The book To Kill a Mockingbird was written by Harper Lee in the year 1960. When people have no laws to follow, mass corruption and chaos run wild. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, the law is a major theme in the book. It shows how lawlessness can determine the life and future of […]
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, the character Arthur (Boo) Radley stems from mysterious origins that give rise to rumors and gossip spreading around his hometown, Maycomb, Alabama. Boo Radley is rumored to have killed his parents, and has not been seen outside of his house in many years other […]
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Get startedThe southern gothic novel by Harper Lee, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, is set in Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s. The setting of this book plays an extremely important role in how the characters come to be and how they develop during the story. One character that was directly affected by the setting was Boo Radley. […]
It is often said how important courage is and how impactful it is. However, most do not really take in how important courage can be. Those that do not have such courage will never succeed and surpass their greatest obstacles. “Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.” […]
In to Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee tires to expose the truth about sexism and womanhood through the behaviors and motivations of Miss Maudie. Miss Maudie impacted the finch family in to kill a mockingbird, especially scout by giving her constructive criticisms about growing up as a female, like being approached by sexism. Miss maudie […]
“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”. This proverb was said by Harper Lee, the author of To Kill […]
The book To Kill A Mocking Bird is about a young girl called scout who lives with her brother Jim and her father Atticus. One summer a boy named Dill comes into their lives who they would spend the summer with. During this time, they became interested in seeing Mr. Arthur aka Boo. When Atticus […]
The New York Times states, that “Scores of motherless children are overlooked in America every day.” In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, the two children, Scout and Jem Finch, have been motherless since Scout was 2, and Jem was 6. Although they do not have a mother, they have three […]
To kill a mockingbird is about growing up. The main character is named scout finch. She learns about people and life. The setting takes place between 1933 and 1935 in maycomb, Alabama. Scout’s mother is dead so she lives with her dad and brother. Scout learns from Atticus and from experience. One lesson scout learned […]
In all novels, the major characters are usually the most important and focused on, but in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the minor characters appear more important than usual. Mr. Arthur Radley, also known as Boo, was consistently brought up and throughout the novel. He seemed to develop a relationship with different characters, help […]
Pefrects fathers are not so easily found, the kind of father figure represented by Atticus is a rare sight in the common world. Atticus is a well respected lawyer in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama in the late 1930s. He is pressed with the responsibility of defending a black man from false charges against […]
Albert Einstein alleges, “What a sad era when it is easier to smash an atom than a prejudice.” The society implants unjustifiable prejudices into the minds of children which creates lasting impressions as they grow. It is extremely challenge for them to lose this tradition of unjustly judging and misunderstanding others. To Kill A Mockingbird, […]
Atticus Finch is a strong and important character in Harper Lee’s book To Kill a Mockingbird. He can be described in several ways. Atticus is kind, thoughtful, wise, and a great father. There are many circumstances where Atticus is portrayed as considerate. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point […]
n To Kill a Mockingbird, children live in an inventive world where mysteries abound but little exists to actually cause them harm. Scout and Jem spend much of their time inventing stories about their reclusive neighbor Boo Radley, gleefully scaring themselves before rushing to the secure, calming presence of their father, Atticus. As the novel […]
Sunlight is not only essential to the earth, but to our body’s as well. It is so influential that it can even have an affect on what we look like. “Symptoms include loss of interest in things that you once enjoyed, lack of energy, sadness, feelings of hopeless, difficulty concentrating, a strong desire to sleep, […]
Boo Radley to me, is a good man but, according to Jem is described as “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”(Lee […]
When thinking about the spread of rumors and how they can affect one’s reputation, this draws people to look at how one talks about another and the things that we say. In speaking, everything said affects one man’s life in Harper Lee’s book, To Kill a Mocking Bird. This man’s reputation is ruined at the […]
In the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, three kids try to live normal lives, but they can’t help but be interested in Boo Radley. Boo Radley has been a conversation in the group of kids who are determined to make him come out of hiding . Jem is always interested in Boo […]
The definition of coming of age is the time when a person becomes an adult. There are three literary elements found in the book that can contribute to the idea of coming of age. These include the characters involved in the story, the theme of the story, and the symbols that are displayed throughout the […]
In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, it deals with a variety of characters in the 1930’s time period showing signs of hope for ending racism and prejudice by a court case, many events leading up to the case, and In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus, Scout, and Boo Radley demonstrate hope for ending […]
Atticus resolves quarrels between members of the community. He maintains a diplomatic mindset and tries his best not to get on anyone’s bad side but attempts to help everyone, including himself when necessary, reach a compromise. He holds his head high no matter how offensive any insults he may receive, and believes others should do […]
Mayella Violet Ewell, a 19 ½ year old girl, made one of the most widely known accusations in Maycomb. She accused a black man, Tom Robinson, of raping her. Mayella first appears in chapter 17 of To Kill a Mockingbird when Tom Robinson’s trial occurs. She pours out a sob story to the court that […]
Throughout the history of the world, there have been innumerable classic novels that have many cherishable characters, but none compare to Atticus Finch in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Throughout the novel, Atticus, a loving lawyer and widowed father, goes far distances to try to help others and make society a better place. […]
“Innocence involves an unseeing acceptance of things at face value, an ignorance of the area below the surface. In that humiliating moment I looked beyond myself and into the depths of another person. This was the beginning of compassion, and one cannot have both compassion and innocence” (Collier 84). This is a quote from the short story Marigolds, which is about a young girl, Lizabeth, who loses her innocence when she destroys her neighbor’s valued marigolds. She was able to feel compassion for her neighbor only after losing her innocence. Very much like Lizabeth, Jem and Scout go through a similar process to find compassion.
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is set in a small town in Alabama called Maycomb during the Depression era, and it is a coming of age story revolving around Jem and Scout. Throughout the book, Jem and Scout learn many things from their father, Atticus Finch, one of the most respected lawyers in town. The social norms and prejudice of the town create many situations where Jem and Scout are forced to face the injustices of the world. After two big events, the children lose their innocence and start developing their own opinions on what is happening in town. Atticus is appointed to the Tom Robinson case, where the young black man is falsely accused of raping a white woman. After the jury finds Tom guilty, Jem goes through a loss of innocence, seeing how unfair the world is.
Toward the end of the book, Jem and Scout’s mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley, finally comes out of the house in order to save the children from an attack by Bob Ewell, the father of the woman who accused Tom Robinson of raping her. Scout loses her innocence when she realizes the town was wrong about Boo Radley and is finally able to form her own judgment of him. Both children are able to feel true compassion as they mature into young adults. Through a child’s loss of innocence, their compassion grows and they understand what true fairness.
The characterization of Jem reveals how he did not understand the unfairness of the world and how his loss of innocence led him to find compassion. After the jury announces a guilty verdict for Tom Robinson, Jem starts crying, not understanding how the jury could be so unfair: “His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd. ‘It ain’t right,’ he muttered…” (Lee 284). Just as Jem thinks there is no way the jury would find him guilty, the jury does what he thought was the impossible and convicted Tom Robinson, and his emotions are shown through his “angry tears”. Jem is upset at the jury for being what he believes to be unfair to Tom Robinson, and he is forced to face the ugly reality and unfairness of the world.
Through this unjust event, Jem loses his innocence and his compassion grows after seeing Tom Robinson wrongfully convicted of something he did not do. Later that summer, Jem sees Scout about to kill an insect and stops her, but Scout does not yet understand why he does so: “‘Why couldn’t I mash him?’ I asked. ‘Because they don’t bother you,’ Jem answered” (Lee 320). Unlike Scout who has not yet matured, Jem believes that innocent creatures that “don’t bother you” should be treated kindly and fairly, which is referencing Atticus’s aphorism regarding mockingbirds. Jem has grown and learned many life lessons like this one shown through his and Scout’s interaction. Jem’s maturation is shown through his characterization, and he becomes compassionate and develops a strong belief in fairness.
Through Atticus’s teachings, Scout eventually matures with her growing compassion and a strong sense of right and wrong. When Scout asks if she could invite Walter over, Aunt Alexandra tells her that the Finches do not associate with folks like the Cunninghams, so she goes to Jem and tells him how she feels about it: “‘Nothing’s wrong with him. Naw, Jem, I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks’” (Lee 304). Scout believes that everyone should be treated equally and fairly because there is only “one kind of folks” (Lee 304). She is still an innocent child during this part of the book and does not know why Aunt Alexandra does not approve of the Cunninghams. She believes that everyone should judge a person fairly, which is to judge by their character, not social status.
After sending Boo Radley home, she reflects on Atticus’s words: “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in it” (Lee 374). Scout recalled this same saying earlier in the book when she was still an innocent child and did not understand it; now she is reflecting and realizes that Atticus was right all along. She has finally matured, and she sees how unfair the world around her is. She shows compassion for Boo Radley after putting herself in his shoes. Scout’s compassion blossoms at the end of the book, and she matures into a young woman who believes strongly in treating everyone fairly.
One can only understand the unfairness of the world if they have felt true compassion through the loss of innocence. Throughout the whole book, the readers follow Jem and Scout on their journey into adulthood. The Finch children were once innocent and thoughtless, but events like Tom Robinson’s trial and the town’s false image of their neighbor, Boo Radley, made them realize how unfair the world is. Jem and Scout matured at different times in different ways, yet they both turned out to become thoughtful young adults who were finally able to feel true compassion and do what they believe is right and fair.
Like Lizabeth from Marigolds, Jem, and Scout, all children mature. Some children mature faster and some slower than others, all with a different reason for their maturation. The same thing happens to every child, no matter how fast or for what reason; they become compassionate adults who are able to make their own fair judgment without being affected by someone else’s opinions. They are ultimately able to make decisions based on what they believe is right. There are many factors to what kind of person a child will become, such as the environment in which they grow up in and the people around them who they look up to as a child. Adults who have already experienced the process of growing up can help these kids become their own person and let them develop their own values through their own experiences. People should not tell these children what to do, or who to be; they should let them learn the lessons of life on their own.
