Northern Mockingbird

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a movie filmed in 1975 based on Ken Kesey’s same named book. The movie is about the conflict between the two main characters Randle McMurphy and Nurse Ratched. McMurphy is a criminal who is guilty of raping a fifteen year old girl and pretends to be insane so that he can escape from his punishment. In the asylum he meets people who are going to change his life and also he is going to change their lives. The movie has lots of hidden meanings. They are about…

Historical events support the theme of challenging the power structure in both Pleasantville and To Kill a Mockingbird because when characters challenge the power structure, there purpose is to achieve equality for everyone in their society. In the movie Pleasantville Bud and his sister Mary Sue are transferred into Buds favorite television show, Pleasantville. In Pleasantville everything is black and white and every family wants to be viewed as the perfect family. They follow a very…

Courage is when you are willing to do something above your comfort zone to show what you’re made of. In a novel, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Mildred D. Taylor uses an example of a young girl named Cassie Logan , who is colored, that must stand up for her convictions despite many injustices against her and her family. Cassie proves her courage by protecting her little brother Little Man from getting in big trouble, facing her white enemy Lillian Jean Simms, and being helpful to T.J despite his…

How and why are the two social groups - staff and patients - represented in a particular way (in narrative and social terms)? One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a novel written by Ken Kesey. The book is a critique of mental health institutions and their incapabilities of dealing with patients - influenced by Kesey’s own experiences as a voluntary medical guinea pig and nurse’s aid, as illustrated in the autobiographical ‘Sketches’ preface. The patients are represented in ways that reflect the…

Do people ever feel like they just want to kill? In The book Native Son, by Richard Wright, tells the story of a Black man named Bigger. The book follows Bigger and unveils the story through his eyes and peers through his thoughts, emotions, and actions. The story takes place in the south side of Chicago where many Black Americans who flee from the south in search of better lives in the north and during the time was when discrimination against African- Americans were an everyday occurance. There…

In to Kill a Mocking Bird Harper Lee creates characters that grab our interest. In the 1900’s, the rural town of Maycomb, Alabama where the story takes place, Lee creates a feeling of freedom through the young characters that contrasts to our 21st century structure to life. The rural setting compels the reader to feel freeness that couldn’t be compared to a large city setting. Lee choices when writing the book make it feel like real life. In To Kill a mocking bird, Lee creates multiple…

When looking around at other people there’s a good chance one doesn’t think those around them are cruel, but is that actually the case? Mark Twain, in his essay, “The Lowest Animal”, states that, “Of all the animals, man is the only one that is cruel” (2). Many have argued and gone back and forth on this topic. There is evidence for both sides; however, with all the things going on in the world today it is easy to say that Twain is correct and man is indeed cruel. Man showcases their cruelty…

Some birds are too beautiful to be caged. It has such bright feathers and sweet songs that you feel guilty to imprison them . Norms and expectations imposed by the society seem to imprison such splendid creatures, crushing their dreams and hopes of achieving something they wish. People are withheld by the society and personal limitations. Social norms and gender roles are exerted onto people, confronting them to be normal, as seen in ‘Boys and Girls’ and ‘The Singing Lesson’. However, the…

Speakers Evoking Empathy Have you ever wondered how a speaker awakens feelings of empathy in the reader? Both the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and the Statement on the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. given by Robert F. Kennedy use rhetorical devices to reach out to their audience in a certain way. They have a goal. Harper Lee’s character Atticus and Robert F. Kennedy both evoke empathy in their audience to either generate understanding or inspire action with the use of logos…

Based on textual evidence from the renowned novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” it was evident that the fight for justice showed compelling courage against the odds. Though it may seem that the fight for justice may be enervating or arduous, it paves the way to a happy life. It shows the perfect fictional example of how the…