Use of Minor Characters in To Kill a Mockingbird
analytical Essay
1288 words
Minor characters are often more important than they initially seem, and can be just as engaging and complicated as major characters. Furthermore, protagonists are isolated without the people that surround and influence them subliminally. This applies to the intriguing minor characters one has the privilege of discovering in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Specifically, Lee uses minor characters to effectively disprove stereotypes and establishing setting. Not only do they influence the direction of the plot, but also Scout and her development as a character. Lee carefully selects minor characters to send important messages and reinforce themes by using characters as symbols. Fundamentally, the minor characters in “To Kill a Mockingbird” are crucial in making Harper Lee’s novel beautiful, moving, and believable enough to touch every reader.
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...
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...be reasoned with. Without a doubt, the symbolism of minor characters effectively represents both the flaws and beauty of humanity.
Ultimately, the minor characters in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird are crucial in rendering the novel a masterpiece. Their individuality is refreshing yet meaningful, as they break the stereotypes that attempt to limit a prejudiced society. Scout herself is deeply influenced by the characters she meets, and the experience only increases her wisdom. Also, the symbols portrayed through minor characters speak volumes about humankind- not only of our flaws but of the promise of change and redemption. In truth, minor characters are of utmost importance in any story, because the world an author creates is only as good as the characters that populate it.
Works Cited
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Warner Books, 1982. Print.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how lee uses minor characters to effectively disprove stereotypes and establish setting in harper lee's to kill a mockingbird.
- Analyzes how minor characters break stereotypes to breathe life into the sleepy town of maycomb, establishing setting.
- Analyzes how boo radley, a haunted psychopath, disproves stereotypes by helping jem and scout. his empathy proves that racism is not the only thing maycomb county does not fully comprehend.
- Analyzes how minor characters shape scout's journey and influence her growth. aunt alexandra is an independent thinker, and dill convinces jem and scout to investigate the radley house.
- Analyzes how minor characters send important messages about humanity. tom robinson is one of the many mockingbirds in the novel, a symbol of destruction and manipulation of innocence.
- Analyzes how the symbolism of minor characters in harper lee's to kill a mockingbird represents both the flaws and beauty of humanity.
Related
- analytical
- Teaching To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Leeanalytical essayShaw-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.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how harper lee's to kill a mockingbird is an influential novel that should be taught to young high school students.
- Analyzes how gladwell uses folsom, a former alabama governor, to compare finch to. both were white males supporting the black population before the civil rights movement.
- Analyzes how caldwell argues that finch is similar to folsom, since he was not enraged by the unanimous decision of robinson being guilty. teaching this aspect to students can be beneficial when learning about the limits of white liberalism in the south.
- Analyzes how angela shaw-thornburg rereads the novel in 2010 after the election of president barrack obama. she argues that it is hard for her primarily minority students to read because it was written in the view of a white author.
- Argues that reading the novel is "reading whiteness" because it plays on certain social issues found in the white social structure which wins over the minds of the judicial branch.
- Analyzes how a feeling of gratitude is directed towards harper lee because she had someone kill bob ewell, the father of mayella, to resolve the issue of "the bad guy getting away."
- Explains rebecca best's definition of the term "the other" in to kill a mockingbird.
- Argues that to kill a mockingbird should be taught in high school in many different ways.
- Cites best, rebecca h., and shaw-thornburg, angela. "panopticism and the use of "the other" in to kill a mockingbird."
1491 wordsRead More - Observation of Morals in To Kill a Mockingbirdanalytical essayHarper Lee deftly weaves plot in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird by inserting the overarching theme of moral conviction and development, as well as spindling in symbolism, to construct the conflicting moral views present in her brilliant tapestry that is To Kill a Mockingbird. Throughout the novel, the reader sees Atticus Finch standing tall and firma as the novel’s moral backbone- rooted deeply in his moral convictions and willing to subject himself and his family to scrutiny to protect innocence. His foil, Bob Ewell, quickly asserts himself as the symbol for decay, routinely diving deeper into his pit of moral filth. Observing the tumult is Scout, Atticus’ young daughter who is experiencing the Tom Robinson case as a young child in her formative developmental years. We see her ‘come of age’ slightly as she begins to develop a moral conscience of her own. Not coincidentally, each character has influence and is influenced by others, resulting in a complex drapery of moral decisions and development.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how harper lee weaves plot in her novel to kill a mockingbird by inserting the overarching theme of moral conviction and development, as well as spindling in symbolism, to construct the conflicting moral views present in the novel.
- Analyzes how lee's creation recognizes atticus as the moral figure in the novel, guided by convictions and beliefs to which he holds firm.
- Analyzes how bob ewell affirms himself as the story's symbol of moral absence and decay. he beats his daughter mayella after finding her trying to seduce tom, and then takes her to court to testify against tom.
- Analyzes how scout finch, atticus' daughter, watches the tumult of the times. she begins the novel with many questions and a socially-implanted prejudiced view of ‘boo’ radley.
- Explains that the word of god states wisely, that when they were a child, they talked, thought, and reasoned like children. they put the ways of childhood behind them.
- Analyzes how harper lee's beautifully constructed novel to kill a mockingbird explores the theme of moral conviction and development by following the map that atticus, bob ewell, and scout finch set out for the reader.
806 wordsRead More - To Kill a Mockingbirdanalytical essayAside from prejudice, the themes of loss of innocence and needing to walk in another’s shoes are seen in the life of little girl, Jean Louis Finch “Scout”. These themes present life in Maycomb County, Alabama as one of love, learning, and trial. The characters Scout, Jem, Atticus, Tom Robinson, and Bob Ewell all play a crucial part in displaying these themes. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird teaches a lesson for all people while simultaneously giving a remarkable story of a little girl and her venerated family.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how racial prejudice and fanaticism dominate the story of harper lee's "to kill a mockingbird." the themes of loss of innocence and walking in another’s shoes are represented in the second part of the novel by scout.
- Analyzes how prejudice is demonstrated in bob and mayella ewell as they strive to make tom robinson, a young black man, be found guilty of rape.
- Analyzes how jean louis finch, the narrator of maycomb, begins to understand things better and sees that calamity can even come into her life.
- Analyzes how scout uses atticus finch's quote to help her understand more of the human race. she uses his advice to explain boo radley’s actions.
- Analyzes how the characters scout, jem, atticus, tom robinson, and bob ewell all play a crucial role in displaying these themes. harper lee's to kill a
806 wordsRead More - To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Leeanalytical essayAs children grow up, they open their eyes to the harsh truths in the world around them that they once did not understand or question. This is experienced by the main characters of Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The story is of a girl called Scout and her older brother, Jem, who go through the trials of growing up in the fictional small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. Racism is rampant in the mindset of the townspeople, shown when the children’s lawyer father, Atticus, takes the case of an obviously innocent African-American man and they convict him in their hearts before the trial even starts. Through this all, we can see the theme of loss of innocence in the children. Lee uses characterization to portray Scout as the embodiment of innocence, and then shows the readers her struggle to identify with her own moral code. Likewise, Lee uses the characterization of Jem to depict his understanding of the injustice and prejudice that occurs in his town. Lee also utilizes the relationship between Scout and Jem to show the contrast between their different points of loss of innocence. Lee portrays the theme of loss of innocence through the characterization of Scout and Jem, as well as the relationship between them.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how harper lee's novel to kill a mockingbird portrays the theme of loss of innocence in the characters of scout and jem.
- Analyzes how lee uses the characterization of scout to reveal the theme of loss of innocence.
- Analyzes how lee expresses the theme of loss of innocence through the characterization of jem.
- Analyzes how lee utilizes the relationship between scout and jem to emphasize the theme of loss of innocence.
- Analyzes how lee utilizes the characterization of scout and jem, as well as the relationship between them, to establish the theme of loss of innocence.
1486 wordsRead More - Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbirdanalytical essayHarper Lee did not originally write To Kill a Mockingbird for adolescents, yet it has become a novel that is used in American high schools across the nation and is considered literature with a capital L. In the novel, Lee lays a foundation of moral instruction, living history and character development providing a great deal of moral insight for the reader. Her use of first person narration and an adolescent protagonist create a strong tie with the adolescent reader and make it fun to read. With an underlying theme of movement from childhood to adulthood, Lee’s children in the book learn a valuable lesson, and the students reading it also get that message.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how harper lee's to kill a mockingbird is used in american high schools across the nation and is considered literature.
- Analyzes how lee uses moral instruction to connect the reader to the story and through the use of a literary term called allusion. to kill a mockingbird walks us through sins of society and the moral role we play when we respond to others.
- Analyzes how the historical setting and the use of history in the novel guide the reader through the experience of the day and its significance.
- Analyzes how lee's character, boo radley, is portrayed as a monster and savior by the finch children. the moral responsibility and message through this character development parallels the second plot of the novel of rumor.
- Analyzes how lee's novel, to kill a mockingbird, appeals to adolescents and teaches them how to treat others.
931 wordsRead More - Sexism, Prejudice, and Racism in Lee's To Kill A Mockingbirdanalytical essayThroughout the book To Kill A Mockingbird Lee discusses the effects of ignorance and the toll it takes on people such as Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, Scout herself, and many more. Through her examples of sexism, prejudice, and racism, from the populist of poverty stricken Southerners, she shows the readers the injustice of many. The victims of ignorance are the ‘mockingbirds’ of the story. A good example of this injustice is the trial of Tom Robinson, who is falsely accused of raping a white girl and is found guilty. The book is from the point of view Scout, a child, who has an advantage over most kids due to her having a lawyer as a dad, to see the other side of the story. Her father tells her in the story, “you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.” (Lee 200).
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the phrase to kill a mockingbird is a simplistic explanation of unjustly abuse of the innocent, such as boo radley.
- Analyzes how the narrator describes the dirty, dismantled house with a fence made from tree limbs and sharp object attached by barbwire that surrounded an old ford model t that had been put up on cinderblocks.
- Explains that general is the idea that no two things are ever the same and that people must be careful of the generalizations they make of people and the groups they are apart of.
- Explains shackelford, dean, and hunter's rpt. in contemporary literary criticism.
- Cites johnson, claudia, and gale's contemporary literary criticism select.
- Describes richards, gary, and jelena krstovic's rpt. in children’s literature review.
- Explains claudia durst johnson's book, to kill a mockingbird: threatening boundaries, and gale virtual reference library.
- Cites smykowski, adam, and jeffrey w. hunter's rpt. in contemporary literary criticism (to kill a mockingbird).
- Analyzes kasper, annie's review of general semantics in to kill a mockingbird.
- Analyzes how the enduring legacy of to kill a mockingbird continues to shape character and touch lives the world over.
- Analyzes metress, christopher, "to kill a mockingbird': threatening boundaries." the mississippi quarterly 48.2 (1995): 397+.
- Analyzes how lee discusses the effects of ignorance and the toll it takes on people such as tom robinson, boo radley, scout herself.
- Analyzes how atticus defends boo radley from the townsfolk's lack of understanding of him. the last, and probably most talked about type of prejudice in the novel is racism.
- Analyzes the subtle examples of racial symbolism in the book, along with the evident racism that undeniably stands out. the trial against the falsely accused tom robinson is an example in itself, but the judges are as well.
- Analyzes how to kill a mockingbird has a moralistic tone that resonates with us today. it shows the horrible things that humans can do to one another.
2037 wordsRead More - Paul Simon, the musician, once said, “If you can get humor and seriousness at the same time, you've created a special little thing, and that's what I'm looking for, because if you get pompous, you lose everything” (Simon 1). Racism in the 1930s and until the 1960s was a very serious issue. As stated, authors have taken this serious issue and turned it into great pieces of literature. Many of them have truly shown the seriousness of racism in society. Even though, criticism continues. Some critics have argued that Scout, in To Kill A Mockingbird, is an unreliable narrator. This is simply because Scout is a child. They suspect she is too innocent, naïve, and has an unbiased view. However, Scout as the narrator is a reliable choice because she allows the reader to concentrate more on the exterior of situations, she allows the reader to make his/her opinion, and she gives the reader direction of how to cover events and certain actions in the novel. Scout, as a child narrator, helps the reader ‘read between the lines’.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that some critics have argued that scout in to kill a mockingbird is an unreliable narrator because she is a child.
- Analyzes how scout allows the reader to focus more on the exterior of situations. events in society may be of great importance to adults and mean nothing to children.
- Opines that since the two children are relatively free from any form of racial prejudice, the issue of race is concentrated in one part of the book only.
- Opines that if the narrator had been an adult, the reader wouldn't have been able to see the "outer surface" of society.
- Analyzes how a child narrator allows readers to look at things from different perspectives. scout sees the society of maycomb county differently than adults.
- Describes how atticus tries to show his children courage by exposing them to mrs. dubose, a cantankerous old woman struggling to free herself from an addiction to morphine before she dies.
- Analyzes how scout, being the child narrator, allows the reader to "learn" from a different point of view.
- Analyzes how scout gives the reader direction of how to interpret specific parts of the novel, even though she is still a child.
- Describes how miss maudie, aunt alexandra, and scout join forces to preserve the tranquillity of the ladies' missionary society meeting.
- Analyzes how scout, as a child narrator, makes the setting more positive, even after serious events have occurred. she expresses adult-like characteristics.
- Concludes that a child's narrator in to kill a mockingbird isn't unreliable, as it gives the reader the chance to look at situations from the unique perspective.
1231 wordsRead More - To Kill A Mockingbird: A Timeless Classicanalytical essayHarper Lee’s only book, To Kill a Mockingbird, is the stereotypical tale of childhood and innocence, yet it successfully incorporates mature themes, like the racism in the South at the time, to create a masterpiece of a work that has enraptured people’s minds and hearts for generations. According to esteemed novelist Wally Lamb, “It was the first time in my life that a book had sort of captured me. That was exciting; I didn’t realize that literature could do that” (111). Scout’s witty narration and brash actions make her the kind of heroine you can’t help but root for, and the events that take place in Maycomb County are small-scale versions of the dilemmas that face our world today. Mockingbird is a fantastically written novel that belongs on the shelves for classic literature that everyone should take the time to read and appreciate for their execution of style and the importance of their content.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how harper lee's only book, to kill a mockingbird, is the stereotypical tale of childhood and innocence, yet it successfully incorporates mature themes, like the racism in the south at the time.
- Analyzes how lee's mockingbird satisfies the criteria of a true classic. it explores human nature, morality, trust in each other, and delicate inner workings of societies.
- Analyzes how scout's innocence changes the way the novel is read. she is a classic tomboy, quick to jump into fights, up for any adventure, and would much rather wear her old overalls.
- Analyzes how the characters in to kill a mockingbird are there to teach scout about right and wrong, but they use their actions as models of what to or not to do.
- Analyzes how mockingbird presents tom robinson as a stereotype of black men dependant on white men to save them.
- Opines that harper lee's to kill a mockingbird is an american classic, with diverse cast of characters that come to life on the pages.
- Cites kipen, david, and lamb, wally.
1248 wordsRead More - Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbirdanalytical essayChildhood 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.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how 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.
- Analyzes how harper lee demonstrates the importance of not judging a book by its cover in the person of boo radley.
- Analyzes how harper lee incorporates the central theme by involving jem and scout in the life of an elderly woman named mrs. dubose.
- Analyzes how atticus proved that tom robinson was innocent by proving that he could not have punched mayella in the eye.
- Analyzes how harper lee wanted to teach people that it is wrong to pass judgment on someone by the way they look on the outside, and that people's perspectives of others are usually wrong.
1141 wordsRead More - Minor Characters In To Kill A Mockingbird Essayanalytical essaySupporting Characters' Roles In To Kill A Mockingbird Supporting characters are staples in storytelling. They help the main characters grow through teaching lessons or influencing their behavior and help develop the story. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout and Jem are largely influenced by minor characters and take something away from each of them. The kids learn to only judge someone based on their actions and not to judge because of rumors through Boo Radley. They learn that there is prejudice and unfairness in the world through the courthouse jury.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how supporting characters help the main characters grow through teaching lessons or influencing their behavior and help develop the story. scout and jem are influenced by minor characters and take something away from each of them.
- Analyzes how boo radley helps the children realize that rumors have negative impacts on people, while the courthouse jury shows the kids how unfair society can be.
- Analyzes how jem and scout's perception of the people living in maycomb changed when they saw that the jury that was biased during the tom robinson trial was the modern equivalent of people who use racial profiling.
- Analyzes how atticus communicates the lesson that mrs.dubose taught them about true courage.
- Concludes that supporting characters are key factors in jem and scout's growth as characters. they learn that courage is knowing you have lost and still giving it your all.
963 wordsRead More