...To Kill a Mockingbird “Well it’d Be Sort Of like Killing a Mockingbird Wouldn’t It”. The character motivation of Atticus, Scout, and Jem were Racism and stereotype. I personally like the movie better than the book because you can see the actions and hear the tone and witness the mood so we will know how to actually take it instead of jumping to conclusions. Beginning with Atticus Finch when he had to Face the actions of being called a “Nigger Lover”, is a form of hate and racism. Many people in those times looked down, and blamed Blacks (African-Americans) for everything, and they disliked anyone who associated/ became friends with a Negro. Because in their eyes we weren’t equal to them and we shouldn’t be able to do the things they do or learn the things they learn just because of our race. Atticus viewed it from a different perspective; he...
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...Near the beginning Atticus had asked Heck Tate what side the bruises were on Mayella’s face. Heck Tate responded with "Oh yes, that'd make it her right. It was her right eye, Mr. Finch. I remember now, she was bunged up on that side of her face...." (Lee). This was a key part of the trial because shortly after this Atticus called Tom Robinson up to the stand and Tom could barely put his left hand on the bible. One of the first questions that Atticus asked Tom was what happened to his left arm. Tom’s response was "I got it caught in a cotton gin, caught it in Mr. Dolphus Raymond's cotton gin when I was a boy, it tore all the muscles loose from my bones" (Lee 186). This should have shown the jury that it would have been very hard for Tom to have hit Mayella on the right side of the face because his left arm was destroyed. Even though there was clear evidence that Tom Robinson did not commit the crime, the jury still charged him with the rape of Mayella Ewell. In conclusion, the novel To Kill a Mockingbird had a very major theme of racial inequality. This novel shows how life was back in that era of time with people’s communities was so racially ruled. Since this was a big problem in that era of time people always thought African Americans were to blame if a crime occurred. This could be where most stereotypes came from. In today’s society people can still be racially ruled, but it is not as common. This...
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...Scout To Kill a Mockingbird is narrated by Scout Finch, the main character of this novel. She tells her experiences as a child a few years after they occur. Scout is a young girl and typically acts as a tomboy. Even at a young age, her father taught her to read, this making her smarter than the majority of the children her age. She doesn't act like the other girls her age either. This is because her father, Atticus, raises her in a certain way. Throughout the novel, Scout matures as she grows up. This is demonstrated by the different ways she acts as she ages. Jem Jem is Scout's older brother so he is raised the same way as Scout. How he matures throughout the years is also proven within the novel. He goes through puberty, this causes his...
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...characters. Among the many characters is friend, brother, and father, Atticus Finch, one of the most influential characters in literature. Atticus Finch is such an exceptional role model for readers because he gives wise and loving advice, is determined and respectful to all blacks, and can look past stereotypes and be welcoming. Atticus Finch is an caring and intelligent man who knows right from wrong and helps people, especially his kids, out in difficult situations, by reminding them or being a role model himself. "You just hold your head high and be a gentleman whatever she says to you, it's your job not to let her make you mad." Atticus told his kids how to properly behave in front of Mrs. Dubose, so they don't get hurt or do the wrong thing. They learned from this because later Jem reminds Scout of this when she is getting worked up by Mrs. Dubose. Atticus looks out for his kids and reminds...
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...can be mitigated by strong role models. Scout Finch is strongly impacted by the “old traditions of the south” during her growth into womanhood and when she pushes against the stereotypes placed on her as a southerner and a young lady to find her gender identity. The beliefs of Atticus Finch and his involvement in the courtroom have had a big impact on Scout’s growth. Atticus’ beliefs were different than the beliefs of most people of Maycomb and he “bestowed a benevolent order on the Finch household by his example” which slowly shifted Scout’s views on their society’s division....
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...To Kill A Mockingbird Essay In many situations, stereotypes have been the simplest and most ignorant way to understand someone. Harper Lee displays the limiting effects these judgments have with her novel To Kill A Mockingbird. The pressures of society’s opinions influence the way children grow as a person, and can be used as an excuse to believe something about certain people that is known to be untrue. These cruel judgments can also cause someone to live in isolation because of the ignorance of a community. Stereotypes and judgments pressure the subjects of those opinions to act and live the way others want to see them. In the youngest years of Scout’s life, she was free to be whom she wished. However when her Aunt Alexandra comes to...
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...In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the public heavily influences the development of some character’s personalities. Characters such as Tom Robinson, Boo Radley and Atticus Finch are judged by the public purely by their associated stereotypes and outward appearance. Although the public’s opinion contributed to the interpretation of each man, the misjudgement the characters face daily impacts their lives internally, socially and emotionally. Due to family playing a paramount role throughout the novel, influencing the internal workings of the family dynamic, it begins destroying the Finch’s family mentality. This is heavily noted as Jem progresses through puberty. Illustrated clearly when Scout begins seeing her and Jem’s relationship slowly...
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...Lucius Greene Dr. Seymour ENG 113D 11th April 2016 Portrayals of Race In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Lee uses a variety of techniques to show how race pays a factor in many different ways of life during 1930s time period in a small town Maycomb, Alabama. As Harper Lee writes with vivid details of what the events are like during the 1930’s. During her book To Kill a Mockingbird, she showed exactly what it was like to live in Maycomb County Alabama when it comes to race. Atticus is the father of Jim and Scout who also is a lawyer whose office was in the Maycomb County Courthouse. Atticus had a very special role in that court house; Atticus had not had just an empty office but an office full of work. His first two clients...
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...not know how to teach” showing that she feels superior to Atticus (12). However, her superiority seems to be diminished as she is...
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...An example of this is the conflict that takes place between Jem and Scout as Jem begins to turn into a young adult. Jem orders Scout to “start bein’ a girl and acting right!” (153). Scout had acted like a boy for most of her life because she had only spent time with Jem and Dill and she had no mother to show her how to act. As Jem ages, he begins to think that this isn’t right and thinks that she should start acting like a woman, which causes conflicts between the two. A second example of this is how women can’t serve on the jury. Atticus states that they can’t because they are too frail for disturbing cases like Tom’s (296). The women in Maycomb are placed into a stereotype where their primary role is to care for their family. They are viewed as too fragile to witness graphic events such as the court case. This makes Scout question the role of women in Maycomb, causing her to be reluctant to follow Alexandra’s view of a woman. The ignorance of the genders have a big impact on the development of the conflicts throughout the book. In conclusion, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee contains many examples of ignorance. Similar to the world today, the majority of the conflicts in the novel are caused by the differences between groups of people. Many of the characters refuse to accept these differences. This book does an excellent job of...
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...It is in that moment that Scout questions why he pretends to be something he is not and his capability to change the cycle that they are all a component of that only it puzzles adolescent Scout even more than before. As the book progresses, Scout seems to grasp the concept more when she communicates, “‘…There’s only one kind of folks. Folks’” (Lee 227). Based on the novel writing, it is clear to infer that, Harper Lee, is expressing that equality is certainly a stressed point in the book as it is a recurring symbol by the fact it makes another appearance in court when Atticus quotes the words of former third president and progenitor of the Democratic Party’s, Thomas Jefferson’s, known words of all time when saying, “‘All men are created equal,’” (“Symbolism in to Kill a Mockingbird”). It is additionally used to tie into the fact that the snow (the white people) is not enough without the dirt (the colored people) and that it takes a substantial amount of each of them to achieve anything worth making because they are independent on one another. It is clear in the end that the reader just how much Scout has in fact grown into the adolescent woman, destitute of the instinct to...
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...child it has non-judgemental views. Therefore, because of the child narrator, and the other main characters being children, this shows that childhood in ‘‘‘To Kill a Mockingbird’’’ is important and crucial. In the chapters 1 to 12, childhood is presented by friendship, gullibility, pride, questioning and fear. The fear element, is a major part through ‘‘To Kill a Mockingbird’’, because at different stages of the novel at least one of the main characters is scared. The Finch children first experience real friendship in ‘‘‘To Kill a Mockingbird’’’, when they meet Charles Baker Harris – Dill. Before Dill has passed the ‘Jem test’, Dill boasts to Scout and Jem that he can read. Which was not usually common in Maycomb at the time, but Jem and Scout could both read, which meant that they thought Dill was showing off and they wouldn’t want to be friends with him. Also what makes Dill become an issue about friendship, is how he introduces himself. He recites his entire name, and makes fun of Jem’s name (Jeremy Atticus Finch), which therefore causes Jem to dislike him. However when Dill, tells about Dracula, he is accepted in Jem and Scout’s inner friendship circle. All of these actions the boasting, the story telling, and the unnecessary argument with Jem about their names represents Harper Lee’s idea about friendship and childhood in ‘‘‘To Kill a Mockingbird’’’. All three of the...
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...Choose any 3 characters from the first half of the novel and discuss how they have a positive influence in Maycomb. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee portrays a very distinct difference in the character that are “good” and those that are “bad” this often comes over in the way Scout or Atticus view a certain character. There are many positive influences in Maycomb and one of them is Calpurnia. Although Atticus does not see her as a motherly figure, I believe that she views herself as the womanly influence in their lives as she is loving towards the children, but often, can be strict and firm to teach them what is right or wrong. She has always been there for both children, especially Scout because they lost their mother early in their lives and because of this I feel that Scout and Jem do not Calpurnia as either black or white and this means that they respect her and love her a lot. An example of this is in Chapter twelve when Calpurnia is taking the children to church with her and she refers to them as “my children” and wants people to know that she looks after them. She also makes sure that they are clean before church however, this is partly showing self interest as she wants to be seen as motherly towards the children and if they look nice, it will reflect well on her peers. Another example of Calpurnia showing her love for the children is when there is a “mad dog” and she tells them to go inside because she is worried about them and wants them to be safe. Calpurnia...
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...Jean Louise “Scout” Finch - The narrator and protagonist of the story. Scout lives with her father, Atticus, her brother, Jem, and their black cook, Calpurnia, in Maycomb. She is intelligent and, by the standards of her time and place, a tomboy. Scout has a combative streak and a basic faith in the goodness of the people in her community. As the novel progresses, this faith is tested by the hatred and prejudice that emerge during Tom Robinson’s trial. Scout eventually develops a more grown-up perspective that enables her to appreciate human goodness without ignoring human evil. Atticus Finch - Scout and Jem’s father, a lawyer in Maycomb descended from an old local family. A widower with a dry sense of humor, Atticus has instilled in his children his strong sense of morality and justice. He is one of the few residents of Maycomb committed to racial equality. When he agrees to defend Tom Robinson, a black man charged with raping a white woman, he exposes himself and his family to the anger of the white community. With his strongly held convictions, wisdom, and empathy, Atticus functions as the novel’s moral backbone. Jeremy Atticus “Jem” Finch - Scout’s brother and constant playmate at the beginning of the story. Jem is something of a typical American boy, refusing to back down from dares and fantasizing about playing football. Four years older than Scout, he gradually separates himself from her games, but he remains her close companion and protector throughout the novel. Jem...
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...‘Explore how Harper Lee describes the character of Miss Maudie’ The first time Harper Lee introduces Miss Maudie to the reader, Scout says that she spent the rest of her remaining twilights with her. This at once shows us that Miss Maudie isn’t like most adults in the book, who treat Scout like a child, because she is one whom Scout likes to be with and talk to. ‘I spent most of the remaining twilights that summer sitting with Miss Maudie.’ This shows us that Scout, who is quite an adventures child, is very comfortable with Miss Maudie, and Miss Maudie instead of treating Scout like a child treats her more like a friend. She is given off as an auntie figure to the children and it is shown within the book that she is very fond of them as they are of her. Harper Lee shows through a metaphor that Miss Maudie is very adaptable to her surroundings. ‘A chameleon lady who worked in her flower beds in an old straw hat and men’s coveralls, but after her five o’clock bath she would appear on the porch and reign over the street in her magisterial beauty.’ The word ‘magisterial’ Harper Lee uses to describe Miss Maudie once changed from her worker appearance to her more feminine appearance makes me think of how royal she would have looked and how the sudden change would appear to everyone else within the town who saw her. Miss Maudie takes pride in the appearance of her garden as well and it seems to me that because she has no children she treats her plants like children by devoting...
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