...Throughout Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’, family is used to set extreme examples of how families react during times of incredible hardship. In doing this, Harper Lee solidifies the important role that family has to play in the story of ‘To Kill A Mockingbird.’ By making each family represent a quality, whether it be positive or negative, Harper Lee creates a world with feels real to the reader, and hammers home all the points that she is trying to make. Specifically, Lee uses the Finch family, the Ewelle Family, and the Black Community, to emphasize the importance of family within the novel. In ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ the Finch family is used as a pillar for how to be an exemplary American in the town of Maycomb. The Finch family represents...
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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” “ There is no greater heresy than to do the right thing for the wrong reason or moreover the wrong thing for the right reason” this quote by Victor Hugo runs parallel to Harper Lee’s gripping tale of right and wrong, good and evil. “To Kill A Mockingbird” is a intricate and symbolic masterpiece of the intertwining elements of positive and negative, and how when they occupy the same space no becomes hardly recognizable from the other In this story, a well to do family is faced with very compromising scenarios that causes them and the reader alike to question certain core principles that are supposedly innate, and guides them through a journey of racism, pride, deceit, judgment, and finally reconciling all of these. All characters in the novel perpetually orbit around sentiments of morals and social acceptance and to deal with these themes in a realistic manner. The very title of the story “To Kill A Mockingbird” speaks the nuance of wrong invading or violating what is right. Atticus Finch, the patriarch of the family, has the most explicit encounter with moral injustice and the ordeal of fighting against it. As a lawyer in a small, southern town, Finch is endowed, voluntarily no doubt, with the dubious responsibility of representing an African American man in a criminal case of rape. The small town of Maycomb, Alabama is very racist and Atticus’s decision does not go over well with most of the citizens there. In order to appease the majority Finch...
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...Tom Robinson and Atticus Finch, Two men who were counter opposites. But were alike in the fact that they were both the mockingbirds of the world. In To Kill a Mockingbird, a Pulitzer Prize winning novel, the story is told of true character and honest integrity. The story being told by author Harper Lee, tells of a black man by the name of Tom Robinson. Tom is accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Mayella is the daughter of the Bob Ewell, the trashiest man in Maycomb. Atticus Finch, an average lawyer and single father of two is assigned the case. Atticus knows that due to Tom´s skin color and the common sickness of Maycomb (racism), they are going to lose the case, but he knows that Tom is innocent therefore he goes on with the case. It has been questioned if it made sense for Atticus to defend Tom, but it did make sense for Atticus to defend Tom, because he was selfless and because he was optimistic. The first reason it makes sense for Atticus to defend Tom Robinson is because he is...
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...Harper Lee created one of the most beloved characters in American literature when she created Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus always treats everyone the same no matter who they are or what they do. Atticus always has a good attitude and very rarely raises his voice or shows extremities in his emotions. Atticus also is very straightforward, honest and doesn’t beat around the bush. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows Atticus as fair, consistent, and honest to illustrate equality. Throughout the novel Atticus is portrayed as a very fair man. “I asked Atticus if Mr. Cunningham would ever pay us. ‘Not in money,’ Atticus said, ‘but before the year’s out I’ll have been paid. You watch” (Lee 23). This quote from the book shows...
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...Innocents In the book To Kill A Mockingbird,by Harper Lee she uses a lot of symbolism throughout her story. Symbolism is a literary device where the author uses an object to stand for an idea. One of Lee’s famous symbol is an mockingbird.A mockingbird is a symbol of innocent. In her novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses Tom Robinson, Mayella Ewell and Boo Radley as human “mockingbirds” to contribute to the overall theme of innocence. The first character Harper Lee uses is Tom Robinson.Tom Robinson is an poor black man with an wife and three children. He is 25 years old and is known as a respectable kind young man. His left hand was crippled and caught in a cotton gin when he was a young boy. In the begin, Lee uses Tom Robinson as a mockingbird because he was innocent man who was accused of raping a young woman named Mayella Ewell.And he was shot seventeen times.Atticus...
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...Maycomb, Alabama. The film, To Kill A Mockingbird directed by Robert Mulligan, portrays a message of racism, social class, and gender issues faced by southern towns post Civil War era. The 1962 film adaptation of the classic book, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee was masterfully captured being placed on the American Film Institute’s list of greatest American movies of all time and taking home many countless awards. The black and white portrayal from text to film is exquisitely captured turning pages to picture while reveling a heartbreaking reality. Through camera, lighting, and sound Robert Mulligan creates a mood to communicate the vision of Harper Lee. The film takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s. Robert Mulligan illustrates the story of the lives of Scout and Jem, children growing up in this small town with their friend Dill who stays for the summer. The youngsters become infatuated with getting a glimpse of Boo Radley the unseen hermit of a neighbor. This summer also entails issues facing, their attorney father, Atticus Finch. Atticus Finch defends Tom Robinson, an African American man falsely accused of raping a white woman from town, Mayella Ewell. The children catch wind of the trial and for the first time witness evil realities of the world. Jem and Scout, Atticus’s children become the targets of Bob Ewell, the father of Mayella Ewell. Bob Ewell tries to kill them one Halloween night on their way home from school, when the elusive Boo Radley...
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...Town Captures Her Heart Everything about "The Man in the Moon," Robert Mulligan's effortlessly old-fashioned family drama set in a small Southern town, has a rosy glow. It's a reminder that Mr. Mulligan, a seasoned film maker whose credits include "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Summer of '42" and "The Other," can direct with real tenderness and without fake emotion. His latest film unfolds gently and gracefully, in a climate where the warmth isn't merely a matter of weather. Until its final reel, when it strains badly to accommodate an almost biblical stroke of retribution, "The Man in the Moon" is a small, fond film that achieves a kind of quiet perfection. The story concerns two sisters, and Mr. Mulligan can find something evocative even in the way the elder braids the younger one's hair. The latter, 14-year-old Dani (Reese Witherspoon), is just on the verge of real beauty, while the slightly older Maureen (Emily Warfield) has already gotten there. The girls' family, which is beautifully evoked, exists at all different stages of development, from their toddler sister to their pregnant mother (Tess Harper) and the father (Sam Waterston) who is wary of his daughters' prospective suitors. In his or her own way, each member of this family longs for a boy. When one arrives, in the form of a handsome teen-age neighbor named Court (Jason London), he affects the girls' family in powerful ways. The coltish Dani becomes smitten with Court, even though he thinks himself too grown up for...
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...Qualities of Scout Finch “Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you - not because they are nice, but because you are” (Kindness). Jean- Louise Finch, also known as Scout, has certain characteristics that a six year old would not commonly have. Scout is an innocent child that is full of fun, but doesn’t know what is going on around her. Scout’s kindness is displayed when Dill becomes ill during the Tom Robinson trial. Scout is very strong willed and loves her family and will do almost anything for them with whatever it takes. Scout is smart, kind, and strong-willed which allows her to develop into a courageous young woman. At the beginning of the novel, Scout was a good-hearted six-year-old child who had a lot of innocence. One of Scout’s first experiences of how innocent she was, is when she learns about Boo Radley. Boo Radley starts a game with Scout and Jem that makes them excited and act childlike. "Tin-foil was sticking out of a knot-hole just above my eye level, winking at me in the afternoon sun. I stood on my tiptoe, hastily looked around once more, reached into the hole, and withdrew two pieces of chewing gum minus their outer wrappers” (Lee 33). One of the first indications that Boo Radly wants to be friendly toward the children and has noticed their interest. By leaving simple, harmless and thoughtful gifts for them, it becomes clear that the children like the game. Scout does not realize that the gifts may be a gift from Boo. So she goes along...
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...To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee The extract under analysis is taken from the Harper Lee’s first novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”. The book published in 1960 was very successful and won great critical acclaim, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for its author. The plot and the characters are slightly based on the author’s thoughts about his family, as well as on events that took place in her hometown. The narration is done from the first person by Jean Louse “Scout” Finch. The scene is a small town Maycomb in the state of Alabama. Atticus Finch, Scout’s father, is appointed by the court to defend Tom Robinson, a good fellow being accused of raping a white girl Mayella Ewell. He has no hope for justice just because he is black. Atticus, a person of very strong moral views, is sure in his defendant's innocence. The article could be logically divided into four parts. The first part, the introduction, begins with Atticus half-way though his speech to the jury. He presents logically organized arguments, showing his experience, knowledge and justifiability. However, after going over the evidence he starts acting unusually and it shows his excitement. His manner of speech changes as he appeals people in the court to give up the prejudices and be just. The development of the plot is the Atticus’ speech when he underlines all the pieces of evidence proving that it’s not Tom Robinson, but Mayella Ewell who is guilty. Mr. Finch quotes Thomas Jefferson’s words – “all men are...
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...To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a chilling historical fiction novel that centers around the trial of an innocent black man who is accused of raping a white woman. The novel is set in Alabama during the 1930s, and it follows an old lawyer and his family in the small town of Maycomb. Atticus Finch, the lawyer and father, is often called upon by the town for help due to his stature. He is level headed and focuses on the belief that everybody deserves to be treated equally. It is this belief that leads him to being chosen to represent Tom Robinson, the accused black man, in court. Because To Kill a Mockingbird is set in Alabama during the 1930s, the odds that he will be found innocent are exceptionally low, so Atticus must do everything...
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...“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” These are the words that were spoken by Atticus Finch when he was talking to scout about people and perspectives. Atticus Finch is a very simplistic person in the story To Kill A MockingBird by, Harper Lee. Atticus is a very quite person and he expresses this by not being too brash and taking insults but also showing he's the bigger man by not fighting with his fists but with his own words. What i want to express is the way Atticus is calm, nice, smart, shows courage, is compassionate, and above all tolerant of other people and races. Atticus Finch is one of the protagonist in the story To Kill a Mockingbird and is a well rounded character....
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...relevant 40 years after being published. As well good literature makes you think and feel strongly about the themes of the work. Good literature can be read over and over again each time receiving a new component which was not realized before. Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, is a novel that takes on the complex issues of racism within a community and the justice system. In this novel a white man, Atticus Finch, takes on the case of a black man, Tom Robinson, who has allegedly raped a white teenager, Mayella. In the setting of Maycomb, a city in a southern American state in the 1930s, it is considered appalling that Atticus Finch would be defending Robinson. In the time that this book was published it was only 12 years earlier that Order 9981 was made which stated the equal rights and treatment of all races and religions, and only five years earlier that Rosa Parks stood up on the bus for her rights. That being said this book in its time would have been social criticism, and still applies to today world. Looking at cases like Michael Brown or Trayvon Martin there is a direct connection that can be made to the case of Tom Robinson. Infact many protestors have used various quotes from To Kill A Mockingbird in their protests including a conversation between Scout and Atticus when Robinson is convicted as guilty “How could they do it, how could they?" "I don't know, but they did it. They've done it before and they did it tonight and they'll do it again and when they do it—seems...
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...to learn from the character in the book.This is shown in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, “Reading and literature makes us smarter and nicer” by Annie Murphy Paul and Shami Sivasubramanian 2016 article, “Study Finds Reading Fiction Develops Empathy”. Harper Lee teaches us about prejudice, family and fear, through the eyes of the characters in the book. Firstly Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to a land of prejudice known as 1930’s Alabama. This teaches us how bad prejudice was back then and how much it has improved. “He despises Negroes, wont have one near him” is an example of prejudice. Atticus tells us that “there’s something in our world that make men lose their heads, they couldn’t be fair...
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...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 of the victim, Mayella Ewell, from the previous case. He succeeds to knock out Jem...
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