“Memorable . . . vivid . . . a gentle, persuasive humor and a glowing goodness” (Los Angeles Times). The novel, “To Kill A Mockingbird” has become an instant seller and humongous success when it was published. It later won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was converted into an Academy Award winning movie. Its profound, admirable work take the readers on a journey where, a family is faced with the decision between prejudice and benevolence. Faced with many challenges, Atticus Finch (Scout and Jem’s father) was appointed to be a lawyer for an African-American man accused of raping the daughter of a white man. During the trial, most people knew of Tom Robinson’s innocence but the verdict found him guilty based on circumstantial evidence. Upon being …show more content…
Upon hearing the news of Tom Robinson being shot, Scout and Jem run into trouble when Mr. Ewell put the kids lives at danger when a supposedly horrid character. In chapter 31 of “To Kill A Mockingbird” the literary elements of voice, characterization, and symbolism to execute the theme that coming of age involves being able to realize in order for someone to understand another person they must put themselves in the other person’s perspective. As the most prominent literary element in the novel, Scout’s voice is critical to the establishment to theme in chapter 31. To begin, Scout’s unambiguous diction during the time she looked through Boo Radley’s perspective was extremely important to the contribution of chapter 31. Boo Radley’s perspective of the children changed immensely through her narration, when she presents the progression of their relationship simply by Boo watching the children, Scout concludes, “It was still summertime, and the children came closer. A boy trudged down the sidewalk dragging a fishing pole behind him . . . …show more content…
In particular, Boo Radley’s tenderness towards Jem demonstrates how he was frightened as he approached Jem and how he had the urge for human contact but resisted from it due to the horrible image the neighborhood had given him. Once reassured by Scout that Jem was in fact sleeping and will not care if he touches him, “You can pet him, Mr. Arthur he’s asleep . . . Boo’s hand hovered over Jem’s head . . . His hand came down lightly on Jem’s hair” (372). The scene of Boo Radley touching Jem, delicately with kindness juxtaposes his image from what the neighborhood he resides in thinks. The characterization of Boo is completely changed after we see an innocence from him as he is not the monster everyone thought he was. Before Boo Radley had come out of the house, he was seen to the neighborhood as a ruthless, monster who harmed people, only to learn how afraid he was of human contact. As Scout looks through his perspective of this incident, she finds someone terrified of being around due to the unreal rumors that circulate in the
"She had her own views about things, a lot different from mine, maybe.son, I told you that if you hadn't lost your head I'd have made you go read to her. I wanted you to see something about her-I wanted you to see what real courage is instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand" (128). Scout's change of maturity level is defined by a progression towards understanding Atticus' life lessons, which halt at the ending chapters of the book when Scout recognizes Boo Radley as a human being. After the night when Bob Ewell's life ends, Boo Radley exposes himself as a kindhearted man who Scout can relate with.
Each and every person will go through a coming of age experience sometime in their life. Those experiences can come in different forms. But, each coming of age experience ends up shaping us to become a mature adult. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee tells a coming of age story through Scout Finch, an aging girl’s point of view. Her brother, Jem Finch who experiences coming of age before Scout, realizes that being an adult was not what he hoped. Jem recognizes a different perspective of bravery from Mrs.Dubose, a vile, elderly woman’s perspective. In chapter 11, Harper Lee uses literary elements such as character, conflict, and setting to establish Jem’s new outlook on life.
. Through many fundamental stages in the novel, the character of Boo Radley is slowly unraveled depicting his true self. As negative first impressions undergo a metamorphosis, Radley's character is gradually revealed. This growth and process of change makes the children and the reader realize that prejudgment of a person generally results in a misrepresentation of an individual. Because of this one misstep in the judgment process, many potential heroes could be missing from our lives forever.
...heme of maturation in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, is conveyed through the characters of Scout and Jem, in conjunction with the assistance of their virtuous father Atticus Finch. Early in the novel, Atticus ascertains himself as a major facilitator in the maturation process of Scout and Jem by incessantly providing mature solutions to his children’s predicaments. Moreover, Scout, a major benefactor of the Boo Radley incident and Atticus’ wisdom, has helped her develop into a very tolerant and mature individual. Undeniably, Jem’s remarkable development into a broadminded and compassionate character can be directly attributed to Atticus’ kindness and Jem’s exposure to the Tom Robinson trial. In synopsis, it is evident that the individuals and social circumstances that surround an individual play a major role in defining the type of individual one will become.
Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, Harper Lee's, To Kill a Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior, to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, and the struggle between blacks and whites. Atticus Finch, a lawyer and single parent in a small southern town in the 1930's, is appointed by the local judge to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, who is accused of raping a white woman. Friends and neighbors object when Atticus puts up a strong and spirited defense on behalf of the accused black man. Atticus renounces violence but stands up for what he believes in. He decides to defend Tom Robinson because if he did not, he would not only lose the respect of his children and the townspeople, but himself
Secondly, Tom’s voice is ignored just like the innocent fragile songbird. In the 1930s black people are ignored on the basis that they are viewed as compulsive liars and generally unpleasant people. At the end of the novel Atticus says ““The witnesses for the state have presented themselves to you gentlemen, to this court, in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted, confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption-the evil assumption-that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all ***** men are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber. Which, gentlemen, we know is in itself a lie as black as Tom Robinson’s skin,
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper lee in 1960. The novel tells the story of Atticus Finch, a white lawyer, and Tom Robinson, a black servant, accused of raping a white female. Finch defends Robinson in court arguing lack of evidence as his main point. However, the judge and jury still believe the woman’s testimony and orders Robinson to be killed. The novel has been praised for its outstanding literature since its publication. However, it remains a banned book by the American Library Association for its use of racial slurs and profanity. Due to it being banned, many high schools have reconsidered the notion of teaching it to their students. Two prominent authors wrote articles pertaining to this piece of literature: Angela Shaw-Thornburg wrote an article on her re-reading of the novel and her opinions on it; while Malcom Gladwell wrote an article comparing Atticus Finch to a state governor liberalist, James Folsom, and the restraints of liberalism in the south. In addition, Rebecca Best contributes her thought on how the novel should be taught by introducing the idea of “the other.” Regardless of the modern day political arguments surrounding this piece of literature, this novel contains a large insight into the time period of the 1960s which is an influential topic that should be taught to young high school students.
Boo Radley is the next door neighbor of the Finch’s. He is an outsider of the community, because he does not leave the house. He got in some trouble as a teenager, so his father locked him up inside the house. After his father died, his brother moved in with him. While Boo was locked up inside is house, the people of Maycomb County made up stories about him. The legend of Boo Radley was well-known to the people of Maycomb. Jem describes Boo, “Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained—if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time.” (Lee ). Boo is an innocent character because all he does stay inside his own house, and does not bother anybody. Yet the entire town believes that he could be a murderer. Harper Lee is showing that if you do not fit into southern society, they will make you into an outsider and a bad legend. Another example of Boo Radley being an innocent character is when he gives a blanket to Scout. Miss Maudie Atkinson, one of the Finch’s neighbors, had a house fire. Atticus (Scout and Jem’s father) woke up the kids and made them go outside, in case the fire spread to their house. While Scout was not looking someone gave her a blanket, “‘Someday, maybe, Scout can thank him for covering her up.’ ‘Thank who?’ I asked. ‘Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you.’”(Lee ). Boo Radley is an innocent character because he helped warm up Scout in the cold, yet Scout was still scared that Boo had been near here. Harper Lee is showing us that Boo could do a nice thing, and yet Scout would still be scared because of his reputation. Finally, another
Scout and Jem are very close. They are very protective of each other and worry about each other often. When Jem, Scout , and Dill went to the Radley house at night Jem’s pants became stuck on the fence. Jem went to retrieve his pants and Scout wanted to come with to help and protect him, but Jem did not let her because he was protecting her making sure that she would not hurt herself. When Jem was gone Scout waiting for him to return because she was worried he would hurt himself. Another example is when Jem and Scout were attacked by Bob Ewell. Before they were attacked Jem thought he heard someone following them so Jem walked with his hand on Scout’s head worried about her and trying to protect her. When Mr. Ewell attacked them, they were trying to help each other and protect each other. After the attack while Jem was unconscious Scout was even more worried about Jem then she was before. Scout learns from Jem as well. An example is that Jem taught Scout and Dill the history of the Radleys and the superstitions that the town has of Boo Radley. The actions of Jem and Scout reveal the close relationship that they have with each
The type of voice in a narrative can have an important roll in shaping the style and feel of a text. Different types of voices help to create variety in the things readers are presented with, for example a first person voice is common because the reader is able to be presented to a person who knows all about the situation. A First person voice is also able to make the reader develop a bias to the characters thoughts and feelings, this can also be a reason to choose a particular type of voice.
As the book progresses, Boo, Aunt Alexandra, and Scout learn life lessons and develop into mature adults. Boo Radley’s maturity is depicted in the novel when he overcomes his fear and interacts with Scout, Jem and Dill. Boo, who is notorious for being a recluse, is a shy, lonely man who rarely leaves his house and does not understand the world around him. However, when he finally comes to interact with the children, he matures both mentally and socially. One example of when Boo matured physically was when Boo rescued Jem from Mr. Ewell.
Boo Radley is thought to be a malevolent, soulless, deceitful person, but he proves to be a caring, good-natured person. In Chapter 1, Jem offers his perception of Boo Radley to Scout and Dill: " ‘Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained—if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time’ " (16). Jem perceives Boo Radley as being a “monster” instead of being a man. Jem comes to this conclusion despite having never even seen Boo Radley in person. Jem’s understanding of Boo Radley is based on the rumors that he has heard about him. In Chapter 8, after the fire at Miss Maudie’s house, Scout notices that she was wrapped in a blanket that she did not have with she left the house. Scout asks Atticus who was the person that put the blanket around her. Atticus tells Scout, "Boo Radley. You were so busy watching the fire you didn't know it when he...
The people who lack empathy for the Radley’s are the kids such as Scout, Jem, and Dill. On page 16, Jem describes Boo Radley as a monster with yellow and rotten teeth, eyes that popped, drooling, blood stained hands, and having a long jagged scar across his face. They also dare each other to get as close as possible and make mean plays about the Radley family. When Miss Muadie’s house burns down Boo gives Scout a blanket and she sees that he is not a monster. Later when Atticus is defending Tom Robbinson the town seems to turn their backs on Atticus and his family, becuase he is defending a black man which is looked down upon in the town. Tom Robbinson is innocent, but because he is a black man the town views him as guilty anyway. When the town comes to a conclusion that he is guilty, Jem comes to the conclusion that the outside world is unfair, because he knows Tom Robinson is innocent. This is a good coming of age moment for Jem, because he develops empathy for Tom Robbinson and changes his mindset. Scout throughout the story is forced to develop empathy towards other people by her farther, Calpurnia, and Jem. In chapter 3, when she is beating up Walter Cunningham, she is forced to stop by her older brother Jem, who later invites him to dinner. Then later in the house, Scout was being rude to Walter for the way he ate. Calpurnia scolds Scout by
Boo Radley, also known as Arthur Radley, is the scary, evil creature that lives in the creepy old house down the street from Jem and Scout, and is misjudged at first. Jem and Scout, two main characters, first see Boo as some sort of scary monster. Jem described him in the first chapter as “...six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks...” and said “...he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were bloodstained- if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off...” Jem also mentioned Boo had a “...long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time.” Scout and Jem also call Boo a “...malevolent phantom...” As if that isn't bad enough, the kids hear and tell horrible stories about Boo. One is of how he stabbed his dad with a pair of scissors; another tells how he was locked up in the courthouse basement. Even with such a grisly initial perception at the beginning of...
As the book comes to a close, readers can see just how mature and empathetic Scout has become. After Scout and Jem, Scout’s brother, are saved by Arthur “Boo” Radley, the town shut-in, Scout walks Boo home and after he walks back into her house, she turns around and just stares out at the street from Boo’s point of view instead of from her own. Her father taught her that you should