Childhood Beliefs In Harper Lee's 'To Kill A Mockingbird'
To Kill a Mockingbird Assignment Essay
Hope Eruabor
ENG2D1
Dr. Picininni
Monday April 29, 2013
To Kill a Mockingbird Assignment Essay
Growing up is what people have had to do through their lifetime. The maturity of people can be based on various experiences they have had. Part of growing up is learning that childhood beliefs are not necessarily true. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird the maturity of different characters are shown especially with the children. Scout, the protagonist, is a prime example of showing that childhood beliefs are altered and maturing through experiences she has had. She feels Atticus is not exciting and she is ashamed of him, but later on realizes that Atticus does a lot of good, and …show more content…
is proud of him. She also does not use color to judge others, believing Maycomb is fair, later learning that Maycomb is prejudice and unjust. She also thinks that Boo Radley is a scary monster, however her perspective on him is discarded. Explanation of key quotations and discussions of story details will be provided as evidence to support this position.
In the beginning of the novel Scout does not feel that Atticus does anything exciting and is ashamed of him. However, Scout learns that Atticus does a lot of good and as she grows becomes very proud of him. Due to her age Scout started off ignorant, wishing Atticus would act more exciting like the younger parents in Maycomb did, “Our father didn’t do anything… or do anything that can arouse the admiration of anyone.” (Lee, 1960, pg. 118). Scout felt because Atticus worked in an office, instead of hunting or fishing he wasn’t considered brave or does anything worth being proud about. In spite of Scout’s belief on her father, Miss Maudie shows her that her father is more then what she assumed him to be. She later realizes that he had more courage and bravery then others in Maycomb. Atticus had been defending a black man, which many people would not be able to do. Through the trial Scout’s view on Atticus changed because he defended Tom Robinson, took the hate from the residents without fighting back, “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, but you being anyway and you see it through no matter what.” (Lee, 1960, pg. 149). He showed Scout that even though he would lose the trial he would still fight regardless of the outcome. These experiences showed Scout that Atticus does good, and towards the end becomes proud of him.
Scout’s oblivious to the fact that white and black people are not considered equals, but later comes to the realization that Maycomb is unjust.
Scout’s upbringing was to be respectful to all those around her, including African-Americans, which is shown through the respect she has for her maid, Calpurnia. It was not until Scout and Jem went with Calpurnia’s Negro church that she first witnessed the division between blacks and whites. Lula, a black church member, said “You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here—they got their church, we got our’n” (Lee, 1960, pg. 158). This showed Scout that black and white people did not associate with one another in public places because they lived separately. During the trial Jem was very confident on the evidence Atticus had presented to win the case, but Reverend Skyes said “Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in a favor of colored man over a white man…” (Lee, 1960, pg. 279). This showed Scout that regardless of the fact the Tom Robinson was not guilty of the charges faced against him, he would still be convicted as guilty based solely on his race. Through the trial and other experiences Scout was now seeing the prejudice within Maycomb, also seeing that the prejudice goes both ways, which she wasn’t aware of at first. This caused her to see the injustice, and have more knowledge of her town instead of being
shielded.
Scout believed that Boo Radley was a scary monster, but realizes that he is the complete opposite of what she assumed. As a child Scout has an active imagination, believing all the stories she hears about him, People said he existed, but Jem and I had never seen him.” (Lee, 1960, pg. 10). Although they have never met him they feel that they know the type of person he is because he stays home all the time, and the fables the residents of Maycomb say. Scout, Jem and Dill had tried to get him to come out during their summer playing childish games, and creeping around his house. During different times in the novel him made his presence known without being seen. Boo started leaving gifts for Scout and Jem, as well as keeping Scout warm during the fire in the winter. Regardless of all these attempts Scout still saw him as a scary monster. After the trial Jem said "Scout, I think I 'm beginning to understand something. I think I 'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley 's stayed shut up in the house all this time... it 's because he wants to stay inside." (Lee, 1960, 304). They came to the realization that he wasn’t staying inside because of the stories they heard, but because being secluded from humanity is easier than being in the mix of it. However, the incident with Bob Ewell forced Boo Radley to come out of his house to save Scout’s and Jem’s life. After meeting him she said “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough.” (Lee, 1960, p. 374). This shows he was not the bad person she suspected him to be, causing her to see things from his perspective. These experiences caused Scout to change her perspective on other people making her mature.
Scout matures when she realizes Atticus does a lot of good, Maycomb is unjust, and Boo Radley is not a scary monster. She gained knowledge about the perspectives of the other residents, as well as gaining respect for her father. Scout showed that through the experiences she faced she has matured immensely. Scouts maturity shows how childhood beliefs are amended through the experiences people go through and growing up is an evident part of life.
References
Lee. H. (1960) To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Grand Central Publishing
Word Count: 803
Method: Microsoft Word Count
Hope Eruabor
ENG2D1
Dr. Picininni
Monday April 29, 2013
To Kill a Mockingbird Assignment Essay
Growing up is what people have had to do through their lifetime. The maturity of people can be based on various experiences they have had. Part of growing up is learning that childhood beliefs are not necessarily true. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird the maturity of different characters are shown especially with the children. Scout, the protagonist, is a prime example of showing that childhood beliefs are altered and maturing through experiences she has had. She feels Atticus is not exciting and she is ashamed of him, but later on realizes that Atticus does a lot of good, and …show more content…
is proud of him. She also does not use color to judge others, believing Maycomb is fair, later learning that Maycomb is prejudice and unjust. She also thinks that Boo Radley is a scary monster, however her perspective on him is discarded. Explanation of key quotations and discussions of story details will be provided as evidence to support this position.
In the beginning of the novel Scout does not feel that Atticus does anything exciting and is ashamed of him. However, Scout learns that Atticus does a lot of good and as she grows becomes very proud of him. Due to her age Scout started off ignorant, wishing Atticus would act more exciting like the younger parents in Maycomb did, “Our father didn’t do anything… or do anything that can arouse the admiration of anyone.” (Lee, 1960, pg. 118). Scout felt because Atticus worked in an office, instead of hunting or fishing he wasn’t considered brave or does anything worth being proud about. In spite of Scout’s belief on her father, Miss Maudie shows her that her father is more then what she assumed him to be. She later realizes that he had more courage and bravery then others in Maycomb. Atticus had been defending a black man, which many people would not be able to do. Through the trial Scout’s view on Atticus changed because he defended Tom Robinson, took the hate from the residents without fighting back, “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, but you being anyway and you see it through no matter what.” (Lee, 1960, pg. 149). He showed Scout that even though he would lose the trial he would still fight regardless of the outcome. These experiences showed Scout that Atticus does good, and towards the end becomes proud of him.
Scout’s oblivious to the fact that white and black people are not considered equals, but later comes to the realization that Maycomb is unjust.
Scout’s upbringing was to be respectful to all those around her, including African-Americans, which is shown through the respect she has for her maid, Calpurnia. It was not until Scout and Jem went with Calpurnia’s Negro church that she first witnessed the division between blacks and whites. Lula, a black church member, said “You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here—they got their church, we got our’n” (Lee, 1960, pg. 158). This showed Scout that black and white people did not associate with one another in public places because they lived separately. During the trial Jem was very confident on the evidence Atticus had presented to win the case, but Reverend Skyes said “Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in a favor of colored man over a white man…” (Lee, 1960, pg. 279). This showed Scout that regardless of the fact the Tom Robinson was not guilty of the charges faced against him, he would still be convicted as guilty based solely on his race. Through the trial and other experiences Scout was now seeing the prejudice within Maycomb, also seeing that the prejudice goes both ways, which she wasn’t aware of at first. This caused her to see the injustice, and have more knowledge of her town instead of being
shielded.
Scout believed that Boo Radley was a scary monster, but realizes that he is the complete opposite of what she assumed. As a child Scout has an active imagination, believing all the stories she hears about him, People said he existed, but Jem and I had never seen him.” (Lee, 1960, pg. 10). Although they have never met him they feel that they know the type of person he is because he stays home all the time, and the fables the residents of Maycomb say. Scout, Jem and Dill had tried to get him to come out during their summer playing childish games, and creeping around his house. During different times in the novel him made his presence known without being seen. Boo started leaving gifts for Scout and Jem, as well as keeping Scout warm during the fire in the winter. Regardless of all these attempts Scout still saw him as a scary monster. After the trial Jem said "Scout, I think I 'm beginning to understand something. I think I 'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley 's stayed shut up in the house all this time... it 's because he wants to stay inside." (Lee, 1960, 304). They came to the realization that he wasn’t staying inside because of the stories they heard, but because being secluded from humanity is easier than being in the mix of it. However, the incident with Bob Ewell forced Boo Radley to come out of his house to save Scout’s and Jem’s life. After meeting him she said “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough.” (Lee, 1960, p. 374). This shows he was not the bad person she suspected him to be, causing her to see things from his perspective. These experiences caused Scout to change her perspective on other people making her mature.
Scout matures when she realizes Atticus does a lot of good, Maycomb is unjust, and Boo Radley is not a scary monster. She gained knowledge about the perspectives of the other residents, as well as gaining respect for her father. Scout showed that through the experiences she faced she has matured immensely. Scouts maturity shows how childhood beliefs are amended through the experiences people go through and growing up is an evident part of life.
References
Lee. H. (1960) To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Grand Central Publishing
Word Count: 803
Method: Microsoft Word Count