Southern Gothic

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it,” said Atticus Finch In To Kill A Mockingbird. This is a story that tells about Scout Finch, his brother Jem, and his father Atticus. The author, Harper Lee’s purpose when writing this book was to show racism and prejudice in the south in the 1930s. One of the focuses of this book is the court case of Tom Robinson, which ended up with an innocent man…

How O’Connor’s Titles Convey Her Themes Flannery O’Connor is one of the most influential fiction writers America has ever known. Born and raised in Georgia, O’Connor was a passionate reader and artist who was extremely gifted yet shy. Because of her hard work and dedication, O’Connor won several awards, even after her death in 1964 from Lupus. “The Complete Stories” is a collection of short stories that won O’Connor the National Book Award. Flannery O’Connor skillfully constructs titles that go…

South Park revolves around the bizarre adventures of four kids accompanied by numerous recurring characters while using profane language and dark humor. In season nineteen of South Park, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone illustrate the struggle of a town monitoring its political climate as well as maintaining political correctness. South Park portrays political correctness in the most offensive way possible to show the negative effects. In fact, Randy Marsh states “You have to overdo it in…

Standing up to a bully, trying something new, putting one’s life in danger to save another, standing up against prejudice, and facing a fear of public speaking. There are grand acts of courage, and then there are smaller courageous acts that can sometimes go unseen. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird explores different examples of courage through its characters. Mrs. Dubose, Atticus Finch, and Arthur Radley were all presented with opportunities to show courage. Whether these actions be big or…

Pranav Rathore Joanna Chan Lit/Writ, Period 2 12/12/17 Socratic Seminar: To Kill a Mockingbird 1. Part one of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, introduces all the characters and their day-to-day lives. Scout, Jem, and Dill were curious about Boo Radley. They tried to reenact Boo Radley’s life and tried to get a glimpse of him. From the very beginning, Atticus tried to teach his kids about right from wrong. He taught Scout a very important concept, “ You never really understand a person until…

Joseph Crespino argues that Atticus Finch felt the need to take the case and help Tom Robinson who was "naïve" because, of his paternalistic side. (Crespino The Strange Career of Atticus Finch, JSTOR.com) To justify this idea of paternalism he says, " Tom Robinson is sweetly innocent and naïve; Atticus feels a moral responsibility to defend him, as the novel's tide attests, because a black man accused in the Jim Crow South was as helpless as a mockingbird." In chapter ten of To Kill a…

Women in Literature and the Effect Men Have on Them Men have a negative effect on women in literature in terms of oppressing their sexuality and leaving them devastated at the end of the story. For instance, Addie Bundren from William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, was an unhappily married woman whose sexuality was oppressed, by the constraints of a male dominated society and husband, despite her affair. In comparison, Blanche DuBois from Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, was a widow…

Every town has that one person of house that all the children are afraid of. These fears are formed by the thing the children see, but things are not always as they seem. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the main character Scout Finch learns throughout the book that the man she is afraid of is really a loving old man, not a scary monster. Scout Finch grew up in Maycomb County and she had never met or even seen Boo Radley; only ever heard stories. She always thought that Boo…

Title The definition of courage is the ability to do something that frightens one. Courage is shown many times throughout the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. During the time in the book it is hard for some families because of socials classes. To really be courageous, someone has to go against the norm. In the novel, Tom Robinson, Atticus, and Boo Radley are all courageous people and it is shown through their actions. Each of these people try and help people even if it is not what the…

Books are a good source of education and entertainment. A great book that has just that is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee The book takes place in Maycomb, Alabama. The main characters are Scout Finch, Jem Finch (Scout’s older brother), Atticus Finch (father of scout and Jem) who is an open-minded attorney, and Tom Robinson (african American man accused of rape.) The book contains discrimination, racism, and poor judgements. Although all of the bad stuff in the book there is yet great things…