The novel to Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is the story of an unfortunate society, where people are greatly affected by poverty due to the Great Depression. The story is based on a narration by Scout Finch, who describes her family and her town, Maycomb. Scout and her brother, Jem, are also introduced to other children, and they share stories and fantasies regarding a mystery man, Boo Radley, who lives in their neighborhood. Scout has a blunt nature, due to which she is an ill-mannered person who does not have any control over her anger and also shows no patience. When Calpurnia gets to know about Scout’s attitude problem, she makes sure that Scout learns the right manners about controlling her anger and showing an enormous patience in her upcoming life. Calpurnia is a black woman in to kill a mocking bird. She is the cook for the Finch family. Calpurnia is a stern, disciplinarian woman. She creates a bridge between the white and the black community to let the Finch kids, Scout and Jem, know that the blacks and whites deserve the same equality and respect. In the society Calpurnia is one of the few characters in the novel who is able to read and write. Calpurnia acts like a mother figure towards Scout, because she has been a member of the finch family for many years and she is extremely reliable and trustworthy. She wants the best for Scout as any other mother would do. When Scout behaves poorly or gets into a fight with anyone, Calpurnia is always there to teach her to behave appropriately and she should not lose her patience. Since Calpurnia is the only black woman who knows how to read and write, she teaches Scout how to read and write too. Calpurnia is a woman who believes in equality and fair chances, she takes... ... middle of paper ... ...of all Atticus, who gave her advice that, you should not judge people, also that all human beings are equal. After winning the case with hard work Atticus proved to her that if you are an open and fair minded person you will always be successful. Secondly, Calpurnia with being a cook she also taught her things in her society by taking them to the church. Calpurnia showed Jem and Scout the differences between the white and the black people’s church. Lastly Aunt Alexandra, who did not approve Scout’s qualities and her behavior, at first but as time went by Aunt Alexandra, did several things which made Scout realize that she should become a normal girl. For example the “missionary circle” that helped Scout and she realized what she had been doing wrong. Scout altered her personality with the supportive comments and activities from Atticus, Aunt Alexandra and Calpurnia.
In “To Kill a Mockingbird,” the author shows that Calpurnia and Miss Caroline play a big part in Scout’s early education. Calpurnia and Miss Caroline both differ in their methods and aim. Calpurnia is an African American maid for the Finch family. She had more education then most people and she is like a mother towards Scout. Scout never liked Calpurnia very much because Calpurnia always complained about her behavior. Calpurnia aim and method of teaching is to be disciplined and humble. Calpurnia wants Scout to know the right and the wrong. For example, when Walter Cunningham was comes over for dinner, he drowns all of his meal in syrup, and Scout was angry. However, Calpurnia called her to the kitchen and said, “He ain’t company, Cal, he’s just a Cunningham-” “Hush your mouth! Don’t matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this house’s yo‘ comp’ny, and don’t you let me catch you remarkin’ on their ways like you was so high and mighty!”
In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout Finch tries to please her father, but living with no mother it’s hard to know how to act. It’s natural to follow Jem, her brother, when that is her only friend through out the years. Imagine hearing gossip about your father from friends, neighbors, and even your own cousin. Scout had to push through all of the gossip and believe in her father. Throughout the novel Scout shows how social she can be. To Kill a Mockingbird is a great novel that keeps you reading. Scout has a positive effect on events such as at the jail, she was the reason that the mob left. She also always curious so she is more mature than most kids her age. Through the journey of the trial she shows how hot-tempered, tomboyish, and mature she can be.
“Naw, Jem. I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.” (Lee, page 304.) This is one of the famous quotes in the book To Kill a Mockingbird. In the book there is an important character named Calpurnia. Calpurnia is the Finch’s housekeeper and cook. Calpurnia is also the bridge between the whites and the blacks for the Finch family children, she is an important female role model, and she also teaches the children important lessons on respect, kindness, logic, and finally discipline. Without Calpurnia, the book would not be the same.
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.
Scout’s Aunt Alexandra helped develop Scout from tomboy to lady. For the most part confound Scout as she desires and wants to be a tomboy and wants to be free of Aunt Alexandra would like her to be more conservative and be bound by the traditions of the southern culture which she feels is incredibly important. The one moment where Scout really appears to be influenced by Aunt Alexandra is when Scout notices with some small amount of pride that in the midst of all the furor over the trial and other events in the town, Aunt Alexandra maintains her composure and her "lady-like" demeanor which Scout admires and feels she can learn from. Also Scout learns many negative aspects from Aunt Alexandra during
He treats all people of Maycomb fairly including his African-American maid, Calpurnia. In fact, he treats her like family. When his sister complained about living with Calpurnia, Atticus stood up for her saying “She’s a faithful member of this family and you'll have to accept the way thing are”. African American maids were not treated kindly but, Atticus saw through her race and thought of her as family. He even stood up for her against his own sister, teaching his kids to treat everyone fairly despite the color of their skin. Scout then takes her father’s lessons into account when talking to Mr.Cunningham. In the midst of the lynching mob, Scout greets Mr. Cunningham. She says “Hey Mr.Cunningham! How's your entailment?”. She remembers that “Atticus said it was polite to talk to people about what they were interested in” and applied the lesson when talking to Mr.Cunningham. Atticus also stays calm in the face of disrespect. Throughout the book, Atticus receives disrespectful comments about him and his family because of the case and tells Scout to keep her head up and not let them bother her. Staying true to his word, he stays calm when Mr.Ewell cussed at him and intentionally spat on his face. After Mr.Ewell spat, “Atticus didn’t bat an eye, just took out a handkerchief and wiped his face… And let Mr.Ewell call him names”. Atticus does not lose his temper and handled the situation
“Yo’ folks might be better’n the Cunninghams but it don’t count for nothin’ the way you’re disgracin’ ‘em if you can't act fit to eat at the table you can just sit here and eat in the kitchen!” This is just one of the many examples Calpurnia sets for the children. Calpurnia is the Finch’s cook but she takes her role in the children’s life more seriously. She acts as parent; constantly teaching the kids lessons about life and race. She serves as a bridge for Jem and Scout between the white and black communities. Calpurnia could be the mother Jem and Scout never had because she is wise, caring, and patient with the kids.
Atticus Finch also taught his children many valuable life lessons and views of life throughout the course of the novel. Due to the things Atticus said, Jem and Scout developed many qualities such as empathy and equality. Very few of the adults in Maycomb at the time had these qualities and perhaps if they had these qualities Tom Robinson would not have been wrongly convicted. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.(Page 33)” This piece of advice by Atticus changed Scout’s entire perspective of life. She began to climb into other people’s skin, which made her understand the problems other people face in life. She learned not to judge people because of the way they act, the family they come from or their skin colour. Not many other fathers at the time or even now could influenc...
Harper Lee takes inspiration for her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, from her own life experiences. The story tells about the lives of Jean Louise Finch and Jem Finch, the two children of a talented lawyer, who introduces them to racism and bigotry at a very young age. The Tom Robinson trial, similar to the Scottsboro trial, causes Jem and Scout to recognize the distinctly different types of people living in Maycomb. Man’s inhumanity to man compels Harper Lee to uncover the shameful acts of society; these injustices, especially those of the Tom Robinson trial, open Scout and Jem’s eyes to the defective perspectives held by society; reading To Kill A Mockingbird, leads me to wonder how far our society has truly come.
In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee includes many contrasting perspectives that provide an understanding into each character’s attitude as well as what was anticipated of people at the time. The book is the story of a young girl, Jean Louise, her father, Atticus and brother, Jem, in a small town called Maycomb, which is racially segregated during the time of the great depression. As Jean Louise, otherwise known by her nickname Scout, reflects on her childhood with her brother, Jem, the reader is able to see and hear the story as she relives the events in her memory. Scout tells the story around the time she was almost six years old, and she is living with her ten year old brother, Jem, and her father Atticus, “the lawyer who defends Tom Robinson” (Saney). The quarrels between characters regarding racial oppression and gender roles throughout the novel cause tension and uproar in the town, as each person has their own perspective on a situation. The novel opens with Jean Louise reflecting on past events with her brother Jem, and it leads into the first perspective of a child against the adult perspective.
In Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the author uses the small town of Maycomb, Alabama as a forum for different views on civil rights. On a smaller scale, Lee uses the relationship between Scout, her aunt, her father, and her housekeeper, to show how racism affects everything. The question of civil rights plays out not only through the trial of Tom Robinson, but also through the everyday interaction between the Finch family and their housekeeper Calpurnia. In the process of growing up Scout must chose where she fits into the whole racial scheme, and her relationship with her housekeeper plays a crucial part in deciding this.
As previously mentioned, the point of view in this narrative is from Scout. Her upbringing has been respectful to the African-Americans in her society and she shows this with her relationship with her maid, Calpurnia. Other children her age have adopted their parents' racially prejudice views, causing her of many problems. Atticus's lawsuit seems to isolate his children and Scout is taunted with remarks in the playground. Her only retort is violence and Atticus, as an virtuous father, does not condone this behaviour either: "My fists were clenched I was ready to make fly. Cecil Jacobs had announced the day before that Scout Finch's daddy defended niggers."
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel about the act of growing up. The main character is a girl named Scout Finch who is the narrator as well as the protagonist of the story. She is a very curious person for someone of her age. The book discusses what she learns about people and about life. In the primitive stages of the novel Scout’s narrating is very childish, humorous, and innocent, although as the novel progresses it becomes increasingly dark. It takes place between 1933 and 1935 in a small quiet town called Maycomb located in southern Alabama. Scout’s father, Atticus, is a lawyer. Their family struggle’s with money because his clients are poor. Scout lives with her father, her brother Jem, and their cook Calpurnia. Her mother passed when her and Jem were young, for they continuously morn in her absence. However, they look forward to the summers due to the fact that their friend Dill comes and stays next door. They go on many adventures together.
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird is an exquisite example of the impact of prejudice and discrimination on a small Southern town post-Depression. On Harper Lee's novel, Telgen states, "Comprising the main portion of the book's examination of racism and its effects are the underlying themes of prejudice vs. tolerance: how people feel about and respond to differences in others" (292). The motif of discrimination in this story is strongly supported by numerous examples, events, and seemingly unimportant anecdotes described throughout the novel. To Kill a Mockingbird expounds upon the ideas, thoughts, and interpretations of Jean Louise Finch (also known as Scout) and her older brother Jeremy "Jem" Finch. As the siblings live out many adventures and mature, both in years and in experience, they start to learn and recognize the prejudices occurring in their town. While they were brought up by Atticus Finch, their father- a man who strongly believes in the equality of all- others in the town of Maycomb do not have these same views. These differences lead to many problems throughout Scout's narration. This best-seller greatly expresses the repercussions of discrimination and prejudice of gender, race, and class.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel about the coming of age by Harper Lee, in which she narrates the story through Scout Finch who describes her childhood. The novel begins with Scout living with her brother, Jem, and their widowed father, Atticus, in Alabama’s town of Maycomb during the time of the Great Depression, Atticus is a lawyer and the Finch family are rich in comparison to others. Jem and Scout befriend Dill, who came to Maycomb for multiple summers. They become fascinated with a house on their street called the Radley Place and the mysterious and spooky character of Boo Radley. Scout goes to school for the first time and hates it. Scout