Monroeville

An author "should write about what he knows and write truthfully”; Harper Lee embodied her own quote’s advice when writing To Kill a Mockingbird. There is much to learn from the mono-published Lee as she, in her one and only published work (until July 14, 2015, that is), was able to weave a greatly intertwining web of her own experiences, thrilling narrative, and themes of outcasts, racial equality, youth, and forgiveness. As a first-time writer, she was able to garner more success than many…

Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” traces the story of Arthur Radley’s subtle change from the beginning of the book to the end. He goes from being viewed as a horrible monster who comes out at night, to finally being understood as a recluse who encases himself to escape the ever present racism and hostility in MayComb. As the story commences Arthur is akin to a caterpillar undergoing metamorphosis, even though he does not really change much, yet he is viewed and perceived as something-or…

Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird and The Black Eyed Peas’ song “Where is the Love” both tackle the problem of racism and overall intolerance of others. Lee’s novel takes place in the 1930s and focuses on the Finch family as the father, Atticus, takes on a case where he is defending a black man from the accusation of a white man and women. On the other hand, “Where is the Love” addresses discrimination as a whole and seems to question your empathy for other people. When placed side by…

Courage The dictionary definition of courage is “the ability to do something that frightens one” (courage). But maybe that is not the only definition. The concept of courage is essential to understand the book To Kill a Mockingbird. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee develops the theme of courage throughout the actions of the characters Atticus, Mrs. Dubose, and Boo. Atticus displays a great deal of courage from the beginning of the book until the very end. He first demonstrates…

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee focuses mainly on innocence throughout the novel, the mockingbird came to represent the idea of innocence. Killing a mockingbird means a loss of innocence I the eyes of the reader. Throughout the book many of the characters can be identified as mockingbirds. Jem, Scout, Dill, and Boo all lost their innocence as they grew up in a town such as Maycomb. Tom Robinson is another example of a mockingbird in this book because of the injustices he faces being a…

The book To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in Maycomb County, an imaginary district in southern Alabama. To Kill a Mockingbird is narrated by a double consciousness, alternating between the Finch siblings. The events in the story take place in the early 1930’s, during the Great Depression. The cultural norm during this time allowed, and in some cases, encouraged discrimination based on someone’s social class, race, or gender. In this story Mayella Ewell, a poor white female who lives behind…

Foils are defined as characters that contrast to another character, however, the importance of the foil character is much more complex than the simple definition it is first given. Character foils are often used to demonstrate differences between characters,To Kill a Mockingbird has many examples of foils, all being used to bring the story contrast to the main viewpoint. Examples of a character foils would be the protagonist and the antagonist. Both characters contrasts each other, and brings…

The stories Saving Sourdi and A&P have two interesting main characters Nea and Sammy. Nea is a young Asian American girl that is from South Dakota and Sammy is a Nineteen year old boy from Massachusetts. In both of their stories they try and rescue people from situations that they make out to bigger than it is. Nea trying to save her sister and Sammy trying to save three girls that come into his store. They are both rescuers in their own sense but, they both ultimately end up falling short.…

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird contains a title that is very relevant to the plot of the story. The mockingbird is used as a symbol of innocence, and the “killing” of it represents characters like Scout, Jem, and Boo Radley losing their innocence. The story, as told through the eyes of Scout, shows her journey from an innocent six year old to a nine year old who no longer sees the world in such a pure way. This loss of childhood shows clearly how the title relates to the storyline. Similarly…

The novel “The Secret Life of Bees” deals with important social issues. The book is written by Sue Monk Kidd, which deals with racism and prejudice in the 60s from the perspective of a white teenager, Lily Owens. Racism and prejudice are the most important issues, and probably the main social issues. Racism is defined as: “Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior” (Oxford Dictionaries, u.d.). In the…