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Family Dynamics In To Kill A Mockingbird

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A Comparison of the Different Family Dynamics in Maycomb County Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird shows how much the environment one is raised can affect one’s future. Atticus raises Scout and Jem in a relaxed and loving environment, whereas Bob Ewell raises his children in a house filled with anger. When one compares Atticus Finch 's’ parenting style, and its impact on his children to Bob Ewell’s lack of parenting and the way that affected his children, one is able to see just how much one’s home determines one 's life. One’s upbringing is the main factor that determines one’s personality and attitude, as shown in the Finch family. Atticus Finch, Scout and Jem’s father is a very open minded man, and attempts to instil this in his children. The effect Atticus’s words have on Scout is very clear when Scout says: ‘“ Atticus says cheatin’ a colored man is ten times worse than cheating’ a white man (sic)” (Lee 201). Atticus recognizes the struggles people of colour face, and tries to show his children that skin colour does not matter. Not only are Scout and Jem’s …show more content…

In addition to being uneducated, Bob Ewell is a rude man, and has managed to pass this trait onto his children. During the first day of school Chuck Little, a boy in Scout’s class describes Burris Ewell as “‘a mean one, a hard-down mean one’” (Lee 27). As his children grew up, Bob Ewell met them with only anger. In addition to being rude and angry, Bob Ewell is also very racist. His children have adopted his views that black people are below them, as demonstrated when Mayella says: “I said come here, nigger, and bust up this chiffarobe for me” (Lee 241) when she describes her interaction with Tom Robinson the day of the alleged rape. Although Mayella was attracted to Tom Robinson, she is unable to let go of her prejudices, and still refers to him using a

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In Maycomb County, the Negroes are viewed as inferior, and in addition, the Jim Crow laws are enforced to ensure segregation. As a result, they do not have equal rights as the other citizens. When Atticus is asked to defend Tom Robinson, a Negro man accused of raping a white girl, he accepts. To the community this was improper. The community’s disgust at Atticus’ decision is expressed when Scout is irked by Cecil Jacobs, a boy in her class, when he announces that, “Scout Finch’s daddy defended niggers.”

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320 Words | 2 Pages

In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout tells us that their mother has died but the story might have been altered if the mom was still alive. Many characters personalities, point of view, and the storyline would be modified. People such as Aunt Alexandra and Calpurnia could have been never mentioned in the story. An example would be Aunt Alexandra, if the mother was still alive she probably wouldn’t have moved in with the Finches.

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626 Words | 3 Pages

Atticus’s relationship with his family is highly altered, after news spreads about Atticus defending Tom Robinson. The case comes in between the family at a Christmas dinner when Francis tells Scout that Atticus is a “nigger-lover” (83). Atticus is following

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Without Bob, there would be no story. Mr. Ewell accuses Tom Robinson, an innocent black man, of raping his daughter after he catches the two of them together. To take out two birds with one stone, Bob blames Tom for the bruises he gave his daughter, Mayella Ewell, and taking a black man off the streets. After Tom was convicted, instead of celebrating, Bob is too busy planning his next attack, while the rest of the town tries to repair the effects of their prejudice acts. (PLACE QUOTE HERE ON MRS.

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707 Words | 3 Pages

The novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee tells the story of Scout Finch, a young girl, and her older brother Jem living in Maycomb County, Alabama in the 1930s, during the Great Depression. The story highlights the harsh realities of poverty and how one should never take anything for granted. Atticus Finch, the father of Scout and Jem, shows his success in parenting when he teaches his kids the importance of empathy, not judging a book by its cover, and keeping your head raised high. Atticus shows empathy when he encourages his kids to leave Boo Radley alone, the idea of “not judging a book by its cover” when putting himself in the position of others, and making sure his daughter, Scout, keeps her head raised high and not let violence

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623 Words | 3 Pages

Perspective and beliefs go hand in hand when talking about someone's personal views on society and what is morally right to them. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, Lee shows all throughout the novel that someone’s perspective can change in a matter of seconds. When Atticus educates Scout about stepping into someone else's shoes, when Jem is told that Mrs. Dubose was struggling with an addiction, and when Bob Ewell’s credibility was lost after the trial where he was exposed as a liar. All examples are prominent in this novel as well as many others. The very first sense of perspective that we get from Lee is very pronounced.

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593 Words | 3 Pages

To Kill A Mockingbird is a classic written by Harper Lee, published in 1960 by Harper Perennial Modern Classics. The story unfolds as Jean, better known as Scout is talking about her ancestors and what they did in their lives. The story moves on as Jean Louise Finch has begun her school year. She had begun first grade with Miss Caroline and had begun the school year with the wrong foot. In school, Miss Caroline is introduced with many new people and their social boundaries.

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647 Words | 3 Pages

In the story Atticus states “As you grow older, you 'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don 't you forget it- whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash”. Since Scout is hearing this from such a young age it gives the reader a better understanding of how Scouts life is being affected since she is so young. If in this case it was in Atticus’s shoes the reader wouldn 't learn as much as from Scout 's eyes because Atticus is very smart and doesn 't need to learn these type of things again, therefore we the reader wouldn 't learn anything moral. Another advantage that Harper Lee had when writing To Kill a Mockingbird is that when Scout says “I think there 's one kind of folks. Folks”, she is able to portray more of her child like innocence, whereas if this was Atticus saying it, it wouldn 't really make sense considering he 's a grown man who knew a lot of and about the world.

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801 Words | 4 Pages

In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, two children grow up facing issues of race, poverty, and identity in Mississippi during the 1930s. Their family bonds even as a trial for life continues to create discourse through the town’s normal dynamic. Throughout the novel, there are many opportunities where readers can learn life lessons alongside the characters which in turn allows for lessons then to be expanded on in their own lives after reading. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Lee uses her characters’ false pretenses to prove that appearances can be inaccurate.

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934 Words | 4 Pages

Bob Ewell barely had a shred of respect for anyone, and that is all he got in return. Everyone in Maycomb knew he was a man of no dignity, a man who lived in the town dump, without a care for his children. Atticus explains more about the Ewell’s to Scout, “It’s against the law, all right, and it’s certainly bad, but when a man spends his relief checks on green whiskey his children have a way of crying from hunger pains. I don’t know any landowner around here who be grudges those children’s game their father can hit” (Lee 41). Despite living in the dump and having no job to support his children, he does not think once about them

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916 Words | 4 Pages

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. This saying is true in many cases and happens to be true in To Kill A Mockingbird. Throughout the book you see children of characters start to grow up and act like their father. This essay will be looking at three families in To Kill A Mockingbird, the Finches, the Cunninghams, and the Ewells. These three families are key examples that a father’s influence has a significant influence on the character of his children.

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996 Words | 4 Pages

“Don't trade your authenticity for approval” stated an unknown author. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird Scout is a young girl who breaks the social norm of wearing proper clothes such as dresses. In the town called Maycomb, the social norms are for whites to separate from African Americans along with women dressing a certain way and men dressing another. Those social norms don’t just exist in Maycom they are also in the real world. Ellen DeGeneres is a woman in the real world who breaks those social norms.

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980 Words | 4 Pages

He knows the rest of the town will disapprove, but he believes in the innocence of this man and does not care of his complexion. In this moment, Scout and Jem only see how everyone will downgrade them and see them differently. Atticus shows, it does not matter what others think, all that matters is that you support what you believe in. This shows how Atticus is a strong character who contributes a lot to the overall lesson

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743 Words | 3 Pages

Harper Lee portrays childhood as curious and innocent, but also the “more real” aspects of growing up; the fear, the stupidity, and the flaws. The meaning of To Kill A Mockingbird is, childhood plays an extremely large role in a person’s life, and it shapes one’s views, and goals in their future. Times that Lee represents the importance of childhood are when; Scout is curious about Boo (Arthur) Radley, when Scout and Jem sneak into the courtroom, and when Scout walks Boo Radley home.

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1395 Words | 6 Pages

In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee presents a large social atmosphere that includes many different cultures and extremes. The story takes place in the southern town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. This novel illustrates how the southerners perceived different ideas about each other and social norms. It is told through the eyes of a young girl, Scout Finch, as she is growing up and becoming influenced by societal attitudes. Throughout the course of this book Scout learns many lessons including: how a society functions, why there is conflict between different cultures, and what makes cultures different from each other.

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