To Kill a Mockingbird Essay examples - 1275 Words

Children look up to their elders for wisdom and advice. They rely on someone experienced and with authority for guidance on how to live their lives. However, sometimes the people who are accountable for youth mislead them; they may have good intentions, but are not mature enough to exemplify their values and morals, or they simply are ignorant. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Aunt Alexandra plays a negative role: she is a proper, southern lady with a strict code of behaviour and etiquette, but is too closed-minded and obstreperous to change her ways or view the world from others’ perspectives. Calpurnia takes on the position of a positive role model by disciplining the children in the Finch household. Miss Maudie takes on the role of a†¦show more content†¦(Lee, 83) Aunt Alexandra is inimical towards people such as Walter Cunningham as well, who are less fortunate and therefore perceived as repugnant and unfit to be her niece’s playmate. â€Å"‘†¦you can scrub Walter Cunningham till he shines, you can put him in shoes and a suit, but he’ll never be like Jem†¦Because–he–is–trash.† (Lee, 224–225). These words indicate not only a vituperative nature, but arrogance and obstinacy. She believes white people are better than black people. She refuses to consider anything positive about people she finds reprehensible; she is steadfast on her opinions about people and would rather not get to know them. She is also quite domineering and officious; she often meddles with Atticus’ fatherly role: â€Å"‘†¦it’s bad enough he lets you all run wild†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬  (Lee, 83), â€Å"Aunt Alexandra put him up to this†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Lee, 134). This grandiloquence is a manifestation of hypocrisy in the novel because her behaviour towards others is atrocious, yet she expects the best manners from Scout. Calpurnia is a much more positive caregiver, as she is a strict disciplinarian, but to a lesser degree than Aunt Alexandra. Likewise she is not a hypocrite; she could comment on the ways of white people because she has been raised in a white environment. â€Å"‘I’ve spent all my days workin’ for the Finches or the Bufords†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬  (Lee, 125). An example of how Calpurnia disciplines Scout Finch is when she takes Scout into the kitchen after she complains that WalterShow MoreRelatedTo Kill a Mockingbird1286 Words   |  6 PagesTo Kill A Mockingbird Essay Reading broadens our minds and touches our hearts. It creates greater understanding and compassion in the reader through its characters and themes. Write an essay that addresses the ideas expressed in this statement with reference to your class novel. â€Å"You never really understand a person, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.† With over 30 million copies sold worldwide and claiming title to the prestigious Pulitzer Prize, â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird† isRead MoreTo Kill a Mockingbird977 Words   |  4 PagesLiterary Analysis for To Kill a Mockingbird â€Å"There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads- they couldn’t be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s word, the white always wins. They’re ugly, but these are the facts of life.† ************ Along with the main theme of the story, racism, there are multiple other themes that are represented in the story. These include: the coexistence of good and evil, and importance of mortal educationRead MoreTo Kill a Mockingbird1091 Words   |  5 PagesTo Kill a Mockingbird Mockingbirds are birds that does one thing; Making music for us to enjoy and nothing else to harm us. In the remarkable novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the mockingbird is used as symbolism for real people. Including the human mockingbirds, the novel represents other pieces of the prejudice such as racism and hypocrisy. In the little town of Maycomb in its 1930 ¡Ã‚ ¯s, the prejudice was an accepted concept for every individual and Atticus even called it a  ¡Ã‚ ®disease ¡Ã‚ ¯Read MoreTo Kill a Mockingbird949 Words   |  4 PagesChristina Puerto Ms. Weninger Period: 1 To Kill a Mockingbird: Chapter 5 -Where do Scout and Jem start finding gifts? Jem and Scout find gifts in the knothole of the tree. -What do they find? List all the items. They find sticks of gum, 2 Indian head pennies, a pocket watch, 2 soap carved dolls, twine, and a spelling bee medal. -Jem decided they could continue playing their game if they did what? Jem decided they could continue playing their game if they changed the name of the charactersRead MoreTo Kill a Mockingbird1617 Words   |  7 PagesTo Kill a Mocking Bird â€Å"Cry about the simple hell people give other people- without even thinking† My considered opinion of this novel in the light of this comment. If Harper Lee had limited her portrayal of prejudice and discrimination merely to the trial of Tom Robinson, a victim of the most virulent form of racial prejudice, â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird† would probably be little more than a historical footnote. Wisely, though, Lee managesRead MoreTo Kill a Mockingbird618 Words   |  2 Pagesand Prejudice In the book To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus tells Jem and Scout to shoot at tins cans in the backyard. He goes on to say, â€Å" Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mocking bird.† â€Å"(Lee 103)†Miss Maudie explains it to the kids and says, â€Å" Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t do one thing but to sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.† â€Å"(103)† In the story there areRead MoreTo Kill a Mockingbird903 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you† (Ralph Waldo Emerson). To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel about people in the 30’s who show a number of different themes. Firstly, maturity is shown a lot near the end of the novel and during Tom Robinson’s trial. Secondly , racism is a huge part of this novel because a lot of people were judgemental and didn’t approve other races. Lastly, loyalty appears throughout the novel, especiallyRead MoreTo Kill a Mockingbird891 Words   |  4 Pagesbelongs to a very, very small minority. He is one of the very few human beings who does not hate Hitler. Of course, he does not like the universally hated historical figure, but merely dislikes him. This is a major theme of Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird. One can never, without exception, hate a man. Harper Lee promotes the idea that hatred is never acceptable by creating situations with literary devices like characters, settings, and plots that demand empathy. When Bob Ewell first takes theRead MoreTo Kill a Mockingbird668 Words   |  3 Pagestalk Heck Tate, the sheriff, out of calling the death an accident—Atticus’s standards are firm, and he does not want his son to have unfair protection from the law. 2. Analyze the trial scene and its relationship to the rest of the novel. To Kill a Mockingbird  explores the questions of innocence and harsh experience, good and evil, from several different angles. Tom Robinson’s trial explores these ideas by examining the evil of racial prejudice, its ability to poison an otherwise admirable SouthernRead MoreTo Kill a Mockingbird1764 Words   |  8 PagesHalle Vanderlinde Monday December 17th 2012 ENG3U1 – Literary/Historical Essay Assignment To Kill A Mockingbird Ms.Prasow Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird incorporates historically accurate material into an otherwise fictional story. Drawing upon current events, social conditions, and attitudes prevalent in the United States during the 1930s, the novel’s setting, characters