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The relevance of killing a mockingbird
Social change in to kill a mockingbird
Social change in to kill a mockingbird
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Empathy is one of the greatest powers that a human being can ever hope to achieve; one person being able to understand the inner-workings of another is something truly amazing. However, empathy isn’t something that one is always naturally able to accomplish; in fact, it usually takes a long time for one to develop any empathy at all. In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, the reader follows Scout Finch as she experiences her youth in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. In this story, we experience her empathy for others as it increases or decreases. Though there are many examples of these alterations in Scout’s relationships, there is one that is both prominent and more complex than a few others; her relationship with her aunt, Alexandra. There are three specific instances in which we can track the progression of Scout’s empathy towards her aunt; meeting Aunt Alexandra, Scout wanting to invite Walter Cunningham over, and the assault by Bob Ewell of Scout and Jem. The readers are introduced to Aunt Alexandra at the Finch’s family Christmas, but Scout has most likely known her beyond what the readers see. So, because of this, …show more content…
There is a final instance in which the readers see how Scout sees her aunt. Towards the end of the book, a terrible, immoral man named Bob Ewell attacks Scout and her brother in an attempt at homicide. “Aunt Alexandra went to the door, but she stopped and turned. ‘Atticus, I had a feeling about this tonight-I-this is my fault’” (Lee 359). Aunt Alexandra feels guilty for the assault, she sees herself at fault for the suffering of Jem and Scout. It is at this point in the story, a lightbulb finally brightens inside the head of a little girl; she is finally able to empathize with what her aunt has been doing throughout the entirety of the story. Aunt Alexandra has been trying to do what is best for Scout and Jem. She feels responsible for them. She’s been trying to mother
Scout is a young girl growing up in the south, she is intelligent, thoughtful, and good natured. Her identity is somewhat uncommon during the time she lives in. She is characterized as a tomboy, who doesn’t always act “lady like” or proper by southern standards. Scout most likely became the type of person she is by the care of her father, Atticus. He shapes her mind, while trying to protect her from a dangerous world and preserving her childhood.
Alexandra first arrives at Maycomb a little while before Tom Robinson’s trial begins. The main purpose of her visit is to support Atticus and the kids, because of the case Atticus is taking on. She wants them to keep the family name. “It was plain that Aunty thought me dull in the extreme, because I once heard her tell atticus that I was sluggish. [...] Alexandra was positively irritable on the Lord’s day.” (170) “Your aunt has asked me to try and impress upon you and Jean Louise that you are not from run-of-the-mill people [...] Presently I picked up a comb from Jem’s dresser and ran its teeth along the edge. ‘Stop that noise’, Atticus said. His courtness stung me. [...] I felt myself beginning to cry, but I could not stop.” (177-178) “She promised me I could come out to her house one afternoon. ‘You may not’ [Replied Alexandra].”(181) “...you’ve got to do something about her. [...] You’ve let things go on too long, Atticus, too long.” (182) All these quotes show that Aunt Alexandra brought evil and unrest to the family. Alexandra called scout sluggish. She was irritable on Saturday. She also caused Atticus to yell at Scout, something that he had never done before. Another evil is the racism that Alexandra presents. She tries to get rid of Calpurnia, and doesn’t let Scout go to her house. On the other hand, like most other characters and settings in To Kill A
Have American’s lost the ability to show empathy? Although a novice reader may struggle to see how a book written over 50 years ago bears any connection to our modern world, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird could not be any more relevant. The citizens of fictional Maycomb County acknowledge their flawed legal system and unfair social castes as unfortunate truths of life, of which all you can do is accept it as fact. The sole exception is lawyer Atticus Finch, who is in charge of defending the accused in court. After seeing all too many men receive a sentence simply because of the color of their skin, Atticus embarks on a quest to teach Jem and Scout, his children, that prejudice can be fought. By understanding and exposing ourselves to different people, we can free ourselves from prejudice.
Firstly, Aunt Alexandra was motivated by fear which caused her to treat others badly. For example, Aunt Alexandra always complained about Scout's clothing and her behaviour because she was too scared that Scout would not turn out right. If Aunt Alexandra was not filled with fear, she would not be forcing Scout to change; by doing this, it was really making Scout's life miserable and she is teaching Scout that she cannot be who she wants to be. Also, Aunt Alexandra tried to hint that Atticus should leave the case because it might ruin their family's name, the whole family hates what Atticus is doing, "Just what I said. Grandma says it's bad enough he lets you all run wild, but now he'sturned out a nigger-lover we'll never be able to walk the streets of Maycomb agin. He's ruinin' the family, that's what he's doin'," (Lee 110). Aunt Alexandra only came to set Atticus and Scout straight, but if she was not motivated by fear, she would let Atticus do what he feels is right to do. Aunt Alexandra's attitude towards the case has been destructive, but it does not show as much, her attitude is making Scout feel sad and mad and inside, Atticus probably feels sad that his family does not appreciate what he is doing. Fear is motivating Aunt Alexandra to treat people poorly...
Nobel Peace Prize winner, Desmond Tutu, once said “frequently people think compassion and love are merely sentimental. No! They are very demanding. If you are going to be compassionate, be prepared for action” (values.com). When one thinks of compassion, sympathy and sorrow come to mind. However, compassion also is accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering. This can be accomplished by standing up for what one believes is right. Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee deeply develops her theme that compassion is understanding someone else’s perspective and using this compassion to stand up against society.
As Aunt Alexandra has been living with the family she has started judging Scout's clothes, "I could not, possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could so nothing in a dress, she said I wasn't supposed to be doing things that required pants" (Lee 108). As Scout grows, up she faces the force of adulthood, which involves her becoming more lady like. Once Scout realizes that she has to give up part of her past, she feel reluctant to do so. Aunt Alexandra tries to push Scout into the family legacy, but instead Scout feels the need to hide from the reality of moving on which means growing up. Scout wants to be herself and not forced to be a "Finch". She doesn't want to be molded into something or someone that she's not. Scout escapes the pressures of being a "lady" by hanging out with her brother and Father, where she was more at "home" and not surrounded by "hypocrites"- fragrant ladies. Scout's need and desires to be herself are not acceptable within her community and it pains her to convert to becoming a "Finch", a stereotypical Southern
Scout was an excellent example of empathy for quite a few reasons. For example, “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough” (Pg. 374). Scout understood fully what empathy meant to her after she walked Boo home the night of the attack. It was a habit for her to put herself in other shoes and understand their feelings at that point in her life. When Scout thought about this, she was standing exactly where Boo had been for all those years and where he observed those loving, caring, fun kids. Boo literally watched them grow. She knew how he must have felt hearing their screams and to see this drunk man trying to hurt his kids. Yet again, another example of empathy from the main character Scout, “In the corner of the room was a brass bed and in the bed, was Mrs. Dubose. I wondered if Jems activities had put her there. For a moment, I felt sorry.” (Pg.) She looked at Mrs. Dubose and saw her confined to her bed while she and Jem read to her. She felt bad when she remembered Jem trying to kill her camellias. She also felt for her because when she imagined herself in Mrs. Dubose's shoes, she could only imagine how awful it would be to be circumscribed to the same place until death. Scout showed empathy toward both Boo and Mrs.
Scout first learns to show compassion and tolerance by refusing to go to school because she hates Miss Caroline. Atticus tells her that, 'First of all, if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along 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'; (30). When Atticus told her this, she began to accept Miss Caroline as well as other people's differences and opinions.
...and teaching her how to be a girl. Scout knows that she won't be able to have all the freedom and fun that she's had up until now and this is why she feels so depressed when she sees her aunt sitting in the front porch. She also knows that Aunt Alexandra may have some bad influence on Scout's and Atticus's relationship because Atticus has a lot of respect for his sister and he never confronted her about anything. Scout is afraid because Atticus always takes his sister's side, it could effect the relationship Scout has with her father and that and this could bring them apart.
Many people influence Scout, and help her grow in the open-minded, and matured girl she is. First, Calpurnia has instilled manners, and respect towards others in Scout, especially when Scout questions Walter’s ways of eating. Then, when Scout begins to get teased at school for Atticus defending an African American, Atticus asks her to keep her head high, and fists down. Lastly, Aunt Alexandra shows Scout how to be a lady through her actions throughout the novel, and when they find out about Tom Robinson’s death. Obviously, Scout is a child that is greatly influenced by many people in the lessons she learns.
When Aunt Alexandra first arrived at the Finch house, she took over as if she had been living there her whole life. When arriving home, Jem and Scout found her, “sitting in a rocking chair exactly as if she had sat there every day of her life.”(p. 168). From the very beginning, Aunt Alexandra felt she should be completely in charge. The first thing she said was, “‘Put my bag in the front bedroom, Calpurnia,’” (p. 169). Aunt Alexandra treated Calpurnia as if Calpurnia was her servant. Aunt Alexandra was a strong influence within the Finches home, from the beginning. It did not do much of anything in the end, yet Jem and Scout saw a different side of their father, Atticus. “Atticus suddenly grew serious. In his lawyer’s voice, without a shade of affection, he said: ‘Your aunt has asked me to try and impress upon [Jem] and Jean Louise that you are not from run-of-the-mill people, that you are the product of several generations’ gentle breeding−’”(p. 177). This may have been one of the first times that the children...
When Aunt Alexandra says, "Your father and I decided it was time I came to stay with you for a while,'" Scout and Jem know that she will make new rules and run the house her way. "Aunt Alexandra fitted into the world of Maycomb like a hand into a glove, but never into the world of Jem and me." Aunt Alexandra has very different ideas than Atticus about how to raise children, especially girls, and Scout knows that she will have to change to please her aunt.
Narrated from Scout's perspective, the novel demonstrates the now-adult narrator's knowledge of the past point of view on the development of her character and point of view. In creating a more mature sensibility, the tomboyish Scout challenges the strengths attempting to socialize her into an endorsed sex part as a Southern lady. Aunt Alexandra tries to unpretentiously and not all that unobtrusively push Scout into a traditional sex part a part that frequently runs counter to her father's values and her own particular natural inclinations. Nonetheless, as occasions around the trial get to be appalling, Scout realizes the value of a portion of the traditions Alexandra is attempting to demonstrate her and chooses she, too, can be a "lady." To Kill a Mockingbird investigates subjects of bravery and the idea of good examples as well. Lee has stated that the novel was essentially a long love letter to her father, whom she loved as a man with profoundly held moral feelings. Atticus is clearly the saint of the novel, and capacities as a good example for his kids. Early in the story, the youngsters regard their father as weak and insufficient because he doesn't comply with several conventional standards of Southern masculinity. They eventually realize that Atticus has skill with a rifle, as well as moral courage, insights,
In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, stereotypes and rumors lead people to be less compassionate towards others. For instance, family names, town gossip and prejudice prompt people, like Jem, to act unsympathetic. I can connect this to typical high school life, where may people experience pre-judgment and sexism but also to society’s current need for a better understanding of empathy.
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, takes place in the 1930s in Maycomb Alabama during the Great Depression. This novel has several demonstrations of empathy. It develops this concept of empathy throughout the novel, leading us to understand empathy more. Commencing the novel, Scout introduces her family, friends, peers and everyone around her. In Maycomb, she speaks of Boo Radley, who is a very important character in this novel. From when Scout first starts school and having conflicts with her teacher to when she is playing a game revolving around Boo Radley with Dill and Jem, you come to the realization that the different points of view people have on other people can cause dilemmas. Empathy is the basis to love in a way.