The award winning novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, may appear to be a simple story about childhood and life in a Southern town in Alabama, but it is really a complex novel dealing with themes of education, moral courage, and tolerance. Through the eyes of Scout Finch, the narrator, Harper Lee teaches the reader about the importance of a moral education, bravery and courage, and prejudice vs. tolerance. The first theme Harper Lee exhibits in her novel is education. In the beginning of the novel, Scout accompanies her brother Jem to school. She has been looking forward to going to school since she was very young. Her first day was a disappointment when Jem tells Scout that they cannot play with each other at recess, and when Scout gets into trouble for educating her teacher about another student, Walter Cunningham. Walter Cunningham belongs to a family that doesn’t take others’ money for their benefit. Scout’s worst disappointment is when her teacher, Miss Caroline, tells Scout that Atticus had been teaching her to read the wrong way. Instead of rewarding Scout for her intelligence, she is forced to be ashamed. Scout tells her father that she will not go back to school, but he compromises with her and tells her if she goes to school, they will continue reading just as they always have. The good education Scout receives from Atticus is unlike anything she will ever learn at school. In addition to the theme of education, Lee explores the idea of bravery and courage. Scout, Jem, and their friend Dill tend to define bravery by the risks people are willing to take and accepting a dare is the truest test of one's bravery. Jem accepts the challenge to touch the dangerous, Arthur “Boo” Radley’s front door. Jem also views ... ... middle of paper ... ...wouldn't it?’"(Lee 276). She understands that like a mockingbird, Boo Radley had done harm to no one and didn't deserve the unfair attention of the town about his sanity. The other very important lesson Atticus teaches Scout is empathy. After Scout gets into trouble for making fun of Walter Cunningham for pouring syrup on his food, Atticus tells her she will get along a lot better in life if she learns to walk around in other people's shoes. This is a lesson that takes Scout some time to learn, but by the end of the novel it is clear that Scout learns empathy. Harper Lee's novel is a true classic because it teaches the reader about themes that are relevant even today: the importance education, courage, and the need to exhibit tolerance toward others. These are the life lessons that Scout learns as a child and the ones we as readers learn by reading the novel.
"She had her own views about things, a lot different from mine, maybe.son, I told you that if you hadn't lost your head I'd have made you go read to her. I wanted you to see something about her-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" (128). Scout's change of maturity level is defined by a progression towards understanding Atticus' life lessons, which halt at the ending chapters of the book when Scout recognizes Boo Radley as a human being. After the night when Bob Ewell's life ends, Boo Radley exposes himself as a kindhearted man who Scout can relate with.
one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it is a sin to
Through the development of Scout’s relationship with Arthur Radley, Scout develops and becomes more empathetic. Atticus Finch, Scout’s father, is her most consistent role model and used by Lee as the moral compass. Atticus is a firm believer in teaching by example, and his respect of his children is such that he treats them almost as adults, emphasised in the line ‘he played with us, read with us, and treated us with courteous detachment’ pg. 6. This refusal to shelter Scout from the harsh realities of life in Maycomb allows her to learn from experience. The strong moral guidance offered by Atticus allows Scout not only to learn from experience, but also to develop her personal integrity. Atticus exemplifies his strong beliefs, as illustrated when he says ‘Shoot
Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is an astounding portrayal of Southern tradition and human dignity, a novel whose themes and lessons transcend time and place. The book is narrated by a young girl named Scout who matures over the course of the story from an innocent child to a morally conscience young adult. The cover of the novel displays a knot-holed tree containing a pocket watch and a ball of yarn, accompanied by the silhouette of a mockingbird soaring over the trees through a twilight sky. The portrait on the cover is an emblem that signifies the nature of Scout's maturation and the underlying themes presented by Harper Lee. Lee's signified themes, ethically rich and profoundly humane, epitomize traditional Southern mentality.
To Kill A Mockingbird is a heroic tale of leadership and courage during racial times. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Atticus, To, Jem and Scout are unfortunately exposed to a really racist and prejudice society and town. Which ends up causing them to lose a case and really confuse Jem and Scout when they are young. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird it uses characterization to help show a theme which is loss of innocence when people are exposed to surprising and unfair situations.
Lee spins a tale laced with morality and the difficulty of the choice between what is right and what is easy, setting world problems into the smaller scope of a quaint southern town to teach her readers about the ways of the world. For these reasons, her masterpiece of a novel should be considered a Great American novel, and certainly a classic that will endure for years to come. Works Cited Kipen, David. A. “David Kipen.” Scout, Atticus, and Boo: A Celebration of Killing a Mockingbird.
Harper Lee uses various characters and themes in her novel, ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’, to investigate, at a great extent, the contrasting life values and lessons learnt in different parts of the Maycomb community. Through the use of authorial intrusion by the present day Scout, we learn that the life lessons that she learns as a child, stay with her for the rest of her life. This bildungsroman novel highlights the themes of growing up and learning from other’s actions, having courage in tough situations and dealing with racism in the town.
The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel. It is set in the 1930s, a time when racism was very prominent. Harper Lee emphasizes the themes of prejudice and tolerance in her novel through the use of her characters and their interactions within the Maycomb community. The narrator of the story, Scout, comes across many people and situations with prejudice and tolerance, as her father defends a black man.
Many students believe that Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird displays social issues in early America. In this time standing against common customs was unacceptable, a violation of society. People believe that today courage has overcome adversity that was displayed in early America. Courage is the common subject of To Kill a Mockingbird, which allows Lee’s novel to defy the changing times of humanity. These morals are bound to the “impartiality” and “fairness” taught to people as children, but become unavoidably invisible though selfish actions. The characters in To Kill a Mockingbird express audacity along with resilience in the face of cowardice.
One of the most important lessons Jem and Scout learn from Atticus is the importance of considering the perspective of others. Atticus says, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view — until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee, 39). Atticus first says this when Scout is upset about a situation that happens on her first day of school. He wants Scout to put herself in her teacher’s shoes so she can understand the challenges Miss Caroline faces being new to Maycomb. This lesson is repeated consistently throughout the novel proving to be very helpful for both Scout and Jem. Jem uses this lesson when thinking about Boo Radley. At one point later in the novel Jem says, “Scout, I think I’m beginning to understand something. I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the house all this time… It’s because he wants to stay inside” (304). He comes up with this theory
Actions will always have a great impact on society whether they are morally right or wrong. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Lee uses unforgettable characters to explore Civil Rights and racism in the segregated southern United States of the 1930’s. The novel is told through the eyes of Scout Finch as she develops into a young woman. As she matures by learning from her father Atticus Finch, the actions of how racism are detrimental to society. Atticus defends the innocence of a black man who is accused of raping a young white woman. Another factor that helps her to mature is by the example of Boo Radley’s determination. Boo Radley who is a bizarre neighbor saves Scout and her brother, Jem, from being killed.
In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee told the story of two siblings, Jem and Scout, who went through a series of events that ultimately made them realize how serious being prejudice can be. The fictional book focused on a mysterious next door neighbor and a trial against an innocent black. Throughout the book, Scout learned many different things, including how to look at things from another perspective and the idea that prejudice and injustice exists. The three themes addressed in the novel were growing up, courage, and prejudice.
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.
Growing up happens during the magical times of freedom given to children in their early years. Wise parents discern when freedom is necessary for their children, are very clear about their expectations, and determine fitting consequences for actions out of line. Harper Lee personifies this role of a wise and caring parent in the father figure of her novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus Finch, a character made to mirror the author’s own father, is a lawyer and a well-respected citizen of his Southern Alabama town. Through Atticus, Harper Lee establishes a standard of good and evil, developing the theme of morality during his interactions. Atticus establishes right from wrong in most every relationship, especially with his children, his friends and family, and his occupational ties. These relationships come to the reader filtered through the childlike lens of Scout Finch, Atticus’s young daughter, as she begins to encounter the weighty topics of the adult world.
One major lesson Atticus teaches Jem and Scout, is to respect others. Atticus thought them not to be rude with family members; despite what they say. Scout beat up Francis because he called Atticus a "Niger-lover!"(p.110) and Atticus gets her in trouble. When Scout got in trouble by Atticus it showed Scout that it was not right to beat him up even though he said what he said. Atticus taught the kids to mind there own business. When Atticus tells the kids to leave Boo Radley alone and not to believe it the rumors they are hearing. When Atticus told them to leave Boo Radley alone and not to believe ...