To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill A Mockingbird Essay Introduction: * Thesis: In To Kill A Mockingbird, characters such as Calpurnia and Boo Radley are not who they are made out to be in the beginning of the play to both the readers and Scout. * Point 1: Jem and Scout learn that Calpurnia, their housekeeper, is not who they thought she was. * Point 2: The Finchs and the people of the town realize that Boo Radley is not the same man they thought he was. Scout and Jem is not the well-spoken servant they made her out to be all these years in their house.

Her role is the household is much different compared to other families. Calpurnia has pretty much taken the role as the “mom,” in the house. This one time, she disciplined Scout at the dinner table when they had Walter over for dinner and Scout made a rude comment. However, Scout’s and Jem’s view of Calpurnia changed when they went to church with her when Atticus could not take them. When they arrived at the church, Calpurnia was confronted by Lula for brining “white chillun” (Lee 119) in a black church. They heard Calpurnia use slang and words they had never ever come out of her mouth.

This newly discovered side of Calpurnia confused the children. They could not understand how their well respected and well-spoken housemaid could be so “dirty. ” When Scout questioned her about it later on, Calpurnia explained herself “folks don’t like to have somebody around knowin’ more than they do. ” It aggravates ‘em. You’re not gonna change any of them by talkin’ right, they’ve got to want to learn themselves, and when they don’t want to learn themselves there’s nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language. (Lee 126) Calpurnia’s explanation really answered Scout’s question as to why she had to “talk nigger-talk. ” (Lee 125) The people of Maycomb do not have the right perspective of Boo Radley. The rumor that have surrounded him and his family have caused him to stay within the confines of his home. The rumors say that he killed his mother and stabbed a family member with a pair of scissors. Over the summer, the kids (Scout, Jem, and Dill) acted out the story of Boo Radley and his family over the summer.

Also, when Jem and Dill rolled Scout down the hill in the tire, they refused to help Scout get out since she had landed in his (Boo Radley’s) property. However, the children have it all wrong. In the beginning of the book, Jem and Scout start finding gifts in the hole of the oak at the edge of his land which he had been placing there. Another instance where they were proven wrong was when he gave Scout a blanket during the fire that took out Miss Maudie’s home. Again, no one had any idea he had done this.

The biggest reason as to why everyone has made out Boo Radley all wrong was when he saved Jem and Scout from Mr. Ewell. Conclusion: * Thesis: In To Kill A Mockingbird, characters such as Calpurnia and Boo Radley are not who they are made out to be in the beginning of the play to both the readers and Scout. * Point 1: Jem and Scout learn that Calpurnia, their housekeeper, is not who they thought she was. * Point 2: The Finchs and the people of the town realize that Boo Radley is not the same man they thought he was.

Institutions are establishments or organizations that contain individuals as a mechanism to maintain control and a secure environment. However, the institution can restrict to an extent of an individual’s experience and liberty of the world, resulting in conflict against the institution. Though many individuals apply themselves towards the institution with the nature of compliance, other individuals may be restricted therefore behaving in a conflicting fashion towards the institution.

This is demonstrated through Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” by concentrating the audience’s attention to the social inequality in Maycomb representing the communities institution. Similarly within Suzanne Collin’s novel “The Hunger Games”, the institutional government is illustrated and is explored through the situations face by the individuals contained in it. Furthermore, institutional confinements elaborate the hierarchical structure enhancing or limiting an individual within the system.

As represented in Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”, a nature of compliance and defiance is evident within the town of Maycomb. Evaluating on this, the protagonist ‘Atticus’ depicts elements of defiance by resisting to the social means that are accustomed to in the community. Accounting for the institution’s behaviour of containment, people at the top of the institution have the ability of corruption. This is best demonstrated in the court scene where the racist views of the white residents of Maycomb are juxtaposed with Atticus Finch’s desire to represent a black client.

The injustice that is present in Maycomb, is best addressed as Atticus challenges the jury to “do their duty, in the name of God”, as they decide whether Tom Robinson is guilty, despite the fact that there is no “probable cause” for supposedly raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman. This empathetic challenge by Atticus acts as the voice of reason against the racist, regressive elements of “southern” culture in the 1930’s. The institution, the town of Maycomb has been operating in a corrupt manner by segregated black and white communities within Maycomb.

This segregation is again demonstrated in the court some exchanges, as the black citizen must stand in the stalls, whilst “white folk” cans sit on the same level as the judge and other court officials. In addition, Suzanne Collin’s “The Hunger Games” illustrates the nature of a governmental institution and how individuals are able to adapt or resist to the establishment. Within the novel, the protagonist Katniss Everdeen is elected to compete in the annual ‘Hunger Games’ a brutal competition containing individuals to signify the former defiance from the past districts.

Through the protagonist’s portrayal of defiance, it is evident that one’s institutional thinking undergoes transformation, furthermore granting ability of opinion and greatly influencing an individual’s extent of restriction within the institution. This is supported through the statement of a participant of the games, “if I am going to die, I still want to be me”. Suzanne Collin uses this to express the emotions of a character experiencing the effects the institution, depicting the individuals as a tool or equipment used for manipulation and subsequently dehumanizing the individual.

Conversely, within “To Kill a Mockingbird” the corrupted institution relies more on the community to progressively change people’s perspective rather than utilising threats. This is shown through the underlying nature of the public on how to behave within the town of Maycomb. Throughout the scene of the confrontation of Atticus Finch outside the town’s jail, the community’s men arise to form a mob creating a single identity. However, when the protagonist Atticus directs him individually towards a man, the man is shown to be contextually righteous and was only conforming to the society’s standards.

This proposes the argument whether an institution is built on corruption demonstrated in “The Hunger Games” or is built on manipulation demonstrated in “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Evaluating on the manner of both characteristics of each institution it is evident that they share common aspects. Throughout both texts it is apparent that institutional thinking and institutional behaviours derive from the different social rankings that individuals subconsciously acquire.

Period 6 Nieto Socratic Seminar Questions TKAM

1) Discuss Atticus’s parenting style. What is his relationship to his children like? How does he seek to instill conscience in them?

a. Atticus is a wise man, committed to justice and equality, and his parenting style is based on fostering these virtues in his children—he even encourages Jem and Scout to call him “Atticus” so that they can interact on terms as equal as possible. Throughout the novel, Atticus works to develop Scout’s and Jem’s respective consciences, through both teaching, as when he tells Scout to put herself in a person’s shoes before she judges them.

2) Analyze the trial scene and its relationship to the rest of the novel.

b. To Kill a Mockingbird explores the questions of innocence and harsh experience, good and evil, from several different angles. Tom Robinson’s trial explores these ideas by examining the evil of racial prejudice, its ability to poison an otherwise admirable Southern town and destroy an innocent man, and its effect on young Jem and Scout.

3) Discuss the author’s portrayal of the black community and the characters of Calpurnia and Tom Robinson. Are they realistic or idealized?

c. The black community in Maycomb is quite idealized, especially in the scenes at the black church and in the “colored balcony” during the trial. Lee’s portrayal of the black community isn’t unrealistic or unbelievable; it is important to point out, however, that she emphasizes all of the good qualities of the community without ever pointing out any of the bad ones. The black community is shown to be loving, affectionate, welcoming, pious, honest, hardworking, and close-knit. Calpurnia and Tom, members of this community, possess remarkable dignity and moral courage.

4) Explain why Jem crys when the hole in the tree is filled with cement?

d. Boo Radley uses the knothole in the tree to leave gifts for Jem and his sister Scout. This is his only way to connect with them as he keeps himself isolated in the house. Seeing Mr Radley fill the hole with cement is like filling in the hole between their two worlds and Jem is sad to lose this link.

5) When is Scout first exposed to “the real world” of racism and inequality?

e. Chapter 10 when Cecil Jacobs talks about niggers and when she gets in the fight with fransis

6) Although Atticus did not want his children in court, he defends Jem’s right to know what has happened. Explain, in your own words, Atticus’s reasons for this

f. Atticus feels that the adults have made the world the way that it is and the children have to learn to live in that world. They can’t hide from it and need to be exposed to it as early as possible.

7) Miss Maudie tells Jem that “things are never as bad as they seem. ” What reasons does she give for this view?

g. She names all of the people who helped Tom Robinson, such as the black community, Atticus, and Judge Taylor.

8) Why does Bob Ewell feel so angry with Atticus? Do you think his threat is a real one, and how might he try to “get” Atticus?

h. He feels Atticus made him look bad in front of the entire town. This threat was meant to get a reaction from Atticus; however, Atticus just kept his head up.

9) What do you think of Atticus’s reaction to Bob Ewell’s challenge? Should he have ignored Bob, retaliated or done something else?

i. He did the right thing by walking away. Bob was looking for a fight and Atticus wouldn’t give it to him.

10) What does Atticus tell Scout about why the jury took so long to convict Tom?

j. He tells her that a Cunningham was on the jury and didn’t want to convict. The jury actually had to think about the conviction before they did it because the case was based on purely circumstantial evidence.

11) Why does Aunt Alexandra accept that the Cunninghams may be good but are not “our kind of folks”? Do you think that people should mix only with others of the same social class?

k. She tells Scout that they are not people that the Finch family should associate with because they are lower class. People should be able to socialize with whoever they want, even if they are in a different social class.

12) Compare the reactions of Miss Maudie and the other ladies when Scout says she is wearing her “britches” under her dress.

l. Miss Maudie takes Scout seriously and only laughs at Scout when she intends to be funny. The other ladies choose to make fun of Scout.

13) How, in this chapter, do we see Aunt Alexandra in a new light? How does Miss Maudie support her?

m. Aunt Alexandra shows concern for Atticus and Tom. Miss Maudie gives her a pep talk and gets her to go back to the meeting.

14) Explain the contrast Scout draws between the court where Tom was tried and “the secret courts of men’s hearts”. In what way are hearts like courts?

n. In a true court of law everyone should receive a fair trial, but people’s hearts are not dictated by law; they are dictated by feeling.

15) In her lesson on Hitler, Miss Gates says that “we (American people) don’t believe in persecuting anyone”. What seems odd to the reader about this claim?

o. The town just persecuted a black man for being black. He was convicted and sentenced to death with no real evidence.