Theme Of Reality In To Kill A Mockingbird

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To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel about two siblings, Jem and Scout Finch, who grow up in Maycomb county and mature based on the significant adults in their lives. Their father, Atticus Finch, defends an African American named Tom Robinson who has been accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Before the trial, Miss Maudie shows Scout that you cannot believe the stories people tell about others and Mrs. Dubose teaches the children to fight for something they believe in. Throughout the novel, Jem and Scout are exposed to many people who enforce positive and negative traits in them such as Atticus, who is an example of reality, Mrs. Dubose who fights her morphine addiction and teaches the children patience and strength, and Miss Maudie who …show more content…
Dubose teaches the children strength and patience. She says horrible things about the Finches like, “Not only a Finch waiting on tables but one in the courthouse lawing for niggers!” (Harper Lee, online). She did this because of her withdrawal from morphine, but it taught Jem and Scout to control their temper and defend themselves with words instead of brash actions. Jem finds out the consequences not using his head when Atticus forces his to read to Mrs. Dubose after he cut the flowers off of all her bushes. The children begins to realize that the amount of time Jem reads to her is growing each day as it says, “It suddenly came to me that each day we had been staying a little longer at Mrs. Dubose’s, that the alarm clock went off a few minutes later every day”, but they still returned and did not complain to her because they began to understand Mrs. Dubose’s situation and how the decision to get rid of her morphine addiction before she died weakened her. Atticus told Jem that “She was the bravest person I ever knew.” (Harper Lee, online). This teaches Jem and Scout how strong a deceivingly weak person can be and not to judge a person by their appearance but form an opinion about them based on what they are trying to accomplish. Mrs. Dubose only spends a short amount of time with Jem and Scout but still manages to teach them to be strong in difficult situations, to never give up, and to be …show more content…
Scout makes a remark to Miss Maudie about Boo Radley while they are sitting on her porch, and Miss Maudie says, “His name’s Arthur and he’s alive” (Harper Lee, online). She does not want Scout to believe in the rumours about Boo because she knows that they are all lies and twisted stories told for the enjoyment of other people. Another time that Miss Maudie taught Scout that other people’s opinions did not matter was when Mr. Radley commented that she spent too much time with her garden and she should spend more time with God. Miss Maudie says that “time spent indoors was time wasted” (Harper Lee, online). She told Scout that Mr. Radley was a foot-washer, meaning he was very religious. She did not have a problem with him and she did not seem too affected by his comment. This shows Scout that you do not have to be what other people want you to be. Another way Miss Maudie helps Scout to see the good in people is after the trial. She knows that the probability of Tom winning the trial was impossible, even though she does not think it is right. Even though she knows that Tom is going to lose, she does not want him to. She does not mourn over the expected loss but looks to the positive in the situation like the appeal. Miss Maudie influences Jem and Scout by being optimistic even when the situation seems bleak. From her, they have learned to not judge a person by other people’s

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