The person who is being accused (Tom Robinson), the accuser/witness/victim Mayella Ewell, the victim's father and other witness Bob Ewell, are all important people in this trial but so is Atticus Finch the defense of Tom Robinson.…
Individuals who have read the novel To Kill A Mockingbird may believe that Tom Robinson is symbolized by the mockingbird because he was an innocent, honest, respectable man who was willing to help whomever he could.…
Have you ever seen someone get mistreated or treated cruelly? Like when people you think are fair and kind convict an innocent man just because he was African American. Experiences like these can lead to people realizing the world is far from perfect. This is called losing your innocence. In one book 3 children experience this kind of cruelty firsthand. Harper Lee’s purpose of writing this book was to show how the world may look fine at first but as you grow older you realize that not everyone treats each other kindly or fairly. In Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”, the innocence of Dill, Scout, and Jem is taken away.…
When someone shows compassion it has an impact even if it's just one person, even if it's just a small gesture it can make difference. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee has an intended message to the reader about how everyone has a need for compassion. Throughout the book she shows this theme through characterization, setting, and symbolism. The theme in this book the need for compassion it is an important theme because it shows the impact small amounts of compassion impacts things.…
How does one show maturity? Is it the way they look? The way they act? The way they talk? How would you describe it?…
A lesson taught by Atticus in To Kill a Mockingbird is that you should never kill a mockingbird because they only create music and harm nothing. What Atticus meant by this is that you should never hurt an innocent person no matter the situation. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird the mockingbird symbolizes all that is innocent and all that is harmless in society. Harper Lee uses two characters to show the innocence in people and to show how this innocence is often killed: Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. The theme in To Kill a Mockingbird, that often the innocent are harmed by the wicked unjustly and intentionally, only to be saved by the brave and intelligent, who try hard to show society who these people really are is clearly articulated throughout the novel by the use of the symbolism of the mockingbird infused in the…
“Heroes represent the best of ourselves, respecting that we are human beings. A hero can be anyone from Gandhi to your classroom teacher, anyone who can show courage when faced with a problem. A hero is someone who is willing to help others in his or her best capacity.”- Ricky Martin. Heroes can be obvious or they can be anonymous extraordinaires. Heroes are all around you and you might never notice it. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch has many characteristics that exhibit his heroism.…
There are many people who have a fear of having to grow up. When a child grows up their innocence starts to fade away. It is something that happens no matter how much someone wants to keep it. Some people cannot accept the fact that growing up is a part of life. That as one grows up they learn and understand things that they did not when they were children. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is the protagonist who is not too keen of having to grow up. Throughout the novel this fear is shown. He is caught between being a child and turning to an adult. He knows that growing up is something that going to happen no matter what. There is no way he could prevent or at least help the children from losing their innocence. But he still wants to be able to try and do something about it. He wants to be the catcher in the rye and preserve the innocence of the children. Holden Caulfield’s protection of innocence can be seen through his talks about the Museum of Natural History, Jane Gallagher and Phoebe, but he…
Earnest Hemingway states that “all things truly wicked start from innocence.” This quote applies to Mayella Ewell as she corrupted herself and her innocence throughout To Kill a Mockingbird. Though Mayella may seem wholesome, she is a wolf in sheep’s clothing due to her part in the death of a virtuous, innocent man and then her part in the tormenting of the dead man’s wife. In chapter twenty-five, Scout realizes that “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed,” (Lee 323) while she was pondering how a clearly innocent man could be tried as guilty (Lee 323). This quote illustrates how Mayella seemingly did worse than kill a man; she also had him declared guilty of a false crime, staining his reputation. To outsiders it will seem as if he was righteously killed, and what…
The most important responsibility people have is to protect the innocent regardless of the situation. In the world as we know it the strong prosper and the weak suffer, but what about the innocent? Who provides, cares, and protects them? It’s not only a responsibility but a moral and ethical obligation.…
Losing one’s innocence, or rather the simple act of growing up is inevitable. The children of primary focus in Harper Lee’s classic, “To Kill A Mockingbird”, succumb to their eventual fate by evolving into mature characters with help from the influential events in the town.…
Everyone in their life will be challenged with a situation that requires them to make a decision. The book To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is said to be an American classic that everyone should read. The book takes place in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930’s during the Great Depression, a catastrophic event in US history when the stock market crashed causing many to lose their jobs and homes. This plays a major role in the book as it affects the way of how white people viewed the African Americans, as less. Atticus, the main paternal figure of the book and the lawyer defending a falsely accused African American of rape, Jem, son of Atticus, and Mrs.Dubose, an elderly woman who criticizes…
In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the subject matter of Innocence is explored as Holden’s quest throughout New York City unfolds and his views on society develop. The novel is narrated by Holden Caulfield who is telling us the story of how he got to the mental hospital where he is currently a patient. Holden starts off at Pencey Prep, a preparatory school in Pennsylvania but eventually leaves after he is expelled. Holden wanders through New York City where he originally plans to go home after 5 days but continuously ponders the idea of running away after he visits his sister Phoebe. Throughout the novel, Holden’s mental state worsens dramatically and eventually leads to his mental breakdown. In Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden’s…
You’re father’s right. ‘She said’ Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs. They don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.(119)…
To Kill a Mockingbird is the title of the novel written by Harper Lee and published in 1960. The mockingbird stands out to be one of the most outstanding symbols in the book: from the cover page picture to the title, the symbol is highly useful to pass a message that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. Mockingbird, as locals believe, is an innocent creature which is not known to cause harm to other creatures, so Scout and Jem, the main characters in the novel, teach us a lesson that one should not kill such an innocent creature.…