...“To Kill a Mockingbird” Analysis Harper Lee published “To Kill a Mockingbird “ in 1960, a time buzzing with racial segregation and irrational injustice. She based the book on various events that were all to real, only fifty years ago. Throughout the book, the author captures these horrendous inequalities and is able to explore these subjects through various situations and characters. However, it is not always just the color of one’s skin as to the reason of why they are treated differently. Lee is able to display examples of prejudice based on class and status of a person, 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...
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...In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus uses big picture obvious statements as well as morality to try and convince the jury of Tom Robinson’s innocence. Atticus uses big picture obvious statements to convince the jury of Tom Robinson’s innocence. He states things that everybody in the room knows to emphasize it. For example, in his speech where Atticus says “This case is not a difficult one, it requires no minute sifting of complicated facts, but it does require you to be sure beyond all reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the defendant. To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white” (Lee 271.) This quote excellently summarizes the trial and how simple it was. The judge, the...
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...Our world is shaped by our actions and views and what we choose to do with our lives and it is ever changing. Literature helps to express different versions of our world and the author’s views on certain inevitable events, which in some cases are still ingrained into society today. Harper Lee wrote To Kill a Mockingbird in 1960, which had a different context to our present time, and due to this context of the novel, it gives us an insight of the events that shaped our world. This fictional novel conveys both social and cultural context as the main ideas and morals that are portrayed throughout the book are similar to these ideas and morals of a small American country town in the 1930s. To Kill a Mockingbird explores the themes of racial discrimination...
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...daughter Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird “It is a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee). Transition: Connect your grabber to your next sentence. Mockingbirds represent those who are innocent in the novel. Background info: Discuss any pertinent information about the author or story details necessary for the reader’s comprehension The book is about a man who is on trial for rape. That man, Tom Robinson was black and the town was ruled under very unfair social standards. His lawyer Atticus Finch knew he was not guilty. So he was trying to protect his children from Maycomb's corrupt town by...
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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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...Mara Arisman 8A Literature March 06,18 To Kill A Mockingbird Essay To Kill a Mockingbird was written by Harper Lee. This novel is set in Maycomb, Alabama around 1933. Scout, the narrator, Jem, her brother, and her father, Atticus Finch, have to help a black man, Tom Robinson, who was convicted of rape. Along the way, they meet many new people and learn a lot of valuable lessons like never kill a mockingbird. To Kill a Mockingbird is set in a “sleepy town” called Maycomb, Alabama around 1933 during the Great Depression. Scout said that Maycomb is a “tired old town” where “people seem to move slower” (6 Lee). This is s small town so everyone knows everything about everybody. Southern Alabama has “summers that drift into autumn, and autumn...
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...TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD Analysis of Atticus’ Closing Argument Using the Rhetorical Devices The purpose of this writing assignment is to analyze Atticus’ closing statement and identify the three approaches – ethos, logos, pathos—he uses to persuade the jury. This approach to rhetorical analysis will help you question a text, explore your responses to it, and prepare an analysis on the thoughts and ideas of the novel. INTRODUCTION: Paragraph 1: Introduction Catchy beginning – usually a quote from the reading Title of novel, Name of author 2-3 sentence summarizing what the trial is about Thesis statement based on the reading prompt and including the three points the prompt suggests—ethos, logos, and pathos. BODY PARAGRAPHS: Paragraph 1: Discuss...
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...Task 2: Critical Analysis Ngien Sing Jier For this semester, we are analysing a novel entitled ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ written by Harper Lee. I find this novel very meaningful and interesting to read as well. After reading and analysing the novel a few times along with the teachings of my lecturer, I can differentiate the story told from different perspectives, parts when Scout was young and parts when she was an adult. It is about the life and happenings in Maycomb County. The story is told in the first person point of view whereby Scout as the narrator, is a character in the story who tells us everything she has experienced. She can reveal only personal thoughts and feelings and what she sees and is told by other characters. Harper Lee wrote this novel based on her real life experience during childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it. “Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ takes readers to the roots of human behavior namely innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humour and pathos.” Theme is the main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work. A theme may be stated or implied. Theme differs from the subject or topic of a literary work in that it involves an opinion or statement about the topic but not every literary work has a theme. Themes may be major or minor. A major theme is an idea the author returns to time and again, becomes one of the most important ideas in the story...
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...Racism has for a long time been a worldwide problem and does still exist to this very day. Although several protagonists of rights has accomplished a lot of success throughout the time by defending blacks, some people still think that the color of a man’s skin is connected to his status as a human being. 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...
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...In the 1930s bigotry was more accepted than in today’s current society. Since Tom Robinson’s time, the legal system has been taken apart. It is interesting to see how conformity has changed from the 1930s to the 21st century. In the years 2009-2010, a University of Vermont professor looked at a statistics to see how many more times people of color are to be pulled over in a car than white people. The statistics show: “An analysis of traffic stop data from four police departments in Chittenden County shows that blacks are more often stopped by law enforcement than their white and Asian counterparts. Blacks are two times more likely to be to pull over than whites in Burlington and South Burlington.” The forces of conformity are more cultural than legal these days. People of color or who are “different” are covering from racists and prejudice people. A similar instance happened with Tom Robinson, Atticus, Calpurnia, and Mr. Dolphus Raymond being outcasts from society. Since they were outcasts, they were treated with less respect and privilege. Harper Lee wants the reader to take away from this; Take a moment before judging another person or racially profiling someone...
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...us change as things happen, and time goes on? In the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee,(Re-Word Whole Sentence) you can notice that happening throughout the novel, from beginning to end. The characters that have the most change, are the two protagonists, Scout and Jem. They get older throughout the novel, and as such they mature Do not list one of your paragraphs points in introduction. Different events that occur around them cause them to shape their views. The fact that they are still kids makes their minds more malleable, and they often side with ones close to them in conflicts. This causes them to adopt morals as they grow up, and changes how they view things in everyday life. Jem and Scout change throughout the novel, for a variety of reasons. As Scout and Jem age, they gain maturity, as humans do. When Scout attends school for the first time at 6 years old,...
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...Breaking a time-honored code must be hard to cope with, but is it worth having a man’s life ruined? This court case took place in 1962, therefore, slavery ended, racial segregation ended not too long ago, but racism was still very strong. The only thing that made Mayella’s situation wrong, was the guilt she felt for breaking a social code. Atticus uses ethos, pathos, and logos. At the end of the argument, Atticus states “In the name of God, do your duty. In the name of God, believe Tom Robinson.”, this statement uses both pathos and ethos. For a religious person, God is the most important figure, so saying this will really change how they feel about the situation. Logos was used when Atticus mentions “Now there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone who led, almost exclusively, with his left [hand]. And Tom Robinson now sits before you, having taken "The Oath" with the only good hand he possesses -- his right.” In his closing argument, Atticus is claiming that the defendant, Tom Robinson, is not guilty. To support Atticus’s claim, he talks about how the State hasn’t given any medical evidence that proves Tom is at fault, or that the crime ever took place. If Tom Robinson abused Mayella, the state would be required to record every bit of medical information. If the state has not produced any medical evidence, then where is the proof to this trial? Tom’s only good hand is the right (took oath with right), but evidence suggest that...
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...To Kill A Mockingbird Final Essay Today in society, many people empathize so they can further understand another's point of view. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows how empathy is the key to understanding somebody. Atticus really supports the theme of empathy. He wants Jem and Scout to live by empathizing for other people. Atticus and Scout use empathy to understand another character's point of view. Empathy is more than just saying sorry, it actually helps someone feel what another is feeling. Atticus really supports this throughout the novel. This is shown through the quote on page 39.“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk...
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...Courage in other words means bravery. For example , how Martin Luther king Jr stood up for his people, Moses for leading his people out of slavery , and how women fought for their rights. In the book "to kill a mocking bird " by Harper Lee the making of courage is shown through Atticus Finch, Boo Radley, and Mrs. Dubose, which demonstrates how courage is shown in different ways. The first person to show courage is Atticus Finch. "You rarely win but sometimes you don't" (Lee ,149) This points out that even though he knew he wasn't gonna win the case he took It anyway. He has the courage to stand in front of Maycomb and defend a black man even though in that society whites had a higher voice then blacks. As Atticus says "It's not okay to hate anyone" (Lee ,246) what this is saying about Atticus is that even if your white, black you should never hate anyone. This is showing Atticus he has courage because even if the blacks are the lowest he still believed Tom Robinson had a person to defend him in court. As Atticus has courage for standing in front of Maycomb defending a black man the next person to show courage is Boo Radley....
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...This quote is saying that if I am a coward and cannot hold my head up, I shouldn’t be in the legislature. Because he would be going against all of his beliefs. Atticus feels he must defend Tom Robinson because it would be the right thing to do. A big idea Atticus is demonstrating is equality and liberty for all. I think this because everyone else in town is going against him, but does it anyways. This quote is saying that if I am a coward and cannot hold my head up, I shouldn’t be in the legislature. Because he would be going against all of his beliefs. Atticus feels he must defend Tom Robinson because it would be the right thing to do. A big idea Atticus is demonstrating is equality and liberty for all. I think this because everyone else in...
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