...Mockingbirds are a big part of the story in Harper Lee’s classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Mockingbirds sing their hearts out, that’s just what they do. They don’t hurt others or damage any trees, they sing a beautiful tone for all to hear. As Mockingbirds sing, so do people, they have their own characteristics and ways that they express themselves in. Atticus says that it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird, and so it would be a sin to kill someone’s voice or the way they stand up for others. Three characters that I think are mockingbirds that sing their own song are Atticus Finch, Scout Finch, and Jem Finch. Atticus Finch is the person that does the dirty work, he is a wise and great father to his children, he teaches them many great life lessons...
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...from the character in the book.This is shown in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, “Reading and literature makes us smarter and nicer” by Annie Murphy Paul and Shami Sivasubramanian 2016 article, “Study Finds Reading Fiction Develops Empathy”. Harper Lee teaches us about prejudice, family and fear, through the eyes of the characters in the book. Firstly Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to a land of prejudice known as 1930’s Alabama. This teaches us how bad prejudice was back then and how much it has improved. “He despises Negroes, wont have one near him” is an example of prejudice. Atticus tells us that “there’s something in our world that make men lose their heads, they couldn’t be fair...
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...I have only one question and that is why Mr. Underwood did not show up sooner. The mob left because scout singled out Mr. Cunningham and got them to think about what they are doing and stop. Scout started talking to Mr. Cunningham about his entailment and he was avoiding responding to it for a while so she kept trying to have a conversation with him. Eventually she started talking about his son and then he nodded so she knew he was listening. She went back at telling him that entailments are bad and they take a while to pay off and scout talking like this to Mr. Cunningham help single out the mob and got them to think right so they would think about what they are doing because they were trying to kill Tom Robinson. When scout got them thinking...
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...Brittney Garrison Mrs. Easton English 3-4 Period 7 9 June 2015 To Kill A Mockingbird Everyday people’s lives are judged by others. Why? Because most think they understand what the other is going through when they have no clue. The idea of walking in someone else’s shoes teaches that everyone has things, big or small, going on in their lives and that you should not judge a person until you know the full story. Like in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, a few of the main characters begin to understand other people's suffering by “walking in their shoes” and learning that even the most misunderstood people need attention. One example of this theme is when the children prejudge Mrs. Dubose before they step into her shoes. She is a recovering drug addict who is very harsh and opinionated but the children only notice this and do not understand why. Jem begins to get tired of Mrs. Dubose’s taunts she makes at him and decided to break the stems of all her flowers. Because of these actions, the readers begin to see how courageous Mrs. Dubose really is by attempting to give up the drug “cold turkey” (Interpretation). This...
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...no matter how small.” Dr. Seuss. Maycomb County belittles the members of the community according to their race. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates that the town of Maycomb, Alabama drives down the lower class and colored members in society to keep them from usurping within the county. The main character Jean Louise “Scout” Finch learns this in her childhood as her father, a well known lawyer, has the chance to defend a colored man in court. Scout learns that even inside the court there is racism and hate towards the colored members of society and that they are belittled every day of their life. Fighting racism is like throwing a pebble in calm waters: One drop creates a ripple effect....
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... Atticus is a very good man with many good characteristics, but some of those characteristics Jem and Scout may not be a fan of. One of those characteristics is that he can be kind of strict, especially to Jem. When Jem followed Atticus to the jail and Atticus found them, he look Jem strait in the eyes and told him to go home. He did not want the kids being out so late and to get in the way of the mob. When Mrs. Dubose had wanted Jem to read to her, Jem told Atticus thinking that he could get him out of reading to her, but Atticus told Jem that he would read to her if that is what she wanted. When Jem and Scout were playing the life of Boo Radley game, Atticus told them sternly that he did not want them tormenting that man anymore. Atticus really wanted his kids to be who they want to be, but when Scout started to act up he said that he did not want her to be doing that anymore and that she should be acting like a lady. Atticus put the kids to bed every night at ten o’clock. Not only is Atticus very strict but he is also a very wise man. He can be portrayed as wise because he thinks and knows in his heart that everyone is equal no matter their skin color or background. He took the Tom Robinson case because he knew that it was the right thing to do and he knew if he did not he would not be able to face the people of Maycomb; He really wanted to keep his dignity. He knew that a mob of people were planning on coming to the jail and were going to lynch Tom Robinson. Atticus went...
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...brave at times. SU: Bob Ewell attacks both Scout and Jem when they are walking home from the pageant. P: Scout says, “ From somewhere near by came scuffling, kicking sounds, sounds of shoes and flash scraping dirt and roots” (Lee 351). C: Jem fights with Bob Ewell in order to protect Scout’s life. Despite knowing he was fighting a grown man, as well as his chances against him, he still fights him showing his bravery. T: Jem is very brave as he protects his sister, yet this isn’t the only time he was brave enough to do what is right for both him and Scout. SU: Jem and Scout find Dill in their home after he ran away, Jem says his mother needs to know and decides to tell Atticus. P: Lee writes, “‘Atticus,’ his voice was distant, ‘can you come here a minute, sir?’” (Lee 188)....
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...Jem and Scout are both children of the morally just lawyer, Atticus Finch, and they both go through the same life experiences yet they come to different conclusions about what lies at the heart of mankind. Throughout a period of over 3 years we the reader of To Kill a Mockingbird see how Jem and Scout mature and split ways in the nature of their thinking. Jem and scout are both morally fraught by the outcome of the Tom Robinson case. Jem and Scout go on to have a discussion about what kind of folks there are, Jem comes to this conclusion “There’s four kinds of folks in the world. There’s the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there’s the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes.” (226) Scout however comes to the conclusion that “Naw, Jem, I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.” (227) Ultimately, these two viewpoints come down to, are all humans the same or are we in groups. Both Jem and Scout understand that the conviction of Tom Robinson was morally unjust and this leads to the question “How could our fellow citizens of Maycomb county convict an innocent man?” Therefore, Jem’s conclusion is that they are not our folks...
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...In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch is a wise father. At one point during the book while he was talking to his son, Jem, he says, “It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” He was explaining to Jem what real courage is and why it is important to know the real definition of it. Atticus’ description of courage is not a man holding a gun. He said that even though you know that you are going to fail before you start, but you do it anyway and finish hard. This is a valuable concept. This means that you cannot be perfect to have courage; you do not have to worry about being good enough to have the label of courage. Courage can come in many different ways, even as players for a soccer team....
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...Just Birds - Analysis of Symbolism in To Kill A Mockingbird Most people would think of love when they look at the symbol ‘heart’. A symbol is an important literacy feature that is used to represent larger or abstract ideas. Symbols are often used by authors to deepen and further extend themes. In Harper Lee’s novel ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’, her effective use of symbols and their deep meanings contribute towards the development of some important themes. The uses of symbols, a mockingbird and blue jay, significantly develop the key theme that the coexistence of the good and evil always remain. A mockingbird and blue jay prove that the good and evil coexist by utilizing two characters, Bob Ewell and Boo Radley. First, Bob Ewell...
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...Write about the ways that Harper Lee shows the significance of the title To Kill a Mockingbird The title of a novel is a significant asset for the writer to express his/her emotions and how they think the novel should be summed up. However Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” isn’t about “mockingbirds”. The word mockingbird is a metaphorical symbolization of the concept of innocence. This essay will be a critical analysis of the significance of the title “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Firstly Boo Radley is a character who exploits the true meaning of the title. Harper Lee presents Boo as a very controversial character due to him being locked in his house for 25 years, also because of his lack of speech and involvement throughout the whole novel. Through Lee’s vivid descriptions and Scouts narrations the reader firstly acknowledges Boo as a monster that is “six and a half feet tall”. Scout personifies Boo as a very intimidating individual through Lee’s vivid descriptions and linguistic imagery. The words “six and a half” are adjectives that describe the physical stature of Boo. The reader may feel Boo is the complete opposite of the titles reference however other readers may feel that Scout’s lack of education and maturity are the culprit of Boo’s false identifications. However throughout the novel the reader acknowledges the true qualities of Boo as does Scout as well. Lee establishes Boo as a peaceful individual whose love for children never stops. In modern society many individuals...
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...Atticus Finch is one of the most steadfastly honest and moral characters in “To Kill a Mockingbird“ by Harper Lee and his character remains, for the most part, unchanged throughout “To Kill a Mockingbird”. As any character analysis of Atticus Finch should note in terms of the plot of “To Kill a Mockingbird” he begins as an upstanding citizen who is respected and admired by his peers and even though he loses some ground during the trial, by the end of To Kill a Mockingbird he is still looked up to, both by his children and the community as whole—with all class levels included. As a lawyer in To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch represents everything that someone working in the justice system should. He is fair, does not hold grudges, and looks at every situation from a multitude of angles. As Miss Maude quite correctly puts it in one of the important quotes from “To Kill a Mockingbird”by Harper Lee, “Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets” (87) and this could also be said of how he behaves in the courtroom. He is a skilled lawyer and without making outright accusations in a harsh tone he effectively points out that Bob Ewell is lying. Even more importantly, the subject of this character analysis, Atticus Finch, is able to gracefully point out to the jury that there although there probably are a few black men who are capable of crimes, “this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men” (208). His understanding of...
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...“To Kill a Mockingbird” Analysis Harper Lee published “To Kill a Mockingbird “ in 1960, a time buzzing with racial segregation and irrational injustice. She based the book on various events that were all to real, only fifty years ago. Throughout the book, the author captures these horrendous inequalities and is able to explore these subjects through various situations and characters. However, it is not always just the color of one’s skin as to the reason of why they are treated differently. Lee is able to display examples of prejudice based on class and status of a person, rather than race alone, through the use of abstract symbols through the use of characters. Harper Lee use birds to symbolize traits in various characters throughout the book. Although it is not just mockingbirds used as the only bird example. When Jem and Scout receive guns to shoot for fun, Atticus warns them against shooting mockingbirds. However, he states that they may shoot all the blue jays they desire. Blue jays are the nuance bird; this connects to Bob Ewell due to the fact that he is the perfect display of a blue jay. The blue jays represent the prejudiced citizens of Maycomb; they are ever present and continue to taunt others. Atticus goes on to tell the kids that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. The mockingbird is the innocent bird and therefore sums up Tom Robinson the most clearly. As being an innocent man that is only being tried due to his race, he embodies the mockingbird perfectly. Throughout...
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...THE GLENCOE LITERATURE LIBRARY Study Guide for To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee i Meet Harper Lee at the same university. In 1949, however, she withdrew and moved to New York City with the goal of becoming a writer. While working at other jobs, Lee submitted stories and essays to publishers. All were rejected. An agent, however, took an interest in one of her short stories and suggested she expand it into a novel. By 1957 she had finished a draft of To Kill a Mockingbird. A publisher to whom she sent the novel saw its potential but thought it needed reworking. With her editor, Lee spent two and a half more years revising the manuscript. By 1960 the novel was published. In a 1961 interview with Newsweek magazine, Lee commented: Writing is the hardest thing in the world, . . . but writing is the only thing that has made me completely happy. To Kill a Mockingbird was an immediate and widespread success. Within a year, the novel sold half a million copies and received the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Within two years, it was turned into a highly acclaimed film. Readers admire the novel’s sensitive and probing treatment of race relations. But, equally, they enjoy its vivid account of childhood in a small rural town. Summing up the novel’s enduring impact in a 1974 review, R. A. Dave called To Kill a Mockingbird . . . a movingly human drama of the jostling worlds—of children and adults, of innocence and experience, of kindness and cruelty, of love and hatred, of humor...
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...daughter Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird “It is a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee). Transition: Connect your grabber to your next sentence. Mockingbirds represent those who are innocent in the novel. Background info: Discuss any pertinent information about the author or story details necessary for the reader’s comprehension The book is about a man who is on trial for rape. That man, Tom Robinson was black and the town was ruled under very unfair social standards. His lawyer Atticus Finch knew he was not guilty. So he was trying to protect his children from Maycomb's corrupt town by...
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