Kent M. Keith said in his poem “The Paradoxical Commandments,” “People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway. Give the world the best you have and you 'll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.” This quote exemplifies the conflict surrounding goodness that is commonly present in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. This conflict is the variation between what is good and what is treated as such. It is when mockingbirds are aimed at. It is what leads to the death of Tom Robinson and the persecution of many other mockingbirds. Through multiple discrepancies, Lee thoroughly indicates that what is believed to be goodness often contradicts what is truly good.
Society’s sense …show more content…
This is presented through Scout’s description of the Ewell’s yard, when Scout elaborates, “Against the fence, in a line, were six chipped-enamel slop jars, holding brilliant red geraniums, cared for as tenderly as if they belonged to Miss Maudie Atkinson...People said they were Mayella Ewell’s” (228). This symbol for Mayella is part of a description of a place that is essentially a dump. Geraniums are winter-hardy, meaning they survive through the winter. These flowers, which Lee illustrates as beautiful, especially through the use of the diction “brilliant,” are tough, and survive here. They are something good in a place otherwise lacking it, which makes them all the more exemplary. Though the goodness is not recognized because, due to the setting, people don’t know to look here for it. Similarly, in chapter 31, when Scout is reciting the plot of a book Atticus had read to her titled The Gray Ghost, she says, “‘they all thought it was Stoner’s Boy messin’ up their clubhouse… An’ they chased him ‘n’ never could catch him ‘cause they didn’t know what he looked like, an’ Atticus, when they finally saw him, why he hadn’t done any of those things...Atticus, he was real nice’” (376). In this symbol for Arthur Radley, a group all assumes that this individual, “Stoner Boy,” is the one committing the unjust deed of …show more content…
In chapter 11, Lee portrays this illusion when Jem is trying to convince Atticus to not make Jem fulfill Mrs. Dubose’s request for him to read to her every day, after he destroys her flower garden. Jem narrates, “It’s all right on the sidewalk but inside it’s- it’s all dark and creepy. There’s shadows and things on the ceiling” (140). The rather nice exterior complexion of the house, which was previously complete with a nice garden, is a facade to the grim inside and a symbol for the majority of the people of Maycomb. The diction of this excerpt with “shadows” and “dark” convey something is shaded, or not seen, at least not clearly. Those words coupled with “creepy” have a negative connotation, suggesting something scary, even nasty or wicked. Even within the house, the darkness is hidden where most would not look, “on the ceiling.” The ceiling is the highest part of a room, just as the shade is primarily rooted in what most use to make themselves high in society. Many of the individuals of Maycomb appear fine to everyone; they are the accepted white race, but yet if one could take a glimpse on the inside it would be very dark. A specific example of one of these facades is in chapter 13. When Scout is explaining some of Aunt Alexandra’s thoughts on social
Society’s sense …show more content…
This is presented through Scout’s description of the Ewell’s yard, when Scout elaborates, “Against the fence, in a line, were six chipped-enamel slop jars, holding brilliant red geraniums, cared for as tenderly as if they belonged to Miss Maudie Atkinson...People said they were Mayella Ewell’s” (228). This symbol for Mayella is part of a description of a place that is essentially a dump. Geraniums are winter-hardy, meaning they survive through the winter. These flowers, which Lee illustrates as beautiful, especially through the use of the diction “brilliant,” are tough, and survive here. They are something good in a place otherwise lacking it, which makes them all the more exemplary. Though the goodness is not recognized because, due to the setting, people don’t know to look here for it. Similarly, in chapter 31, when Scout is reciting the plot of a book Atticus had read to her titled The Gray Ghost, she says, “‘they all thought it was Stoner’s Boy messin’ up their clubhouse… An’ they chased him ‘n’ never could catch him ‘cause they didn’t know what he looked like, an’ Atticus, when they finally saw him, why he hadn’t done any of those things...Atticus, he was real nice’” (376). In this symbol for Arthur Radley, a group all assumes that this individual, “Stoner Boy,” is the one committing the unjust deed of …show more content…
In chapter 11, Lee portrays this illusion when Jem is trying to convince Atticus to not make Jem fulfill Mrs. Dubose’s request for him to read to her every day, after he destroys her flower garden. Jem narrates, “It’s all right on the sidewalk but inside it’s- it’s all dark and creepy. There’s shadows and things on the ceiling” (140). The rather nice exterior complexion of the house, which was previously complete with a nice garden, is a facade to the grim inside and a symbol for the majority of the people of Maycomb. The diction of this excerpt with “shadows” and “dark” convey something is shaded, or not seen, at least not clearly. Those words coupled with “creepy” have a negative connotation, suggesting something scary, even nasty or wicked. Even within the house, the darkness is hidden where most would not look, “on the ceiling.” The ceiling is the highest part of a room, just as the shade is primarily rooted in what most use to make themselves high in society. Many of the individuals of Maycomb appear fine to everyone; they are the accepted white race, but yet if one could take a glimpse on the inside it would be very dark. A specific example of one of these facades is in chapter 13. When Scout is explaining some of Aunt Alexandra’s thoughts on social