Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird demonstrates the idea of hypocrisy in small town southern United States, as well as the idea of childhood innocence through the use of narrative voice.
Lee’s novel is set in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression, one of the heights of racism in the Deep South. Many of the residents are hypocritical to some degree, even educators. What surprised me the most is Miss Gates’ (Scout’s 3rd grade teacher) hypocrisy. She talks about how Hitler was discriminating against the Jewish population, and how in America, there was no discrimination. However, she herself was someone who discriminated against Maycomb’s African-American community after the Tom Robinson trial, just outside of the courthouse. …show more content…
Throughout the main plot, we follow Jem and Scout (and Dill to some degree) as they come of age in their small town. Scout seems to remain stagnant through the course of the story, however Jem matures relatively early into the plot, as Dill matures during the middle of the Robinson trial. Maturing can be defined in a variety of ways, but in this novel, it’s the development of compassion. Dill starts sobbing during the trial because he’s able to, as Atticus says, put himself in Tom’s shoes.
Lee enhances the idea of innocence through her use of narrative dialogue. Scout takes us on our journey in Maycomb, and essentially acts as our tour guide for the first few chapters. Over the two years that the events take place, Scout is still in the middle of her childhood, and still a fair bit away from becoming a teenager. Because of this, she may say or repeat some things that she hears around town, but may not entirely understand what they mean, as many children
Lee’s novel is set in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression, one of the heights of racism in the Deep South. Many of the residents are hypocritical to some degree, even educators. What surprised me the most is Miss Gates’ (Scout’s 3rd grade teacher) hypocrisy. She talks about how Hitler was discriminating against the Jewish population, and how in America, there was no discrimination. However, she herself was someone who discriminated against Maycomb’s African-American community after the Tom Robinson trial, just outside of the courthouse. …show more content…
Throughout the main plot, we follow Jem and Scout (and Dill to some degree) as they come of age in their small town. Scout seems to remain stagnant through the course of the story, however Jem matures relatively early into the plot, as Dill matures during the middle of the Robinson trial. Maturing can be defined in a variety of ways, but in this novel, it’s the development of compassion. Dill starts sobbing during the trial because he’s able to, as Atticus says, put himself in Tom’s shoes.
Lee enhances the idea of innocence through her use of narrative dialogue. Scout takes us on our journey in Maycomb, and essentially acts as our tour guide for the first few chapters. Over the two years that the events take place, Scout is still in the middle of her childhood, and still a fair bit away from becoming a teenager. Because of this, she may say or repeat some things that she hears around town, but may not entirely understand what they mean, as many children