ipl-logo

Theme Of Ignorance In To Kill A Mockingbird

1201 Words5 Pages

Some would say ignorance is bliss. While some may disagree with that statement, in the case of Jean Louise Finch —known as Scout in her childhood— the main protagonist in the novel, “Go Set a Watchman” by Harper Lee, that statement is upheld. It is a sequel to the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird”. The story begins in the 1950’s, as Jean Louise is returning to visit her hometown of Maycomb, Alabama from New York City. She made this journey to check up on her elderly father, Atticus, and during her time back in her hometown, she finds herself at odds with the ideals of the community she once thought she knew. Racial tensions have put southern beliefs and civil rights on opposite ends of the scales, something Jean Louise comes to notice during her visit and she comes to find that those close to her weren’t as just and right as she had believed them to be all her life.

Jean Louise spent her entire childhood in Maycomb, a very rural and southern area. She lived with Jem, her brother, Atticus, her father and Calpurnia, her black housekeeper. Since leaving Maycomb to attend college in New York City, Jean Louise has visited seldomly, one of the notable times being to attend the funeral of her brother Jem. During her visit, she spends quite a bit of time with her hometown friend, Hank and her uncle, Jack, both of whom are very close to Atticus. With both kids, no longer at home, her aunt Alexandra cares for Atticus in her absence. Her lack of presence in her hometown has proved to

Show More
Related

  • Examples Of Ignorance In To Kill A Mockingbird

    213 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, a man named Tom Robinson was accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Until Tom was placed in front of a judge, he had been forced to be held in the Maycomb jail. While he remained there, an angry and ignorant mob went to jail to kill Tom. Ignorance is the absence of knowledge on a subject, which is like how the mob lacked knowledge on how being black does not cause Tom to be guilty. The mob is not the only instance in which ignorance is used; it occurs regularly in Maycomb.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Ignorance In To Kill A Mockingbird

    280 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the angry mob in chapter 15 is fueled by an absurd amount of ignorance and righteousness. Ignorance is the lack of knowledge or information and righteousness is the right of being morally right or justifiable. The angry mob’s ignorance is driven by racism and prejudice. The men believe that they are right and that they are protecting their community, but nobody sits and questions who is really right in the situation. People believe Tom Robinson committed a serious crime because he is black.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Esperanza And The House On Mango Street

    1125 Words  | 5 Pages

    Scout and To Kill A Mockingbird: Jean Louise Finch or Scout is a tomboy and protagonist in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Scout is a competitive young girl but also carries the trait that she has faith in the good of people. Her faith comes into test when her father Atticus, a lawyer, represents Tom Robinson, a black man, falsely accused of rape and prejudice and hatred of the town becomes shown. By the end of the case and the book, Scout develops a more grown up perspective that allows her to appreciate the good side without neglecting the evil in human

    Read More

  • Fair Quotes In To Kill A Mockingbird

    925 Words  | 4 Pages

    This story goes along with the curious opinions of a small girl named Jean Louise Finch. However, the true “mockingbird” in this story is her father, a lawyer by the name of Atticus. He is a  humble man who will rise to defend the innocent and speak only the truth, all the while singing the tune of parenthood. This will be focused

    Read More

  • Scout Finch Life Lessons

    723 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, being very wise for her age, learns extremely valuable lessons about life in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. In TKAM Scout has learned many valuable lessons, one

    Read More

  • Go Set A Watchman Analysis

    1247 Words  | 5 Pages

    Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee was published in 2015, sixty years after the release of her Pulitzer Prize winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel was written prior to To Kill a Mockingbird and was supposed to be published, but Lee was told to rewrite it from the perspective of the main character, Jean Louise, as a young girl by her editor. Recently the manuscript was recovered by Harper Lee’s lawyer, Tonja B. Carter. Go Set a Watchman depicts Jean Louise and her struggles of returning to her hometown, Maycomb, twenty years after the first novel. There are varying opinions about the novel ranging from despising it to praising it, and everywhere in between.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Misunderstandings In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1028 Words  | 5 Pages

    Even in a society that, overall, is diverse, people with similar ideas and experiences tend to congregate in small groups, where they are comfortable. It is much easier to remain in homogenous groups, among those who understand each other. When different groups combine, many different life experiences and points of view will be present and will potentially clash. Misunderstanding is bound to occur in some form when individuals of different backgrounds interact. When misunderstandings occur, people tend to respond with violence, fear, or stereotyping.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Ignorance In To Kill A Mockingbird

    944 Words  | 4 Pages

    “People generally see what they look for and hear what they listen for” (Lee ) The people of Maycomb are constantly caught up in the racist mindset of their upbringing. The Tom Robinson case is a huge example of some of the injustice or prejudice that took place. Tom was put on trial for a crime he didn’t commit, and was unfairly convicted due to the all white jury. When an entire system seems to be turned against you, it can be hard to hold on to hope for a positive outcome.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Perception In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1877 Words  | 8 Pages

    Perception defines the world around you. It affects every aspect of your being: your thoughts, actions, beliefs, etc… In the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch begins to understand just how impactful perception can be as she witnesses the deterioration of the dignity of Tom Robinson, a black man who is being tried for the rape of a white girl. In this intriguing read, Harper Lee demonstrates the theme of inaccurate allegations very effectively. More specifically, when inaccurate allegations that are solely based on perceptions are presented, the consequences can be significant, for others may suffer at great lengths.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Thematic Statement

    224 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Racial Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

    754 Words  | 4 Pages

    Race has always been a part of history, from slavery to MLK, to Barack Obama. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee defines race in the south during the 1930’s. Jean “Scout” Finch, is the narrator of the story. Her brother Jeremy “Jem” and her dad, Atticus, are both main characters. Calpurnia is their house cook and helper, she is also black.

    Read More

  • The Literary Context Of To Kill A Mockingbird

    4088 Words  | 17 Pages

    This essay aims to investigate the literary context of Harper Lee 's To Kill A Mockingbird (1960) from four different perspectives. The scope of this essay does not only include the context from historical, cultural and social points of views, but also the significance of Lee 's early life is considered. The essay explores deeply the novel 's events, characters and main themes, which can all be related to the literary context. This is why the research question of this essay is “A Study of Literary Context in Harper Lee 's To Kill A Mockingbird”. To Kill A Mockingbird never fails to amaze a reader because of its audacity, as it brings out many controversial issues from 1930s America.

    Read More

  • Why Is Scout Finch Important In To Kill A Mockingbird

    865 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many people forget the simplistic and common values that their child selves once held; values such as innocence and bliss, which children have always had since humans have walked the Earth. Their inability to see the harsher side of life has inspired many tales and exciting adventures from their point of view, which always adds an interesting way of thinking about the world. People so often lose this innocence that they fail to see and admire some of the things only kids can see. This much and more is most certainly true of Jean Louise Finch, the narrator and main character of Harper Lee’s famous book, To Kill a Mockingbird. Jean Louise, also known as Scout in the story, has many admirable qualities as a kid because she has the ability to think beyond herself and shows courage to the people around her.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Social Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1169 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the novel, ‘To kill a mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates the small, imaginary town, the Maycomb County, as a place where racism and social inequality happens in the background of 1930s America. Not only the segregation between whites and blacks, but also the poor lived in a harsh state of living. As Scout, the young narrator, tells the story, Lee introduces and highlights the effects of racism and social inequality on the citizens of Maycomb County by using various characters such as Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Mayella Ewell. Firstly, Harper Lee portrays Boo Radley as a victim of social inequality through adjectives and metaphor in the phrase, “There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten;” ‘Long jagged scar that ran across his face’ tells us that Boo Radley has stereotype about his appearance, which forces to imagine Boo as a scary and threatening person. The phrase, ‘yellow and rotten’ make the readers think as if Boo Radley is poor and low in a social hierarchy, as he cannot afford to brush his teeth.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird

    858 Words  | 4 Pages

    Though most of the town Maycomb feels negatively and discriminates the African-Americans, characters like Atticus show us how one person can impact his surroundings if he has high morals. Although he couldn’t change the mindset of the other town residents , he made sure that his own children didn’t discriminate people, purely on the basis of their skin colour. Racism can be seen even in the first few chapters of the book. These racist comments by nonracist children typify the culture in which they were growing up.

    Read More

More about Theme Of Ignorance In To Kill A Mockingbird

Open Document