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Learning lessons is a very important part of growing up. Children learn new things every day of their life. Even adults learn something every once in a while. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the character Scout is very adventurous and loves to learn; she has many experiences that lead to her being taught many different things about life. On page 12 of Cliff Notes for this novel, John Sova writes “each experience is designed to give Scout a further understanding about certain things in life and about people. In one way or another, every episode leads to some type of learning experience for Scout”. Scout learns a lot of different things about her town’s views, the people who she’s heard about but never really knew, and how to treat others the proper way.…
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Mrs. Dubose’s judgmental and bitter nature gives insight to Lee’s theme that the follies of one’s human nature can lead people to only see the worst in them. As Jem and Scout Finch simply walk past the house of Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose, she starts persecuting them on their appearance, actions, and the “wrongs” of their father. She automatically expects the worst of them, speculating that they must be up to no good. Mrs. Dubose even insults their father saying, “Your father is no better than the niggers and trash he works for!”(Lee 102). The spiteful behavior of Mrs. Dubose only offends those who encounter her. Her thoughts are unfiltered; letting her harsh judgements be known whenever she pleases. Mrs. Dubose fails to see the damage her…
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2. Furtive- attempting to avoid notice or attention, typically because of guilt or a belief that discovery would lead to trouble; secretive…
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1) Chapter 5: "He said he was trying to get Miss Maudie's goat... (p. 48). (To get one's goat is to make a person disgusted or angry.)…
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It catches my attention how Jem and Scout change during the course of the novel. Jem's the brother of Scout, and is also the oldest. In the begginning of the book, Jem's first thought of bravery meant being able to touch Boo adley's house, only because in his whole life he has never backed down from a dare. As the story progresses on, he slowly starts realizing there is more to that than just touching Boo Radley's house. Jem realizes true bravery through his experienc with his little sister facing the mob in front of the jail, to Atticus facing the mad dog.…
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To kill a mockingbird is an insightful novel that effectively educates its reader about the discrimination and prejudice against African Americans that was occurring at the time. Through the pity and intensity of Tom Robinson’s trial the reader learns how the rights of African Americans were very different than the white Americans at the time. To kill a mockingbird highlights the pure injustice that Tom Robinson faces, when accused of a crime that he didn’t commit. Due to these accusations Tom’s fate is put on the line and his dignity is robbed from him as the whole of Maycomb assumes that Mayella Ewell is right. Immediately the town people build a sense of hate and anger towards Tom Robinson and attempt to act on their thoughts and opinions. Throughout this text one will learn how not only Negro’s were affected by this prejudice and discrimination but how innocent white Americans, such as the finch family were too.…
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“He’s nothin’ but a nigger-lover!” is one of the many so called inappropriate texts from one of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The use of the ‘N’ word should remain in the book because it describes the setting of an important period of time, and shows mind set of racist characters. It is simply used for historical recognition and not as an insult.…
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Everyone in the town respects him because he’s is a wise and fair man. He teaches his children to treat everyone with respect, what true bravery is, and to be humble. When talking about Mrs. Dubose's death, Atticus says, “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 begin anyways”(Lee 149). Although Mrs. Dubose was an awful old lady, Atticus always respected and admired her for her fighting until the end. Atticus was also a very firm believer in equality. Miss Maudie says after Atticus shoots the rabid dog, “I think maybe he out his gun down when he realized that God had given him an unfair advantage over most living things” (Lee 130). Atticus is very humble to the point where he lowers himself to be equal to everyone else. Jem and Scout mirror their father by learning qualities that are shown by…
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In “To Kill a Mockingbird” by harper lee clearly says that killing a mockingbird is a sin because it does not commit crimes,besides making its beautiful music. therefore there are a few characters in the story that could be considered to be mockingbirds.…
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One of these people was Mrs. Dubose, who was one of the eldest and most sick of the town. She was extremely prejudiced against black people and deeply despised Atticus for defending a black man in court. However, Atticus was polite and respectful to her no matter how many slurs she threw at him, and Scout took notice. She said, “It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived” (134). Scout thought Atticus was brave for taking on this bully, not by revolting, but by means of respect. He faced Mrs. Dubose with pride and brushed off any taunt she had for him. Scout held this characteristic in high esteem and knew he was a courageous man.…
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Imagine owning someone. Imagine being able to control every movement of their fragile bones. Imagine making a marionette out of an innocent person. Now consider someone owning you. How would it feel, having to perform every task asked of you and being unable to say no? Perhaps that is how blacks felt in the when slavery began. Long since 1619, when the first African slaves were brought to Jamestown, an American colony, whites were deemed to be privileged.…
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It’s a sin to kill mockingbirds. That’s what Atticus told Jem when he acquired his first weapon. He told him it’s a sin to harm anything that doesn’t commit any wrong, a message the American South needed to hear desperately at the time Harper Lee was writing. In the book, the children have been relentlessly making fun of Boo Radley, but Jem soon realizes that Boo is not what their prejudices had caused them to make him out to be. He learns from this, and begins questioning his beliefs. Lee uses Jem’s experiences with prejudice to introduce the message into the story, which is a message that is also meant to influence the racist American south.…
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“The witness of the state… have presented themselves to you… in cynical confidence that their testimonies won’t be doubted [because of]... the evil assumption - that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings.” (Lee 273). This was a line quoted from Atticus during Tom Robinson's court case in To Kill a Mockingbird. To Kill a Mockingbird took place in the early 1930’s in Maycomb County, Alabama, when many people were strongly prejudiced against blacks. Atticus said this line not only to save Tom Robinson, a black man, from the wrongful verdict of rape, but potentially even some of his town from the stifling grip of prejudice. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrated that prejudice causes lack of empathy and bias; this was shown through the words and reactions to conflicts of prejudiced characters.…
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Before the beginning of the book To Kill A Mockingbird, there is a quote by Charles Lamb: “Lawyers, I suppose,” he says, “were children once.” To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee was published in 1960 and has been widely read since then. It is the story of children growing up in the mid- Great Depression South and of the life lessons they learn. Through the events of the book, the characters Dill, Jem, and Scout show the theme of losing one’s childhood and innocence.…
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“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 begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” –Atticus Finch. Atticus, his daughter Scout, one of his neighbours Mrs. Dubose, an innocent man accused wrongfully of rape Tom Robinson, and his children’s guardian angel Boo Radley, are all characters in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird who demonstrate the quality of courage. They also make it clear that courage is not necessarily risking physical danger, but a dedication to principles first and acceptance of consequences second.…
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