he was, went to her for information on Boo, against his father’s wish. As this rumour spread across the small town, everyone in it became prejudiced against Boo. Despite these prejudices, the two kid’s saw Boo under a different light when Boo mended together Jem’s trousers and started leaving gifts for them in an oak tree. “When we went in the house I saw he had been crying…(Ch.7, pg.84)” said Scout. Jem had been crying after finding out that Mr,Nathan Radley had filled in the knot-hole of the oak tree the kids had used to contact Boo with. You could see that at this point in the story, the kids had slowly started to understood and developed a distant connection with Boo
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee. The novel is about the experiences of two siblings growing up in Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s. Scout and her brother, Jem Finch, over several years, learn valuable lessons about life and society. The main themes of the story are the loss of cherubic innocence and the rift of inequality in society. The novel is largely influenced when it was written by the author’s own experiences, Civil Rights, and the Great Depression. The Great Depression is referenced many times in the novel since the Great Depression plays an important part influencing the story’s setting, plot, and characters. In To Kill a Mockingbird there are signs that the Great Depression is present and that certain characters are affected more by it than others, and the Great Depression is shown in the story’s families and their lives.
“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing” (Lee). Society affected Harper Lee in big ways. That's where she got inspiration to write her book, To Kill a Mockingbird. The biggest ways were Scottsboro nine, segregation, and Jim Crow laws. These are just three of the many ways.
At the beginning of the novel, Boo Radley, Scout’s neighbor that never came out of his house, was a terror to Scout. She couldn't understand why he never came out because she hadn't learned how to see things from other’s points of view. “Atticus was right. One time he said 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 374). At the end of this novel, Scout understands how Boo saw the world and why he didn't come out until he needed to save Jem and Scout. Just standing on the Radley porch made her realize this but without learning the lesson beforehand, she would have never thought to even look at the world form Boos point of
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has become a mainstay in American high-schools. This is a classic novel that has inspired many people of all ages. It had a big impact on how people viewed and treated each other. This is a story that teaches everyone about the value of honesty, love, friendship and trust. Every word written in this book has a truly deep meaning to it. The time period that the book was written in was during the Great Depression in the 1930’s. This setting was in a small town in Maycomb, Alabama with people who did not get along. During this time there was a lot of segregation within America and different races. To Kill a Mockingbird is about a family who believes in doing the right thing and being honest. There was a
The book "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a story of life in an Alabama town in the 30's. The narrator, Jean Louise Finch, or Scout, is writing of a time when she was young, and the book is in part the record of a childhood, believed to be Harper Lee’s, the author of the book..
Whatever respect or sympathy the reader might have had for Bob Ewell is dispelled by his behaviour in the courtroom and the evidence that Atticus produces that he was the cause of Mayella's beating. Not only is he a self-righteous bully but he is prepared to sacrifice Tom Robinson's life for his own selfish ends. The reader is more likely to feel sympathy for Mayella as the trial progresses. Her loneliness and need for simple human contact are made painfully evident as Scout comes to understand that she is 'the loneliest
At the beginning of the story, Jem and Scout was young , childish and lacked the ability to see things from other's point of view. From the children's point-of-view, their most compelling neighbor is Boo Radley, a man that always stay in his house and none of them has ever seen. During the summer , they find Boo as a chracacter of their amusement. They sneak over to Boo house and get a peek at him. They also acting out an entire Radley family. "Jem parceled out our roles: I was Mrs. Radley, and all I had to do was come out andsweep the porch. Dill was old Mr. Radley: he walked up and down the sidewalk andcoughed when Jem spoke to him. Jem, naturally, was Boo: he went under the frontsteps and shrieked and howled from time to time"(chapter 4). Eventually , Atticus catch them and order