Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird, both as a novel and as a film, shows how time can change the way society views the importance of certain issues, such as racism. Because it was written during the civil rights movement, many people protested against it for conveying issues of prejudice between the north and the south. However, after time, the novel gradually became accepted. It is now a world-renowned classic, and it has won the Pulitzer Prize, as well as having made its way to the big screen. The author, Harper Lee, sets the story in a small town in Alabama.
To Kill a Mockingbird novel is a warm and humorous piece of writing though it deals with critical issues such as racial inequality and rape. The novel was published in 1960 by Harper Lee and it gained immediate popularity and success becoming a modern literature in American. The plot of the novel and characters are based on Harper’s perception of her neighbors and her immediate family. Also, it is based on her observation of events that took place near her home area in 1936 at the age of ten years. To Kill a Mockingbird symbolizes killing harmless and innocent people. Tom Robinson is an example of an innocent man falsely accused of raping a White girl known as Mayella Ewell (Lee 169). Another example is Boo who is misunderstood by the society
in Harper Lees novel To Kill a Mocking Bird, Lee presents a story of racial prejudice during a time in which racism was a regular thing for most people. Scout tells this story, a young child who doesn’t really understand the prejudice of the country she is growing up in. Through this book, Harper Lee tries to convince the reader not to judge a person by their appearances or what they hear about them. She utilizes several characters to support her argument such as Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. These characters go through hard times because many times they were misconceived as bad people by their appearance or what people said about them.
To Kill A Mockingbird reinforced my opinion that one should always stand up for what one believes, despite what anyone else may think. Furthermore, it emphasized my belief of “not everyone seems as they appear”. This was cemented through the case of Boo Radley. Moreover, it reiterated my belief of not believing in gossip, or, in the words of Marcus Aurelius, “Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is perspective, not the truth”. This was again highlighted through the case of Boo Radley and the gossip the children heard and originally believed about
First impressions of people are often lasting impressions, especially in the minds of children. Many times these impressions, aided by misunderstanding and prejudgment, cause unjust discrimination against an individual. To kill a Mockingbird depicts the themes of misunderstanding and prejudice that portray Arthur (Boo) Radley as a villain. Through the progressive revelation of Radley's character, the children realize that their negative impressions and fear of him were unfounded. Through gradual stages of change, from total misunderstanding of Boo, to a realization of an error in judgment, to a reevaluation followed by a change of heart, to a growing trust and acceptance of Boo, and finally to an appreciation of his true character, Jem's, Scout's, and Dill's impressions of Radley are dramatically altered.
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee shows a misunderstanding in society by demonstrating to us how society isn’t perfect. From a child’s point of view children incorporate misunderstanding by learning from their personal experience. I wasn’t aware of how bad our Earth was being destroyed. A similar event happened when Napoleon helped France and everyone thought that Napoleon was France’s savior but what France didn’t expect was that Napoleon had other ideas and was ambitious and planned on destroying cities and killing people in order to obtain power. Nowadays racism isn’t seen as much but people still discriminate and judge people by how they act, look or how economically stable people are.
One of the first lessons taught in Mockingbird is the power of understanding other people’s perspectives. Initially, Scout has trouble empathizing with other people, especially her first Grade Teacher, Miss Caroline, whom Scout becomes frustrated at for not understanding Maycomb’s complex social structure. After hearing his daughter complain, Atticus tells Scout that she'll “get along a lot better with all kinds of folks [if she] considers things from [their] point of view” (39). After ‘standing in the shoes of another person’, it is much harder to be prejudiced towards that person. Indeed, this may be because a key tenet of prejudice is disregarding the views of whoever is being judged. Nevertheless, it proves difficult for Scout to grasp this relatively simple concept, who begins to hear rumors of Boo Radley, an enigma who has not been seen outside his home for over 30 years. Thus begins Jem and Scout’s quest to make Boo Radley come outs...
Often in life people prejudge others, but their view changes as they get to know the person. In to kill a mockingbird by Harper lee Jem and Scout prejudge Boo Radley and their father Atticus. Jem and Scout believe their father has absolutely no skill. Throughout the book the kids get to see more of his skills. Boo Radley is considered a monster in Maycomb and Scout and Jem use the town’s judgment as their own. After learning more about Boo and getting to know him they realize he is opposite of what they thought. Because Jem and Scout are influenced by other people’s opinions they are able to learn from their mistakes and develop a new perspective on people.
In To Kill A Mockingbird courage, parenting, and racism was interpreted. Harper Lee objective was to send a simple message to her readers. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee has connected the character to her life. The book is about the narrator, Scout. Scout has a brother named Jem and a father named Atticus.
Review of To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird" made a significant impact on me
as it made me aware of the necessity to offer tolerance and
understanding to other people. " To Kill A Mockingbird" is set in
Alabama, South America 1933-1935. 6-year-old Scout, a young girl
living in the old tired town of Maycomb, narrates the novel. Using a
young girl enables Harper Lee to explore the issue of racial
prejudices in a humorous manner.