To Kill A Mockingbird Essay - 1219 Words

One person. Two worlds. Impacting the lives of others. Throughout To Kill A Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee, uses the main character, Scout, to demonstrate an idea that as you grow up, you gain greater understanding of the world. For this to be portrayed, Harper Lee brings in the character Calpurnia. Calpurnia is a black woman. A mother figure to Scout. The Finch’s maid and a person that exemplifies moral lessons and themes of the book. Scout views these moments to shape her â€Å"coming of age†. First, throughout the book a common theme was, respecting people s differences. As well as the idea that you are not better or worse than anyone. This is shown in many ways. One way is through Maycomb County’s social hierarchy. In their social†¦show more content†¦So she doesn’t respect the Cunninghams and doesn’t think of Walter as company. Calpurnia responds in dismay, â€Å"Hush your mouth! Don’t matter who they are, anybody sets foot in the house’s yo’ comp’ny, and don’t you let me catch you remarkin’ on their ways like you was so high and mighty!† (33). This shows Calpurnia is someone who treats everyone the same. Just because someone is a different race or has more economic status, does not determine how she will treat you. These quotes are an example of how Scout is learning to look beyond everyone s differences. Everyone has their faults and no one is higher and more powerful than anyone else in M aycomb County. Second, Scout and Jem going to church had a great impact on the book and how they view others. When they went to the First Purchase with Cal, Scout sees how the African American community helps each other. All of them came together to support Tom and his family. They also notice Calpurnia resides in two different worlds. This is expressed by Scout after she gets back from the church. â€Å"That Calpurnia led a modest double life never dawned on me. The idea that she had a separate existence outside our household was a novel one, to say nothing of her having command of two languages† (167). Calpurnia has the ‘white world’ and the ‘black world’. When she is with the Finch’s and part of Maycomb County, she is educated, a mother-figure,Show MoreRelatedTo Kill a Mockingbird Essay892 Words   |  4 PagesLindsey Congdon Mrs. Peterson Period 7 December 1, 2009 To Kill a Mockingbird Essay The Dictionary defines prejudice as, â€Å"an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason.† There has been prejudice known throughout history, mostly against the blacks during and before the time of Martin Luther King Jr. In The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee there is clear evidence of prejudice against the blacks. InRead MoreTo Kill a Mockingbird Essay921 Words   |  4 PagesContent within Books To Kill a Mockingbird Essay Assignment ENG 1D1 03 Alex Gardner December 2010 Mr. Przemieniecki Inappropriate content within books There are many different books that are studied in schools, but one should be removed from shelves. Students should not be reading about certain subject matters until they are fully invested into that specific subject. Certain inappropriate topics are racism and dated subject matter. The book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, should beRead MoreTo Kill a Mockingbird Essay1076 Words   |  5 PagesTo Kill A Mockingbird Essay In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird a major theme is the loss of innocence. Whether from emotional abuse, racial prejudice or learning, Boo, Tom, and Scout all lose their innocence in one sense or another. The prejudice that each character endures leads to their loss. 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The setting forRead MoreTo Kill a Mockingbird Essay1407 Words   |  6 PagesLearning 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 â€Å"each experience is designed to give Scout a further understanding about certain thingsRead MoreThe Mockingbirds in Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird Essay680 Words   |  3 Pagesstore To Kill a Mockingbird is the expression mockin g bird appears in the story lots of times. Also the most significant novel in this whole book is the mockingbird symbol. Another significant part of the story is the definition of a mockingbird and it is a type of Finch, it’s also a small bird who likes to sing. It got the name mockingbird because when it sings it is mocking other birds. (http://www.allfreeessays.com/essays/The-Significance-Of-The-Title-Of/21174.html) The mockingbirds in theRead MoreTo Kill a Mockingbird Essay1152 Words   |  5 Pagesare many different types of symbols in our world today; in English literature as well as all around us on a day-to-day basis. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird we follow a little girl, Scout, as she faces the truth about the world and its injustice. The central and most obvious symbol of this novel, as well as the title of the book, is the mockingbird. It represents the innocence and injustice in this story, represented by Tom Robinson and the events surrounding the trial, but also sets the themeRead MoreTo Kill A Mockingbird Essay1505 Words   |  7 Pagesteaching experience for Atticus to provide to Scout and Jem. These laws followed the Southern societal ideas of the separation between races, but also demonstrated a division between a community where individuals held different moral ideas. To Kill a Mockingbird explores human morality from the perception of a six year old child, pro viding a different perspective on important issues of this time period. Scout’s understanding of morality develops from her once simple idea of an individual being either