...The Help and To Kill a Mockingbird both have many similarities in how prejudice and empathy were displayed throughout the story. Both of the stories were set in the time of segregation in the Southern United States. It also shows the similarity of African-Americans as caretakers or housekeepers – Calpurnia in To Kill a Mockingbird and Aibileen is only one of the examples in The Help. The settings were also similar, a part of a town was where whites lived and part of a town was where African-Americans lived, but there was a twenty-year difference of when the books took place. Prejudice was mainly shown throughout the storied by the way whites treated the African-Americans. In The Help, there were multiple examples of prejudice: African-Americans were not allowed to us the same bathroom as whites and how African-Americans could not use the same plates as whites. The acts of prejudice often stemmed from the fact that whites believed that African-Americans contained diseases, a statement that was supported by no facts. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the main example of prejudice was when Tom Robinson was convicted of raping a white girl when...
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...Throughout the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee discusses the effects of discrimination and the toll it takes on people. Through examples of sexism, prejudice, and racism, from the townsfolk of a small town in Alabama, she shows the readers the injustice of many. The victims of discrimination serve as the ‘mockingbirds’ of the story, as said by Atticus,“Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (Lee, 94). In essence, this story demonstrates the loss of innocence of many, especially Scout who is affected by sexism and racism most of all. By far, one of the most evident forms of discrimination present in To Kill a Mockingbird is racism. It impacts the actions of every single character in the book and formulates...
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...It is true that Harper Lee’s novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is more than just a simple story. Novels that challenge the reader’s way of thinking become distinct from others. Lee explores key ideas such as prejudice and courage and challenges readers to think about major moral issues experienced in society .The story at first seems like any other childish novel but Lee highlights key ideas making the novel evolve into something much greater. Lee shows the co-existence of Good and Evil and the moral nature of human beings in society. Readers re-evaluate their understanding of the world making the book much more significant. Ideas such as prejudice and courage are emphasized in To Kill a Mockingbird. Prejudice is the preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee isolates characters and depicts ways prejudice is used. She demonstrates the evils of prejudice and the result can be quite confronting to readers. Lee reinforces the idea that all men and women are created equal and have the same rights. To Kill a Mockingbird exposes the dangers of stereotyping and prejudice. In the novel the idea of equality is lost even in the house of god. Prejudice appears in many forms in the novel. An early form of prejudice in the novel is the children’s obsession with Boo Radley which appears all throughout the novel. Local Gossip portrays Boo as a malevolent phantom. The children run by the Radley house out of fear acting as if the...
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...THE GLENCOE LITERATURE LIBRARY Study Guide for To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee i Meet Harper Lee at the same university. In 1949, however, she withdrew and moved to New York City with the goal of becoming a writer. While working at other jobs, Lee submitted stories and essays to publishers. All were rejected. An agent, however, took an interest in one of her short stories and suggested she expand it into a novel. By 1957 she had finished a draft of To Kill a Mockingbird. A publisher to whom she sent the novel saw its potential but thought it needed reworking. With her editor, Lee spent two and a half more years revising the manuscript. By 1960 the novel was published. In a 1961 interview with Newsweek magazine, Lee commented: Writing is the hardest thing in the world, . . . but writing is the only thing that has made me completely happy. To Kill a Mockingbird was an immediate and widespread success. Within a year, the novel sold half a million copies and received the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Within two years, it was turned into a highly acclaimed film. Readers admire the novel’s sensitive and probing treatment of race relations. But, equally, they enjoy its vivid account of childhood in a small rural town. Summing up the novel’s enduring impact in a 1974 review, R. A. Dave called To Kill a Mockingbird . . . a movingly human drama of the jostling worlds—of children and adults, of innocence and experience, of kindness and cruelty, of love and hatred, of humor...
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...Historical Paper Historical influences in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird In 1929 the stock market crashed and resulted in nationwide economic distress, called the Great Depression, and it was the setting for To Kill A Mockingbird. During the Great Depression about 1 in 4 people were unemployed in America. Millions of Americans were homeless and jobless (McCabe 12). There were multiple factual events that were significantly influential in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. This novel references many historical events, including the Jim Crow laws, mob mentality, and the Scottsboro trials. The first influence on Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, was the Jim Crow laws. The Jim Crow laws were cruel laws set up to put...
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...Independent Study Project Othello, the Invisible Wound, To Kill a Mockingbird July 30th 2014 By Eileen Harford Everyone has had a time in their life when they have misjudged a situation. Whether it was assuming someone took your pencil when it is actually in behind you ear, or assuming which character is the killer in our favorite movie, we all have misjudgements all the time in our lives. When was the last time you have mistaken a situation? The theme of false judgement demonstrated in the play “Othello” by Shakespeare, the short story “The Invisible Wound” by Karoly Kisfaludi, and the film “To Kill a Mockingbird”. In these three storylines, the author exhibits the theme of false judgment through a character of innocence that is poorly misjudged and ends tragically for them. Othello accuses his wife, Desdemona of adultery, while the unnamed protagonist in “The Invisible Wound” also inaccurately assumes his wife is cheating. In “To Kill a Mockingbird”, the jury accuses Tom Robinson of a crime that he did not commit all because of the colour of his skin. Given the above, it is clear that these three story lines hold the same theme of an error in judgement occurring. Throughout the play, “Othello” by William Shakespeare, a few of the characters are condemned on untruthful information. Desdemona and Cassio are victims of poor judgement. Accusations towards Desdemona seem to be the most prominent to any reader – which all begin when Othello falls to Iago’s manipulation that...
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...‘You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.’ (3: 85-87) To Kill a Mockingbird (TKAMB) written by Harper Lee focuses on the inequality of race throughout America in the early 1900’s. The building roman novel published in 1960 utilises literacy techniques including symbolism, first person and characterisation in order to explore key themes such as innocence, social inequality and gender stereotyping. The novel promotes an insightful, entertaining and morally educating perspective for all readers. Literacy techniques are a critical part of the storytelling. Symbolism is used in order to enhance the story; it expresses a deeper meaning towards...
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...“To Kill a Mocking Bird”: Teaching Tolerance Through Empathy Mary Ellyn Fogarty December 8, 2012 America in the mid 1950’s and 1960’s was undergoing a profound social metamorphosis. Events such as, in 1954, the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, with the Supreme Court ruling public school segregation illegal, which many believe sparked the civil rights era, in 1956 Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a bus to a white man, “precipitating the Montgomery bus boycott, led by Martin Luther King Jr.” (To Kill a Mockingbird: Civil Rights Era, 2012), in 1957 federal troops were sent to Little rock Arkansas to protect nine African American students who were going white high school, per the court ordered desegregation of school, were challenging and for some forcing the way in which Americans lived, their beliefs and their treatment of African Americans that had been indoctrinated into their consciousness from the time they were born and many did not understand why this treatment was inappropriate, prejudice and unconstitutional. For some these changes were viewed as not an intrusion or criticism of their way of life but as...
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...To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee speaks tales of courage in society, and what it takes to uphold it.The story embarks with Scout Finch, a young daughter of a lawyer who becomes enveloped in a world of racism, prejudice, and injustice.Through the eyes of Scout, she looks up to her father, a figure of respect among many in Maycomb county, in times where his morals are pushed to the limits. .In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee stems Courage from the struggles of a community, where moral values allow many characters to stand up for themselves and others. Many characters such as Jem, a young boy who learns of world around him through his experiences and Ms. Dubose, a hot-tempered old lady with the hidden secret of fighting her addiction gives meaning to the symbol of about their flowers, Camelias. A character that encompasses these traits is Atticus, a lawyer who was tasked to defend a African man during a time of racism. Atticus became a prominent character who shows his colors during his Town's needs, such as the attack of the Rabid dog. Scout, the main protagonist who learns from these characters, their decisions and values which demonstrate what it means to be courageous. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee distinguishes many characters for their acts of courage, putting them in situations that push their morals and beliefs.After returning from Ms.Dubose's house, Scout questions her father about Ms.Dubose intentions concerning Atticus defending Tom Robinson...
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...Change is both a vital and inevitable part of our lives, and has a powerful effect on people, their perspectives, and the world around them. Through their experiences, many characters in texts such as Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, and the film, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, directed by Mark Herman, undergo various changes and transformations, not only physically, emotionally and intellectually, but also in their understanding and perspectives of the world around them. Studying texts such as these provides the audience with valuable insight into the aspects of changing worlds, perspectives, relationships and selves, which they are then able to relate to their own lives. Characters in both To Kill A Mockingbird and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (hereafter referred to as Mockingbird and Pyjamas respectively) change their attitude to society’s notions of the superiority of certain races and religions over others, creating a valuable moral imperative through the historical nature of the texts. Harper Lee’s Mockingbird is set in the small American town of Maycomb amidst the 1930s civil rights movement, and is centred on Scout’s moral struggle when questioning the racism and discrimination present. At the start of the novel, Scout blindly follows the discriminatory beliefs of society, although as she experiences more of the world for herself, she begins to question the hypocrisy of society, “How can you hate Hitler so bad an’ then turn around and be ugly about folks...
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...To Kill a Mockingbird - Complexity To Kill a Mockingbird exhibits many characters and their roles in the city of Maycomb. Among the many characters, are Jem Finch, brother of Jean Louise Finch daughter of Atticus, and Arthur Radley a relative of Nathan Radley. All of the characters in the book demonstrate one-dimensional and three-dimensional tendencies but Jem and Arthur are those that provide the greatest insight to the latter. Jem Finch is a three-dimensional character with symbols of success, virtue and an adverse personality in To Kill a Mockingbird. For example, in the beginning of the book, Jem was aggravated by the then taunting Dill Harris (a young visitor to Maycomb) so that Jem would touch the house of Radley. By touching the Radley house, he proved that he was not afraid and could take on any challenge. When such predicaments come Jem's way he will usually be able to make the best of them successfully. In addition, Jem will lash out in complete contempt for a wrong against his moral conscience, such as Mrs. Dubose slinging blasphemy at Jem's father. A good character must have a sense of morality to defend what is believed to be right, and Jem has this emblematic realism. But, a life-like character must have their weaknesses; and he displayed that on account of Mrs. Dubose's harsh words. Furthermore, in chapter eleven of To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem has to repent his wrongdoing by reading to Mrs. Dubose. Jem's moral obligation takes precedence...
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...skin color, or had a mental illness? Wouldn’t you feel that you didn’t really belong to that society? That’s how African-Americans felt during the 1960’s. That’s how they were treated in the book “To Kill A Mockingbird”, in the trial of Emmett Till, and that of Scottsboro trial. In the book, “To Kill A Mockingbird”, the trials of Emmett Till and Scottsboro, prejudice is displayed by the acts of hate and misunderstanding because of someone’s color. In the book, “To Kill A Mockingbird”, people of color (blacks) were the majority that were treated unfairly. During those time period, black people had to use separate bathrooms, drinking fountains, sections in restaurants and even in the courtroom. One good example of discrimination in the book was how Tom Robinson a young African American was accused of raping a white girl and was found guilty of the charges against him. In the book, it was quoted, “I'd rather you shoot at tin cans, in the backyard, but I know you'll go after birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit them, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." "Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat gardens or nest in corncribs they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us that's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird”. (Page 90, Atticus, Miss Maudie). This quote in the book reflects that, Tim Robinson (Mockingbird or the black boy) did nothing wrong but was accused of raping the white girl and as he tried to...
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...Book Review One: To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, was the daughter of a lawyer in the early 1900's. Her father served in the Alabama State Legislature and had defended two black men, a father and a son, at one point in his career. The two men were accused of killing a store owner, who was white. Later on into the case, they were found guilty and were hanged. This incident had apparently affected Harper Lee more than it may seem, for this is very similar to the plot line of her novel. To Kill a Mockingbird is about a lawyer who went against society to defend a black man who was wrongly accused of raping a young white lady. At the time of the novel, blacks were almost always charged with the crimes they were accused of even if they were innocent, and this plot was not any different. Society had turned against the black man, everyone else who was associated with the case and was in favor of the black man. The item that makes this story different from others similar is that it is told by the perspective of the daughter of the defending lawyer. This small difference adds a lot of effect to the book. The fact that a young six year old girl knows that story behind such a high class case is atrocious. Also, this proves that people aren’t born racist. They are taught to be racist through what they see and hear. The girl's father taught his daughter that all people are equal no matter their skin color, race, gender, or age. Therefore, the mere six...
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...Innocence is the state, quality, or fact of being innocent of a crime or offense. Innocence is one of the many recurring themes of To Kill A Mockingbird. Jem and Scout have an innocent point of view in life. The children believe the color of your skin shouldn't matter, however they soon realize ignorance in the people of Maycomb. “Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy… But sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (quoted by Atticus/Ms. Maudie) Tom is nothing but a hard working innocent black man in the town of Maycomb county. Mockingbirds are symbolic to Tom Robinson because Tom is being falsely accused of rape to the white trash of the town, Mayella Ewell. Mockingbirds are innocent and all they want is to bring pleasure to those around them; Tom is innocent and all he wants to do is help Mayella with the chores around the house because he feels pity. However...
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...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,’ are text composers who tackle the ill-defined paradigms of ‘prejudice, courage and unity’ by painting a picture of the confronting face of racism. Prejudice, courage and unity are notions that are dealt with differently by both composers and, through their use of structural and linguistic features, each composer presents this concept in a manner which connects (or weakens a connection)...
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