To Kill a Mockingbird Essay "The Cootie scene"
Timed Writing (TKAM) Draft #1
The Cootie Scene
In the novel TKAM, Harper Lee conveys the mood shock through the use of imagery. By employing these features the reader considers that humans have a tendency to express shock/hurt through their facial expressions and body language. The scene starts with Miss. Caroline’s panic attack over the cootie in Burris Ewell’s hair. Miss. Caroline attempts to send him home only to find out that he attends school for the first day only. When she tells him to sit down he curses her and leaves. She starts to cry as the class comforts her. Throughout the scene facial expressions are used to display the mood shock (Miss, Caroline functions to display the facial expressions the most). Lee conveys this through imagery and similes. Miss. Caroline’s “sheer horror” is displayed to make the reader feel surprised that a proper woman such as Miss. Caroline would panic at the sight of a bug. This demonstrates to the reader that Miss. Caroline is inexperienced to study insects. When Burris plucks the bug off, Miss. Caroline is astounded and watches “in horrid fascination”. Finally, the reader experiences shock when Burris curses Miss. Caroline. Miss. Caroline’s inexperience with situations like this shocks the class and the reader. Her reaction surprises the class and they “soon were clustered around her desk” trying to comfort the disgruntled teacher. In the modern world, children are forbidden to skip school. In to TKAM however some children attend to first day only. This shocks the reader and provides a great image of what life was like back in the 1930’s. To conclude, the reader is conveyed a mood of shock through Lee’s usage of imagery, facial expressions and body language. Miss. Caroline, Burris and the class’s facial expressions and body language allow the reader to under the mood of the scene while Lee’s use of imagery allows the reader to imagine the scene in detail.
The Cootie Scene
In the novel TKAM, Harper Lee conveys the mood shock through the use of imagery. By employing these features the reader considers that humans have a tendency to express shock/hurt through their facial expressions and body language. The scene starts with Miss. Caroline’s panic attack over the cootie in Burris Ewell’s hair. Miss. Caroline attempts to send him home only to find out that he attends school for the first day only. When she tells him to sit down he curses her and leaves. She starts to cry as the class comforts her. Throughout the scene facial expressions are used to display the mood shock (Miss, Caroline functions to display the facial expressions the most). Lee conveys this through imagery and similes. Miss. Caroline’s “sheer horror” is displayed to make the reader feel surprised that a proper woman such as Miss. Caroline would panic at the sight of a bug. This demonstrates to the reader that Miss. Caroline is inexperienced to study insects. When Burris plucks the bug off, Miss. Caroline is astounded and watches “in horrid fascination”. Finally, the reader experiences shock when Burris curses Miss. Caroline. Miss. Caroline’s inexperience with situations like this shocks the class and the reader. Her reaction surprises the class and they “soon were clustered around her desk” trying to comfort the disgruntled teacher. In the modern world, children are forbidden to skip school. In to TKAM however some children attend to first day only. This shocks the reader and provides a great image of what life was like back in the 1930’s. To conclude, the reader is conveyed a mood of shock through Lee’s usage of imagery, facial expressions and body language. Miss. Caroline, Burris and the class’s facial expressions and body language allow the reader to under the mood of the scene while Lee’s use of imagery allows the reader to imagine the scene in detail.