Scout learned a number of things in the book, but most of them all refer back to a statement that Atticus and Calpurnia said, which goes, “It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird because all they do is sing their hearts our for us.” (Lee, pg. 90). Scout learned that about people, too. She learned that some people don’t do anything to you, so it would be a sin to do something mean in return. Over the course of the story Scout becomes more mature and learns the most important facts of life. She was living through a very difficult time and most of that helped her get through. While watching Atticus during the trial, Scout learned a lot about her father. She learned that he was more than just an ordinary man to the Negroes. He was defending Tom Robinson, which meant a lot to them, because not many white people in the county would do a thing like that. Very few, if any, white men would defend a black man in a trial in a segregated county during the 1930’s. Because of what Atticus did more people, both white and black, gained respect for him. Scout saw that to the neighborhood people, Atticus was a very wise man, and a very good man, also. While Scout was watching from he balcony, she saw her father do something she had never seen. He told Bob Ewell to write his name on a sheet of paper. Scout saw that Bob was left handed, so he couldn’t have beaten up Mayella, because her black eye was on the right side of her face. Outside the jailhouse before the trial began, Scout learned that as a child she could make angry men stand in Atticus’ shoes for a minute. There was a crowd who was made with Atticus, and they wanted to hang Tom Robinson. She talked to Walter Cunningham directly about his own family, which reminded him of what a decent person he really was. He then led the group away. (“Last night you made Walter Cunningham stand in my shoes for a minute. That was enough.”—Atticus (Lee, pg. 157)). Mr. Cunnigham was only in that group of people because he (and most of the other men) were afraid something bad would happen to them if they turned on Atticus’ side. Jem told Scout a lot of bad things about Mr.
Atticus is a major influence on Scout’s identity. He tells Scout, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view” (33). Atticus’s counsel teaches Scout to never judge someone until she is aware of their reasoning. This guidance helps Scout to interact with the people around her. One example of when she used Atticus’s advice is against the lynch mob. She convinces Mr. Cunningham to leave by talking to him about what he cared about. This interaction shows how an individual’s connection to family members affects his judgement and, therefore, his character. In addition, Atticus expands on this advice later in the novel, stating, “The one thing that...
Lee uses Scout and Jem’s tumultuous childhood experiences to... has had many trials through her life, and on was in fact a trail of Tom Robinson, a black man accused in raping Mayella Ewell, one of the daughters of Bob Ewell, the town’s idler. Atticus, the children’s father, was defending Tom Robinson, and the case seemed to be in favor of him, all the way to the point of Jem stating, “He’s not leaning, Reverend, but don’t fret, we’ve won it..Don’t see how any jury could convict on what we heard-”(Lee 176). Jem is very confident in his father’s argument, and believes that the case will lean to Tom,
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.
Each character’s personality in the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is intricately described, therefore giving the reader an image or idea of the kind of person he or she is. A picture of the character is formed in the mind with maybe rough edges but a soft heart on the inside. A character’s personality may be oversimplified by drawing shapes in symbolism, but the shapes may be helpful in perceiving the general extent of the characteristics. With a little help from Lee’s descriptions, I have been able to form images in my mind (and draw them on paper) of the personalities of Scout, Jem, Atticus, Dil, Calpurnia, Boo Radley, and Bob Ewell.
Harper Lee has incorporated the representation of her most meaningful statement in the title of her novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. The many points of discussion which surface in Lee's book would certainly have partially submerged the parallel she created between Tom Robinson and the mockingbird.
'' You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view''; (30). Atticus Finch, a popular lawyer, and the father of the main character in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, teaches this lesson to his children. This idea does not just apply to Maycomb County in the 1930s, but to everyone everywhere. This story takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during the great depression. Most whites are very prejudiced and don't care to hear a Negro's opinions or thoughts on anything. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee explains that a person has to try to see a situation from the other person's point of view before they make a judgement.
Atticus Finch was a character from a small town called Maycomb in a time that we come to know is shortly following FDR’s first inaugural address. Times are hard in small town America and ethics as well as morals are shaped by the way people interact with one another. Atticus has many admirable character traits; tranquility, honesty, humility, and a strong sense of civic duty.
In the opening chapters of “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Harper Lee introduces several subtle instances of racism. However, when Jem and Scout are welcomed into Cal’s Church in chapter 12, the reader really gets to travel behind the false disguise of Maycomb County’s white society to see the harsh realities of the injustices suffered by the blacks. The black community is completely separate from the whites -- in fact, Cal lives in a totally different part of town!
Scout first learns to show compassion and tolerance by refusing to go to school because she hates Miss Caroline. Atticus tells her that, 'First of all, if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along better with all kinds of folks. 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'; (30). When Atticus told her this, she began to accept Miss Caroline as well as other people's differences and opinions.
Many of the scouts learning experiences are in clearly insignificant scenes. Ultimately she must learn to respect the difference in behavior between vastly different people, especially when the behavior differs from the normal as radically as in the cases of Boo Radley, Mrs. Dubose, and the Cunninghams. So early in the novel, Scout in the novel, Scout is faced with some confusing experiences at school, where she confronts a teacher who doesn’t understand why she can read and where she meets Walter Cunningham. Later, Atticus explains to her that to judge a person, you must try to see things from that person’s point of view. You must learn to walk around in his skin.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee seems like a complete replica of the lives of people living in a small Southern U.S. town. The themes expressed in this novel are as relevant today as when this novel was written, and also the most significant literary devices used by Lee. The novel brings forward many important themes, such as the importance of education, recognition of inner courage, and the misfortunes of prejudice. This novel was written in the 1930s. This was the period of the “Great Depression” when it was very common to see people without jobs, homes and food. In those days, the rivalry between the whites and the blacks deepened even more due to the competition for the few available jobs. A very famous court case at that time was the Scottsboro trials. These trials were based on the accusation against nine black men for raping two white women. These trials began on March 25, 1931. The Scottsboro trials were very similar to Tom Robinson’s trial. The similarities include the time factor and also the fact that in both cases, white women accused black men.
In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout, the daughter of an affluent lawyer in a small town in Alabama called Maycomb. Over the summer Scout and her brother Jem befriend a boy named Dill who lives near by for the summer. Dill becomes interested in a house on their street where Arthur (Boo) Radley has lived for many years without going outside. That fall, Jem and Scout start to find gifts in the keyhole of a tree on the Radley property. The next summer Dill, Scout, and Jem try to act out the story of Boo Radley. Atticus, Scout and Jem’s father explains to them that they should try to see life from Boo’s point of view. When Atticus takes the case of a black man named Tom Robinson accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell, Maycomb’s white community gets very upset. Jem and Scout get the brunt of the towns distress from other children. As the trial date comes closer the people get restless and a lynch mob forms. Atticus talks the mob down and Jem and Scout who snuck out a...
Everyone remembers their childhood, how they used to play around every single day, carefree and untroubled. One can remember playing in the mud and carelessly, curious and naively. One can also remember living in their own little world, deaf to the world and issues around him or her. It is something everyone wants to last, but it slips by as quickly as time passes. It is what as known as childhood innocence, the barrier shielding children from the harsh realities of the world around them. The loss of innocence is a stage in life everyone has to pass, which takes place after a significant event in one’s life that destroys their bright and happy views. As highlighted in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, all children are born innocent and care free, but it is inevitable that the innocence will be stripped away as they grow older and are susceptible to the world’s harsh realities. This theme is visible throughout the entire novel, but it is most prevalent in the society in which they live in, the racism that the children are exposed to, and their realization of the true world around them.
Near the end of the novel, a mob of men from the town gather in front of the jail to lynch Tom Robinson. To there surprise Atticus is waiting there for them. Later Scout, Jem and Dill joined them. This was a very awkward situation for everyone there, and Scout tried to ease the tension by starting conversation.
The larger theme of the story is about racial intolerance, but Scout never tries to make it a "lesson," it's simply part of the world she describes.