To Kill a Mocking Bird; Appearence vs Reality.
Did you ever think you knew something about a person only to find that you could not be more wrong? Making unverified assumptions like this is part of human nature for everyone. Some people do not want to reveal their true selves to others and prefer to remain unknown. Other people do not want to learn the truth and prefer to believe what they think is right evidence not with standing. The people of Maycomb County are no different than people in the larger world. The characters in To Kill A Mockingbird work hard to maintain appearances that differ from reality.
Several characters in the novel work hard to display an appearance that differs from their internal self because they feel alienated from others and uncomfortable with revealing their true selves to people. Dolphous Raymond appears to be a drinker; all he really has in his sack is Coca - Cola. "Scout, it's noting but Coca - Cola" (Lee: 200). "You little folks won't tell on me now, will you? It'd ruin my reputation if you did" (200). Dolphous Raymond likes to give people a reason for why he lives with black people. The town does not look down on him, the town actually feels sorry for him because they do not know the real story; they base their feelings on Raymond's supposed alcohol addiction. He is thought to be a town drunk, looked badly upon for being a white man that married a black woman. As it turns out, he is not drunk after all. He merely uses it as a cover-up, so that he does not have to answer questions about his life.
Dill claims he can smell when someone will die. In reality he has a perfectly normal nose. "No, I mean I can smell somebody an' tell if they're gonna die, an old lady taught me how. Dill leaned over and sniffed me" (36). Dill cannot smell when someone is going to die, he only says that in order to impress Jem and Scout. He feels that he has to seem cool, so he often tells tall tales.
Atticus's appearance is that of having no talents appealing to the school kids, but in reality he is
Several characters in the novel work hard to display an appearance that differs from their internal self because they feel alienated from others and uncomfortable with revealing their true selves to people. Dolphous Raymond appears to be a drinker; all he really has in his sack is Coca - Cola. "Scout, it's noting but Coca - Cola" (Lee: 200). "You little folks won't tell on me now, will you? It'd ruin my reputation if you did" (200). Dolphous Raymond likes to give people a reason for why he lives with black people. The town does not look down on him, the town actually feels sorry for him because they do not know the real story; they base their feelings on Raymond's supposed alcohol addiction. He is thought to be a town drunk, looked badly upon for being a white man that married a black woman. As it turns out, he is not drunk after all. He merely uses it as a cover-up, so that he does not have to answer questions about his life.
Dill claims he can smell when someone will die. In reality he has a perfectly normal nose. "No, I mean I can smell somebody an' tell if they're gonna die, an old lady taught me how. Dill leaned over and sniffed me" (36). Dill cannot smell when someone is going to die, he only says that in order to impress Jem and Scout. He feels that he has to seem cool, so he often tells tall tales.
Atticus's appearance is that of having no talents appealing to the school kids, but in reality he is