Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird

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Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird In Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird, there were many lessons that were taught. Atticus was a lawyer who taught his son Jem and daughter Scout many different values. Atticus felt that one of the most important values was to put yourself in someone else's shoes before you judge them. He also taught them to respect others. Scout was a wild girl and always got into fights with other guys; Atticus showed her that fighting doesn't solve anything. Atticus showed the kids that you should not judge other people. You don't know how their life is unless you are walking around in their shoes. You have no clue on how they feel about things and what they see. They may have problems that you don't know about and they don't want you to see. They may act different because of the way they were brought up. You can never tell unless you see what they see. Atticus also felt that you should always respect others. He felt that you should always try to please other people even if it means holding in your opinion sometimes. Mrs. Dubose was a character in the novel who was very disrespectful to the rich. Atticus still made them be kind to her. Jem got mad one day and cut some of her bushes down. As a punishment Atticus made him read to Mrs. Dubose. Later, when they learned she had died, Atticus said: "...She had her own views about things, a lot different from mine, maybe...son. I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know 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. Mrs. Dubose won...she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew." They learned that they shouldn't act mean-spirited just because of their feelings about someone. They might act out of anger and not really understand the person at all. In the beginning of the book, Scout had a bad temper. She got into a lot of fights over little things. Atticus would get very angry with her because he felt that fighting was very wrong. He thought that it didn't prove anything.

To Kill a Mocking Bird - Maturation
1082 Words | 3 Pages
Throughout the novel, Atticus’ assistance to Jem and Scout’s development becomes evident. Atticus takes every opportunity to attempt to teach his children the importance of having an open-mind. For instance, when Scout queries Atticus about Maycomb’s prejudice perspective, he tells her, “You never really understand a person until…you climb in their skin and walk around in it.” (Lee 30) Even during the early stages of the novel, it is apparent that Atticus endeavors to instill the values of empathy and tolerance within Jem and Scout by teaching them how to have multiple perspectives on a situation. In addition, Atticus also attempts to enlighten his children about peaceful resolution in society. For example, when Atticus is chosen to defend Tom Robinson, Atticus tells Scout, you might hear some ugly talk about it at school but…you just hold your head high and keep those fists down.”...
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Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird
1481 Words | 3 Pages
In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the main characters: Atticus, Scout and Jem were faced with many losing battles such as Tom Robinson's case, the "mad dog incident" and Mrs. Dubose's addiction to morphine. This builds on the theme of there are things in life that won't go your way. The book takes place in the 1930's or 1940's in a small town in Alabama called Maycomb. The novel takes us through the life and perils that the main characters undergo and teach us about growing up and being mature.
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Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird
1141 Words | 3 Pages
Childhood is a continuous time of learning, and of seeing mistakes and using them to change your perspectives. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates how two children learn from people and their actions to respect everyone no matter what they might look like on the outside. To Kill A Mockingbird tells a story about two young kids named Scout and her older brother Jem Finch growing up in their small, racist town of Maycomb, Alabama. As the years go by they learn how their town and a lot of the people in it aren’t as perfect as they may have seemed before. When Jem and Scout’s father Atticus defends a black man in court, the town’s imperfections begin to show. A sour, little man named Bob Ewell even tries to kill Jem and Scout all because of the help Atticus gave to the black man named Tom Robinson. Throughout the novel, Harper Lee illustrates the central theme that it is wrong to judge someone by their appearance on the outside, or belittle someone because they are different.
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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
544 Words | 2 Pages
The theme of these two chapters is that Dill, and Jem wanted to go to the Radely house to get a peep at Boo Radely through the blinds. Scout feels uneasy about it but despite Jem’s wishes refuses to go home. He gets shot at with a gun while trying to escape. He lost his pants while escaping and when he went back to get them they where laid out on the fence like they where expecting Jem to come back. The next day every body was talking about it, they all thought Mr. Radely shot at a black man but missed. It seemed like Mr. Radely knew it was Jem though. Jem and Nathan Radley each said hi and Mr. Radely was talking about filling his tree with cement even though it was perfectly healthy. Jem found this strange.
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To Kill A Mockingbird
929 Words | 2 Pages
In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus is an ideal father, who sets a great example for his kids. A picture of Atticus is important to Scout because Atticus teaches Scout many important life lessons about life. Firstly, as Atticus talks to Scout about Miss. Stephanie, he states “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. 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” (Lee,30). Scout realizes that one can never feel someone’s pain, happiness, or glory until she looks at their point of view of things; she learns to consider other people’s situation and feelings. She also understands that she will never know what goes in other people’s lives, and therefore she cannot judge anyone. Scout matures as she learns to apply Atticus’ wise advice to understand Mrs. Dubose and Boo Radley, who are individuals that are misunderstood by the community. Furthermore, as Miss Maudie talks to Scout, she states “Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets” (Lee, 46). Miss Maudie knows about Atticus’ personality quite well. Miss Maudie explains to Scout Atticus is a man with moral principles, he does what he believes is right even if others are not there to praise him. Through Atticus’ exemplary role, Scout understands the importance of integrity, and strong moral values. Finally, when Scout questions her father about the possible outcome of the trial, Atticus states “simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us to try to win” (Lee, 76). Atticus teaches Scout toleration, determination and moral courage. He already knows he is going to los...
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Atticus Finch
758 Words | 2 Pages
Atticus Finch as a parent teaches Scout and Jem moral values and tries his hardest to pass on to his children his way of thinking. Atticus worries that his children sees to much racism and injustice, and tries to show his children that all people are equal no matter the color of their skin. He teaches them to go against the norm in Maycomb which is prejudice and unjust in their actions.
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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
796 Words | 2 Pages
The story, To Kill a Mockingbird is a very fine novel which exemplifies the life in the south and the human rights and values given to everybody. The book especially took the case of prejudice to a serious extreme. From the title, a mockingbird through the eyes of Harper Lee, is a person who has fallen victim to vicious stereotypes. The title To Kill a Mockingbird explains itself quite clearly in the end of the novel when Tom Robinson, one of the mockingbirds, is killed due to the stereotypes dumped upon him. Often, the use of stereotypes just breaks down the real truth of a person.
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Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird
580 Words | 2 Pages
A person's actions can greatly affect the lives of the people around them. In Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus is an only parent and a role model for his kids Jem and Scout. Although his choice to oppose the communities way of life has a strong affect on his family, to Atticus doing what is right means the world to him and he's willing to let his family suffer a little for what he thinks is the greater good. Atticus's choice to live a life without prejudice and racism affects the way the community looks at and treats his family; Scout is the one who is mostly affected.
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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
800 Words | 2 Pages
The actions the black characters in the novel To kill a Mockingbird perfectly demonstrates how to act justly. Calpurnia was one of the characters who acted justly. When Calpurnia brings Jem Finch and Scout Finch to her church, Lula, another member of the First Purchase Church congregation tells Calpurnia, the housekeeper of Atticus Finch that she "ain’t got not business bringin’ white chillum here… it’s our church ain’t it Miss Cal?" (Lee,) Lula is saying that the First Purchase Church is a church for black people only, meaning the white people are not allowed. When Calpurnia brings Jem and Scout to "their" church, Lula is upset because Jem and Scout are white, so she was not pleased to see them there. However, when Calpurnia hears her prejudice comment against her kids, she defends herself by saying "It's the same God, ain't it?" (Lee,) Calpurnia is acting justly because she is defending white folks.
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Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird
986 Words | 2 Pages
“‘You want to grow up to be a lady, don’t you?’ I said not particularly” (Lee). Jean Louise Finch is a tomboy growing up in a world where a girl is expected to become a lady. Submissive housewives and proper ladies were the expectations set for women in the time To Kill A Mockingbird took place. Scout Finch lived in a household that had a strong male influence; aside from Calpurnia, she had no real present example of what she was supposed to become. Because of this, Scout refused to conform to the ways of the rest of the women in Maycomb and the world (Lee 84).
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Theme of Courage in Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird
1689 Words | 4 Pages
Mrs. Dubose is another example of true courage in this novel. Mrs. Dubose always yells at the children, enraging Jem. One Day when she insults Atticus, Jem wrecks her garden. As Punishment he is forced to read to her for a month. During this time Mrs. Dubose seems in a fog and has fits towards the end of the sessions. About a month after Jem finished his punishment Mrs. Dubose Dies. Atticus explains that Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict because of her illness but she had decided that she wanted to leave this world beholden to nothing and nobody. By overcoming a morphine addiction, we see that Ms. Dubose was a woman of tremendous strength and character. She was not going to spend her last days as a drug addict, and despite the pain that it caused her, she succ...
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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
628 Words | 2 Pages
In the opening chapters of “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Harper Lee introduces several subtle instances of racism. However, when Jem and Scout are welcomed into Cal’s Church in chapter 12, the reader really gets to travel behind the false disguise of Maycomb County’s white society to see the harsh realities of the injustices suffered by the blacks. The black community is completely separate from the whites -- in fact, Cal lives in a totally different part of town!
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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
2185 Words | 5 Pages
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee seems like a complete replica of the lives of people living in a small Southern U.S. town. The themes expressed in this novel are as relevant today as when this novel was written, and also the most significant literary devices used by Lee. The novel brings forward many important themes, such as the importance of education, recognition of inner courage, and the misfortunes of prejudice. This novel was written in the 1930s. This was the period of the “Great Depression” when it was very common to see people without jobs, homes and food. In those days, the rivalry between the whites and the blacks deepened even more due to the competition for the few available jobs. A very famous court case at that time was the Scottsboro trials. These trials were based on the accusation against nine black men for raping two white women. These trials began on March 25, 1931. The Scottsboro trials were very similar to Tom Robinson’s trial. The similarities include the time factor and also the fact that in both cases, white women accused black men.
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Respect in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
485 Words | 1 Pages
Atticus also tries to be a perfect southern gentleman. His treatment of Mrs. Dubose proves this characteristic. Even though Mrs. Dubose makes vicious comments and criticisms of Atticus and his children, he still manages to treat her in the kindest manner; complimenting her appearance and helping her into her chair.
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Harper Lee's to Kill a Mockingbird
592 Words | 2 Pages
In the book, To Kill a Mockeningbird by Harper lee, Charles Baker Harris, also known as Dill, is one of the most important character. He’s curious, wants attention, and he can be dishonest.
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Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mocking Bird - Maturation