Theme Triangle Essay (To Kill A Mockingbird, Finding Nemo, and Somali Pirates')

Not So Ordinary
“I try to give ’em a reason, you see. It helps folks if they can latch onto a reason” (Lee 268). There are a lot of different reasons why people act and do things in certain ways, but people will never understand the reasons for the actions of others unless they get to know them. The book To Kill a Mockingbird, the movie Finding Nemo, and the article, “The ‘Somali Pirates’ Who are Not What They Seem,” all relate to a theme. That theme is get to know someone before you decide what to think of them, because not everyone is who they seem.
The first thing people see is the outward appearance of someone. It doesn’t always mean people act like how they dress necessarily, get to know a person and you’ll see what they’re really like. Someone might look lazy and not pay a lot of attention to their appearance, but they could be a diligent and intelligent person. Outward appearances should not affect the way the person is viewed on the inside. People also might act differently than someone else because of where they grew up and how they lived. “Human behavior is largely constrained by the rules that govern particular situations and environments. We are constantly obliged to behave in a particular way, or to avoid certain behaviors” (Burgess). That quote from the article, “Breaking the Rules,” explains the theme that you should get to know someone before you decide what to think of them, because not everyone is who they seem.
The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee displays the theme with the character Dolphus Raymond, who pretends to be an alcoholic because he wants to give people a reason as to why he’s different. In the book, Jem and Scout left the court and saw him laying down drinking, Dolphus then told Jem to try a sip. Jem realized after that it was just Coca-Cola. Dolphus Raymond then explained what was really going on. “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” (Lee 268). He told Scout that he was different than the other families in Maycomb, Alabama. People of the county needed a reason why he was so different. He married an African American woman and had biracial kids, so people judged him for that. They needed a reason as to why he acted that way, so he gave them one. He pretended that he drank all of the time and that’s why he acted different from the others. The theme could also go with the character Boo Radley, from the book To Kill a Mockingbird. “Thank you for my children, Arthur” (Lee 370). Boo (Arthur) Radley was always known as the psychotic and delusional man at the end of the block. He was not seen for quite some time in the book and a few amount of people knew even if he was alive or not. It turned out at the end of the book, when Jem and Scout needed help the most, Boo was there to help them. Bob Ewell was going after the two children, after their father, Atticus, made him look bad in the trial. Boo Radley had watched over the two children all of their lives, and when he saw Mr. Ewell trying to kill and hurt the children he stabbed and killed Mr. Ewell. That shows that you really need to get to know someone before jumping to conclusions. Sharks can be scary, especially Great White sharks! In the movie Finding Nemo, Marlin (Clownfish) and Dory (Blue Tang) came across a huge great white shark on their journey to find Nemo (Unkrich). “So, what’s a couple of bites like you doing outside late” (Unkrich). Marlin’s first impression of Bruce, the shark, was not good because of the way Bruce acted. He seemed like he was going eat them by the way he talked to them. Dory, unlike Marlin, was not as frightened, because she was more willing to get to know Bruce. Bruce then invites the two to a party. There turned out to be three sharks, including Bruce, at the party. Marlin thought that they were going to be “dead meat,” as his face showed complete and utter horror. The sharks all said a pledge before they started the party. “I am a nice shark. Not a mindless eatin' machine. If I am to change this image, I must first change myself. Fish are friends. Not food” (Unkrich). Bruce and the other sharks turned out to be a “vegetarian” and didn’t eat fish. Another quote from the movie that shows that he won’t eat Marlin or Dory is when Bruce says “It has been three weeks since my last fish, on my honor, or may I be chopped up and made into soup” (Unkrich). It relates to the theme because they found out Bruce didn’t eat fish until after they got to know him. That’s how the theme relates to the movie Finding Nemo. The article, “The ‘Somali Pirates’ Who are Not What They Seem,” follows the theme with an interview. In the interview, a reporter asked a Somali pirate about himself, and questioned the man about how he became a Somali pirate. The pirate told the interviewer he never really became a pirate, he was just acting as one. “The boss” told them, “Guys, the white men have come, assume to be a pirates” (Osman). It turned out that the “Somali pirate,” wasn’t even a Somalis, he was Kenyan. “In his day job, Adan works in a restaurant, but the money he makes acting the pirate is far greater” (Osman). It turned out that Adan lived in the slums. He acted as a pirate to get the money that he needed so badly. “I depend on myself. I’m an asset, not a liability” (Osman). Each day Adan pretended to be a pirate, he got $200, the amount of money that he needed. After this, the interviewer realizes after that he never really did anything wrong, he was just acting for the money that he desperately needed. Not everyone is who they seem and the interviewer found that out when he interviewed a “Somali pirate.”
Getting to know someone can make a huge difference than just what you hear or see. Get to know someone before you decide what to think of them, because not everyone is who they seem. Too many times people have formed a judgement about someone that had been incorrect. If people just had gotten to know them better, there wouldn’t be that problem. People need to be given the opportunity to share who they are before judgement is placed on them by others. Communication is key in achieving this. If people all spent a little more time getting to know one another, maybe there would be less arguments and more friendships. Try to keep your mind open to new people and not judge them because of their outward appearance. “You know my name, not my story.”