Theme Of Appearance In To Kill A Mockingbird

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It’s a foggy Halloween night where masks and mist create a chaotic and confused atmosphere. Anyone can appear as anything by a simple change of costume. The same principle applies in the striking novel written by Harper Lee. The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, presents the theme that one's true appearance or personality can be altered by stereotypes and suspicions. For the majority of his life, Boo Radley has been sheltered from the rest of society as a result of his different life style and abnormalities. Maycomb’s condemnatory society made rumors about Boo eating "…raw squirrels and any cats he could catch" (Lee 13) and how he stabbed his father with a pair of scissors. However, despite his life story derived from the judgmental minds of Maycomb’s’ residents, Boo is actually a kind, fragile person revealed through the presents he hid in the tree, his mending of Jem's torn pants, the blanket he …show more content…

Raymond has corrupted his life by becoming a drunk and is a traitor to the white community for marrying a colored woman. Lacking the knowledge about the kind of individual he truly was, presumptions about Mr. Raymond were accepted freely. "As Mr. Dolphus was an evil man I accepted his invitation..." (Lee, 200). In reality, Dolphus Raymond’s intoxication and whiskey in a bag, turns out to be a sham act only to validate Maycomb’s assumptions. Mr. Raymond describes prejudice as "the simple hell people give other people" (Lee, 200). He explains that, "When I come to town if I weave a little and drink out of this sack, folks can say Dolphus Raymond's in the clutches of whiskey - that's why he won't change his ways. He can't help himself, that's why he lives the way he does" (Lee, 200). Mr. Raymond’s decides to leave his true self undercover and allow Maycomb to continue to believe what they want. Mr. Raymond's hidden life goes to show how he is assumed to be an evil man because of the color of his

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