Both Pip in Charles Dickens Great Expectations and Jem and Scout in
Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird have deep fears in early
childhood. How do the authors create these fears and vulnerabilities?
Charles Dickens' 'Great Expectations' and Harper Lee's 'To Kill a
Mockingbird' are two very different books. 'Great Expectations' tells
the story of a young boy growing up in Kent at the beginning of the
19th century, and 'To Kill a Mocking Bird' centres around two children
growing up in America in the 1930s. However, despite the obvious
differences in the infant characters and the cultures in which they
live, all of the children have deep fears, and both authors use
devices to give the reader an insight into what the child experiences.
The children are also presented as vulnerable needing advice and
reassurance when faced with problems, and trying to find adults that
they can trust and confide in.
There are many ways in which Dickens attempts to display Pip's
vulnerability in 'Great Expectations', and one of the most obvious is
the pathos in the initial chapter. Pip begins by standing in a
deserted graveyard, looking at his parent's grave. The reader
immediately knows that Pip loves his parents, even though he did not
know them, and the reader assumes that Pip spends a lot of time in the
churchyard looking at his family's graves, as if he is spending time
with his family. The initial scene also introduces some aspects of
Pip's innocence and childishness. Pip's impressions of his family are
'unreasonable derived from their tombstones.' The reader later
discovers that Pip cannot read, and is looking only at the shapes of
the letters.
Jem and Scout's innocence is a device that Harper Lee uses in 'To Kill
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like a star.'
Pumblechook is a name which, it itself suggests a large, rotund
character and Uncle Pumblechook reflects this name. Pip feels
intimidated by his size. Dickens use characternyms to show the reader
Pip's view of the characters.
Pip, Jem and Scout all have fears in their childhood, but they react
to them differently. Pip stoically accepts his situation, and
continues to endure the oppression inflicted upon him. Pip confides in
Joe, but Joe is unable to take any action. Jem and Scout also feel
threatened, but they can tell Atticus, who is always willing to
mediate between them and other people, and do all that he can to solve
their problems.
To conclude, Dickens and Lee both use devices in their writing to
present a child's view of the world, and both successfully convey the
fears and vulnerabilities of their infant characters.
As a young child living in England’s marshes, Pip was a humble, kind, and gentle character. He lived an impoverished life with his sister, Mrs. Joe, and her husband, Joe Gargery, the neighborhood blacksmith. Pip was grateful for everything he had, including his few possessions and his family’s care. When he was offered the chance to play at The Satis House, the home of the wealthy Miss Havisham, Pip went in order to make his family happy.
The definition of a good father is as individual as the individuals involved themselves. A good father is able to support his children’s strengths, along with being able to help them overcome their weaknesses. He is able to do this without appearing to be a know-it-all. The ability to show by example how to live life, while not being afraid to make mistakes and not to be perfect all the time are also very important characteristic.
to read to her for a month and because her house is 'dark and creepy'
Walt Whitman’s 1859 poem “Out of the Cradle Rocking Endlessly” depicts the mockingbird as a symbol of innocence that chants or sings of fond memories from the past. By contrast, Harper Lee’s famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird, published in 1960, written almost a century after Whitman’s poem, portrays the mockingbird as innocent but as a fragile creature with horrific memories – memories of discrimination, isolation, and violence. Harper Lee wrote her novel, which is rooted in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, in the Deep South, during a time of segregation and discrimination, social issues which can be seen not only in the novel but were witnessed by Harper Lee in her own life. While Lee does insert bits and pieces of her own life into the novel, this fictional story is told by the character Jean Louise Finch, better known as “Scout.” She tells a horrific yet heroic story about a time in the 1930’s from a childhood perspective. The title of Lee’s book is not at first as apparent as it would seem. In fact, the only literal reference to the mockingbird appears only once in the novel. The reader, then, must probe deeply into the characters and events of the book to uncover the significance of the mockingbird. After seeing the treatment and the unyielding courage of Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and Atticus Finch, the reader can easily identify these three as mockingbirds.
somehow absorbed by Pip as Pip portrays a typical childlike quality in which he is easily influenced by those around him. Joe’s influence on Pip can come across as a positive outlook on Pip as well. Pip learns to respect others and their wishes as well as himself, but also not to retaliate and lower himself to someone else’s level if they provoked him to do so. “She says many hard things of you, yet you say nothing of hers to do. What do you think of her?
Atticus Finch is a lawyer in the town of Maycomb In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, he is a father of two children, Jem and Scout Finch. He is a man of wise character and considerate soul. He knows his morals and tries to help his children grow up to be successful and happy. Throughout the novel, Atticus acts justly, loves tenderly, and walks humbly by the way he perceives the people in his life, how he succeeds in his job and treats his family.
To sum up, the boys at Devon have endured a lot as teenagers. They are faced with pressures and values that cause them to develop into adults, at an early age.
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.
A lawyer in Maycomb and the father of Scout and Jem is a well respected person because of his judgment, intelligence, and morality he demonstrates to other people. Atticus practices the ethic of humbleness and understanding that he teaches to Scout and Jem to never hold a grudge against the people of Maycomb. Despite their cold indifference to racial inequality, Atticus sees much to admire in them. He recognizes that people have both good and bad qualities, and he is determined to admire the good while understanding and forgiving the bad. Atticus passes this great moral lesson on to Scout; this perspective protects the innocent from being destroyed by contact with evil.
Maybin, J. &Woodhead, M. (2003). Childhoods in context. Southern Gate, Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd
“I ran in the direction of Jem’s scream and sank into flabby male stomach. Its owner said, “Uff” and tried to catch my arms, but they were tightly pinioned. His stomach was soft but his arms were like steel. He slowly squeezed the breath out of me. I could not move. Suddenly he was jerked backwards and flung on the ground, almost carrying me with him. I thought, Jem’s up. The scuffling noises were dying:someone wheezed and the night was still again”(Lee 301). What happened was Jem and Scout were coming home and Bob ewell attacked them and kill them because Atticus beat him in court.So the person that is wheezing later turns out to be Bob Ewell who was stabbed by the mysterious Boo Radley who saved there life. This would be one of Atticus lessons of kindness to others because Boo Radley single handedly saved their lives. Atticus has a lot of life lessons that are taught throughout the events of what happens in To Kill a Mockingbird. Throughout the book Atticus points out lessons his children can learn from like the true meaning of life, understanding racism, stereotyping people, and human kindness.
soon become almost unnoticeable and Pip eventually realises that truly
Boo Radley and Tom Robinson come from very different backgrounds. Both face similar stories of prejudice and unfair judgments. These men faced some of the same hardships throughout their lives. Boo and Tom are both good men who were put down because they are considered “different” than others in the town. Scout learns important lessons from the way the people in town treat Boo and Tom. The title of the book To Kill A Mockingbird takes on different meanings as the author tells the story of these two men from the south.
does so she can break his heart and the pain will be even worse. This
In the sheltered, cut-off village, the young Pip has not experienced society; however, it still manages to reach him. The first experience is a chance encounter with an escaped convict, who scares Pip into stealing some food and drink (Hobsbaum 223). Pip has no way of knowing, but the convict will turn out to be one of the most im...