Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, is a novel that shows the theme of bias, social inequalities, and the struggle for justice. The first chapter of the book introduces the reader to the town of Maycomb, Alabama and the people that make up the social divisions. Through the use of imagery, point of view, and setting, the novel suggests that things may not be what they seem on the surface. This essay will analyze the use of imagery, point of view, and setting in chapter one of To Kill a Mockingbird to explore the theme of hidden realities.
Have you ever wondered, do I have blind spots? Do others have blind spots? What is a blind spot? A blind spot is when a person doesn't realize that they are missing something on a topic and sometimes end up hurting others. Everyone has blind spots.
Personal beliefs are shaped by perspective. In order to change someone’s opinion, their point of view has to be altered. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Lee shows the change in Scout Finch’s beliefs as she matures and her perspective changes. We can see this when Scout evaluates Walter Cunningham’s different way of life at her supper table, when she starts to witness the social inequalities in Maycomb, Alabama during Tom Robinson's trial, and when she learned the truth about her childhood monster, Boo Radley. While Walter Cunningham sat at the Finch’s table for Dinner, Scout, who had previously beat him up that day, was furious because he was the reason her teacher Miss Caroline punished her for the first time.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee characterizes Atticus as a person who see’s the prejudice people in his town. As he said in a trial involving a black man, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view”, said Atticus (lee 30). In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird the people of Maycomb County are very prejudice. This is a lesson that Atticus tries to teach his children. This quote from the novel is saying that a person has to try and see a situation from the other person's point of view, before the make a judgement.
Seeing People's Perspectives on Life in To Kill a Mockingbird Through the development of Jem, in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee teaches us that people tend to misjudge others when they don’t see their perspective on life, which leads to people’s views on the world being limited. During the story, Lee explains how, “Countless evenings Atticus would find Jem furious at something Mrs. Dubose had said when we went by” (103). This affects how Jem views Mrs. Dubose since she was constantly rude and insulting the Finch family. For instance, on page 105 Mrs. Dubose complains, “Not only a Finch waiting on tables but one in the courthouse lawing for n***ers…! Your father’s no better than the n***ers and trash he works for!”
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses point of view to show that empathy is developed from maturity and experience. The main protagonist Scout sees her neighbor Boo Radley as a malicious apparition. In the town of Maycomb where Scout and her family live there is rumor of a dangerous beast-like man called Boo Radley who lives near Scout and never leaves his home. Scout, Jem, and Dill are equally terrified of the Radley house and there are several rumors going around that the pecans from the Radley's tree are poisonous and that Boo watches people through their windows at night.
An Analysis of Empathy in To Kill Mockingbird Atticus Finch once claimed that “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” (Lee 33). The novel To Kill a Mockingbird was written by Harper Lee, who intertwines the themes of empathy and prejudice to exhibit the development of children in the 1930s. The storyline takes place during the 1930s in the small conservative town of Maycomb, Alabama.
Appearance and stereotypes can make us judge someone, because of something such as skin color. These perspectives can keep people from seeing the consequences and results of their actions. By learning how to open our minds, we can broaden our own perspectives. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses conflict and plot to illustrate that judging someone without knowing them can eliminate the opportunity to understand their point of view. Lee shows this through Boo Radley and the theories that people have about him.
¨Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed¨(pg 241). Tom Robinson, a young black man accused of a crime, is a main example of blindness to prejudice throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Taking place within the Great Depression and the Jim Crow era, these issues affected many people's lives. Throughout the novel, Harper Lee writes about issues with prejudice that are presented often through racism, social class, and sexism.
Many people live their lives looking through the same pair of lens, but those who desire a more interesting and pleasurable lifestyle view the world from fresh perspectives, such as through the eyes and ideas of other people. Seeing things from a different point of view helps individuals interpret problems and conflicting situations with a more diverse mindset and may resolve them quicker. Apart from everyday life, many pieces of literature highlight how the world is seen through the eyes of different minds. In writings such as To Kill a Mockingbird, many settings are implemented where the characters must put themselves in the shoes of others to truly understand the nature of the situation. Using multiple conflicts, Harper Lee conveys the message
Literature can be analyzed with many different critical lenses. While analyzing To Kill a Mockingbird, one may use a critical lens to recognize the different ideas throughout the novel. Harper Lee’s novel demonstrates her perspective on intolerance and discrimination within the early twentieth century. Firstly, intolerance of people who are different is very prevalent within the novel.
Perspective and beliefs have a huge effect in the world and especially back in the 1930s. This is about the perspective on Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird and how it affects his beliefs. He has three quotes that really explain how perspective and beliefs that affect their everyday lives. The first quote is, “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.”
Even in a society that, overall, is diverse, people with similar ideas and experiences tend to congregate in small groups, where they are comfortable. It is much easier to remain in homogenous groups, among those who understand each other. When different groups combine, many different life experiences and points of view will be present and will potentially clash. Misunderstanding is bound to occur in some form when individuals of different backgrounds interact. When misunderstandings occur, people tend to respond with violence, fear, or stereotyping.
Perception defines the world around you. It affects every aspect of your being: your thoughts, actions, beliefs, etc… In the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch begins to understand just how impactful perception can be as she witnesses the deterioration of the dignity of Tom Robinson, a black man who is being tried for the rape of a white girl. In this intriguing read, Harper Lee demonstrates the theme of inaccurate allegations very effectively. More specifically, when inaccurate allegations that are solely based on perceptions are presented, the consequences can be significant, for others may suffer at great lengths.
In society, there are very few people who have the unwavering dedication to stand up for what they believe. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, a black man was convicted and accused of a crime he didn 't commit, raping a white women, which is not in anyway tolerable in society. In Harper Lee 's To Kill A Mockingbird, the author used point of view and symbolism to acknowledge how the the several social divisions which make up much of the adult world are shown to be both irrational and extremely destructive. To begin with, the short story To Kill A Mockingbird, used point of view to show how the many social divisions in the world are irrational and destructive. Scout; a first grade student at the time, was telling the story from her point of view and what had occurred from her childhood perspective.
