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Kill a mockingbird by harper lee critical analysis
Kill a mockingbird by harper lee critical analysis
Kill a mockingbird by harper lee critical analysis
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In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, one of the themes is that people should not be quick to judge others based on the labels given by society. During the story, the children judge Boo Radley based on what other people have gossiped about him and what comes from their imagination. “Jem gave a reasonable description of Boo: Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained-if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped and he drooled most of the time.”
Throughout the book, Jem learns about prejudice and not to judge because no one is just like him and people are different. He learns most about this from Atticus. For example, when Scout comes home from school and gets angry because her teacher, Miss Caroline, doesn’t want her to read at home. Atticus responds by telling her that she shouldn’t say anything about Miss Caroline because Scout doesn’t
In today’s world, Prejudice is still at large and people don’t even notice it. Prejudice falls under many categories of racism, sexism, and ageism. Harper Lee uses the idea of prejudice when writing To kill a Mockingbird to bring awareness to it. In To kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee presents the idea that Prejudice and how judging and treating people unfairly because of their skin color or social status can hurt them and cause problems in society. For example, the townspeople in Maycomb unjustly accused Tom Robinson of a crime simply because he was black, despite evidence to the contrary, which ultimately led to his tragic fate, demonstrating the harmful consequences of prejudice.
While using stereotypes in a literary piece of work can be monotonous, it can be very effectual when getting a point across. Harper Lee accomplishes to get her moral condemnation of prejudice in a precise way by using stereotypes within the story. Lee creates the characters to be judged upon without any knowledge of what is really the truth. Arthur “Boo” Radley is a victim of the stereotype in the story. He is believed to be a crazy monster who should be feared yet his only sins are his lack of communication skills and shyness.
Maya Angelou once said, “Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future, and renders the present inaccessible.” It is something that gets in the way of one doing the right thing and prevents people from making fair decisions. In Harper Lee’s esteemed novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the citizens of Maycomb, where discrimination is quite prominent, explore this issue in a variety of situations. Scout and Jem initially view Boo Radley as a scary neighbour due to his reclusiveness and mysteriousness. However, Boo ends up saving the children’s lives at the end of the book and the bias that they have against him is lifted.
Racism and Prejudice in "To Kill a Mockingbird" Harper Lee's timeless novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" delves into the dark realities of racism and prejudice in the American South during the 1930s. As witnessed through the innocent eyes of Scout Finch, the young protagonist, Lee presents a poignant portrayal of the deep-seated injustices and discrimination faced by African Americans in a small Southern town. The novel serves as a stark indictment of the pervasive systemic racism that prevailed during that era and continues to resonate in contemporary society. One of the most glaring examples of racism in "To Kill a Mockingbird" is the harrowing injustice suffered by Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman.
An Enotes certified educator says it best when she states, "…Boo Radley is discriminated against due to beliefs formed about him based on rumors." (K.H. Tamara 1). For these reasons, it is clear that Lee is commentating on the intolerance of people who did not fit in with everyone else, and how it is essentially unacceptable to be different. Secondly, Racial discrimination is prevalent throughout the novel.
The following quote shows the prejudice that Jem had for Boo before meeting him “Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were bloodstained—if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time.” (1.65) The quote shows how disgusting of a creature Jem viewed Boo as without even seeing or knowing him, this is a serious case of prejudice and there is not doubt about it, but is it possible this can be overcome? Of course it is and we see throughout the book Scout and Jem start to get a better understanding of Boo and what he’s is really like, one quote that sticks out to me is the quote “Scout, I think I'm beginning to understand something.
In the film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird, Boo Radley was the most prominent character that fit the outsider archetype because of the stigma against mental illness. The community of Maycomb demonise him and label him insane, constructing an image of him as being huge and menacing and evil; Jem, a young boy says to his friend Dill describing Boo, “He’s about six and a half feet tall. He eats raw squirrels and all the cats he can catch. There’s a long, jagged scar that runs all the way across his face. His teeth are yellow and rotten.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, characters who are misunderstood by others are met with violence, fear, and stereotyping. One of the most prominent examples is Boo Radley. An outcast in the town, Boo
There are many characters in To Kill A Mockingbird that are seen differently from whom they truly are in reality, this is because in this era people look at black people differently and don’t treat them as equally than they would look at white man or woman during this time. Jem states "Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were bloodstained If you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten his eyes popped out, and he drooled most of the time." ( 13) . Here Jem is explaining what he thinks boo radley looks like.
Social prejudice is shown throughout Harper Lee’s award winning book, To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee powerfully analyses the theme social prejudice, and its effect on people. Such as how the Social prejudice is discrimination based on your status in society. An example of social prejudice would be the Radley family, which consists of Boo Radley, Nathan Radley and Arthur Radley. As they haven’t been out of their house in years people are lead to believe the rumours.
Jem and Scout realizes that the obstruction of the mindset leads to blindness, which is called prejudice, when they finally encounter Boo Radley. This situation has affected them negatively before when they based their thoughts on beliefs and not facts, which absolutely demonstrate that people should not judge others without truly knowing them.
One example is when he said, “Scout, I’m tellin’ you for the last time, shut your trap or go home- I declare to the Lord, you’re gettin’ more like a girl everyday!” (Lee 119) Another type of prejudice was lifestyle. Arthur “Boo” Radley, one of the novel’s mockingbirds was often judged for his way of life. He was brought up as a Foot Washing Baptist.
In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee shows that we shouldn’t be too quick to judge another person’s character based on outward appearance and the stories and rumors we have heard. The character Boo Radley is a perfect example of why we shouldn’t be hasty to judge. On the outside, Boo looks like a scary neighbor that lives just a few houses away. “.....he had sickly white hands that had never seen the sun. His face was as white as his hands…..”
