Education In To Kill A Mockingbird

Improved Essays
The Education of a Mockingbird
Life in the 1930’s was much different than it is now, but if one thing has stayed the same it is the dividing line between home life and school life. This dividing line does not make an exception for Harper Lee’s Scout Finch. Between all of the differences of home and school they all share a common goal. That goal is to educate the next generation, and help them learn how to function in our society. To Kill A Mockingbird perfectly illustrates how Scouts exposure to both a formal and informal style of learning helps her grow into a mature well learned person.
Scout Finch is an independent, strong willed character who sticks to her beliefs, and is not easily swayed. This trait of hers can, and often does, cause

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a classic tale that gives an accurate depiction of southern Alabama during the early 1930s. It capitalizes on the racism and sexism that runs rampant throughout America within the time period, and retells the stories of the citizens in a sleepy, fictional town named Maycomb. Amongst them, a young tomboy named Scout recalls her life surrounding the events of the Tom Robinson case, and how she changed throughout those four years. Throughout the story of To Kill a Mockingbird, it is clear that Scout is a dynamic, round character that progressively matures from the beginning of To Kill a Mockingbird, during events such as Tom Robinson’s trial, and ends with better developed qualities at the novel’s conclusion.…

    • 1111 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Scout: Character analysis Scout Finch is the narrator and main protagonist of the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Scout demonstrates the traits of being intelligent, adventurous, courageous, and compassionate. She shows the trait of intelligence by being smartest student in her first grade class. She is able to read well above her grade level and she can write in cursive; while, the other students are just learning.…

    • 469 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In the critically-acclaimed story, To Kill A Mockingbird, the main character Scout Finch changes drastically. Throughout the novel, she evolves from a fun-loving tomboy to an independent young lady with a well-developed understanding of prejudice. In the timeless coming-of-age novel written by Harper Lee, the scene is set by both an extremely dynamic group of characters and a realistic small town, all greatly impacted by The Great Depression and extreme racial animosity. The beloved main character, Scout, is described in great detail and an intense heart-wrenching diary of sorts is told through her words and thought. She goes through an intense transition including the way she thinks, and the way she projects herself.…

    • 171 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Harper Lee, the acclaimed author of To Kill A Mockingbird, recounts the touching tale of a young child and her exposure to the disturbing and unsettling reality concerning her hometown of Maycomb, Alabama. Harper Lee’s use of diction, the manner in which something is expressed in words, while being reflective of the era and setting, imply a separation between formal and informal speech that is a representation of Scout’s developing intellect and the influence from her surroundings; the concept of like-mindedness and communal practices have been adopted by Scout. As Harper Lee describes the changes throughout the environment, Scout’s character is recognizably changing to match it accordingly. Scout’s perspectives develops from childlike, innocent,…

    • 267 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    During the 1930s many awful events shaped how people lived and how kids were raised. Many people say that the teenage years are the years that shape someone’s life. Children who lived in the era of To Kill a Mockingbird learned many hidden aspect of their society. In the coming-of-age novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, Jem is a boy who is adolescent during the book. The book portrays many different problems like injustice, crime and violence, and racial segregation which are subjects that everyone saw on a daily basis.…

    • 873 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “It must be remembered that To Kill a Mockingbird was both a critical and commercial success on publication, with sales of 500,000 copies in the first six months alone and broadly positive reviews”(Ajayi, 4). Even though this novel is challenged, it is a widely known, educational book that has been used in schools for decades. Harper Lee displays a time of adversity during the civil rights movement through a six year old’s eyes. To Kill a Mockingbird should continue being taught in schools because it teaches good morals, reflects American history, as well as has good use of literary devices.…

    • 776 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Towards the beginning of the book, Scout felt was rambunctious and reckless, constantly getting into fights. She had little ability to convey her intentions without erring . Her small town environment penetrated her mind, and despite the effort Atticus made to ensure his children would not be prejudiced, the way she thought about certain things such as Boo Radley, negroes, and her family showed the effect her environment had on her. As the book progressed, her negative behavior slowly but surely improved. Scout’s reckless fighting went down because she did not wish to disappoint Atticus.…

    • 822 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, Lee puts the spotlight on 2 young children named Jem and Scout Finch who were, out of the few children, growing up in Maycomb County, Alabama. Throughout the plot, the pair with goes many coming of age experiences. Scout, being the protagonist, tells us her point of view about the external conflicts that she encounters such as conversing with Jem about how she labels people in the world of racial unjust that the book takes place in. Thus the conversation leads to the children's realization of why Boo Radley won’t leave his home due to the way society is labeling people and how society mistreats people with colored skin. This chapter is key to Scouts coming of age experience that was developed by external conflicts, point of view, and the growth of the plot.…

    • 787 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    In Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, the Finches discover important themes through the lives and events of the people in Maycomb. To Kill a Mockingbird centers around Scout Finch, who is a young girl living in the 1930s during the Great Depression. In the story, Scout is upset because of the ignorance that her teacher showed because of the short time she lived in Maycomb. Her dad, Atticus, told Scout to put herself in the teacher’s shoes so she could better understand the teacher. This major theme, which is revisited throughout the novel, is empathy.…

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Atticus Finch Mature

    • 1490 Words
    • 6 Pages

    People learn a variety of lessons in their life, which help them to grow and mature. Most of these lessons shape people and their personalities into the person they become through the journey of life. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, in the setting of Maycomb, there are many influential characters, some of which have a big impact on Scout Finch’s life and shape her into the person she is at the end of the novel. An examination of Scout’s development of courage, empathy, and tolerance proves that through these, Scout becomes more mature and grown-up. To begin, Scout faces situations that taught her the invaluable lessons of bravery and courage, Atticus and Boo helped her to learn this.…

    • 1490 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Moral Courage Analysis Essay To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel based on the author’s interpretation of her own childhood. As the narrator she talks about all the things that happened in Maycomb, Alabama, where the ten year old girl lives. The somewhat “protagonist”, Atticus Finch is a lawyer and also happens to be Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, the narrator’s, dad, The story takes place during the Great Depression of America in this fictional “tired old town”. The setting and theme are key parts of this book as it allows readers to understand that Atticus proved himself to be a morally courageous person.…

    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    No doubt, Scout’s most influential figure and role model was her father, Atticus Finch. Atticus justified his acts of tolerance and respect throughout the novel. Just as Scout was about to strike Cecil in an attempt to defend her father’s reputation, Scout remembered what her father taught her: “I [am] far too old and too big for such childish things, and the sooner I learned to hold in, the better off everybody would be” (Lee 74). Scout understood why fighting was childish because she knew from her father that fighting does not effectively resolve issues. Furthermore, the Finch’s mysterious neighbour who lived across their street, Boo Radley, provided Scout with an additional opportunity to mature into an individual with a healthy perspective.…

    • 1128 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout the past 55 years To kill a Mockingbird has helped educate students about the past in America and has taught students lessons of coming age. This novel showcases the themes of racism, prejudice and injustice which were present during the 1930s. The coming of age of Jem and Scout is also presented through the situations they go through, which progressively lead them towards adulthood. The themes of the past and coming of age are important for students to learn during their youth in high school. The Kill a Mockingbird started being taught extensively in American schools during the 1970s.…

    • 1044 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Character Progression in To Kill a Mockingbird In the shadows of the Great Depression, everyday life for both children and adults alike must carry on. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Jean Louise Finch, dubbed Scout by her close friends and family, recounts the tale of her brother Jeremy Finch, nicknamed Jem, and how his arm is injured. However, through the recollection, the children encounter prejudice, appearance vs reality, and grow as people.…

    • 1222 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Life is overfilled with messages, like weeds in a sea in unmaintained grass. Whether it’s warning a person, or signalizing a flaw; these simple lessons are there to further grow the positive parts of that person’s personality. A rich demonstration of this is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. An old, children’s book serving no meaningingful purpose is what it may seem, nonetheless, it actually is a novel that offers a unique outlook on all aspects of human life. In the book, two children Jem and Scout, who learn about equality, racism, and social class through court cases, tea parties and more.…

    • 780 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays