...To kill a Mockingbird essay is written to explore and analyze the message given out by novel To kill a Mocking Bird. This novel was written by Harper Lee and published in 1960. It portrays the time period of 1930's in Albama. It shows dominance of white people in the society during that period. The narrator of the story is Scout Flinch. Her father Atticus Finch is a lawyer who has high ethical values and respect for humanity. He is very optimistic. Atticus stood to his character when he defends Tom Robinson, a black man on trial for the rape of a white woman. He sets up example for society and his children to stand up by his values, even when he faces the roughest time of his life in the course of defending Tom. Mockingbird is a long-tailed gray-and-white songbird which does not harm anyone. Author tries to relate the trial of Tom with killing a mockingbird. Our company is equipped with a team of professional writers who are skilled in writing essays related to every field. This kind of work requires an in depth knowledge of literature and expert skills in essay writing. The writer must be able to comprehend the view of the author so that the readers of the essay can associate themselves. Our company ensures that the essay writers strictly follow all the standard guidelines of MLA essay format for the perfect presentation of the literary essays. "To kill a mockingbird" essay should necessarily cover the following points to get a good grade in essay rubric: - Social...
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...“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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...Atticus Finch is one of the most steadfastly honest and moral characters in “To Kill a Mockingbird“ by Harper Lee and his character remains, for the most part, unchanged throughout “To Kill a Mockingbird”. As any character analysis of Atticus Finch should note in terms of the plot of “To Kill a Mockingbird” he begins as an upstanding citizen who is respected and admired by his peers and even though he loses some ground during the trial, by the end of To Kill a Mockingbird he is still looked up to, both by his children and the community as whole—with all class levels included. As a lawyer in To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch represents everything that someone working in the justice system should. He is fair, does not hold grudges, and looks at every situation from a multitude of angles. As Miss Maude quite correctly puts it in one of the important quotes from “To Kill a Mockingbird”by Harper Lee, “Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets” (87) and this could also be said of how he behaves in the courtroom. He is a skilled lawyer and without making outright accusations in a harsh tone he effectively points out that Bob Ewell is lying. Even more importantly, the subject of this character analysis, Atticus Finch, is able to gracefully point out to the jury that there although there probably are a few black men who are capable of crimes, “this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men” (208). His understanding of...
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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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...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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...The novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee in 1960, explores the values and attitudes of America in the 1930's through the portrayal of relationships. Mockingbird was written to portray the period of the Great Depression, the Emancipation Proclamation, Jim Crow Laws and the abolishment of slavery. This is reflected in the text through the representation of individual, social and political relationships, which can be highlighted through further analysis of the morals and values associated with social class, racial inequality and familial bonds within these relationships. Lee's characterisation, themes and setting serves to demonstrate how literature can be used to effectively reflect a particular context in a way that conveys a message or moral. Morals and values are a substantial influence in the relationships that were established in American society in the 1930's. Mockingbird allows us to understand the relationship between parents and children during this period and the associated morals and values. An example of this lies in the relationship based on the values of respect and trust between Atticus and his children. Lee displays this when Atticus reprimands Jem for harassing Boo Radley. He uses direct language, such as "Tell me, to question Jem, to which Jem replies obediently and honestly, "Yes, sir. Atticus uses a tone of authority towards Jem and Jem responds submissively. This dialogue conveys the personal relationships between parents and children in...
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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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...and decisions to belong and not belong. Max Lucado’s picture book ‘You Are Special’, and Harper Lee’s novel ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ delve into the intricacies of belonging within community. Both texts explore how personal differences can alienate individuals from their community and cause a loss of self-worth. However people often overcome this disconnection to community through experiences of belonging in their own unique identity. Lucado’s ‘You Are Special’ follows the story of a Wemmick (puppet) named Punchinello who lives in a small village, where the same creator carved all the inhabitants. The Wemmicks that excel in fields deemed worthy such as looks, physical and mental ability, are given golden stars, whilst puppets that do not have these characteristics are given blue dots. Punchinello is a puppet that is given many blue dots, due to his lack of skills or looks, alienating him from his small community of puppets. This alienation from his community causes Punchinello’s loss of self-worth, ‘I cant walk fast. I can’t jump. My paint is peeling.’ Lucado uses dialogue to highlight Punchinello’s insecurities due to the predetermined societal rulings of what it means to be beautiful. This idea connects to that of superficial morale and is reiterated through the accumulation of imperfections ‘…can’t walk fast…jump…peeling paint.’ Lee’s ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ follows the events that unfold within the town of Maycomb, as narrated by an adult Scout. Many different examples...
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...write stories which are a reflection of the attitudes and the norms of their time and contemporary Southern fiction reflects this. The southern part of the United States has always had a large percentage of people of African descent living there. At the beginning of the twentieth century, two states actually had an African-American majority; South Carolina and Mississippi. However, the White community was, and still is the socially and economically dominant group and this can be seen in much of Southern contemporary. Several aspects of race were explored by various authors and they include: Racist words against blacks Contemporary Southern fiction frequently contained a lot of racist words, lines and dialogue. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird,...
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...To kill a Mockingbird Journal entry #1 “Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop…” Pg: 5 This quotation on chapter one is Scout’s introductory description of Maycomb. Scout emphasizes the slow pace, Alabama heat, and old fashioned values of the town. She writes of time when she “first knew” Maycomb, indicating that she embarks upon this recollection of her childhood much later in life, as an adult. It makes reference to the widespread poverty of the town, 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...
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...‘It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived.’ (Chapter 11, p 111) ------------------------------------------------- Discuss the various ways in which Harper Lee explores the concept of courage in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. One of the central issues in Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird is the idea of courage and the very different ways it can be displayed. As each character face their own journeys with courage, not only does the reader learn that even the smallest, most subtle acts of courage make a difference, but Scout and Jem’s idea of true courage is challenged as their minds mature and develop. Atticus and Mrs Dubose play a large part in this for Jem, as he distinguishes the difference between physical courage and emotional courage; while the court case of Tom Robinson teaches Scout how moral courage is sometimes hard to find in Maycomb, however it is the most important type of courage to have. Firstly, during the orientation of the novel Scout and Jem both have an attitude that the only form of courage is physical; as in being able to use a gun or win a fight. Jem believes that Atticus is less of other fathers as ‘He did not do the things our schoolmates’ fathers did: he never went hunting, he did not play poker or fish or drink or smoke. He sat in the livingroom and read’ – in short, believing Atticus was lacking courage. Atticus somewhat reaches his son’s expectations...
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...To Kill a Mockingbird, by Nelle Haper Lee was published in 1960, after the 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education and during a time of increasing civil rights unrest (Johnson). It was also a time of great social change in the United States, and a novel about the racial injustices of 1930s Alabama carried a powerful message to its readers. After the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, literature and literacy were used to expose and educate on racial injustice (Prendergrast 2). The dominant theme of the novel is prejudice and ultimately the courage needed to overcome prejudice. There are three main types of prejudice that are explored in the novel; racial prejudice, social prejudice and fear of the unknown. Racial prejudice is present throughout the novel in the people of Maycomb’s everyday life, as it is a novel set in the ‘deep south’ of America in the 1930’s. This period is not so long after the American civil war, so slavery’s abolishment had occurred not all that long ago, and the horror of slavery was still on the mind of many black people at the time (Brundage 86). Because of this, most people’s attitudes towards black people had not changed very much. The situation that shows the best examples of racial prejudice is the trial of Tom Robinson. In his trial, Tom Robinson is misjudged and mistreated because he is black. One of the clearest examples of this is the way in which Mr. Gilmer, Tom’s prosecutor, calls Tom “boy.” He uses a tone of voice towards...
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...To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee. It is set in the 1930s in the south of the United States, a time and place when the equality between African Americans and those of white America was non-existent. Atticus Finch, one of the main characters in the book, plays a single father of two young children, Scout and Jem. It is his loving care, reasoned approach, belief in justice and equality, and courage that make him a great father and a good role model for his children. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus shows a genuine love for his two children. It is clear from the way his youngest child, Scout refers to him, that he is affectionate and protective. The final sentence of the book confirms this. ‘He turned out the light and went into Jem’s room. He would be there all night, and he would be there when Jem waked up in the morning’ It is a relationship of mutual respect between the children and their father. He speaks to them on a mature level, is never condescending and explains patiently whenever they have questions. The children feel comfortable communicating openly with Atticus and he is never dismissive of their feeling or concerns. ‘Bit by bit I told him of the day’s misfortunes. - “And she said you taught me all wrong, so we can’t ever read anymore, ever. Please don’t send me back, please sir.”’ When Scout doesn’t want to go back to school, Atticus explains the importance of learning and offers gentle advice. Although Atticus struggles to maintain...
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...the Jim Craw Laws were still in effect, essentially meaning that the color of your skin was more important than the values one had. People used to believe that being of color – “despite its abundance of admirable qualities”- made one less than the hoi polloi (MLA). For instance, even though the Ewels were the lowest of the low because of their behavior and mediocrity, they were still higher in the social chain than the color people. Talking about racism back in that era was a highly controversial topic. When the book was released in 1960, many people were disturbed by the fact that someone would talk about it so freely in a favorable way towards black people and how racism works both ways. Not only white people would degrade color people by saying “a common, ugly term to label somebody” such as “nigger-lover” (Lee 107), just the same, colored people would deplore of white people being in their areas. “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?"(Lee 135). Nevertheless, years later, the book still enlightens people about racial issues, for example the comedian Meera Syal commented on 2007 how "To Kill a Mockingbird was the first book that made me aware of racism, and aware of what was happening to me. It even...
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...bouraghda assia llcer l1 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD : the family and social values To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee might be the greatest novel of the 20th century. The story puts the finger on family and social values that has made it appealing to all generations of readers. The narrator uses the small town of Maycomb and the Finch family as the basis of her story for describing family values. "Maycomb was an old town, but it was an old tired town when i first knew it" p.5 Nearly all the families in TKAM are atypical, even if the Finch seems to be the most normal in the novel. in fact Atticu's family is still unusual: it is a single-parent family and his children call him by his first name. Harper Lee uses the 1st person narrative to put the reader in the shoes of Scout, a tomboy daughter of Atticus Finch. Scout is an intellingent and neither She nor her brother Jem have any close friends, but only Dill who comes to visit each summer. Atticus is one of the only parents that takes time with his children. Him and Scout would read everyday for example. the only motherly touch in the house comes from Calpurnia, the african american housekeeper. Nevertheless, the Finch serves as role models I mean The novel traces the life of Scout, her brother Jem and Atticus over many years. Meanwhile, Harper Lee uses great descriptors and try to show the values of the other dysfunctional families found in Maycomb: The Ewells are "the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations" in...
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