Dialectical Journal Chapters 1-3 Vocabulary 1. Chattels- A personal possession or slave. 2. Taciturn- Silent in expression and manner. 3. Predilection- A tendency to think favorably of something in particular. (Preference) 4. Domiciled- To establish in a place of residence. (To reside.) 5. Flivver- An old, inexpensive automobile. Vocabulary 1. Human chattels could not be more wrong no matter what time you lived in. 2. Whenever someone referred to the taciturn boy, we all knew who they were talking about. 3. My teacher gave a test a week; a predilection that most of the class disliked. 4. All twelve people in the Green family domiciled in one house. 5. Mr. Cooney’s old flivver was barely able to start up every morning when he went to work. Interpreting/Making a Prediction “Our first raid came to pass only because Dill bet Jem The Gray Ghost against two Tom Swifts that Jem wouldn’t get any farther than the Radley gate. In all his life, Jem had never declined a dare.” (Lee 16) Interpreting/Making a Prediction The fact that Jem had never declined a dare shows me how strong he is mentally. Even though strength is usually a good thing to have, I can predict that in the future it will end up getting Jem into trouble. I think this because knowing what even in that instance the dare is pretty crazy; I also know that Jem will do it, and that the dares will continue to pile up. Once someone expresses their bravery in what they can do, others usually challenge them to test how great their bravery or strength is; not stopping until the person won’t go any further. I can predict that Jem will continue to accept these dares, and that he won’t stop until he gets in trouble or gets hurt. Interpreting/Asking a Question 1. “’Mis... ... middle of paper ... ... Tate wanted to protect him. In this situation, there is no possible way that justice would be served. If Boo had been sent to court, he would be guilty exclusively because of rumors and the situation, even though he was just protecting the kids. And if he would not be sent to court, it is still not the truth. But in this situation, injustice is clearly okay. Mr. Ewell got what he deserved, and almost everyone walked away unharmed, including Boo. Of course what Mr. Tate claimed that happened wasn’t completely true, it was still the necessary action needed to be taken in order to keep the whole situation fair. Atticus would definitely not like this if he knew so being that he is always one for fairness, but had come to accept this fact through Mr. Tate’s persuasion. Overall, this is the only situation throughout the whole novel in which injustice is truly justice.
Entry 1: I feel as though the Lord only caters to white people. I’m really shaking and I just keep shaking but I am staying strong. There was an empty cell between me and all of the other prisoners. Ms. Emma came to see me but I was quiet and just starring at the ceiling. I didn’t care about anything, nothing mattered to me. I am going to die soon anyway so what’s the point. (“What it go’n feel like”(pg. 225).
one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it is a sin to
You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen. You know Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen. But do you recall the most famous reindeer of all? Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was misperceived at first. All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names, but after he led Santa’s sleigh, they loved him. Misperceptions like this happen all throughout Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. As you read the novel you see original judgments made about characters transform into new conceptions and new understandings. Some characters twist your views of them on purpose, others do it involuntarily. To Kill a Mockingbird shows this happening over and over again. All you have to do is look for it.
One of the principal aims of To Kill a Mockingbird is to subject the narrator to a series of
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.
Racial discrimination, although not the main focus of To Kill a Mockingbird, plays a large role throughout the novel. Many characters in To Kill a Mockingbird are affected by racial discrimination, whether they are the cause or not. Throughout the novel, three characters stand out as being affected by racial discrimination the most. These characters are Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, Atticus Finch, and Tom Robinson.
...n you know that you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway…She died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew” (149). This description of Mrs. Dubose’s bravery served as a sharp contrast to Jem’s view of courage. He saw it as the sheer defiance of fear and the strength to overcome every obstacle. Atticus’ description provided a new, more realistic assessment of bravery. Witnessing the immense will and courage of Mrs. Dubose inspired a complete change in Jem’s attitude about courage. At the beginning of the story, Jem believed the courage was merely the absence of fear. At the conclusion of Part One, however, he gained a new perspective on bravery, identifying it as the ability to endure in the face of inevitable failure. In discovering this fact, Jem not only gained a new attitude towards bravery, but also grew as a character.
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.
Critical Review of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill a Mockingbird is set during the 1930's in a small, isolated
Helen Keller, a deaf and blind writer and lecturer describes life as “a succession of
...re you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do." (112). Within all the examples of courage there is not a situation when the courage did not stem from a need within the character. Courage is the inner desire to succeed and to do what is righteous, no matter what humiliation or consequences that plague you because of your decision. Scout, Jem, Atticus, Calpurnia and Mrs. Dubose understood the risks they faced but continued with their actions because it was moral. They did not all enter their personal situation expecting to win. Scout still faced further scolding from Miss Caroline. Jem eventually told his father what he had done to the Radley's. There were winners and losers but they do not regret the courage they showed for the sake of good intentions.
Dubose. As the kids discuss the trial with their father, Scout begins to question why Atticus insists on helping Tom. Atticus tells them, “simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win” (Lee 76). Previously, Jem believed that bravery was never turning down a dare. After listening to his father, however, he begins to understand that bravery is much more than that. Atticus’s influence on Jem starts to transform him into a much wiser and more thoughtful person. Additionally, after Jem is forced to read to Mrs. Dubose, he tries to understand why Atticus respects her so much. Atticus says, “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” (Lee 112). Jem finally understands that the true meaning of bravery is to do what is right, even when others disagree. This thought begins to shape Jem’s behavior, in that he starts to act more like Atticus. Being able to understand the meaning of courage allows Jem to act much more mature. As Jem is growing older, his growth in maturity is expanding to not only his family, but to all aspects of his
In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the character of Jem Finch has proved himself to be very courageous. Jem’s courageousness has been obvious since the beginning of the novel. This is especially evident on page 16, when Jem completes his Dill’s dare to touch the Radley house. “Jem threw open the gate and sped to the side of the house, slapped it with his palm and ran back past us, not waiting to see if his foray was successful.” This tells the reader right from the get-go that Jem is brave, and pushes himself out of his comfort zone. Scout also says on page 14, “In all his life, Jem had never declined a dare.” This tells the reader that Jem has had this courage in him for as long as Scout can remember. Jem has made his courage evident to the reader from very early on, but the reader will still come to
Jem's definition of bravery changes as he grows up; he gains insight and experience of the world around him. At the beginning of the story, Jem only thought of bravery as touching the side of the Radley house, only because "in all his life, [he] had never declined a dare. (pg 13)" However, as the story continues, Jem learns about courage from several events. Upon hearing about a trial where a black person's been prosecuted, Atticus decides, as a lawyer, to defend that person. Atticus chose to defend Tom Robinson, an African American, because it's the right thing to do, and no one else wanted to ,or had the bravery to. "Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win, (pg 76)" he said to Scout and Jem when Scout asked. Atticus was courageous for doing something just, even though it's not encouraged. Jem also learns a different kind of courage after learning about Mrs. Dubose's fight with a morphine addiction. Jem and Scout disliked Mrs. Dubose because she was quite a mean person. Later, they were glad they didn't have to read to her anymore. Atticus told Jem that Mrs. Dubose simply had her own views on things, and that her fits were from her addiction. Atticus made Jem read to her and explained, "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 According to [Mrs. Dubose's] views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew. (pg 112)" This is similar to Atticus's choice to defend Tom.
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.