To Kill a Mockingbird theme Essay Imagine saying hi to an older friend in a mob, unknowingly he was going to kill a prisoner in a cell that your father was guarding for the night. The youths in TKM plays an important role in today's society, in how just being alive and polite can affect people deeply. It’s important to know this because youths are everywhere we go, and what they do can effect us all. Youth effects people is proved when Scout tells Mr. Cunningham his son is a friend that she goes to school with.(205) Mr. Cunningham didn't want to kill a person in front of a child so he decided that his mob should not kill Tom Robinson, (our targeted black man who has been accused of a crime) instead he tells his mob to leave because of scout. Scout Tells Mr.Cunningham he goes to school with his son Walter.”I go to school with Walter”... “ a real nice boy. We brought him home for dinner one time Maybe he told you about me, I beat him up one time but he was real nice about it. Tell him hey for me, won’t you?” Scout’s politeness brought out the good in Mr.Cunningham and compels him and his gang to leave. Mr.Cunningham is a friend to Atticus Finch, he is shown to be a farmer, a poor one at that. They never take money because they know they can never pay it back. Scout goes to …show more content…
Both Tate and Boo Radley protect Jem and Scout, Boo gave gifts to both of the children, Jem and Scout never gave anything to Boo. But he doesn't care, and that was the first time and last time Scout saw Boo. Boo Maybe doesn't care. Actions effects people is demonstrated by Boo when he makes friends while never talking to them directly, or at all, in the book he never says a word. Boo helps the kids in the end, by also gifting them with Life, because if Boo wasn’t there Jem and Scout would have died, this shows you how small things can be, but end up in a big
The key coming of age scene “ TO KILL A MOKING BIRD’’ is where Jem and the two others were up above in the jury watching their father ( Atticus ) try and win a case were an African American person is trying to be blamed guilty for doing something he did not do. This scene has the following literary elements, p.o.v , or point of view, coming of age and also characteristic and respect.
Each and every person will go through a coming of age experience sometime in their life. Those experiences can come in different forms. But, each coming of age experience ends up shaping us to become a mature adult. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee tells a coming of age story through Scout Finch, an aging girl’s point of view. Her brother, Jem Finch who experiences coming of age before Scout, realizes that being an adult was not what he hoped. Jem recognizes a different perspective of bravery from Mrs.Dubose, a vile, elderly woman’s perspective. In chapter 11, Harper Lee uses literary elements such as character, conflict, and setting to establish Jem’s new outlook on life.
like when he goes out and teaches Dill how to swim. Jem also goes through some
The way and rate that people mature at can be directly attributed to the values and beliefs of the society that surrounds an individual. It is undeniable that society’s perspective on many controversial issues will generally be adopted by the younger generations in a given society. Moreover, the exposure to significant events, coupled with the major influence of family members, can have an enormous impact on how an individual matures. Additionally, family members greatly help each other develop into moral adults by instilling in each other values that will ultimately determine an individual’s character. In Harper Lee’s timeless classic, To Kill a Mockingbird, the constant reiteration of Atticus Finch’s values, in conjunction with the exposure to significant events, assist in Jem and Scout’s maturation into virtuous adolescents.
In addition to being a lawyer, Atticus enjoys being a father to Jem and Scout. When Jem and Scout found out that their father would be defending a black person, they knew immediately that there would be much controversy, humiliation from the people of Maycomb and great difficulty keeping Tom alive for the trial. It was not long when Atticus had to leave the house very late to go to jail, where Tom was kept because many white people wanted to kill him. Worrying about their father, Jem and Scout sneak out of the house to find him. A self-appointed lynch mob has gathered on the jail to take justice into their own hands. Scout decides to talk to Walter Cunningham, one of the members of the mob. She talks about how her father Atticus thought that "entailments are bad "(154 ) " and that his boy Walter is a real nice boy and tell him I said hey"(154). Upon hearing this, the mob realized that Atticus cannot be all bad if he has such a nice daughter as Scout. Atticus, with some unexpected help from his children, faces down the mob and cause them to break up the potential lynching of the man behind bars. Having gone to a black church earlier, the children found out that Tom is actually a kind person, church-going and a good husband and father to his children.
To Kill A Mockingbird The Maturing of Jem Finch Society is not as innocent to a child as it may appear to be. In fact, when one really understands the society in which he lives he is no longer a child. This is much the same case as found in To Kill A Mockingbird, by Leigh Harper. Although Jem, being a child at the beginning of the novel, is immature and unaware of the society in which he lives, he matures mentally to the point where he sees the evil in society and gains a knowledge of death. Like most children, at the beginning of To Kill A Mockingbird Jem and Scout are both young, play together, and have childhood monsters or fears like other children.
Everyone goes through different changes as they grow up. Maturing, coming of age, and doing the right thing are important themes in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. This theme is most often seen in the character Jeremy “Jem” Finch. He portrays this theme when he begins to enter puberty and becomes a young man. Jeremy starts to become more independent, wiser and more able to comprehend adult situations; Jem begins to get a better grasp on things. Other characters that demonstrate this theme are Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, and Arthur “Boo” Radley. Harper Lee shows how Scout comes of age in similar ways to Jem. Scout begins to grow up and become more tolerant of others by “putting herself in another person’s skin”. Boo displays his “coming of age” in a somewhat different way than Jem and Scout. There’s a scene in To Kill A Mockingbird where Boo has the chance to do the right thing by putting himself in harm’s way in order to save lives, and he takes the chance. To Kill A Mockingbird is a book that is overflowing with the theme “coming of age” (whether it is shown through the main character or others). This theme is important to the story because these characters are a small example of the changes that Maycomb needs to undergo. Jeremy Finch is the character in which this theme is most represented in.
In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee utilizes the significant symbol of a mockingbird to convey the coming of age theme of knowing someone’s background before forming opinions. When Scout and Jem get airsoft guns for Christmas, Atticus knows they will go “after birds,” so he allows them to “shoot all the bluejays” as long as they do not “kill a mockingbird” because it is “a sin” (Lee 119). Through close analysis, the advice Atticus presents has a much deeper meaning to it than originally perceived. The “mockingbird” is a symbol for all of the innocent people that are portrayed unjustly and the “bluejays” represent the malevolent individuals. Also, Lee’s decision to use the word “sin” suggests that killing a mockingbird is absolutely iniquitous,
Growing up in Maycomb In the famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird, there are three main themes: Growing up in Maycomb, Racism, and Courage. In chapter one through ten, it talks about Jem and Scout spending every summer with Dill, it also talks about how Jem grew closer to Dill and started to leave Scout out of their activities. On page six of the novel , Growing up in Maycomb they believe that there was ”Nothing to fear but fear itself’. Maycomb was a town where you could sit on your porch with peace, and everyday door was open on Sunday Maycomb seemed to be hotter back then, people also moved slower then. Scout and Jem seemed to love growing up in Maycomb ( they had their down times) they seemed to have a decent life especially with a father like Atticus . Atticus was a straight forward man who did everything for his family. Atticus was a lawyer for the town ; for the most part loved him. He believes that everyone deserves and a fair chance , somehow he mad growing up in this small town easy for the kids. Calpurnia, the cook, also made growing up easy for the kids. Cal is a Negro woman that came to the house every day to cook and clean for the family .She plays a mother role in the novel. Jem and Scout’s
Ageism is shown in both novel by Harper Lee and the article by Scott Wooldridge about millennial’s by stating that because of how young you’re more likely to be less intelligent and have almost to no experience compared to older people therefore making them seem more superior.
The Cunninghams like the Ewells are poor. But the 2 families are really different from each other. The Ewells are white trash and the Cunninghams are very poor people that try to have some honor. An example of Walter Cunningham’s honor is not taking charity. “ The Cunninghams never took more that they could pay back- no church baskets and no scrip stamps...They don’t have much but they get along with it.”(26) Everybody in town knows about the Cunninghams and have some sort of respect for them. Walter comes to school in attire that shows that he wants to try and look his best. Unlike the Ewells Walter doesn’t show up at school only for one day and leave.To save Walter Cunningham from being humiliated in class Scout decides to tell the teacher about the Cunninghams. Walter was refusing Miss Caroline's quarter because his father had taught him not to take anymore than he could pay back. This shows a sign of honor because he doesn’t want people to pity him because they are poor. Mr. Finch was helping Mr. Cunningham with his . Everybody knew that he would never be able to pay him fully in money. “One morning Jem and I found a load of stovewood in the backyard. Later, a sack of hickory nuts appeared on the back steps… That spring… Atticus said Mr. Cunningham had more than paid him” (27). Instead of not paying Mr. Finch at all or taking a lot of time to do it, he paid him as quickly as possible and with what he had. This is a sign of honor in my eyes. He did not expect pity from anybody and did what he could. Another sign that Mr. Cunningham taught his son well was how Walter talked to Mr. Finch. “ Walter and Atticus talked together like men, to the wonderment of Jem and me.” Scout was surprised that someone like Walter could talk like a man with such maturity and respect. This was another sign that Walter’s father raised him right by making him act like a grown man. A little boy
However, their lack of money was a result to Mr. Cunningham not wanting to accept assistance from anyone out of fear of causing them an inconvenience (Lee 20). Walter Cunningham is referred to as having hookworms and not having shoes (Lee 19). He is discussed between Scout and Miss Caroline when she realizes that he did not have a lunch and offers to loan him money (Lee 19,20). Scout explains, “‘The Cunninghams never took anything they can’t pay back-no church baskets no scrip stamps. They never took anything off of anybody, they get along on what they have. They don’t have much, but they get along on it’” (Lee 20). By this encounter, Scout hoped to educate Miss Caroline on the status of Walter’s family and states “‘That’s okay, ma’am, you’ll get to know all the country folks after a while” (Lee 20). Walter Cunningham, is also discussed between Scout and her Aunt Alexandra, later in the novel, after the encounter with him and Miss Caroline (Lee 223,224).Scout had hoped to defend Walter and is pleased with herself for the action she took (Lee 223). She thinks she should invite him to spend the night with them sometime, but quickly realizes that Aunt Alexandra has other views of the Cunninghams (Lee 223). Aunt Alexandra states, “‘But they’re not our kind of folks….you can scrub Walter Cunningham till he shines, you can put him in shoes and a new suit, but he’ll never be like
Building Blocks of Growth and Maturity. In To Kill a Mockingbird Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, many characters develop and mature in unique ways. Boo, who fears talking to others, Aunt Alexandra, who is against people of other races or social classes, and Scout, who is young and is not aware of life’s challenges, constantly suppress their emotions and personality. Their life choices and decisions that they make throughout the book, lead them to be more accepting of others and less prejudiced.
Maturity is a coming of age when a person is growing emotionally and mentally. Maturity is gained by experiences and decision-making, thus learning from mistakes. This is evident in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Through characterization and symbolism Lee displays maturity.
Examine the Themes of Innocence and Experience in To Kill a Mockingbird. Innocence is a time when a person has never done something; it is the first step in the journey from innocence to experience. The second step in this movement is experience and this is what is achieved after. a person has done something they have never done before or learns something they have never known before. This theme of growth from innocence to experience occurs many times in To Kill a Mockingbird and is one of the central themes in the first part of the novel, because it shows how Jem and Scout change and mature over a small period of time.