How Does Lee Create A Positive Change In To Kill A Mockingbird

In Harper Lee's revealing novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the opinion that most Caucasians have toward African-Americans plays an important, interesting, and disturbing role in the development of the story. Although every nation has experienced some sort of hardship or injustice, the fact that racial tensions and problems existed in a highly destructive manner less than a hundred years ago disturbs me. In the selection, a young school-boy, Cecil Jacobs, attacks the protagonist Scout; he states that Scout’s father “[is] a disgrace” because he defends an African man in court (Lee 76). In addition, Cecil uses the n-word in front of other children at school as if its usage strengthened his argument. Along with the rest of the novel, this section shows the positive change that can happen in a mere century if people realize their mistakes and work to amend them.

While Scout likes to fight with other kids at school, her father believes that it plays a negative role in her development and wishes for her to stop. However, when her friends insult her father’s honor, she almost reverts back into her old habits. The section shows conflict between Scout and her friends because of two reasons. First, Atticus (Scout’s father) holds views about society that differ from the other denizens of the town. Atticus “defend[s] a Negro” since he believes that “he could not hold [his] head up in town” if he did not defend the man (Lee 75). Conversely, some of the other people living in town wish for the defendant to “hang from the water-tank”(Lee 76). Second, Scout feels dishonored by the insults and almost fights Cecil, but she thinks that “[she] would let Atticus down if she did”(Lee 77). Hence, the excerpt showcases conflict by displaying clashing ideologies and disputing