Harper Lee, a white American women, grew up in Alabama during the Great Depression. Her father was a lawyer and her mother died of a mental illness. During her lifetime, her father was the “odd one out” when he decided to defend a group of black boys who were falsely accused of a crime they did not commit. This was called the Scottsboro Boys Trial. The boys were still found guilty and this changed Harper Lee’s perspective on life. She bases her novel off of this trial. Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird is a bildungsroman because Jem, Scout, and Dill began to see the real world after the trial.
To begin, Jem and Scout are white children of Atticus Finch. Atticus is a widowed lawyer. They live in a small town in Alabama during the Great Depression, …show more content…
Jem and Scout have always been scared of a man named Boo Radley; who lives down the street. He never comes outside and they think he is a monster who is going to kill them. Jem tells Scout, “I hope you’ve got it through your head that he’ll kill each and everyone… Don’t blame me when he gouges your eyes out” (Lee 15). This shows that Jem is scared and believes that this human being is a monster and is going to kill them. As a young child, Jem is sheltered to the real world. He does not understand that there are bigger problems in the world besides Boo Radley, until the trial. As the novel continues, Atticus is defending Tom Robinson, a black man, that has been falsely accused of raping a white women. Jem and Scout go to the trial and see how great of a lawyer their father is. By his talent, by his determination, and by his morality, Atticus will defend Tom in the best way he can. Jem sees that Tom is clearly innocent, and is convinced Atticus will beat the case. When the court announces that Tom is guilty and will be getting sentenced to prison, Jem is crushed. …show more content…
In the beginning of the book, Scout struggled to control her anger and she always resolved to fighting. Scout was mad at her classmate, Walter Cunningham for making her look stupid in class when she was trying to stick up for him. She says, “Catching Walter Cunningham in the schoolyard gave me some pleasure, but when I was rubbing his nose in the dirt...” (Lee 25). Scout can not control her anger and believes fighting is okay. As the story continues kids begin to tease her about her father defending a black man. Atticus specifically asks her not to fight anyone just because they said something about him. “My fists were clenched and I was ready to let fly. Atticus had promised me he would wear me out if he over heard of me fighting anymore; I was 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 85). Respectfully, Scout listens to Atticus and does not fight Cecil Jacobs even when he calls her father a negro lover. She understands that it is childish and has learned to deal with her anger without fighting. This shows that Scout is growing up and learning how to handle the racism during the
To begin, Jem and Scout are white children of Atticus Finch. Atticus is a widowed lawyer. They live in a small town in Alabama during the Great Depression, …show more content…
Jem and Scout have always been scared of a man named Boo Radley; who lives down the street. He never comes outside and they think he is a monster who is going to kill them. Jem tells Scout, “I hope you’ve got it through your head that he’ll kill each and everyone… Don’t blame me when he gouges your eyes out” (Lee 15). This shows that Jem is scared and believes that this human being is a monster and is going to kill them. As a young child, Jem is sheltered to the real world. He does not understand that there are bigger problems in the world besides Boo Radley, until the trial. As the novel continues, Atticus is defending Tom Robinson, a black man, that has been falsely accused of raping a white women. Jem and Scout go to the trial and see how great of a lawyer their father is. By his talent, by his determination, and by his morality, Atticus will defend Tom in the best way he can. Jem sees that Tom is clearly innocent, and is convinced Atticus will beat the case. When the court announces that Tom is guilty and will be getting sentenced to prison, Jem is crushed. …show more content…
In the beginning of the book, Scout struggled to control her anger and she always resolved to fighting. Scout was mad at her classmate, Walter Cunningham for making her look stupid in class when she was trying to stick up for him. She says, “Catching Walter Cunningham in the schoolyard gave me some pleasure, but when I was rubbing his nose in the dirt...” (Lee 25). Scout can not control her anger and believes fighting is okay. As the story continues kids begin to tease her about her father defending a black man. Atticus specifically asks her not to fight anyone just because they said something about him. “My fists were clenched and I was ready to let fly. Atticus had promised me he would wear me out if he over heard of me fighting anymore; I was 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 85). Respectfully, Scout listens to Atticus and does not fight Cecil Jacobs even when he calls her father a negro lover. She understands that it is childish and has learned to deal with her anger without fighting. This shows that Scout is growing up and learning how to handle the racism during the