...preconceived notions of all that is morally just and good. As Yeats said, time indeed proves to be the enemy for the children’s innocence, and by the novel’s end their worldly perspective is irreversibly changed. In the opening of the novel, Jean Louise Finch is revealed to be a grown woman looking back on her youth. The focal point of the narrative in particular is an innocent period from her childhood when she is six years old, just before starting school and her remembrance continues until the time of her life when she was eight years old. Early in the novel, Scout and Jem begin to lose part of their innocence, as although they’ve each begun to realize differences between themselves and those around them, they are non-judgmental about these differences. For example when another classmate, Walter Cunningham, has no means...
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...narrator and protagonist of the story. She is the sister of Jeremy (Jem) Finch and the daughter of Atticus Finch. She lives with her brother, father, and their black cook, Calpurnia, in Maycomb County. Being the main character, she is involved with all of the major events that happen during the course of the novel, including the Tom Robinson trial. While the story progresses, Scout’s views about life mature. Scout is different than most little girls at the time. She wears overalls instead of dresses and learns to climb trees with Jem and Dill rather than learning manners.She starts to understand how to look at things from someone else’s point of view, instead of only her own, and, “step into their skin,” as Atticus tells her, in order to understand people’s feelings. She progresses from a short-tempered tom boy to an empathetic young girl. Although she is still young, her understanding of the world is progressing rapidly. Jem Jeremy (Jem) Finch is the brother of Jean Louise (Scout) Finch, and the son of Atticus finch. He is four years older than Scout. He is Scout’s playmate and protector throughout the novel. Although he slowly weans himself from Scout’s little games, he remains her closest companion and guardian. He and his views on life are deeply affected by the Tom Robinson trial because of the amount of sheer prejudice and cruelty of the trial. Jem learns what real courage is. Atticus knew that he was going to lose the trial, but he tried anyways, and Jem saw that. In addition...
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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 using the theme of ignorance to enhance the...
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...Atticus is away on a Sunday, and Jem and Scout need to go to church. Calpurnia does not want to send the kids to church by themselves, so she decides to take them with to her church. When Jem and Scout arrive to Calpurnia’s church, everyone greets them with warm hellos, that is, until Lula approaches them. Lula is not so fond of the idea that Jem and Scout are at her church, and Lula says to Calpurnia, “‘You ain't got no business bringin’ white chillun here—they got their church, we got our’n. It is our church, ain’t it, Miss Cal?’” (158). Lula clearly does not want Jem and Scout there because they are white. That is because Lula, and the rest of the black community, is not welcome to the white church. The white people in her town are prejudice...
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...Social inequality erupts from the differences in the way people act and think. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the small town of Maycomb faces the harsh circumstances of social inequality. Atticus Finch, a lawyer and leader of Maycomb, defends Tom Robinson, a black man wrongly accused of Rape. Social inequality will never change, though it can be a hardship it simply will not go away because minds aren’t easily swayed, the natural opinion that one is better than another, and the demand of one group to conform to the dominant group. To begin with, Civil discrimination starts in the mind; this mind does not have to be one of poor thoughts or strong thoughts, either can be tainted by prejudice. Atticus’s children, Jem and Scout, spoke to their Aunt Alexandra about their friend Walter Cunningham, Aunt Alexandra called him “trash”. Scout was confused about why she would call him...
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...storyline and setting, but also produced significant differences as well. The themes in this story were deceptive appearances, racism and acceptance. To begin with, there were many similarities between the two masterpieces. A good example would be the common fascination between Boo Radley and Scout and Jem. Both parties showed interest for each other. Radley gave the children numerous gifts, while the children constantly approached Boo Radley’s house, trying to get a glimpse of his appearance. In addition, both the book and the film gave the image that Boo himself was a crazed man during the beginning of the story. However as time passed, it was revealed that he is a genuinely kind and loving man. This theme plays a big part of the children’s imagination throughout the entire plot as well. Another significant similarity would be the amount of mutual relationship and respect that the African-American community had for Atticus for defending them in court. It showed that they appreciated Atticus’ help and were grateful for him. If it hadn’t been included in the story, the perception of the African-American community would’ve been very different. More similarities include Tom Robinson attempting to escape from prison and getting shot, Mr. Ewell killed by Boo Radley, Atticus shooting a dog infected with rabies, the close relationship that the children had will Dill, Scout beating up Walter Cunningham, and Mrs. Dubose complaining how Atticus defends the coloured community. In contrast...
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...Scout’s clothes are taken. So, she has to wear the ham costume home. During this walk home with her brother Jem they hear some weird noises. They are soon attacked by none other than Mr.Ewell. During this event Jem is knocked out cold and then Scout is attacked. Then they are saved by an unsuspected hero. Boo Radley. Now when you are saved from getting killed you would normally tell everyone that that person saved you, and that they should be praised by everyone. In this case they wanted to keep it a secret. Boo doesn’t need the recognition because he is more of a stays in the shadows person not a i’m gonna go outside and hang out with a bunch of people person. So Scout said,”Well, it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?’ Atticus put his face in my hair and rubbed it. When he got up and walked across the protch into the shadows, his youthful step had returned. Before he went inside the house, he stopped in front of Boo Radley. ‘ Thank you for my children, Arthur,’ He said” (Lee,370). After they walked into the room Boo pet Jem. He cares so much for these children and just wanted to be there for them. But then it was time for Boo to go home. ,”Will you take me home?’ He almost whispered it , in the voice of a child afraid of the dark” (Lee, 372). “Behind every mask there is a face, and behind that a story”(Marty Rubin). These quotes are showing that Boo may seem like a really scary person when really he is just a scared person who had a hard childhood. Prejudice...
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...and Scout over the course of the novel, Atticus demonstrates that the ambitions people achieve deserve commemoration, even if their activities and stances are contentious. After vandalizing the entirety of Mrs. Dubose’s camellia bush garden, Jem attempts to justify his stunt to Atticus. Citing Mrs. Dubose’s appalling insults directed towards his father, Jem firmly believes that this vindicates him from any form of punishment. Consequently, Atticus makes it mandatory for Jem to read for Mrs. Dubose for over a month. After Jem finished his exercise, Atticus informs his children of Mrs. Dubose’s death roughly one month later. Revealing that Mrs. Dubose had an addiction to morphine, Atticus highlights that she retained...
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...rather than race alone, through the use of abstract symbols through the use of characters. Harper Lee use birds to symbolize traits in various characters throughout the book. Although it is not just mockingbirds used as the only bird example. When Jem and Scout receive guns to shoot for fun, Atticus warns them against shooting mockingbirds. However, he states that they may shoot all the blue jays they desire. Blue jays are the nuance bird; this connects to Bob Ewell due to the fact that he is the perfect display of a blue jay. The blue jays represent the prejudiced citizens of Maycomb; they are ever present and continue to taunt others. Atticus goes on to tell the kids that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. The mockingbird is the innocent bird and therefore sums up Tom Robinson the most clearly. As being an innocent man that is only being tried due to his race, he embodies the mockingbird perfectly. Throughout the many lessons Atticus gives to Jem and Scout in the book, killing a mockingbird is the only thing he ever told them was a sin. Atticus is a man of strong ambition and great character; his defense against Tom is put at a complete contrast against the blue jay of Bob Ewell. “Atticus does, indeed, represent a hero in the novel. He is rational and impartial, in a world that is...
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...times when one can’t do anything about them” (Lee 177). Scout subconsciously matures because she knows what is socially appropriate but simultaneously does not completely understand exactly why. Scout also consciously demonstrates her growth with her wisdom. Scout provides advice to a grown adult, her Uncle Jack, who admits to Atticus “you daughter gave me my first lessons this afternoon” exposing her wisdom as typically an adult gives advice to a child (Lee 155). Although young, Scout proves her age does not affect her great amount of wisdom. As the novel proceeds, Scout continuously gains wisdom and develops traits such as understanding and acceptance of...
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...implying that Maycomb is in the midst of the great depression. As stated in the quote “There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with.” As been specified above Maycomb county was a ghost town. In the text on page six it clarifies how mysterious it was, “Maycomb County had recently been told that it had nothing to fear but fear itself.” To kill a Mockingbird Journal entry #2 “I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.” Pg: 20 On chapter two scout talks about how she takes reading for granted. Losing it would be devastating to her. Scout compares it to not breathing anymore, reading, for little kids, is not a priority in Maycomb. Scout, however, has Atticus her father teach the incredible joy of reading to his children. This applies to the second sentence about breathing. Although she does not think to herself ‘I love breathing’ for there she does not realize how important it truly is. As a first grader being able to read is a talent, perhaps Miss Caroline, her teacher should have been less harsh and appreciate her gift. Miss Caroline’s tough reaction to the fact that scout already knows how to read and write takes the little girl by surprise. As mentioned in the text, “I never deliberately learned to read, but somehow had been wallowing...
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...and her brother, Jeremy “Jem” Finch, mature in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama, in a one-parent home. Their father and aunt, Atticus and Alexandra, raise them with help from Calpurnia, their African American maid. Harper Lee weaves several different themes throughout the novel, but some are more prominent than others. Lee develops the main themes of growth, protection of innocence, and perception throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, disguised in the form of lessons learned during the narrator’s childhood. Harper Lee reveals her theme of growth...
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...parallel to his thigh. He couldn’t have cared less, so long as he could pass and punt. When enough years had gone by to enable us to look back on them, we sometimes discussed the events leading to his accident. I maintain that the Ewells started it all, but Jem, who was four years my senior, said it started long before that. He said it began the summer Dill came to us, when Dill first gave us the idea of making Boo Radley come out. I said if he wanted to take a broad view of the thing, it really began with Andrew Jackson. If General Jackson hadn’t run the Creeks up the creek, Simon Finch would never have paddled up the Alabama, and where would we be if he hadn’t? We were far too old to settle an argument with a fist-fight, so we consulted Atticus. Our father said we were both right. Being Southerners, it was a source of shame to some members of the family that we had no recorded ancestors on either side of the Battle of Hastings. All we had was Simon Finch, a fur-trapping apothecary from Cornwall whose piety was exceeded only by his stinginess. In England, Simon was irritated by the persecution of those who called themselves Methodists at the hands of their more liberal brethren, and as Simon called himself a Methodist, he worked his way across the Atlantic to Philadelphia, thence to Jamaica, thence to Mobile,...
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...g., Auto production in the United States and Britain) • texts (e.g., Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Macbeth) • events (e.g., the Great Depression and the global financial crisis of 2008–9) Although the assignment may say “compare,” the assumption is that you will consider both the similarities and differences; in other words, you will compare and contrast. Make sure you know the basis for comparison The assignment sheet may say exactly what you need to compare, or it may ask you to come up with a basis for comparison yourself. • Provided by the question: The question may ask that you consider the gradual loss of morals by major characters in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi and George Orwell’s Animal Farm. The basis for comparison will be the loss of morals by central figures in each text. • Developed by you: The question may simply ask that you compare the two novels. If so, you will need to develop a basis for comparison, that is, a theme, concern, or device common to both works from which you can draw similarities and differences. Develop a list of similarities and differences Once you know your basis for comparison, think critically about the similarities and differences between the items you are comparing, and compile a list of them. For example, you might decide that in Life of Pi, Pi simultaneously experiences a gradual loss of morals as his chances of survival are put more and more at risk, whereas in Animal Farm, Napoleon always possessed questionable morals which...
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...| |[Year 12 | | |Toolooa State High School | | | | | |Tom Lavender, English Essay | | |“Despite the efforts of governments, groups and individuals, humankind still finds it difficult to trust based on the soul of a person; | |we are more comfortable making judgements based on skin colour.” | Prejudice, courage and unity… TEXT COMPARISON Are we always champions of tolerance, courage and receptiveness to others? By the very definition of humanity, we must be. Humanity: benevolence, understanding and kindness towards other people. It is, arguably, our very human nature to feel compassion, courage, understanding, unity and empathy towards our fellow man. Unfortunately, prejudice and judgement also cling to the human condition like tumorous stains – traits which society still finds hard to surmount. Despite the efforts of governments, groups and individuals, humankind still finds it difficult to trust based on the soul of a person; we are more comfortable making judgements based on skin colour. Nelle Harper Lee through her 1960 novel, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ and Boaz Yakin through his 2000 film, ‘Remember the Titans...
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