In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee presents a life of Jean Louis Finch, also known as Scout, growing up in a small town. The setting of the story takes place in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1960’s. Life for Scout growing up appears difficult because of the Great Depression, racial inequality, white supremacy, and peoples’ prejudiced mindset. In the beginning of the book, Scout’s character shows her innocence, her tomboyish side, her adventurous personality, and her ability to question and observe the goodness and evilness of society. By the end of the novel, Scout learns fighting does not fix everything, possessing lady-like characteristics obtain value and holding prejudiced thoughts reflects in every person’s life. Atticus Finch and Calpurnia instill fundamental advice into Scout that she needs for development and success in life.
Alliteration- the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. “...Miss Rachel’s cook’s son" ( To Kill a Mockingbird 100). I think that Lee put this in, to show that Scout did not want to go to school at all.
“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” is a quote spoken beautifully by a wise man named Atticus Finch. Throughout Harper Lee’s novel, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, empathy is openly displayed and is a recurring theme. Empathy is the art of understanding or feeling what another person is experiencing from within the other person’s frame of reference. Dill, Scout and Atticus are prime examples of people whom demonstrate this characteristic at some point in the novel.
“If you just learn a single trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and around in it.” This is a quote by Atticus Finch from the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird”. This quote shows real wisdom in Atticus and how he spreads that knowledge to his family. Atticus has many moments throughout the book that he expresses wise thoughts just like this. He shares them with his children and others around him at the exact right moment. In the book, “To Kill a Mockingbird“, wisdom is one of the biggest themes because it teaches many great life lessons, shows how much different a person is if they are wise, and it is what ultimately helps Scout mature and understand the world around here.
In Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, Mayella Ewell is powerful and gains power as the story goes on. Mayella Ewell is a poor white woman who lives in a dump, her mom left her family when she was young. Mayella has stepped into the mother role in her family. In the story Mayella is abused mentally and physically by her father Bob Ewell. Mayella Ewell is a woman no one wants to associate with, she is white so on African-American man will talk to her and she is poor so no white man will. Characters that are a higher class are treated with more respect especially if they are a white male. In Maycomb it is very segregated and many characters are placed into harsh stereotypes.
“What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” - Friedrich Nietzsche. Is that true? Does adversity really change people for the better? Going through tough situations can give individuals a new kind of strength, emotional strength, which lends them a chance to grow and mature. They will learn from these difficult experiences and use this knowledge to better themselves. It’s time to begin to appreciate the challenges, for they will promote growth in the long run. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the protagonist, Scout Finch, initially is exposed to adversity at an exceedingly young age. In her mind, she is living in an intricate world, until she stumbles upon grievous scenarios. Scout then began to realize that the town of Maycomb isn’t what she had it out to be. Evil things happen, moreover, people have numerous sides to themselves. Ultimately, Scout becomes a mature, young adult with
The theme of this novel is "Not everything is the way you predict it is". I believe this thematic statement suits the story because throughout the book there are lots of surprises, and most situations don't go the way people predict they will. For example, Aunt Alexandra was first seen as mean, according to her attitude towards Scout. At the end of the book Aunt Alexandra hands Scout her overalls, as mentioned in the story, "the garments she most despised." Because she always wanted Scout to be a lady and wear dresses. This proved that Aunt Alexandra is not as mean and as close-minded as she seemed at first.
Throughout the book Scout is a character of great change. In the beginning she was a tomboy who liked to beat up weaker people, like when she beat up walter early on. The summers when Dill came by had great influence on Scout because those summers also had Aunt Alexandra come by and stay with the Scout. When Aunt Alexandra and Atticus start arguing it allows Scout to see a different part of Atticus. Towards the end of the book Scout’s empathy arises and she uses it see what things could be like from Boo’s perspective. Harper Lee tells us to be hopeful for the future because when our children can understand other people’s emotions just as we can it only can shine a bright light. Children understanding others emotions before they can understand theirs properly is great sign because it can put some of
“Nobody actually wants to grow up. We just want the freedom to use our youths.”-Unknown. This quote represents Scouts character. How she wants to understand the world yet she doesn’t want to grow up. Scout is learning how the world is THESIS
The main characters in the novel responsible for Scout’s construction/ development would be her Aunt Alexandra and her father Atticus Finch. The Aunt, who tires to manipulate Scout into becoming the conventional lady that society has laid out in front of us; where as Atticus encourages Scout to continuing being who she is.
Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird famously said in his closing arguments: "You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some negro men are not to be trusted around women- black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and no particular race of men." (pg 232) What Atticus is trying to convey is a foreign concept to most people in Maycomb county. Atticus is trying to convey a point of equality and no prejudice in a world of social inequality which, as one can imagine, didn 't go over so well. To kill a mockingbird tells a story of a county whose morals are masked by the great depression, a county whose judgment is masked by racism and social stigma. In to kill a mockingbird,
Harper Lee’s book, “To Kill A Mockingbird” portrays Scout (Jean Louis) Finch as a tomboy who prefers attacking opponents, over using her mental acumen. However, several instances in the book show her gradually flourishing into a mature young lady. Scout displays acts of courage and empathy as will be delineated in this essay.
From the beginning until the end of the novel Jem learns and beings to understand many different things about his community. In Jem’s life there are two main people who he learns prejudice from: Mrs. Dubose and Boo Radley. From the beginning until the end of the novel Jem learns and begins to understand many different things about his community. In Jem’s life there are two main people who he learns prejudice from: Mrs. Dubose and Boo Radley. Jem believes every rumor about Boo Radley. He thinks Boo is just a crazy person, who only comes out at night, hunts animals and peeks through people window. Jem has certain stigmas surrounding two of the fearful figures in his life, Mrs. Dubose and Boo Radley. Jem is very naive in his young age and easily becomes swayed by rumors around Boo Radley. The rumors outline Boo Radley to be a “malevolent phantom” who hides in the shadows of their town. He is thought to stalk people through windows and cut them up with scissors. He is believed to commit heinous crimes. Through these rumors, Jem and friends try to interact with Boo. By dropping notes, sneaking around his property and
Society shaped and influences Harper Lee to kill a mockingbird by having most stuff in the book come from her childhood. For instance, in the text it states “ Lee 's Father was a southern lawyer.”(Gradesaver). In other words lee 's Father was a southern lawyer just like Atticus. This illustrates that she took stuff from her childhood and morphed it into To Kill a Mockingbird. For example on page 48 lee says “ Dill if you won 't hush i 'll knock you bowlegged. In other words this is scout talking to her childhood friends. This illustrates that Harper Lee had a childhood friend just like Dill. As one can see this connects back because it shows how harper lee took her childhood and put some of it in the book.