...Influential Themes in the book To Kill a Mockingbird The history of the world has lots of social problems that still exist in the world today. We deal with an extensive amount of racism all around the world; therefore, it is still a struggle for the world to learn how to live in peace and harmony. Harper Lee’s book, To Kill a Mockingbird, captures many themes, but the most influential life lessons deal with racism, perspective, and morality. Racism is one of the most influential themes in the book. Lee explains very well about the problems of racism in the south; in other words, the theme of racism in the book teaches an important message that all people need to learn. Atticus says, “Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” That was the...
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...Racism, Poverty, and Violence in To Kill a Mockingbird Maycomb, like other Southern towns, suffers considerably during the Great Depression. Poverty reaches from the privileged families, like the Finches, to the Negroes and “white trash” Ewells, who live on the outskirts of town. Racism violently attacks the people of Maycomb and causes many conflicts throughout the novel which causes violence amongst the citizens. Harper Lee uses the characters involved in To Kill a Mockingbird as symbols of the main themes of the story, which includes, poverty, racism, and violence and these recurring themes influence the actions of the characters in numerous ways. Poverty is repeatedly referenced throughout the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Many citizens...
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...It’s A Sin To Kill A Mockingbird Life isn’t fair. Everyone has heard this phrase at least one time, and most absolutely agree. Our world is far from perfect, it always has and always will. Harper Lee’s, To Kill A Mockingbird, is a great example of this. This is an amazing story of a small-town girl named Scout Finch back in the 1930’s. She lives with her older brother (Jem), her father (Atticus), and her black maid (Calpurnia). Atticus is a well known and respected lawyer, who is appointed to a case he takes personally. A black man named Tom Robinson is accused of rape. A white racist man named Bob Ewell claims he raped his daughter. The case has gotten the whole town’s attention, and the Finch’s who are one of the most respected families...
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...How symbolism can help you better understand To Kill a Mockingbird In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee uses symbolism to reveal an overall theme of human dignity. Maycomb County is a typical sleepy southern town that is blinded by the disease of racism. An innocent black man becomes a victim of the disease when he is accused of rapeing a white woman. Firstly the symbols Jem’s pants and the rolly-polly show the important theme of maturation. Furthermore the symbols Tim Johnson and the snowman highlight a theme of destroying racism. Lastly one-shot Finch and the perfect white waxy camellia symbolize true courage. Harper Lee uses Jem’s pants and the rolly-polly as symbols to convey a theme of maturation. Jem and Scout where in the Radley’s backyard trying to get a look at Boo Radley when Jem see’s a shadow the children immediately flee form the house. As the children were running through the collards as they hear the roar of a shotgun. As Jem and Scout are fleeing the scene Jem’s pants gets caught in the fence and he has to leave it in their backyard if he wants to survive. Later that night he says how he needs to go back and retrieve his pants not for him but for Atticus, “‘Atticus ain’t never whipped me ever since I can remember, and I wanta keep it that way.’” (Lee 75). He goes back to get his pants to keep his relation shit with Atticus. There is a evident theme maturation in Jem at this point, from when he thought turtles could not feel, too now when he is showing...
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...How would you feel if you were a child living in the early 1900’s when racism and segregation were such a large scale problem. In the masterpiece novel, To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, she tells the story of a girl named Scout who’s growing up during a time when not everyone is treated with respect and equality. For a young girl, Scout understands more about things in life because of her father, Atticus, a very wise lawyer who doesn’t believe in racism. Even though she knows more than other kids there are still many things she is yet to learn that cause her to ask questions without any thought about what she’s saying. She’s joined by her older brother Jem who makes sure to keep her under check to stop her from doing anything too...
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...By the very definition of humanity, we must be. Humanity: benevolence, understanding and kindness towards other people. It is, arguably, our very human nature to feel compassion, courage, understanding, unity and empathy towards our fellow man. Unfortunately, prejudice and judgement also cling to the human condition like tumorous stains – traits which society still finds hard to surmount. Despite the efforts of governments, groups and individuals, humankind still finds it difficult to trust based on the soul of a person; we are more comfortable making judgements based on skin colour. Nelle Harper Lee through her 1960 novel, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ and Boaz Yakin through his 2000 film, ‘Remember the Titans,’ are text composers who tackle the ill-defined paradigms of ‘prejudice, courage and unity’ by painting a picture of the confronting face of racism. Prejudice, courage and unity are notions that are dealt with differently by both composers and, through their use of structural and linguistic features, each composer presents this concept in a manner which connects (or weakens a connection)...
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...Cristal Gonzalez Mrs. Patterson English III - 5B 14 May 2013 Why Try to Erase History? To Kill a Mockingbird, for various reasons is marked top and a must read before you die, because of its outstanding lessons through the eyes of a little girl. This book teaches history and life lessons better than any textbook or teacher. Society strongly believes there is no reason for banning this book, because it teaches about racism, shows courage, and gives a mental vision of how society has changed since then. It’s very difficult when people have decided your verdict by just seeing the color of your skin. People shouldn’t be judged by how they look; in the end we’re all human, nothing more nothing less. There are different types of courage shown throughout the book. It ranges from how courageous a kid could be and an adult too. Society has come a long way, and it has changed for the best. When you realize in the book how society was, you think to yourself how could people be so cruel? Although years after, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. himself said, “…I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character…” (King). To Kill a Mockingbird, teaches racism better than any textbook, “I thought it taught things about racism and tolerance better than a history textbook,” (Oakley Ebscohost). Even though racism is a sensitive subject to some, people of today’s world need to know what kind of cruel...
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...Symbolism is a certain object that can represent something else preferably a theme or lesson of the story. Our assignment was to write a informational essay to present a clear and distinctive perspective on the use of symbolism in the story “To Kill a Mockingbird”. An example of symbolism in the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” is when Jem and Scout build the snowmen. They build the snowmen out of snow and dirt. This represents racism. In Maycomb County, there is a lot of racism because the white people didn’t like the black people. I know this because in the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” it says “Four Negroes rose and gave us their front-row seats. The colored balcony ran along three walls of the courtroom…”(219) The black people had a certain...
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...killing Tom Robinson. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee creates a story about a family living in Maycomb in the 1930’s.Scout and Jem find out their father, a lawyer named Atticus, has been picked to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. Although Atticus knew they wouldn’t win, he tried his best to defend an innocent man from a harsh world. To Kill a Mockingbird demonstrates the horrors of a scared and racist town using literary devices. To begin with, on the night of the jailhouse, Tom Robinson had recently moved to the prison at Maycomb. Atticus thinks it’s a good idea to stay with him in case someone tries to harm him. Soon after, a group of white men come barrelling over with pitchforks. This part uses imagery to show that all white men, even the working...
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...Independent Study Project Othello, the Invisible Wound, To Kill a Mockingbird July 30th 2014 By Eileen Harford Everyone has had a time in their life when they have misjudged a situation. Whether it was assuming someone took your pencil when it is actually in behind you ear, or assuming which character is the killer in our favorite movie, we all have misjudgements all the time in our lives. When was the last time you have mistaken a situation? The theme of false judgement demonstrated in the play “Othello” by Shakespeare, the short story “The Invisible Wound” by Karoly Kisfaludi, and the film “To Kill a Mockingbird”. In these three storylines, the author exhibits the theme of false judgment through a character of innocence that is poorly misjudged and ends tragically for them. Othello accuses his wife, Desdemona of adultery, while the unnamed protagonist in “The Invisible Wound” also inaccurately assumes his wife is cheating. In “To Kill a Mockingbird”, the jury accuses Tom Robinson of a crime that he did not commit all because of the colour of his skin. Given the above, it is clear that these three story lines hold the same theme of an error in judgement occurring. Throughout the play, “Othello” by William Shakespeare, a few of the characters are condemned on untruthful information. Desdemona and Cassio are victims of poor judgement. Accusations towards Desdemona seem to be the most prominent to any reader – which all begin when Othello falls to Iago’s manipulation that...
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...the committed actions according to their defendant. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, and film adaption,...
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...K Mrs. G ENG2D1 6 January 2015 To Kill a Mockingbird: A Excellent Adaptation To Kill a Mockingbird, according to many people is one of the finest books written in modern American Literature, which spreads the honorable message of racial injustice in the 1930’s in an informative and creative way. By showing a family known as “the Finches” experience and face the trials of living in a small Alabaman Town called Maycomb. The book itself was written by Harper Lee, a Pulitzer Prize winning novelist. When the novel was turned to a movie, there were many challenges that the director had to face while turning this classic novel into life. The director Robert Mulligan had to make sure the movie itself is an excellent adaptation of the book within the restrictions of creating a movie such as time limit, audience restrictions, money, and making sure to not replicate the entire book. This is why a book is better in an aspect as there are not as many restrictions to when creating a book compared to a movie. The film and the novel itself has many similarities and differences, however it is upon whether or not the film is a successful adaptation and portrays the theme of racial injustice. This film is a reasonable adaptation as it demonstrates the message of the film using the same context as the book and brings the characters to life in a creative way. There is great screenplay and dialogue amongst the characters which allows the audience to understand the movie thoroughly. However...
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...Harper Lee uses foreshadowing in her novel to help her audience understand the topic of racism in Maycomb. She first uses foreshadowing when Atticus says”...It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what (Lee, 112).” The trial hasn't even begun and Atticus knows he won't win, all because Tom Robinson happens to be black. She is foreshadowing how Tom Robinson's trial will ultimately end. This quote is foreshadowing the conviction of an innocent man for a crime he did not commit, all because of the color of his skin. He will be convicted because he is considered to be even less than the white “trash” of the town. It's an evident example of the racism that took place in Maycomb during...
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...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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...“This case is as simple as black and white”. It is referring to the racial aspect of the case,, as well as Tom's obvious innocence. And Atticus realizes that he is defending Tom in front of a prejudiced jury and that the lack of evidence has no bearing on the outcome of the trial. The universal message in To Kill a Mockingbird is the Coexistence of Good and Evil. Since they are raised in a loving and kind environment by an educated and good man of sterling values, Jeremy and Jean Louise Finch grow up believing in the innate goodness of mankind. Having a more mature perspective, their father believes that good and evil both surely exist, but he feels that what is good prevails in most people. They are 3 things that make the up the theme...
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