...Analysis of «To Kill a Mockingbird» written by Harper Lee The story under consideration is called « To Kill a Mockingbird» written by Harper Lee. Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926. Harper Lee grew up in the small southwestern Alabama town of Monroeville. Lee published her first and only novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, in 1960 after a two-year period of revising and rewriting under the guidance of her editor, Tay Hohoff, of the J. B. Lippincott Company. To Kill a Mockingbird won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize despite mixed critical reviews. The novel was highly popular, selling more than fifteen million copies. Though in composing the novel she delved into her own experiences as a child in Monroeville, Lee intended that the book impart the sense of any small town in the Deep South, as well as the universal characteristics of human beings. The book was made into a successful movie in 1962. The text under analysis belongs to the group of fictional texts. The literary trend is realism. The style prevailed in the extract is oratorical. Its main function is persuasion of the audience. The main problem raised by the author is an issue of justice. The message of Hapter Lee is that in the face of court each and every human should be treated honestly, no matter what his social status, education or colour of skin is. In the novel the scene is laid in a small American town in Alabama. The given extract depicts a trial of Tom Robinson, a Negro, who is in the criminal dock on a capital...
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...Analysis of “To kill a mockingbird” Saryuna Rinchino, gr. 02193 The story under analysis is an extract from a novel “To kill a mockingbird”. The book was written by Harper Lee in 1960. Harper Lee was born in 1926 in the state of Alabama. In 1945-1949 she studied law at the University of Alabama. “To kill a mockingbird” is her first novel and after being published it was highly acclaimed and even was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1961, one of the most important awards in literature. The book became an international bestseller and was adapted into screen in 1962. The events of the novel “To kill a mockingbird” take place during a difficult time in the South. At that time black people were treated as people of lower level than white ones. Racial Discrimination was running high in the South as a whole, especially in Alabama. Many details of “To kill a mockingbird”are apparently autobiographical but Harper Lee insisted that the novel is fully a work of fiction. The events of the extract take place in the court of Maycomb County. Two small children secretly came to the trial and was sitting there the whole trial. A Negro, Tom Robison by name, was falsely accused in rapping a white woman. But Atticus, a defender and the two children’s father, was absolutely sure in his innocence and tried to give all necessary facts to persuade the jury. Actually it was the white woman’s father, Bob Ewell, who had bitten her as he had seen her kissing Tom Robinson. And also it was Mayella Ewell who...
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...I’d like to analyze the extract from a book which is entitled “To kill a mockingbird”. The author is Harper Lee, an American author known for her 1960-Pulitzer-Prize-winning and who is considered now by many to be a literary icon. Harper Lee was born in 1926 in the state of Alabama. In 1945-1949 she studied law at the University of Alabama. Her novel ‘To kill a mockingbird’ which deals with the issues of racism that were observed by the author as a child in her hometown was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1961. The book became an international bestseller and was adapted into screen in 1962. The story of “To kill a mockingbird” takes place during a tumultuous time in the South. At that time black people were treated as people of lower level than white people and racial tensions were running high in the South as a whole, especially in Alabama. People all over the US followed events like the Scottsboro incident, 1955 bus boycott and also Martin Luther King’s rise to leadership. Harper Lee is said to have been influenced by these events very much. Though many details of To Kill a Mockingbird are apparently autobiographical she has insisted that the novel is a work of fiction. The text under analysis belongs to the group of fictional texts. The literary trend is realism. The book is brilliant and powerful and it is renowned for its warmth and humor, despite dealing with the serious issues of rape and racial inequality. The story takes place during three years of the Great Depression in...
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...Analysis To kill a mockingbird The extract under study is taken from the book “To kill a mockingbird” written by Harper Lee. "To Kill a Mockingbird" is her first novel and the Pulitzer Prize winning novel. The novel depicts the life of its young narrator Jean Louse “Scout” Finch in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. Her father, Atticus Finch, is a smart lawyer with high moral standards. Attitus decides to take up a case involving a black man, Tom Robinson, who has been accused in raping a very poor white girl named Mayella Ewell. Attitus is sure in his defendant's innocence but Tom has almost no chance to be acquitted, because the white jury will never believe the black man more than a white woman. The article could be logically divided into four parts. The first part begins when we meet Atticus in the court-room who is “half-way through his speech to the jury”. He proves the fact of being an experienced smart lawyer who knows his business pretty well. His speech is logically organized; he speaks “easily, with the kind of detachment he uses when he dictates a letter”. During his speech the jury seems to be attentive and appreciative. That is, according to Scout, because he is not a “thuderer”. His children present in the court-room and notice some strangers in their father's behavior – the so-called “firsts” – this kind of digression shows Atticus's excitement (“This is equivalent of him standing stark naked”). Atticus addresses the jury “gentlemen”, showing his respect...
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...SUMMARY of the extract from the novel "To Kill the Mockingbird" by Harper Lee In the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" the scene is laid in a small American town in Alabama. The given extract depicts a trial of Tom Robinson, a coloured man, who is in the criminal dock on a capital charge of assaulting a white girl. His defending counsel Atticus Finch is an experienced lawyer and a progressive-minded man known for his humane views. His taking up the case was an act of courage in the American world of prejudice. The story is told by Jean Louise, Atticus's daughter, who watched the progress of the trial and being a lawyer's daughter did not fail to feel the atmosphere in the court-room and see the futility of her father's efforts to win the case. It is Atticus's speech to the jury that takes up the best part of the text. Moved by his sympathy for the black man and his desire to stand for his rights Atticus spoke most convincingly and with a great emotional force. He pointed it out to the jury that the case was simple enough. Having thoroughly considered every piece of the evidence submitted Atticus exposed the false testimony of the witnesses and proved that the defendant was innocent while the guilt lay with the white girl, the chief witness for the state. It was she who had tempted the Negro thus breaking the code of the society she lived in. Next she would throw the blame on Tom Robinson thus putting his life at stake. Atticus condemned Tom Robinson's accusers for their hypocrisy...
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...Nelle Harper Lee is an American writer who won the Pulitzer-Prize (1961) for her only book To Kill a Mockingbird. The plot and characters are broadly based on the author's observations and recollections of her family and neighbourhood, as well as on an event, similar to that in her novel, that occurred near her hometown. In 2007 Harper Lee was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her contribution to literature. The extract begins with Atticus’s concluding words on the evidence for the defence. The author passes on to the lawyer’s appeal to the jury: the defendant points at the lack of medical evidence of Tom Robinson’s criminal actions, the doubtful testimony of the Ewells and the fact that Mayella couldn’t be beaten by right-handed Tom Robinson. Then the lawyer supposes that Mayella slandered against Tom to conceal her attempt to tempt him. The author exposes the widespread false assumption on the black through Atticus’s antiracist appeal to the jury for being unprejudiced against Tom Robinson. The final part of the speech reveals the author’s criticism at the common opinion on the equality of people. The extract ends with finding Tom Robinson guilty. The main idea of the story is to make the reader think about the power of prejudices and the consequences they may bring about. The author treat this subject critically: she not only develops the idea of equality of people in the eye of the law and shows us how narrow-minded people of prejudice are, but proves that the...
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...All people face moments that demand courage, but deciding what that courage will look like can be difficult. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch uses an important moment in his son’s life to offer advice about what it really means to be courageous. Though this book tells a fictional story based on a time period more than 80 years in the past, Atticus’s explanation of courage is still relevant. This is especially true when looking at the story of Malala Yousafzai in Biography.com article “Women Leaders: Malala Yousafzai.” Malala Yousafzai exemplifies all parts of Atticus Finch’s definition of courage. Atticus Finch helps his young son Jem understand courage by first explaining what it is not and then what it is. At the...
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...The text under consideration is taken from the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee, an American author. The text belongs to the fiction. The peculiarity of this very extract is the inclination of oratory speech which is the feature of publicistic style. It is difficult to speak about genre, because we deal with only an extract from the book, but we know that it is novel. It is difficult to understand the function of the title from only an extract. But in my opinion the author wanted to stress on that fact that in the story they pretend to have equal court system, but it’s not equal. And the author tries to “kill a mockingbird” that means to show this unequalness. The text shows us a vivid picture of a court, the arid atmosphere of a trial on an example of one case. The theme of the story is relationship between people within the society. I believe that author’s message is to show us a good example of conformism, when the majority do the same things. The other message is that prejudice wins people’s common sense so they can even discriminate against innocent person. The events of the extract take place in the court of Maycomb County. Two small children secretly came to the trial and were sitting there the whole trial. A Negro, Tom Robison by name, was falsely accused in rapping a white woman. But Atticus, a defender and the two children’s father, was absolutely sure in his innocence and tried to give all necessary facts to persuade the jury. Actually it was...
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...To Kill A Mocking Bird BY HARPER LEE Novel Analysis I.BACKGROUND IN FORMATION ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nelle Harper Lee (born April 28, 1926) is an American author known for her 1960 Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird, which deals with the issues of racism that were observed by the author as a child in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama. Despite being Lee's only published book, it led to Lee being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom of the United States for her contribution to literature in 2007.Lee has also been the recipient of numerous honorary degrees, but has always declined to make a speech. Other significant contributions of Lee include assisting her close friend, Truman Capote, in his research for the book In Cold Blood. II.INFORMATION ABOUT THE NOVEL Classification- To Kill a Mockingbird is embodied by Atticus Finch, who is virtually unique in the novel in that he has experienced and understood evil without losing his faith in the human capacity for goodness. Atticus understands that, rather than being simply creatures of good or creatures of evil, most people have both good and bad qualities. The important thing is to appreciate the good qualities and understand the bad qualities by treating others with sympathy and trying to see life from their perspective. He tries to teach this ultimate moral lesson to Jem and Scout to show them that it is possible to live with conscience without losing hope or becoming cynical. In this way, Atticus is...
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... Others, like Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, are not solely based on a specific trial, but do reflect similar events and trials that happened during the time period. The trials force the characters to confront the overwhelming prejudice of their respective towns. However, while both works experience and overcome prejudice, To Kill a Mockingbird condemns victims through racism, taking place in a time where it was not uncommon, whereas Inherit the Wind...
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...The Speech Heard Around the World “To begin with, this case should have never have come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white” (Atticus). In the story To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the very courageous character, Atticus, had to prove that a citizen of Maycomb county was innocent during a tough, but simple, court case. The case he had volunteered to investigate was about a black man, Tom Robinson, who was accused for raping a young woman named Mayella Ewell. Just before the jury was about to decide whether Tom Robinson was guilty or innocent, Atticus said a very remarkable and memorable speech to them. Atticus used the rhetorical devices of ethos, pathos and logos throughout his speech to convince the jury that Mr....
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...come a long way in regard to prejudice of blacks, in the 1930s many blacks and whites who opposed the segregation of blacks felt the hatred produced by white southerners. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, it is obvious that there are many issues in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. In a time where segregation was more common than ever, many southerners began to form bias opinions towards African Americans. This unjust judgment of different...
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...In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus decided to take Tom Robinson’s case even though he was going to receive several hatred messages from the people in Maycomb. Although what Atticus did was right, the case caused Scout and Jem to be in danger, causing them to almost be killed. For him to take this case shows the readers how he thinks all people should be treated equally despite what their skin color is. Throughout this novel, the key event that happened was Atticus’s decision of taking Tom Robinson’s case, which lead to many of the people in Maycomb hated Atticus for doing so. The reason behind that was because Tom Robinson was a colored man and back in the days when lawyers take colored people’s case, people just naturally lose respect for them....
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...To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic novel written by Harper Lee, educating readers of the racial injustice in the small town of Maycomb. Set in the 1930’s and narrated by young Scout Finch, Lee has incorprated erudite language features and strutural elements to create a sense of suspense to evoke feelings of nervousness and empathy into the reader. Lee’s writing style emphasises the audience’s nervousness and continues to build a sense of suspense through language features and strutural elements to expose Maycomb’s hidden injustice caused by racism. Mayella’s initial hostilty is presented through her dialoge with Atticus and is heightened by Mr Ewell’s foreboding actions presented through short, structured syntax. ‘He sat up straight and waited...
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...Throughout a story, readers become submerged in a characters’ life and learn about what type of person they are and watch as the characters develop overtime. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout is one of the main characters that readers become familiar with, since the story is told from her perspective. Everything, from her actions to her speech, shows us a fragment of who she really is. Each fragment eventually pieced together to form Scout’s personality. In part one, readers get a good grasp on what kind of person Scout is; her character traits are illustrated on countless occasions. There are numerous traits that Scout demonstrates and within the story, certain traits are more strongly exposed than others. In particular, Scout is portrayed as very innocent and also reveals to be protective in the first part of the book. Scout is depicted as innocent throughout the first part of the book because she doesn’t understand certain consequences for her actions. For instance, when Scout revealed she is able to read “most of My First Reader and the stock-market quotations from The Mobile Register” (17), her teacher “looked at [Scout] with more than faint distaste” (17). Her teacher, Miss Caroline, then proceeded to order Scout to tell her father to stop teaching her, but Scout denies the claim that Atticus’s teaches her and tries explaining to her teacher that she learned on her own. Scout eventually loses the argument however, and she “mumbled that [she] was sorry and retired...
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