Examples Of Appearances In To Kill A Mockingbird
Society’s opinions in the 1930s were based on appearances. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, this idea is portrayed. Where, she focuses on Scout and Jem as they grow up in Maycomb Alabama during the 1930s. They were always quick to make conclusions about others, but as they got older, they learned numerous times that appearances are deceiving from talking to three different people, Mrs. Dubose, Mr Dolphus Raymond, and Boo Radley. Harper Lee uses these characters to display that people are often more complex than they appear.
Mrs. Dubose was cruel because she was trying to stop taking morphine, and withdrawal symptoms are irritability and pain. The people of Maycomb did not know this, so in Maycomb, “neighborhood opinion
was unanimous that Mrs. Dubose was the meanest old woman who ever lived” (Lee 46). The neighborhood and the kids judged Mrs. Dubose based on her behavior. In contrast, Atticus knew the truth, and believed she was truly a courageous woman. When he was explaining Mrs. Dubose’s addiction to Jem he told Jem “She had her own views about things, a lot different from mine . . . I wanted you [Jem] to see what real courage is . . . You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs. Dubose won . . . She was the bravest person I ever knew” (Lee 149). Atticus understood Mrs. Dubose’s struggle, so he was able to look past her prejudices and flaws. Atticus saw that she was fearless. When Jem and Scout learned about her desire to beat her addiction, they realized she was not a deplorable person, she just had challenges like everyone else. Mr Raymond was also seen as a disgrace to the community. Everyone in the community believed this, even Scout thought “Somehow, I didn’t think Atticus would like it if we became friendly with Mr. Raymond, and I knew Aunt Alexandra wouldn’t” (Lee 267). Even Atticus did not think highly of Mr. Raymond. Mr. Raymond was white, had mixed children, and did not talk to the white people. He always drank out of a brown paper bag that people assumed was alcohol. He did this because he thought “it’s mighty helpful to folks. Secretly, Miss Finch, I’m not much of a drinker, but you see they could never, never understand that I live like I do because that’s the way I want to live” (268 Lee). He was jaded by all of the racism in the community, so he decided to seclude himself. Mr Raymond did this by acting like he was always drinking. He also did this, so people would understand why he talked to African Americans.
Boo Radley was an enigma for the whole story. There were countless horrible rumors about him because he never left his house such as “When people’s azaleas froze in a cold snap, it was because he had breathed on them. Any stealthy small crimes committed in Maycomb were his work” (Lee 10). However, these claims were unsubstantiated. The neighborhood kids were both fascinated and frightened by him, but as Scout matured she felt sorry for Boo because “Boo was our neighbor. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives” (Lee 373). Boo truly was an honorable man, but there were many lies spread about him. This further supports that in the 1930s, people often formed opinions of others prior to understanding the situations of those people.
Throughout the novel, Harper Lee uses Mrs. Dubose, Mr. Raymond, and Boo to emphasize people are not what they seem. All of these characters were negatively perceived by their neighbors; however, their situations were more complex than the neighbors realized.
Mrs. Dubose was cruel because she was trying to stop taking morphine, and withdrawal symptoms are irritability and pain. The people of Maycomb did not know this, so in Maycomb, “neighborhood opinion
was unanimous that Mrs. Dubose was the meanest old woman who ever lived” (Lee 46). The neighborhood and the kids judged Mrs. Dubose based on her behavior. In contrast, Atticus knew the truth, and believed she was truly a courageous woman. When he was explaining Mrs. Dubose’s addiction to Jem he told Jem “She had her own views about things, a lot different from mine . . . I wanted you [Jem] to see what real courage is . . . You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs. Dubose won . . . She was the bravest person I ever knew” (Lee 149). Atticus understood Mrs. Dubose’s struggle, so he was able to look past her prejudices and flaws. Atticus saw that she was fearless. When Jem and Scout learned about her desire to beat her addiction, they realized she was not a deplorable person, she just had challenges like everyone else. Mr Raymond was also seen as a disgrace to the community. Everyone in the community believed this, even Scout thought “Somehow, I didn’t think Atticus would like it if we became friendly with Mr. Raymond, and I knew Aunt Alexandra wouldn’t” (Lee 267). Even Atticus did not think highly of Mr. Raymond. Mr. Raymond was white, had mixed children, and did not talk to the white people. He always drank out of a brown paper bag that people assumed was alcohol. He did this because he thought “it’s mighty helpful to folks. Secretly, Miss Finch, I’m not much of a drinker, but you see they could never, never understand that I live like I do because that’s the way I want to live” (268 Lee). He was jaded by all of the racism in the community, so he decided to seclude himself. Mr Raymond did this by acting like he was always drinking. He also did this, so people would understand why he talked to African Americans.
Boo Radley was an enigma for the whole story. There were countless horrible rumors about him because he never left his house such as “When people’s azaleas froze in a cold snap, it was because he had breathed on them. Any stealthy small crimes committed in Maycomb were his work” (Lee 10). However, these claims were unsubstantiated. The neighborhood kids were both fascinated and frightened by him, but as Scout matured she felt sorry for Boo because “Boo was our neighbor. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives” (Lee 373). Boo truly was an honorable man, but there were many lies spread about him. This further supports that in the 1930s, people often formed opinions of others prior to understanding the situations of those people.
Throughout the novel, Harper Lee uses Mrs. Dubose, Mr. Raymond, and Boo to emphasize people are not what they seem. All of these characters were negatively perceived by their neighbors; however, their situations were more complex than the neighbors realized.