Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction

In both John Cheever’s “The Swimmer” and John Updike’s ‘Separating” the characters of the stories start off with a certain perspective on life which gradually changes. Neddy starts off being youthful, strong, and athletic and by the end is a old, broken man. On the other hand, Richard knows he is separating with Joan and seems to be ok with it, however by the end is not sure it is the right decision. Both characters are unable to understand the damage of their lives that they have done…

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates the life of a girl named Scout in Maycomb county. Throughout the novel she faces many situations in which she gains a new worldview, but loses innocence. Though there are many different types of situations she is thrown into, the most common type she sees is discrimination. After seeing Tom Robinson’s trial scout realizes the unfairness in the world due to discrimination. Lee uses Tom Robinson’s false conviction and the breaking of Jem’s…

1. Atticus treats his children fairly and does not treat them at children but as people. In a quote from the book Atticus says “When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness’ sake. But Don’t make a production of it. Children are children, but they can spot an evasion quicker than adults, and evasion simply muddles ‘em.” (Chapter 9 of To Kill a Mockingbird) Atticus leads by example in everything that he does, which is why he never lies to his children, to teach them. 2. The trial…

Girragundji helped the narrator by making him grow up and have the strength to confront his fears. This made the narrator more secure to start a relationship. This is shown through narrative conventions. Girragundji is a green tree frog. This little Girragundji helped the narrator change his life and identity. In the beginning, a small Aboriginal boy was afraid of the Hairyman, darkness, being alone, getting beaten up and of Stacey Straun who bullied and scared the narrator at school. At the…

Rich, human, tough. These words relate to how batman was a normal person but was very brave. Also batman was really tough that he left criminals in bad conditions but never killed them. Although some people thought that batman was not a heroic hero, nevertheless, batman was heroic because he was rich enough to do things normal people would not successfully be able to do and he never killed anyone he fought, he just left the criminals in very bad health conditions. One reason why batman is a…

In the story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee courage among many other things is a key theme in the story. There are two characters that comes to mind when I think of courage in the story and those people are Atticus Finch and Boo Radley. These two characters show tremendous courage throughout the story from saving the kids to defending Tom Robinson even though it puts their life and privacy at risk. The real courage here is putting the needs and wants of others in front of their own. A…

It is a sin to kill a mockingbird. This simple phrase seems unimportant and trivial, however, it has a much deeper meaning. The understanding, or misinterpretation, of this phrase makes all the difference in this book. In the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, there are three main literary elements throughout the story. These elements are imagery, symbolism, and allegory and are used to show the themes of misunderstandings, courage, and prejudice. The first literary element…

Atticus Finch, a well respected lawyer that gets negatively criticized by his relatives and the society of Maycomb for having courage to defend Tom Robinson. Tom is a black man who was falsely accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Atticus defended Tom because he once told Scout “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view — until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Page 30). If Atticus doesn’t even follow his own advice and be good role model…

Throughout the story To Kill A Mockingbird, Jem Finch matures into a man by going through difficult times and events. Jem learns critical life lessons by going through a series of events that impacted him. Because of the trial, Jem felt sorrow and sadness for Tom Robinson because he disagreed with the verdict. Three main reasons for Jem “coming of age” are him watching over Scout, the events he went through, and Atticus’s support throughout Jem’s childhood. In the end, Jem grows to be a man with…

It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird In to Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus says to Scout “Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it” (119). Many people can elaborate from this quote, mockingbirds can be considered a sin to kill them. All mockingbirds do is sing their hearts out for us and that it’s a sin to kill them. In To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus elaborates on why people can be considered…