Examples Of Fear In To Kill A Mockingbird

In ‘To Kill A Mockingbid’ by Harper Lee, multiple charcters are shown expressing fear differently. Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by being aware that you are in danger or could be in trouble. This affects serveral of our beloved characters in ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’, and how fear makes them decide choices that may affect people around them. This could have happened with Mayella, if her accusation about Tom were revealed to be false, Maycomb would be afrid that others like Tom would commit the same crime and be justified. Does fear affect some of the charcters choices in ‘To Kill A Mockingbird?’ Yes, in fact fear does affect them in making choices. Mayella Ewell shows fear multiple times while up on trial. The first time Mayella shows fear is when Atticus asks if she loves her father. “He does tollable, ‘cept when-” she stops in the middle of her sentence to look over at her father, who is sitting on a chair staring at her. Fear then takes over and makes her change her statement. “Except when nothin’, I said he does tollable.”

We see this on page 63 when Jem, Scout, and Dill run away after Arthur Radley shoots his gun. They run away, because they fear that they might get shot by “Boo” Radley. This is one of my proofs on how fear makes these chrcters choose their options. Another proof of this is how they express their fears separately. Page 42 is when Scout shows her fear, when she stays frozen when she reaizes whose house she bumped into while in the tire. Page 60 is when Jem shows fear by desperately trying to kick his pants off when it got stuck on the fence. Page 159 is when Dill shows fear when Jem calls Atticus in the bedroom to show that Dill is in their house, he says “ Mr.Finch, don’t tell Aunt Rachel, don’t make me go back, please sir! I’ll run off again-” at age 160. These are all exmaple on how fear makes the children choose what to do or what to