Written Speech- “To Kill a Mockingbird”- Rachael Tait-Owens 10English1
Before I commence my speech I would like to acknowledge the author of “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Harper Lee. April 28, 1926 till February 19, 2016.
Good morning/Afternoon,
Today I will be presenting a speech on one of the most influential books of its time “To Kill a Mockingbird”, written by Harper Lee. Having sold 30 Million copies world-wide, To Kill a Mockingbird has opened the eyes of audiences young and old through its direct and upfront representation of the 1930’s. For the duration of my speech I will be discussing how Harper Lee communicates through the fictional world of Maycomb by exploring the themes of
• Construction of Gender role and identity
• Racism
&
• injustice …show more content…
Harper Lee presents her novel through the eyes of 5-7-year-old Scout because this allowed her to write with a freedom and innocence that children convey without being biased and opinionated like an adult. In this quote Harper Lee uses the technique of dialogue however also creates a heart-warming but raw atmosphere of family, when father Atticus Finch explains to his children in relation to the result of the trial, his views as to how discriminatory society is and how he believes that both races should be given equal opportunity. “As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men everyday of your life but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it- whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is or where he comes from, that white man is trash” (page 243). In this quote Harper Lee attracts attention to how Atticus feels and how he does not want his children to end up like the rest of society. Mr Finch wants to introduce a responsibility to Jem and Scout, to push for racial equality as they are the younger generation and the only ones that will stop the white talking advantage of the black. One of the things that I thought about as I finished this novel is that; children are colour-blind and only see people… not the colours of others skin. It is simply until they learn the biased influences from an adult… which results in that child being racist. This …show more content…
In this quote Harper Lee uses imagery and dialogue when Bob Ewell says “I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella” (page 190). Harper Lee metaphorically describes the mockingbird as pure and innocent people who are treated by a closeminded society. As a result of Harper Lee using imagery, the audience should see that the character Tom Robinson is the Mockingbird due to him being a beautiful and innocent individual who is being blamed and tortured of raping a white girl which was not an action of his. More than anything, the language of Bob Ewell makes the loudest crash in everyone’s ears by how he ridicules Tom’s class and race. Bob Ewell describes Tom Robinson as an animal, as rutting is what a pig does which dehumanises him. Harper Lee links how society is fixed on just the class and race of the population which therefore determines the way one should be treated based off the colour of one’s skin or where they come from which is indeed unjust.
The variety of references I quoted from “To Kill a Mockingbird” were the themes I chose to feature in my speech. Gender Role and expectation, racism and justice and inequality… I believe were the key themes Harper Lee wanted to explore through a fictional world to make comment on
Before I commence my speech I would like to acknowledge the author of “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Harper Lee. April 28, 1926 till February 19, 2016.
Good morning/Afternoon,
Today I will be presenting a speech on one of the most influential books of its time “To Kill a Mockingbird”, written by Harper Lee. Having sold 30 Million copies world-wide, To Kill a Mockingbird has opened the eyes of audiences young and old through its direct and upfront representation of the 1930’s. For the duration of my speech I will be discussing how Harper Lee communicates through the fictional world of Maycomb by exploring the themes of
• Construction of Gender role and identity
• Racism
&
• injustice …show more content…
Harper Lee presents her novel through the eyes of 5-7-year-old Scout because this allowed her to write with a freedom and innocence that children convey without being biased and opinionated like an adult. In this quote Harper Lee uses the technique of dialogue however also creates a heart-warming but raw atmosphere of family, when father Atticus Finch explains to his children in relation to the result of the trial, his views as to how discriminatory society is and how he believes that both races should be given equal opportunity. “As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men everyday of your life but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it- whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is or where he comes from, that white man is trash” (page 243). In this quote Harper Lee attracts attention to how Atticus feels and how he does not want his children to end up like the rest of society. Mr Finch wants to introduce a responsibility to Jem and Scout, to push for racial equality as they are the younger generation and the only ones that will stop the white talking advantage of the black. One of the things that I thought about as I finished this novel is that; children are colour-blind and only see people… not the colours of others skin. It is simply until they learn the biased influences from an adult… which results in that child being racist. This …show more content…
In this quote Harper Lee uses imagery and dialogue when Bob Ewell says “I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella” (page 190). Harper Lee metaphorically describes the mockingbird as pure and innocent people who are treated by a closeminded society. As a result of Harper Lee using imagery, the audience should see that the character Tom Robinson is the Mockingbird due to him being a beautiful and innocent individual who is being blamed and tortured of raping a white girl which was not an action of his. More than anything, the language of Bob Ewell makes the loudest crash in everyone’s ears by how he ridicules Tom’s class and race. Bob Ewell describes Tom Robinson as an animal, as rutting is what a pig does which dehumanises him. Harper Lee links how society is fixed on just the class and race of the population which therefore determines the way one should be treated based off the colour of one’s skin or where they come from which is indeed unjust.
The variety of references I quoted from “To Kill a Mockingbird” were the themes I chose to feature in my speech. Gender Role and expectation, racism and justice and inequality… I believe were the key themes Harper Lee wanted to explore through a fictional world to make comment on