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To kill a mockingbird themes of social differences
Symbolism in to kill mockingbird
Social Differences In To Kill A Mockingbird
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In the 1960’s Harper Lee wrote the award-winning novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. The novels story is told through the eyes of Jean Louise Finch (aka. Scout). It all starts when Scout is only six years of age. She lives with her Father Atticus (Lawyer), Brother Jeremy (Jem), and their lovely black Housekeeper, Calpurnia. They live in the Deep South in a small town called Maycomb. Scout and Jem make a new friend early on in the book, Dill, with whom they get into much mischief with. They soon come to realize that in their little racial town, there is more to it than meets eye. They find there is much corruption and deception going on, people are not who they are made out to be. Characters could be described as a ‘Mockingbird’, symbolizing innocence (‘free from any wrong; pure’. (Stated in the Macquarie Dictionary)), or a ‘Blue-Jay’, symbolizing immorality (‘wrong according to the moral law or to accepted patterns of behavior’ (Macquarie Dictionary)). Two main characters that are considered to be ‘Mockingbirds’ are; Scout (six year old white girl) and Tom Robinson (25 year old black family man, who lost his arm in a machinery accident). These Characters are ‘Mockingbirds due to their innocence through the book. Scouts innocence is bound by her age; she is seen as young and nieve. Throughout the book there are many incidents in which she doesn’t understand what is going on around her, due to her lack of knowledge. One such incident is at Christmas time when Jem and Scout receive air riffles. Atticus’s words of caution to them were, “Shoot all the Blue-Jays you want. If you can hit em. But remember, it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”(p.99). Scout was confused, for that was the first time Atticus had said anything was a sin. Scout consulted her neighbor Miss Maudie for an explanation. Miss Maudies exact words were, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up peoples gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it is a sin to kill a Mockingbird”. Scout didn’t realize this at the time but she was getting a valuable lesson that she will understand later in life. At one stage in the book Scouts innocence saves Atticus’s and Tom Robinson’s Life’s. Jem, Scout and Dill all sneak out to surprise Atticus, but when they arrive at the jail cell where Atticus is minding Tom, they get their own surprise. They come just in time to see a mob of farmers arrive trying to get into Tom’s cell for a reason
...t through, the director wanted to show that they were also bad times for his doting mother and his concerned brother. In particular, Tom led to very emotional times after he was shot by the rival gang, burns and was hospitalized (Wellman, “The Public Enemy”). One particular scene that the director of the movie included is that of Tom beating his wife with grapes. The director indicated over media interviews that he added the scene from what he faces at home especially when dealing with his wife.
Finally becoming convinced that life is unfair for his people, Tom decides to leave the family, find the union men, and work with them.
Not in decency, anyways ... Sometimes a fella got to sift the law" (Steinbeck 179). As the seeds of change and defiance began to set in, both Huck and Tom decided to help free people from their bondage. After talking to Casy for the last time, Tom reached a realization that he can be a catalyst to change by bringing all the migrants together. He vows to free the migrants from their unjust treatment and use the festering "grapes of wrath" inside them all to produce their change. "I been thinkin' a hell of a lot, thinkin' about out people livin' like pigs, and the good rich lan' layin' fallow. An' I been wonderin' if all our folks got together an' yelled, like them fellas yelled –" (Steinbeck 536). Tom wants to save the starving kids and migrant workers from the hardships pushed onto them by the unspoken laws that are established to target them. He wants to overcome the legality of the situation by doing what he believes to be morally
The novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, is an American classic, narrated by the young Scout Finch, the most engrossing character in the book. The novel is about the adventures of two siblings over the time of about three years. Jem and Jean Louise (Scout) Finch were two young siblings who one day met another young boy named Dill. Over time, Jem and Scout grow up under the careful watch of their father and friends, learning how to be adults. They play games, they sneak into a courthouse, and they learn a valuable life lesson. Scout was an intriguing character. As the narrator, you learn more about Scout’s feelings towards the events in the book and soon learn to love her. Let me introduce you to Scout Finch.
Keeping a mouth shut doesn't hold the world shut out, it opens up new doors to things that would never be expected. In To Kill A Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, there is are two character that is are an eternal mystery for the readers. Boo Radley, though the reader nor Scout and Jem know anything about the character all they want is to learn about him. Boo becomes a mysterious figure that many see as creepy, ghostly, but also reasonably wise. The one-time Boo appears the readers learn he is a sagacious, powerful man. Little do Scout and Jem know is that their father is also a rational being as well. The two crucial character in the story helps support the
Tom Joad, a recently released inmate from the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, arrives home to find Pa Joad, Tom's father, packing a truck full of personal items. Tom is filled in by his family that a large corporation bought out their farm, and they were going to move in search for work. Namely to the “promised land”, also known as California. After tying everything down and drugging Grandpa Joad with medicene, the family takes off for California.
He picks a small fight with one of the people in a camp they were staying at. Floyd Knowles was another character associated with Tom. At one point the police were after Floyd and Tom trips the policeman, resulting in him going to hide in the willows so they don’t find him and catch him. The Joads want to leave that camp sight soon after that happened, after one of the family members went missing Tom went to find him. The missing member was drunken by the river and Tom was forced to knock him out to get him back to truck so they could load up and leave. It’s hard for people to change from their old ways like Tom is doing and Steinbeck is showing us this, and showing that Tom is the protagonist in this novel. The family is starting to rely on Tom for most things, he is driving most of the way and helping people they meet and participating in all the things the family
“ ‘Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back! Yes, Jones would come back!’” (42) Here, Squealer frightens the animals into submission with the threat of the return of Mr. Jones, the abusive farmer that was driven out of the farm by the animals.
Many characters have to deal with and struggle with their own moral development and are brought to make many decisions that determine who they are; and one of the major element that influences this is their perception between their left and right. A perfect example of such development taking action in a positive way is through Scout and Jem Finch. According to Kathryn Lee Seidel, the “most influential in her development is her father, Atticus, who counters southern dicta for southern children with a philosophy of calm courage and rational strength” (Seidel 78). Atticus is clear in using his “left” in his decision making and his moral consciousness. Not only does Atticus show this in his actions, but in his directions. During the scene in which a rabid dog comes and terrorizes the town, Atticus is told that his shot at the dog was, “a little to the right” (Lee
Courage is the desire to succeed and to do what is righteous, no matter what the humiliation or consequences are. People do courageous acts all the time because without courage, no one can accomplish anything in life. Courage is one of the most significant themes in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Harper Lee uses characters’ actions to show that courage doesn’t mean that people live without fear, rather it is about showing bravery to which people stand up to.
In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus gives out great advice to the kids, but the one that stands out to me the most is when he is defending Tom Robinson. He is teaching the kids to stand up to what they believe in no matter how many people are against them they have to at least try. Also, he says not to judge people by their looks or at all. It gets to Jem the most to not judge people because towards the end of the book he asked the most questions about it and started to understand it more. Jem talking to Scout in their bedroom, “...If they’re all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other? Scout, I think I’m beginning to understand something….” (Lee 304). This applies to life because it is not okay to judge a
“I will continue to treat people with kindness even when they try to trample over me… I will be triumphant in the end” (Elle 1). There are some, and honestly, very few, people who are constantly kind and understanding to those who are disrespectful and deceiving throughout almost or even all circumstances. Mockingbirds, metaphorically, can represent such people. For those birds are cheerful; and have a sole purpose of bringing joy. To “trample” on these birds and people alike to them is cruel and destroys the purpose and worth of value. Such characters are portrayed throughout the novel To Kill a Mocking Bird written by Harper Lee, depicted as a historical fiction, and narrated by the main protagonist, Scout. Scout illustrates
The Joad family members were facing hardships from the beginning. Before the journey, Tom Joad had been in prison and that was a downer to everyone. In the scenes of overcoming this problem, Tom was released and his family was so excited and full of joy to see him. Before they could celebrate too much, they found themselves having to leave the land that most of them were born on, raised on and labored for. They decided that as shady as it was to be forced off their own land, the drought had shattered any hopes of prospering from it anyway. With the hope of a better life out in California and a flyer that said pickers needed, they set out for the proclaimed promised land.
The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, tells the story through a young girl named Scout living in Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930s. Her father, Atticus, is a lawyer who takes on a case where a black man is accused of rape. Scout also has a brother, Jem, and a friend named Dill. One of the main themes throughout the story is the struggle of being a female in the south during the Great Depression. This struggle reflects on the way the community is structured and how social standards construct how someone is supposed to act. This theme appears in the novel when (briefly introduce your first scene from below), when (briefly introduce your second scene from below), and when (briefly introduce your third scene from below).
The book To Kill a Mockingbird was written by Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 then it went on to win the Pulitzer prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award winning film.