..."To kill a mockingbird is to destroy innocence". In Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout narrates the story in first person point of view. The novel shows how growing up in times of depression, racism, and poverty can change an individual or even a society. The story takes places in Maycomb County. The time is set in the early 1930s where poverty and racism plays a major roll in the United States. The tone of the story is very serious and shows the reader a piece of reality. The mood is very sympathetic but the reader may also feel humor from Dill, Scout, and Jim, three of the main characters. The setting plays a major roll in the plot because the racism during that time contributes to the conflicting opinions of...
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...In the Pulitzer Prize winning novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, the novel commences by introducing the three main characters Charles Baker “Dill” Harris, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, and Jeremy Atticus “Jem” Finch. These three children are the focus of the revolutionary piece, which is settled in the farmers city of Maycomb, Alabama in the early years of The Great Depression. Why does the author include the third character Dill, why didn’t Lee focus only on the two Finch siblings? Possibly Lee meant to establish Boo within the plot to emphasize the children’s friendship. Perhaps this can be explained with; the Greek philosophy of Pythagoreanism, the Bible, and the compatible characters of the children. The story of how these children met was arbitrary; however, these were the years that will never be forgotten due to the mystery of Boo, the youngest within the Radley family. Arthur “Boo” Radley is a character in the novel that keeps Dill, Jem, and Scout together by arousing their curiosity. Boo could possibly be a psychotic ex-con and this only drives the kids deeper into the rumors about him. Boo is a mysterious recluse that leaves the entire neighborhood filled with questions. The mystery of Boo Radley is what initially brings the children together as a group and continues to be the glue that holds them together. Lee perhaps incorporated the Pythagoreanism a philosophy established by Pythagoras. This philosophy involves the theory of the perfection of...
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...matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” This was said by Atticus Finch in “ To Kill a Mockingbird.” Atticus has a great kind heart and his children refer to him as a hero. Boo Radley is kind of like a hero also, like when he put the blanket over Scout by the fire. Calpurnia is also an example of heroism. She stands up to people and defends Jem and Scout. President Franklin D. Roosevelt is absolutely a hero. He does everything he can to end the Great Depression and make other people’s lives better. Atticus Finch brings about many things. He preserves his family, friends, and other people when he knows they did not do anything wrong. He...
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...Summary The story is narrated by a young girl named Jean Louise Finch, who is almost always called by her nickname, Scout. Scout starts to explain the circumstances that led to the broken arm that her older brother, Jem, sustained many years earlier; she begins by recounting her family history. The first of her ancestors to come to America was a fur-trader and apothecary named Simon Finch, who fled England to escape religious persecution and established a successful farm on the banks of the Alabama River. The farm, called Finch’s Landing, supported the family for many years. The first Finches to make a living away from the farm were Scout’s father, Atticus Finch, who became a lawyer in the nearby town of Maycomb, and his brother, Jack Finch, who went to medical school in Boston. Their sister, Alexandra Finch, stayed to run the Landing. A successful lawyer, Atticus makes a solid living in Maycomb, a tired, poor, old town in the grips of the Great Depression. He lives with Jem and Scout on Maycomb’s main residential street. Their cook, an old black woman named Calpurnia, helps to raise the children and keep the house. Atticus’s wife died when Scout was two, so she does not remember her mother well. But Jem, four years older than Scout, has memories of their mother that sometimes make him unhappy. In the summer of 1933, when Jem is nearly ten and Scout almost six, a peculiar boy named Charles Baker Harris moves in next door. The boy, who calls himself Dill, stays for the summer...
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...Journal 1: There’s a part at the beginning of chapter fourth goes like this “don’t eat things you find, scout” “it wasn't on the ground it was on the tree.” says scout. That part really reminded me of my childhood and when I used to not really grab stuff off the ground out of curiosity to see how it tasted but at the same time I would get caught by like my mom and or brother and they would tell me to not do that again because it’s gross and unhealthy. journal 2: There’s a part in the book where Atticus said: “you’re not afraid of the crowd are you?”. That made me think of a time I had at school where me and a group of people had to present a slide show to the whole classroom and while we were in front of all the students my friend that was...
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...around in it." (Lee 30) In this quote, Atticus Finch explains to Scout Finch how everyone has a different opinion on subjects, and that the only way to understand a person’s opinion is to see the world from his or her perspective. The illustrious Harper Lee challenged racial stereotypes and explored the rough side of life through the eyes of young Scout Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird. Scout, supported by her older brother Jem and father, Atticus, matured from a bigmouthed, boisterous little girl to a compassionate and caring person. Along the way, she pushed the limits of her curiosity with Boo Radley and learned...
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...this time period the United States was in the deepest and longest lasting depression in history of the Western world. It came to be known as the Great Depression. The depression was caused by the stock market crash of 1929, which wiped out millions of investors. At this time nearly half of the country’s banks had failed. It was not until 1939 that the economy began to fully turn around. The 1930’s was also a time of racial inequality. Although slavery no longer took place in the United States, African Americans were still treated differently. Examples of racial inequality is represented in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mocking Bird. To kill a Mocking Bird, was an award winning novel. It took place in an Alabama town...
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...To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, was published in July 11, 1960. Harper sets the time period during the Great Depression, from 1933-1935, in a fictional city called Maycomb, Alabama. To Kill a Mockingbird tells the story of a young girl named Scout Finch and witnesses her father attempt to prove the innocence of a black man who was unjustly accused of rape. Throughout the trial, Scout witnesses as her father tries his hardest to prove that the black man is innocent even though the outcome of the trial has already been decided. A few of the important characters are Atticus Finch, Scout Finch, The Ewells, and Tom Robinson. Scout and her brother, Jem, are both young children, and do not understand. The story is structured around...
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...Book Report In English IV To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee This novel was written by Harper Lee. This was written in the mid 1950s in New York City and was first published in the year 1960. Jean Louise “Scout” Finch is the narrator and lead character of the story. Her father is Atticus and her brother is Jem. She is intelligent; she learned to read at an early age which was taught by Atticus. She changed, with her perspectives about Boo and all the things about life as she experienced it, by means of Atticus, as Atticus explained it briefly. She also improved her personality as well; at the end. Atticus Finch is Scout and Jem’s father. He is also a lawyer. He defended Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping Mayella, a white woman. With his strong will and empathy, he fought for justice that made his family vulnerable of immoral hearsays and of seeing that justice doesn’t always prevail. He is a good teacher to his children. And he was able to put his self in the same situation, which makes him a great teacher. Jeremy Atticus “Jem” Finch is Scout’s brother. He is four years older than Scout and he remains as a close companion and protector of Scout throughout the story. Jem finds himself in an unstable situation with his traumatic experience at Tom Robinson’s trial. His disappointment upon seeing that justice does not always prevail led to his confusion, but what Atticus instilled in him dominates and guided him to the right path. Arthur “Boo”...
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...But what happens when a white man stands up to defend a black man, in a society which is based on prejudices against blacks? And does moral even interfere? That is some of the question the author, Harper Lee, is answering in his novel "To kill a Mockingbird", published in the year of 1960. The story is about the siblings Scout and Jem Finch living in a small town called Maycomb. They have lost their mother but as a replacement they have their nanny, Calpurnia, to look after them. Their father, Atticus, does also take care of them while being one of the only lawyers in the county. One summer, the siblings become fascinated by their neighbor, Boo Radley, who never seems to leave the house. Scout and Jem spend most of the summer, in company of their friend Dill, trying to get a glimpse of their mysterious neighbor. After several attempts of getting near the house they must conclude that Boo Radley remains a puzzle as Jem and Scout goes back to school. The subsequent summer Atticus is struggling with a case, in which he is defending the black man Tom Robinson. Tom has been accused of raping the white girl Mayella Ewell. Atticus, as well as Jem and Scout, is assured that Tom is innocent in the case. However, Tom Robinson is still convicted and must therefore go to jail. A couple of weeks after the trial, Tom tries to escape but gets caught and shot. The following Halloween evening the two siblings are walking home from a party, when they suddenly are attacked by the father...
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...Innocence in To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, published in 1960, is a novel about a little girl who experiences a trial. This novel takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. In the book, a mockingbird is a symbol of innocence. Children have innocence and when the ¨kill¨ their own innocence, they grow up. Scout is a little white girl who doesn't quite understand the world yet. In the book, She keeps her innocence but is later attacked. Tom Robinson is an African American man who was convicted of rape. A crime he did not commit, which he was sentenced to death for and killed for running away. Boo Radley is a man who was said to be a monster but in reality saved scout and her brother Jem. In the book,...
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...To kill a mockingbird is a novel that that draws attention to the existence of social inequality. In to kill a mockingbird it tells a story about Scout Finch, her brother Jem and their father Atticus Finch in the town of Maycomb in Alabama, Maycomb is suffering through the great depression, atticus is a lawyer and his family is suitably better than the other families scattered across Maycomb, later in the novel atticus accepts the task to defend a black man named Tom robinson. During the trial tom robinson is accused of rape but atticus provides evidence that the defendants Bob Ewell and Mayella are lying and Mayella actually propositioned tom robinson then her father caught her and beat her but in court Mayella is just trying to hide the shame and guilt so she accuses tom robinson. Mr Ewell felt rage and swore revenge for atticus making a fool of him in court so Bob Ewell attacks jem and when that happens boo radley saves and stabs Bob Ewell and carries jem back to the finch house and in order to protect boo the sheriff insists that Bob Ewell tripped over a tree root and fell on his own knife. After watching the kids boo once again disappears once again into the radley house. In the end Two themes that can be found throughout the story are the...
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...ever know for sure. To Kill a Mockingbird is about Scout and her family going through Tom Robinson's trial and the family living through the Great Depression. Scout is six at the beginning of the story, but we watch her grow up through the book. Scout's older brother Jem is ten in the beginning of the book we watch him grow up in the book as well. To Kill a Mockingbird was published on July 11th 1960 by Warner books the book takes place in the 1930’s great depression times. The book was written to show you the life of scout as a kid. The meaning...
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...So done With This SHit During the 1930s, also know as the Great Depression, poverty and racial segregation are issues. Many cities in the South, in the 1930s, are reluctant to give up old beliefs of prejudice. Harper Lee shows prejudice in her book To Kill a Mockingbird set during the Great Depression. To Kill a Mockingbird follows the narrator, Scout, who is a girl learning about how the South works. Scout learns that prejudice is very present in her everyday life. Lee uses the actions of others to illuminate the issues of prejudice against the Cunninghams, Atticus Finch, and Dolphus Raymond. Prejudice is evident in the book through how people treat the Cunninghams. During the novel the Cunninghams are told to be a poor family who are considered “trash” by the townspeople. Those who believe...
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...A Finches Song As we grow we are constantly learning new things from people of all ages. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, is written in the eyes of Jean Louise (Scout) Finch, covering three years of an adolescent girl’s life. The narrator, Scout, has a better life than most during the Great Depression. In the story, Scout learns many lessons from other adults, just like any other young ‘player’ would. One of the main lessons learned is how to understand other people's perspectives by putting yourself in their shoes; which is the most important lesson Jean Louise learns in order for her to develop and evolve throughout the book. Scout got her hand slapped with a ruler the first day of school. In the schoolyard she chased Walter Cunningham...
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