In Harper Lees “To Kill a Mockingbird”, the ideas of understanding another persons perspective and sociology are examined. This story follows a young girl, Scout Finch, and her older brother Jem growing up in the southern state of Alabama in the 1930’s. The court trial of an innocent black man, Tom robinson, accused of raping a young white woman from a low class family, and the life of Tom’s lawyer- Scout’s father, Atticus Finch, you can view the dramatic development of both Scout and Jem. Characters in To Kill a Mockingbird such as Boo Radley and Tom Robinson’s perspectives are also explored, giving us a insight about how no one ever truly understands a person until they know what what the persons circumstances are. With events such as Scout …show more content…
However, she only believes this because of lack of being able understand different perspectives, and lack of maturity. After the kids are attacked and attempted to be killed by Bob Ewell, a hate crime that is directed to Atticus for shaming him during the court trial, Scout learns the one that has saved both Jem and herself was in fact Boo Radley. While walking Arthur home at the end of the book, she realizes the rumours being spread around about him were false, and he is just a recluse who has gotten his reputation destroyed by his father as revenge for “ruining” his families name when he was younger. These events that partake over the course of the book capture the essence of themes including: acceptance comes with maturity, and things are not always as they appear to …show more content…
Atticus clearly proves within the trial that the case is only word against word, evidence provided is merely circumstantial, and how no one can be fairly convinced in that way. Unfortunately, in this time period, a black mans word always looses to another white mans word, even to Bob Ewells. Even though Atticus presented the court with evidence that Tom physically incapable of beating Mayella in such a way she was beaten, the jury still decided to side with the prosecutors. The dismissal of evidence, and lack of fairness and equality led to the final verdict of the court trial, one of the most highlighted scenes of injustice in To Kill a
"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.
It teaches them to not be prejudice and get to know a person before making a judgement. Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley, was frowned upon by many people in the Maycomb community. He was rumoured to have been locked in the basement by his father and older brother after an incident involving scissors. Though never seen stepping outside his house, he intrigues yet also frightens Scout, Jem and their friend Dill. After different events in the novel, the children come to find that Boo Radley is not intimidating, but a man who due to his father, is emotionally damaged. Miss Maudie, a neighbour of the Finch’s, explains to Scout that "Mockingbirds don 't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don 't eat up people 's gardens, don 't nest in corncribs, they don 't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That 's why it 's a sin to kill a mockingbird.” The mockingbird is a symbol for innocent people, who are judged for no reason. Like the mockingbird, Boo Radley has people prejudiced against him when he is an innocent man. By using this metaphor, the reader is able to understand the link between Boo Radley and the innocence and morality. As well as the mockingbird, he also symbolises goodness. By secretly watching over Scout and Jem, he protects them from later being attacked by Bob Ewell, a symbol of evil. When Jem and Scout begin to trust Boo, they are paying the highest tribute they could pay him.
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is set in Alabama in the 1930s, and concerns itself primarily with the interrelated themes of prejudice and empathy. These themes are explored as the story follows Scout Finch as she learns lessons in empathy, ultimately rejecting prejudice. While all characters in Lee’s novel learn from their experiences, not all are able to grow in the same manner as Scout. The idea of a positive role model, typified by the character of Atticus Finch, and the ramifications of its absence, is a concept that Lee places much emphasis on. The isolated setting is also pivotal in the development of characters. Lee uses the contrast between characters that learn lessons in empathy and compassion, and characters that cling to the ideals of a small town, to explore factors that nurture or diminish prejudice.
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.
"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.”-Atticus Finch- To Kill a Mockingbird. Nobody knows a person until they step into someone's shoes to fully understand. Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird understands this and put it to work. In Maycomb, Alabama a curious little girl named Scout lives during the depression with her father, Atticus, brother, Jem, and their friend Dill that was based on Truman Capote. The kids want to know who their neighbor Boo Radley is. Meanwhile, Scout's father is a lawyer that is defending a black man accused of raping a white woman. Bob Ewell, the father of the girl that supposedly got raped tried to
They have many misconceptions of people, places, and concerts in Maycomb county. However as they are young and don't really have opinions themselves. They abide by those presented them. At the start of the novel Scout and Jem see Mr. Arthur Radley or "Boo", as a dangerous, crazy, and rather isolated man. Although never being in his presence or in association with him they always make assumptions about him. They constantly pestered his household and played games that mocked him, "..time to play Boo's big scene...steal the scissors...Jem would fake plunge into Dill's thigh..."(LEE40).They also had the misconception that Boo was kept inside forcefully by his family. Boo was also blamed for unresolved events. As time goes by they mature and start to develop more of an understanding of Boo, "..I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in his house all this time...he wants to stay inside"(LEE227). Jem develops an understanding as to why Boo Radley stays inside. It's not because his family forces him to stay inside. He realizes that when living in a town like Maycomb, there is an incredible amount of judgement and labeling that occurs. It becomes evident to him that Boo has no place and isn't welcomed into the society. Especially with having a stereotype "glued" to his identity. Scout then has an
Growing up in a prejudiced environment can cause individuals to develop biased views in regard to both gender and class. This is true in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, where such prejudices are prevalent in the way of life of 1930s Maycomb, Alabama. The novel is centered around the trial of a black man who is accused of raping a white woman. The narrator, a young girl named Scout, is able to get a close up view of the trial because her father is defending Tom Robinson, the defendant. The aura of the town divided by the trial reveals certain people’s prejudices to Scout, giving her a better perspective of her world.
The novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee is a simplistic view of life in the Deep South of America in the 1930s. An innocent but humorous stance in the story is through the eyes of Scout and Jem Finch. Scout is a young adolescent who is growing up with the controversy that surrounds her fathers lawsuit. Her father, Atticus Finch is a lawyer who is defending a black man, Tom Robinson, with the charge of raping a white girl. The lives of the characters are changed by racism and this is the force that develops during the course of the narrative.
“Mayella looked at her father, who was sitting with his chair tipped against the railing. He sat up straight and waited for her to answer”(245). Sitting up straight and looking her in the eye was the father, Bob Ewell’s, technique of scaring his daughter. Before Mayella answered the question asked by Atticus, the lawyer for Tom Robinson in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee, she confirmed that her father was there to listen to her answer. His influence and domination contribute to the function of cruelty and reveals the victim is scared to reveal what her father does .The cruelty expressed throughout this book functions as a crucial social and political moment when the jury determines that Tom Robinson is guilty, even though Bob
Atticus, the father of Jem and Scout, was right when he said, ¨you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.¨ Scout realizes that Boo Radley is not who everyone rumors him out to be. Scout learns that you need to spend time with a person to find out who he truly is. She learns this after walking Boo Radley home after the disturbing experience the Finch kids had been in. Scout finally understood what life looked like from Boo Radley's perspective when she is standing with him on his front porch. Also, when Scout talks to Atticus at the end of the book he shows her how she has turned into a wonderful young lady. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee develops the theme that believing rumors will lead you to false assumptions unless you have walked in that person's shoes through imagery, characterization, and point of view.
To start off, when Atticus caught the children by Boo Radley's house he made Scout realize seomthing, "What Mr. Radley did might seem peculiar to us, but it did not seem peculiar to him," (65). Atticus makes Scout and the other kids realize what they were doing wasn't right. This moment sticks in Scout's mind, and it sparks the beginning of her realzing that what they were doing was something she wouldn't want done to herself. Additionally, while Scout is walking home from school she imagines hvaing conversations with Boo, "'Hidy do, Mr. Arthur,' I would say, as if I had said it every afternoon of my life," (325). Scout has come to respect Boo in the way that she would start to call him Mr. Arthur because he was an actual person to her now, and not just a mysterious recluse who she was once fearful of. She has never actually talked to Boo, but she anticipates it because she is not afraid anymore. Lastly, when Atticus and Mr. Tate are trying to figure ot what happened to Bob Ewell Scout sees Boo, "His lips parted into a timid smile, and our neighbor's image blurred with my sudden tears. 'Hey Boo,' I said," (362). She sees Boo and shortley after Atticus introduces Scout to Boo. I think she realizes he was the one who saved her and Jem, and starts to cry because she had just now relaized the respect she should've had for
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
Imagine there are two eggs; one is white, and one is brown. They have the same inside, but their shells are different colors. Discrimination is the equivalent of choosing the white egg over the brown egg, just because it’s appearance. During the time of the Great Depression, African-Americans were treated inadequately based on their skin color, even though the treatment was unethical. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, marginalized characters demonstrate heroic traits effectively despite discrimination of race and social class. Even without major voices, marginalized characters are unlikely heroes that change society’s views by being caring and helpful towards others.
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
Growing up in Maycomb, Southern Alabama in the 1930s was not an easy thing. Amid a town of prejudice and racism, stood a lone house where equality and respect for all gleamed like a shining star amid an empty space. The house of Atticus Finch was that shining star. Jean Louise Finch, also known as “Scout”, is given the opportunity of being raised in this house by her father, Atticus. I stole this essay from the net. As she grows, Atticus passes down his values of equality and righteousness to Scout and her brother Jeremy Atticus Finch, also known as “Jem”. In “To Kill a Mockingbird”, by Harper Lee, we see Scout learns many lessons about dealing with prejudice by observing the behavior of other characters in the story.