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Atticus finch as a person
Atticus finch as a person
The major themes in to kill a mockingbird
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Things Are Not What They Seem In the novel To Kill A Mocking Bird, Harper Lee uses characters to show that not all things are what they seem to be. The characters Mrs. Dubose, Boo Radley, Mr. Raymond, Mr. Underwood, and Atticus were important in showing it. Mrs.Dubose was always seen as mean and “Jem and I hated her. If she was on the porch when we passed, we would be raked by her wrathful gaze, subjected to ruthless interrogation regarding our behavior, and given a melancholy prediction on what we would amount to when we grew up, which was always nothing” (Lee 132). From this it seems to Jem and Scout that Mrs. Dubose had it out for them, but until she had died, they didn’t know why. After not seeing her for over a month and finding out …show more content…
At the beginning of the story, he was viewed as creepy and mysterious due to him never being seen, eating domesticated animals, and stalking people at night. As the novel comes to an end, Jem and Scout were attacked while coming home from her play and after they were separated Scout turned to a streetlight. “A man was passing under it. The man was walking the staccato stepson someone carrying a load to heavy for him… He was carrying Jem” (Lee 352). This shows that not everyone is who they seem. Boo had revealed himself to the outside world to save the lives of both Jem and Scout, thus showing others that he was not as what they made him out to …show more content…
Raymond’s drinking. Although his “drinking” is only coke in a paper bag, Mr. Raymond knows “When I come to town, which is seldom, 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 wont change his ways’ ’’(Lee 268). The reasoning for his drinking was a way to explain the things that he’s done such as marrying a colored woman and having mixed children. From this, Jem, Scout, and Dill have seen that Dolphus’s “drinking” problem wasn’t as it seemed and the reason why he had kept it secret from Maycomb County. Atticus knew that it was very strange for Mr. Underwood to defend a negro. After the night when Braxton protected Tom and Atticus with a shotgun, Atticus looked to his kids and said, “You know, it’s a funny thing about Braxton…He despises Negros, won’t have one near him” (Lee 209). From this and also defending Tom’s right to a fair trial shows that he has changed his view on the blacks. Most whites despised the Negros and to have a man who had not wanted to be near them suddenly change their view to protect them and show them respect was not
What does it mean to be a good parent? The most common definition of a good parent is one who makes their children feel valued and loved, by teaching them the difference between right and wrong. At the end of the day, the most essential thing is to create a nurturing environment where your children feel like they can mature into confident, independent, and caring adults. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird defines what a true parent really is thought hardships and struggles throughout the book. The story is set in the Depression era of a little town in southern Alabama that is struggling with thick prejudice on a colored rape case. The story is told through a character
As the story progresses, Boo becomes more of a symbol of kindness and bravery than that of the "town freak" which he is made out to be. Boo leaves presents for the children in the hollow trunk of an old tree, as well as covers Scout with a blanket during Miss Maudie's fire. However, it is not until he saves Jem and Scout's life from the hands of the deranged Mr. Ewell, that Boo shows his true heroic character. Even though Boo is a physically weaker man, he shows no fear when it comes to protecting Jem and Scout's life.
Scout Finch, the youngest child of Atticus Finch, narrates the story. It is summer and her cousin Dill and brother Jem are her companions and playmates. They play all summer long until Dill has to go back home to Maridian and Scout and her brother start school. The Atticus’ maid, a black woman by the name of Calpurnia, is like a mother to the children. While playing, Scout and Jem discover small trinkets in a knothole in an old oak tree on the Radley property. Summer rolls around again and Dill comes back to visit. A sence of discrimination develops towards the Radley’s because of their race. Scout forms a friendship with her neighbor Miss Maudie, whose house is later burnt down. She tells Scout to respect Boo Radley and treat him like a person. Treasures keep appearing in the knothole until it is filled with cement to prevent decay. As winter comes it snows for the first time in a century. Boo gives scout a blanket and she finally understands her father’s and Miss Maudie’s point of view and treats him respectfully. Scout and Jem receive air guns for Christmas, and promise Atticus never to shoot a mockingbird, for they are peaceful and don’t deserve to die in that manner. Atticus then takes a case defending a black man accused of rape. He knows that such a case will bring trouble for his family but he takes it anyways. This is the sense of courage he tries to instill in his son Jem.
Raymond. Mr. Raymond drinks with a plastic bag to hide from his wife and his chances. “He’s got Co-Cola bottle full of whiskey in there.”(pg. 214). He’s purposely gets drunk just to hide his personality because he is afraid he will lose his friendship and love from his wife and friends. Mr. Raymond acts like he is drunk so he can hide his personal lifestyle from his friends and his wife. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Mr. Raymond explains that he feels he has to give the population some reason for his odd behavior. He acts friendly toward black people. Mr. Raymond believes it 's easier for people to handle strangeness when they have a reason to explain it. He thinks children that haven 't lost the instinct that tells them that it 's wrong for white people to give hell to black people without consideration for basic humanity of humankind. Mr. Raymond tells the children because they are not racist and they will understand. Mr. Raymond is unlike most people in Maycomb because he is not a racist. Since people have a hard time believing he could love a Negro wife and half-breed children, he lets the town believe he is
In To Kill a Mockingbird, by author Harper Lee, several of the characters in the book share a similar character trait. Atticus Finch, Mrs. Dubose and Boo Radley all show courage throughout the book in their own individual ways. In different events, all three characters were faced with a challenge that they could either turn away from and accept or try to defeat. In Lee’s novel, a few of the main events that occur in the book include Atticus Finch defending a black man, Mrs. Dubose is challenged with overcoming an addiction, and Boo Radley must brave the outdoors to save the Radley children. Throughout the book, the characters change and one begins to understand what life in the small town of Maycomb is like, as the Finch family and friends grow and mature throughout the events happening while encountering social prejudice, courage, and the mockingbirds of life.
Prejudice is one of the main themes of the book, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” which is shown through the towns people, the jury, and Atticus 's children. The towns people of Maycomb are very quick to judge people like Dolphus Raymond. He carries around a drink in a paper bag and have a straw sticking out of it. “Folks can say that 's why Dolphus Raymond 's in the clutches of whiskey.... that 's why he lives the way he does.”(268) He acts like he 's drunk so everyone thinks that it 's alcohol and they blame his drink for going against social code. The jury was also prejudice, just like the towns people because they voted a innocent, black man, guilty just because he was black. “A jury never looks at a defendant it has convicted, ... not one of them
In To Kill a Mockingbird By Harper Lee, Jem and Scout encounter Mrs. Dubose a heartless cruel person who lives near them. Mrs. Dubose an elderly neighbor of Jem and Scout, always seems to obstruct their path. She is mean and seems bitter to the point where not even Jem can take it. However, Jem’s outrage leds to him having to read to Mrs. Dubose every day for 2 hours. From this experience Jem learns many things and one stands out the most. Mrs. Dubose is a opinionated neighbor who helps Jem see the importance of perseverance.
Once feared by Scout and Jem, Boo becomes the hero of the novel by its final pages. He saves the children from the murderous hands of Bob Ewell. Boo Radley has been keeping watch on Scout and Jem for years, peeking out of his own window as they played in the streets and making sure they’re safe. On Halloween night when Scout and Jem return home from the pageant, Boo must of been watching after them, coming to help and killing Bob. Boo then carries unconscious Jem to the safety of the Finch house.
...l along Boo just wanted to have someone to call a friend because of suffering from lonesome. Even though he may have been involved in the fires and other acts he did in Maycomb he was not like what anyone said a bout being a nocturnal monster or a heartless person. Boo was a normal human being living in his own world for the longest time till he broke out of his shell when Scout and him met on Halloween night. The Change that happens in the Radley house is dramatic Boo goes for being the towns "night phantom" to being a Hero in the end. Lastly how did Scout have the courage to walk up to the Radley's porch was because Scout believed Boo to be a big hero for what he had done. Another reason Scout had walked with Boo home was to go see Jem who was there from when Boo carried him from the fight that night back home. Scout saw Boo as a positive at the end of the story.
Boo can be described as a neurotic man, who is Jem and Scouts next door neighbor, that stays inside all of the time and rarely speaks to anyone. The townspeople misunderstand his condition and it is said that he eats domestic animals, stabs his father with scissors, and is the town's “monster”. Throughout the whole novel Boo stays in his house but always is watching out for Jem and Scout. In the middle of the novel, Scout finds a piece of gum in a tree hole near the Radley property.
Jem and Scout realized this as they got to spend personal time with Ms. Dubose. They both have figured out that everyday, she revealed was becoming more of an acceptable person, when they had to read to her. Additionally, Atticus interprets Ms.Dubose as being a strong woman, by explaining to Scout and Jem that “She was the bravest person I ever knew” after the Finch family received the news of Ms. Dubose’s death (Lee 149). Ms. Dubose died as a morphine addict, which explained her random tantrums and fits when she was alive. When Ms. Dubose was fighting her addiction, it coincides with the time that Jem and Scout had to stay longer at Ms. Dubose’s house because they were forced to read to her.
...ain respect later on. Similar to when the black folks in Maycomb found out that Atticus was defending Tom they probably gained a new level of respect for him because it isn’t ordinary to see a white lawyer trying to defend a black person in Maycomb. Even though Atticus lost the trial a good amount of the blacks have full respect for him.
This never works for them because they see Boo as a ghost rather than the real person that he is. After he saves Jem and her from the menacing alcoholic, Bob Ewell, she is able to see Boo without fear in her eyes. She recognizes him as someone kind and finally sees him as he truly is. Later, Scout describes that she, “took him by the hand, a hand surprisingly warm for its whiteness,” (371). Similarly to Stoner’s Boy, Boo is misconceived to be an awful person.
Firstly, minor characters break stereotypes to breathe life into the sleepy town of Maycomb, establishing setting. For example, Mr. Dolphus Raymond assumes the character of a drinker as a pretense for associating with coloured people, though in reality he is drinking coca cola and not alcohol, hidden the contents in a paper bag. He confesses this to Scout, saying “Secretly, Miss Finch, I’m not much of a drinker, but you see they could never, never understand that I live like I do because that’s the way I want to live” (Lee 200-201). This proves that what is most outwardly transparent and unlikeable in a character may truly be interesting and good-natured. Mr. Raymond’s secret causes the reader to look past the paper bag and ask why a man might go to such extent to hide his best qualities. It proves that, in Mr. Raymond’s eyes, Maycomb isn’t yet able to handle the truth. He must hide it behin...
At the beginning of the novel, Boo was a mysterious guy to Scout, Jem and Dill. The children have only heard about how frightening rumors Boo is. Such as, biting off his mother finger because he couldn’t find