...and decisions to belong and not belong. Max Lucado’s picture book ‘You Are Special’, and Harper Lee’s novel ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ delve into the intricacies of belonging within community. Both texts explore how personal differences can alienate individuals from their community and cause a loss of self-worth. However people often overcome this disconnection to community through experiences of belonging in their own unique identity. Lucado’s ‘You Are Special’ follows the story of a Wemmick (puppet) named Punchinello who lives in a small village, where the same creator carved all the inhabitants. The Wemmicks that excel in fields deemed worthy such as looks, physical and mental ability, are given golden stars, whilst puppets that do not have these characteristics are given blue dots. Punchinello is a puppet that is given many blue dots, due to his lack of skills or looks, alienating him from his small community of puppets. This alienation from his community causes Punchinello’s loss of self-worth, ‘I cant walk fast. I can’t jump. My paint is peeling.’ Lucado uses dialogue to highlight Punchinello’s insecurities due to the predetermined societal rulings of what it means to be beautiful. This idea connects to that of superficial morale and is reiterated through the accumulation of imperfections ‘…can’t walk fast…jump…peeling paint.’ Lee’s ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ follows the events that unfold within the town of Maycomb, as narrated by an adult Scout. Many different examples...
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...The Man in the Moon (1991) Review/Film; A New Boy In Town Captures Her Heart Everything about "The Man in the Moon," Robert Mulligan's effortlessly old-fashioned family drama set in a small Southern town, has a rosy glow. It's a reminder that Mr. Mulligan, a seasoned film maker whose credits include "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Summer of '42" and "The Other," can direct with real tenderness and without fake emotion. His latest film unfolds gently and gracefully, in a climate where the warmth isn't merely a matter of weather. Until its final reel, when it strains badly to accommodate an almost biblical stroke of retribution, "The Man in the Moon" is a small, fond film that achieves a kind of quiet perfection. The story concerns two sisters, and Mr. Mulligan can find something evocative even in the way the elder braids the younger one's hair. The latter, 14-year-old Dani (Reese Witherspoon), is just on the verge of real beauty, while the slightly older Maureen (Emily Warfield) has already gotten there. The girls' family, which is beautifully evoked, exists at all different stages of development, from their toddler sister to their pregnant mother (Tess Harper) and the father (Sam Waterston) who is wary of his daughters' prospective suitors. In his or her own way, each member of this family longs for a boy. When one arrives, in the form of a handsome teen-age neighbor named Court (Jason London), he affects the girls' family in powerful ways. The coltish Dani becomes smitten with...
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...Why was prejudice invented? Arguably the most ghastly side of human nature, the act of ostracizing and relentlessly condemning social or physical deviation is the cause of so much strife. And yet, it has endured since the beginning of written history. Wherever or whenever someone differs from the norm too much, people have a tendency to move in like a pack of hyenas. What is it that causes people to act this way? Is it insecurity? Is it fear? Whatever prejudice is at its core, it makes people lose control. They give up individual thought to be part of the group. Maybe they feel safer. But there is one thing that causes this mob mentality to fall apart: empathy. If someone puts themselves in another person’s shoes, looks through their eyes,...
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...The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is narrated by a little tomboy girl named Scout. The setting of the book is in the early 1930’s in southern Alabama. During these times, the Great Depression is going on and so is a lot of discrimination; especially against Negroes. Even though there is a lot of discrimination during this time, there is a lot of characters in the book who demonstrate and learn the necessity of empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Empathy shows up in the book several times; it is one of the main themes. Harper Lee shows empathy through her character. Atticus shows empathy to Mayella, Jeremy (Jem) to Arthur (Boo) Radley, and Scout to Boo. First, empathy is demonstrated when Atticus lets Bob Ewell threaten to kill him and lets Bob spit in his face. Despite having this happen to Atticus, he does not get angry or fight back. Instead,...
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...Symbolism in To Kill a Mockingbird Whether it is in literature or even shown in pictures, when people use things to represent something with a deeper meaning, it is called symbolism. By doing this, the reader is able to obtain a better and deeper sense of what a writer is trying to convey. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, different symbols are used that are reflective throughout the book relating to equality either directly or indirectly. Often, the symbols that she uses are tied to the ultimate theme of the book, which is being able to understand someone from his or her point of view. The most apparent reoccurring theme is equality that is symbolized through the people, the birds, and even the inanimate objects that...
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...Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, innocence plays a very big part during the novel. Its story is told in the eyes of a six year old girl, Jean Louise, who calls herself Scout in the town of Maycomb during the 1930’s. Along Scout’s journey is her brother, Jem, and her summer lover, Dill, who try to face a supposed psychotic neighbor, a crazy dog, an old rude lady, and a life changing trial in the span of three years. To Kill A Mockingbird is Scout growing up and experiencing the loss of innocence while seeing it happen among Jem and her father, Atticus. Although Atticus is an adult, he experiences the loss of innocence just like any growing...
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...own way by having Atticus tell Jem, 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. It's when you know you're licked before you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. (Lee 112) She also agrees with this definition by demonstrating courage in these ways throughout the novel. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the three characters that demonstrate outstanding courage are Boo Radley, Mrs. Dubose, and Atticus. Boo Radley demonstrates noteworthy courage by making himself vulnerable to save Scout and Jem from Mr. Ewell’s attack. He makes himself physically vulnerable since he could have also been attacked, but exposes himself to save the children. He does not want to be seen or known, but briefly overcomes that fear when he hears the cries of trouble. This makes him feel emotionally vulnerable. He also indicates his courageousness by staying in the Finch house after the attack. He feels insecure around people but stays to ensure Jem’s safety. Finally, Boo expresses courage by admitting he was uncomfortable...
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...Chapter 22: 1. After Atticus lost the case with Tom Robinson, Jem, Scout, and Dill were bitter about this and could not believe what had happened during the trial. They thought that it was unfair, and so then Miss Maudie had to comfort them and explain why thing were how they are. She then said that the case have made a “baby step” in this right direction. She says this because after this case about Tom Robinson, a new light have been shown to Maycomb, that not all black people are bad. This may have lessened the racism against black people, which is taking a step towards the right path, even though it is just a baby step, but it is still a step in the right direction. Chapter 23: 2. The trial ended with it in Mr. Ewell’s favor, however Atticus...
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...The unemployment rate for colored people is 8.4% while the unemployment rate for whites is only 4.3%. In the book,To Kill A Mockingbird, there is racism shown towards Tom Robinson. The court had evidence that proved he was innocent, however, he was testifying against a white person so Tom got charged for something he didn’t do just because of his color. A lot of people say that colored people and white people have the same privileges but they really don’t. In To Kill A Mockingbird it said “ Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don't pretend to understand” (Lee 88), which is evidence showing that white people always thought they were better than colored people and they still...
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...Imagine enduring a situation in which you have the choice of acting for the greater good or choosing to do what’s best for you. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch, a lawyer defending a black man, has been given a choice to either not defend Tom or defend him. This case shows that standing up for the greater good might not be so good as it has so many negatives for Atticus and for the people that he loves. Some people may argue that defending him was worth it because he would be respected by the black community and they would help him out, but accepting the case can lead to so many hardships for Atticus that the African American people can’t help him with as they don’t get a say for most things. Atticus defending Tom Robinson is not worth it because of...
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...me or finding out who I was. This was a conflict I had to deal with and many of the girl who were judgmental became my enemies.This is a topic that affects many, not only fictional characters in a book. This is why it is worth reading. Some may understand that dealing with these conflicts or enemies can be difficult and troublesome, others may have not had to face conflicts head on. Conflicts can be found everyday with in our society from our political leaders arguing to little things like children...
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...In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee tells a poignant coming-of-age story about loss of innocence in the character of Scout. Three significant events illustrate this fact. The first example portrayed in the novel occurred when Scout went to the jail to find out what Atticus was up to, only to find that a mob had arrived to lynch Tom Robinson. This event left Scout with the notion of a mob mentality. Another event was the turning point of the story, the trial of Tom Robinson; this defining moment taught Scout of prejudice and injustice. She had only a vague notion of prejudice until the trial. And finally, she experienced a real shock when Bob Ewell attempted to kill both her and Jem. This was malice in its purest form. Ultimately, these were all defining moments for Scout, and her innocence was lost as she was forced to a brutal awareness of the draconian ways of the world. The first example occurs when one evening Atticus crept out of the house. This was unusual because Atticus never went out late at night. Scout and Jem, curious about why Atticus had left incognito, followed him quietly to see what he would do. Neither was prepared for what they discovered: Atticus was guarding the jail that held Tom Robinson to protect him from the likely occurrence of a lynch mob. Well, a mob happened to come along, and they demanded entry to the jail so they could lynch Tom. Not realizing her danger, Scout fended off the mob. In the aftermath, Scout and Jem were having...
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...Edwin Rolfe and Lester Fuller once said, “Never judge a book by its cover.” This means you should not prejudge the worth or value of something or someone by it their outward appearance alone. It seems modern day, many people judges a person by their appearance or by their actions in first sight which meaning they have never gotten to know that person that they are judging. This causes the judgement in a person spread out to others and the judgement half of the time are not even right. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, judging was shown in many different situations. In society today, people can based on their judgement automatically assuming that person’s personality and character in that certain way on how they think that person is. In the novel Scout Finch, her brother Jem Finch,...
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...others. They make a valuable point to remember to keep an open mind and not be judgmental when showing compassion in, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee, and Mark Twain in, The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn. The authors use compassion in different ways by using compassion in different plots and presenting their opinion of compassion throughout their novels. We often find ourselves chasing after the ‘American Dream’, and lose our morals by doing so, such as compassion. Compassion comes from the heart, because compassion is supposed to be an emotion felt within ourselves. Our society has been caviling others about the clothes they wear, how much they weigh, how much money you...
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...English H. Period 8 Scout’s Personality Essay There are many components to literature, however, one of the most important are the characters. Throughout a story, readers become submerged in a characters’ life and learn about what type of person they are and watch as the characters develop overtime. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout is one of the main characters that readers become familiar with, since the story is told from her perspective. Everything, from her actions to her speech, shows us a fragment of who she really is. Each fragment eventually pieced together to form Scout’s personality. In part one, readers get a good grasp on what kind of person Scout is; her character traits are illustrated on countless occasions. There are numerous traits that Scout demonstrates and within the story, certain traits are more strongly exposed than others. In particular, Scout is portrayed as very innocent and also reveals to be protective in the first part of the book. Scout is depicted as innocent throughout the first part of the book because she doesn’t understand certain consequences for her actions. For instance, when Scout revealed she is able to read “most of My First Reader and the stock-market quotations from The Mobile Register” (17), her teacher “looked at [Scout] with more than faint distaste” (17). Her teacher, Miss Caroline, then proceeded to order Scout to tell her father to stop teaching her, but Scout denies the claim that Atticus’s teaches her and tries...
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