Teaching a unit based around the theme of coming of age is important in an adolescent
classroom. It has been taught in high school language arts time and time again. Coming
of age works makes up a large part of the literary canon including works like The
Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, Catcher in the Rye, A Separate Peace, etc. Additionally,
this theme is important because the teenage students in the classroom are essentially
going through their own coming of age. They are currently making the difficult transition
out of childhood into adulthood. Students will be able to relate to literature that focuses
on a coming of age story more easily than to other works of literature. This will
encourage students to be more active participants in classroom discussions and
responding to the texts. It also allows students to apply the things that they learn from
literature to their own lives and struggles growing up. I would argue that this is one of the
most important things that teachers of literature can hope for. In this unit on coming of
age, the two primary texts will be To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and the graphic
novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has become one of the most widely taught
books in the high school classroom. In some classrooms, teachers make use of only a
partial interpretation of the novel that focuses on racial injustice. While this is a
significant theme in the novel and is absolutely one that should be taught, it is not the
main theme of the novel. To Kill a Mockingbird tells the story of this racial injustice
through the perspective of a child. It is the story of the coming of age of the narrator,
Scout. According to Theodore Hipple in “Will the Real Mockingbird Please Stand Up?”
(1969), the novel also tells the story of the growth of Jem as he loses his childhood
innocence while he moves toward adulthood. By looking at the novel as a coming of age
of two children, students will be better able to relate to the work than they would if they
read it as a piece on racial injustice. However, students will still be able to learn about the
historical social injustice that is portrayed in the novel. This is a good way for students to
learn about how the society they live in was shaped. To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming of
age story that holds a place in the literary canon and is a significant historical account of
The life lessons and values taught in To Kill a Mockingbird is important as it teaches us many things. Through the protagonist, we are able to find the true meanings and actions of courage, how fairness and equality can create a better society, and to get to know someone before making a judgement. By learning from this novel, we can strengthen our values and morals to improve ourselves as
Shaw-Thornburg, Angela. “On Reading To Kill a Mockingbird: Fifty Years Later.” Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird: New Essays. Meyer, Michael J. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press, 2010. 113-127. Print.
reflects upon the theme of the novel. As it highlights the fact that if people in the society
Nilson, Allen Pace & Kenneth L. Donelson. “Stages of Literary Appreciation” in Literature for Today’s Young Adults. Longman, 2001: pp. 35-42. [PDF in Blackboard]
Harper Lee once said, “The book to read is not the one which thinks for you, but the one which makes you think…” In that case, To Kill A Mockingbird is the perfect fit with its detailed incorporations of imagery and symbolism in which makes the reader think about its significance. The novel focuses on the childhood of Scout Finch in the town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the 1930’s. Throughout the story, lessons and morals are given by the community resulting in the maturity of not only the children, but everyone involved. The combination of topics tied into one makes this novel a classic to American literature. After reading the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, it is clear that Harper Lee purposely continued to keep symbolism relevant throughout the story to help contribute to the central topics of the novel.
People all over the world need to learn the lesson that Harper Lee was trying to teach in this novel. The important lesson Harper has taught is that reading is a big key in life. If people didn’t read, then people wouldn’t learn about the racial segregation that took place long ago. They wouldn’t even know about the conditions of a small county during their darkest period of time, The Great Depression. Without reading, how could people learn about the simple, but true quote, “...remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 119). If we did not read books like this, then we would not learn the power that descriptive language has on people. This book is a great fragment of our learning curve and should stay in our learning cannon, so more students can become as advanced as Harper Lee.
If you walk into a book store coming of age novels are everywhere to be found. Most of these novels focus on the times in our lives when we are most susceptible to trying new things and when we think we know everything. The teenage years are what no one wants to go back to yet we can’t stop reading about them. Some examples of these novels include ‘To kill a Mockingbird’, ‘The Outsiders’, and ‘Looking for Alibrandi’. These books focus on the ugly duckling stage of a swan’s life through to when they transform into a majestic swan. No book shows this better than the Peter Goldsworthy’s book Maestro.
This is an odd little book, but a very important one nonetheless. The story it tells is something like an extended parablethe style is plain, the characters are nearly stick figures, the story itself is contrived. And yet ... and yet, the story is powerful, distressing, even heartbreaking because the historical trend it describes is powerful, distressing, even heartbreaking.
When children grow up, they face difficult problems, and. they learn to cope and take responsibility. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a flashback about two kids that spans over a few years. Jem ages from ten to thirteen over the course of the novel, and undergoes much change, as his sister describes him. Over the years, he is exposed to issues adults face, and eventually shows an understanding of racism and innocence. As Jem grows up, his view on courage also changes. Jem follows his father's footsteps, and gets much of his knowledge from him.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has many topics described in the book. With all t How the kids were affected throughout the story will be the topic of this essay. The children are dynamic characters, they change for the better, when different events take place. (Introduction isn’t finished)
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee explored the construction of maturity and perspective through the elements of setting and point of view.
Church’s class plays a vital role in the student’s learning. Everything that surrounds the students on the walls has to do with subject matter and student learning. In the rear of the classroom, the whole wall is an interactive wall where the morning lessons take place. On the wall there is a calendar and a weatherboard in which the students write on with dry erase marker. Every school day the students go through the days of the week; they also talk about the weather each day. Likewise, in the classroom, there is a word wall that includes the spelling language for the week, the alphabet, punctuation and sentence structure posters. Students depend on the word wall to help them with writing. I have noticed students looking at the word wall to get ideas and information to be an effective writer. The classroom setting is great in Mrs. Church’s classroom, and I love how the setting is intertwined with the
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee shows that even in confusing situations, children understand the world as well as adults.
One theme is loss of innocence, which occurs in Chapters 28 - 31. Jem and Scout are saved by Arthur Radley after a man attempted to murder them. Scout finally sees Arthur for the first time, and ends up sitting with him outside. She takes him home. When she goes back, she connects the book Atticus was reading to her to Arthur, realizing that Arthur was actually much more docile and amiable than rumors proclaimed. She originally believed that he was malevolent, and shook in terror whenever she came close to his house. Her fears are dispelled after she finally understood who he truly is. Another theme is race and racism. It is more obvious in comparison to the others, and many teachers across the country use To Kill a Mockingbird as an example of racial injustice. The theme is particularly prominent when Tom Robinson gets convicted for an alleged rape despite the evidence that Atticus presented pointing otherwise. The jury consists of white men, who based their decision on purely circumstantial evidence and their own prejudiced beliefs against African-Americans. It is also prominent when nearly everyone in the county criticizes Atticus, harshly insulting him for defending Robinson. They even do so in front of his children, which Scout and Jem react fairly violently to on occasion. The final theme, although there are much more, focuses on moral education. Atticus teaches Jem and
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