Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
To kill a mockingbird study guide
To kill a mockingbird study guide
Maturing to kill a mockingbird
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: To kill a mockingbird study guide
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, there was much of moral courage shown that occurred among the people in Maycomb County. Everyone knew one another, however, they left other’s personal life alone. It was a small town but if anything happened, people would know once it had happened. But there are two things that I thought was out of moral courage. It started with the children talking about rumors on the Radley’s place. Thereafter, Scout and Jem with a beloved friend named Dill had went to court and watched Scout’s dad, Atticus, take a case for an African American man. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the two kinds of moral courage that was presented in the novel were irony and plot. As irony is expecting what is about to happen but then turns around …show more content…
So, one day the children took the time with Dill to search on his property to see if he can come out of his house. However, Scout was nervous and asked Jem to not go along with it. In addition, they all went on the Radley’s place and got a rude awakening. They got shot at by Nathan Radley. With that, irony was being presented. The children thought they would not be able to escape. However, a shotgun was not a joke in the matter and they barely made it out alive. With their rare escape of going under the gate and running back home, Jem had to go back to fetch his pants. Thinking from Scout’s point of view that Jem will be harmed in this action, Jem came back fully alive and with his pants. All of a sudden, Jem realizes that his pants were waiting for him, folded and ready for him to take it back then it being back on the gate stuck when he tried to escape for his life. “He came up the back steps, latched the door behind him, and sat on his cot. Wordlessly, he held up his pants. He lay down, and for a while I heard his cot trembling.” (Harper Lee 76) With what had just happened with these children, that was one the scariest moments to have happened. How ironic that they all survived when they could have been dead on the property of the Radley’s
Figurative language is in most well written novels. It helps develop the overall theme the author is trying to portray. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, I noticed Harper Lee distinctively used two types of figurative language. The first is symbolism, Lee used this twice during the novel with the mockingbird representing beauty innocence and Boo Radley representing the good in people. The second is motifs, Lee used this to emphasize the small town life in Maycomb, Alabama and helps give a better understanding of the people in the town.
Frederick Douglass uses irony to challenge the ideology of slavery when describing some of the overseers in the book. For example he describes Mr. Gore as what is called a first-rate overseer. He is implying that Mr. Gore is a good overseer to those with no sense of justice. One example of irony in the book is , “Indeed, it is not uncommon for slaves to fall out and quarrel among themselves about the relative goodness of their masters, each contending for the superior goodness of his own over that of others,” (62). This is ironic because the slaves are fighting about keeping a good reputation for the masters that treat them horribly. Another example is, “…it is almost an unpardonable offence to teach to teach slaves to read in a Christian
Courage is a deed that can be portrayed in many ways. In the Historical Fiction novel To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, there are many acts of racism and problematic cases where acts of courage are demonstrated in different and unique ways that can only be deciphered if one reads in between the lines of the words. There are three characters in particular who show courage in diverse ways. First, there is Arthur Radley who anonymously shows courage by performing tasks that cause him to face the outside world where he’s been isolated from for so long. Secondly, there is Scout Finch who demonstrates courage through her adolescent age. Lastly, there is Atticus Finch who displays courage through his selfless and kind actions. Therefore, in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses diverse characters to represent different acts of courage.
Irony is present throughout a major section of the story and follows the midwifery of Aminata and the unfortunate fates suffered by her own children. Throughout the course of the novel, Aminata makes a living “catching babies” for women of all colors everywhere that she ends up, receiving payment in currency as well as gifts in food and shelter. However, when it comes time for Aminata to have her own child, Mamadu, he ends up being taken from her by her first slave master, Robinson Appleby who ends up being sold to a plantation in the Southern United States. Later in the story, despite her best efforts, she has her second child sent to London during a massacre of black people in Nova Scotia, being separated once again and unable to care for her child. The irony lies in the fact that she catches and cares for so many children in the story, yet when it comes to her own offspring, she has them taken away.
The children laugh and imagine the reclusive life of Boo Radley, yet their father quickly puts a halt to their shenanigans, as they should not judge the man before they truly know him. Atticus unforgettably tells the children, “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.” During Dill’s last night in Maycomb for the summer, the children wrongfully ventured onto Boo Radley’s property. He shoots at the children, and in their escape, Jem loses his pants. He later returns to find them mended and hung over the fence.
In the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, we have the protagonist, Guy Montag, a local fireman. In his society, firemen are supposed to burn books at the temperature of 451 degrees so the people do not educate themselves. This is very ironic because not to far in the book, Montag reveals that he has books hidden in his incinerator at home. The story tells us how he once burned books for a living and is now doing everything in his power to save them. This is the biggest irony of the book because it is least expected from a fireman to act like this.
“Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl took place at the Maloney household, in the 1950’s. Mary Maloney is a married woman; her husband is Patrick Maloney. Meanwhile, Mary was pregnant. Mary loved Patrick, she enjoyed his presence once he arrived home from work. Mary would wait for Patrick to come home; she would even gather refreshments upon his arrival. Mary was compassionate and understanding of him, until one evening when he arrived from work.
Valiance is possessing courage or determination. Some people form the idea that acts of courage will be accepted or liked by others. It is also thought that valiance involves acts of violence. However, this is not always the situation. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch is a fictional character used to demonstrate the idea that valiance is shown by choosing to act on what is right rather than what is popular.
Harper Lee achieved the most important dream of a writer; her book is timeless. The theme of To Kill a Mockingbird, courage, is one that no one can deny is a central idea not only in the novel but also in life. People believe that courage is something that everyone is born with, but I disagree. Atticus once told Scout, “"They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions," said Atticus, "but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.” Only courageous people can teach others to stand up for what they truly believe in.
Post three: Option one. Khaled Hosseini uses irony throughout the novel as a tool to show the difference between Amir’s life in Afghanistan and his life in America. The quote, “...homes that made Baba’s house in Wazir Akbar Khan look like a servant's hut.” (Hosseini 135), acknowledges that some of the homes in America are bigger and more impressive than the the homes in the rich parts of Kabul. The irony found in this quote ties back to Amir’s life in Kabul. In Afghanistan, Amir and Baba were fortunate and considered wealthy. Baba was a businessman with a superior reputation, he was well know throughout Kabul, his status coming with it’s advantages. Being Baba’s son, Amir had a ton of opportunities and luxurious that other Afghani children
Courage is not something that we are born with, it is a skill that takes time to learn and only a few are lucky enough to have it. To Kill a Mockingbird is not only about life in a world full of hate, it is about standing up for anyone’s beliefs being brave enough to do it. In this story, Harper Lee says “Courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. It's knowing you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do” (Lee 112). In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates courage through Atticus Finch, Mrs. Dubose, and Arthur Radley.
Humor is odd. Dark humor pokes fun and turns taboo topics, like death, into comical and light subjects. These are known as jokes. In America, dark humor is widely accepted— regardless of many areas of dark humor being racist. So, why do so many find racism, death, and terrorism concocted with humor — humorous? Do we simply deny that it’s an issue? This dark humor called-out for its hateful undertones in American Denial, while the hate is shown in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, as well as A Raisin In The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry.
Courage exists in several forms in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. As defined by Atticus Finch, real courage "…when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what” (149). The novel explores the how this real courage can be shown in different ways through the lives of many characters in Maycomb, particularly, Tom Robinson, Mrs. Dubose, and Atticus. Their courage is evident through their lifestyle, actions, and beliefs.
What is ignorance? Ignorance is defined as, “the state of being ignorant; lack of knowledge, learning, information, etc” (Dictonary.com). When ignorance is in a novel, it gives the readers a chance to see some insight on who the characters are and the families they come from. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, there is a reoccurring theme of ignorance, the theme of ignorance is shown between a series of racial ignorance, situational ignorance, and gender ignorance. Ignorance in the story causes many conflicts between the characters or themselves in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.
Scout believes at the beginning of the book that courage is all to do with physical feats like fist fighting. Scout and Jem though Atticus was courageous when he shot the mad dog, but Atticus just shrugged it off telling his children that that is not ? real courage?. The children soon see that moral courage is more valuable after Miss Dubose said "Your father's no better than the niggers and trash he works for!" Chapter 11, Page 113 after they walked past her house.