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How Does Lee Use Family Heritage In To Kill A Mockingbird

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“Somewhere, I had received the impression that Fine Folks were people who did the best they could with the sense they had, but Aunt Alexandra was of the opinion, obliquely expressed, that the longer a family had been squatting on one patch of land the finer it was.” (Lee 173). Scout is reflecting on how in her town the people are judged based on who their family is and not what that person does. The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee shows how judgmental a small town can be and is seen through the eyes of a young girl. The story shows growth in not only her life but her brothers. It also examines what a trial can do to a family. Family Heritage can impact ones future is a theme present in To Kill a Mockingbird and is shown through the way a person is treated, what is said about the family, and how the town views a family. …show more content…

School is a place where many different types of people can come together to meet and work in harmony. The main character Scout goes to school for the first time and learns a lot about the different type of people. During her lunch period she invites a boy in her class to come back to her house for lunch. The Finch’s children maid treats this new boy as a guest which upsets Scout. “He ain’t company Cal, he’s just a Cunningham-…” (Lee 33). She treats her friend as a lesser simply because of what family he comes from. Scout has never gotten to know this child yet she already has a strong knowledge of how she thinks they should be

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Camila Careaga - Herrera Ms. Newcomb English 2H/Period 6 February 10, 2023 “We don’t mature through age; we mature in awareness”- Byron Katie. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the readers can perceive how children, such as Scout Finch, evolve as they grow up and experience parts of the natural world. Throughout the novel, Scout was able to show bildungsroman as she learns to see things through other's perspectives and learns more about her community through the trial. At the beginning of the novel, we can see Scout's innocence and immaturity as a young child, but also her matureness. Examples of this can be seen with Scout's prejudice against the Cunninghams, or to be exact, Walter Cunningham.

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812 Words | 4 Pages

As the story unfolds, Scout matures and learns kindness. In her old, immature mind, scout would’ve fought everyone who made ignorant statements about her family, or pushed her buttons. As she grows up this is not an issue anymore, and instead of fighting she controls herself and begins to act more like her father. Scout receives many different forms of advice and life lessons from influential people in her life. This encourages her to grow up to be a kind and generous person.

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306 Words | 2 Pages

In *To Kill a Mockingbird*, family heritage has a big impact on how people see themselves and others. This is clear in the lives of the kids in the book, whose actions are closely linked to their family's history and reputation. For example, Atticus Finch's character shows how family history shapes who we are. Atticus, known as a moral lawyer, defends Tom Robinson, reflecting values that seem to come from his family upbringing. However, his actions are more influenced by his own beliefs and experiences.

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471 Words | 2 Pages

In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and Witch Hunt by Marc Aronson, prejudice is rampant. It has many forms, it can be easily seen, but yet it is rarely noticed. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus hopes that he “can get Jem and Scout through [the trial] without bitterness, and without catching Maycomb’s usual disease [racial prejudice],” similar to the Salem Witch Trials and that “Tituba’s appearance and heritage probably were not what influenced the girls [to accuse people of witchcraft and act strangely], the fact that she was Indian was enough.” Atticus explains that during the trial of Tom Robinson, racial prejudice is going to become very apparent to Jem and Scout. He doesn't want his children to go down a path of biased views of people

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935 Words | 4 Pages

It’s an awful feeling knowing that no matter how hard you work, you’ll never earn as much money as your white counterpart. Sadly, this has been the case for hundreds of years for African Americans living in the United States. To Kill a Mockingbird reveals the everyday struggles that African Americans endured during the 1930’s. Many of the events in the novel were based on the author, Harper Lee’s life. Just like Atticus, Lee’s father was also a lawyer.

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519 Words | 3 Pages

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).

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975 Words | 4 Pages

Growing up can be a wonderful, yet arduous stage in one’s life. In the fictional novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, siblings Scout and Jem Finch, grew up in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression in the 1930’s. Conflict arises when Tom Robinson, a black man, is wrongly accused of the raping of Mayella Ewell, a white woman. Atticus Finch, Scout and Jem’s father, agrees to pursue the case in a formal setting in court, which begins to develop controversy amongst the citizens of Maycomb. Harper Lee uses the maturing of Jem Finch to illustrate the difficulties of growing up in a problematic world.

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1536 Words | 7 Pages

A novel set during the 1920s in Alabama, where prejudice was bounded into the air and Blood of the People is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The novel is written and shown from the perspective of a young girl, Scout. She lives around racist people, and the people around her always blame the black community for everything. One of the main incidents in the novel that depicts racism is when a scout sees a case of a black man accused of rape by a white man. That court case teaches a lot about scouting.

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538 Words | 3 Pages

The 1930’s were a time of hardship, depression, and prejudice. The southern states especially were strong in racism and bigotry. Racism had become a normal thing in society. It was shown in literature in many famous books. In her book, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the snowman, the mad dog, and the white camellia, to symbolize the underlying racism of southern 1930’s society.

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1247 Words | 5 Pages

Many children have adults in their lives who influence the way they turn out in the future. These people can affect the children in negative or positive ways. Scout learns the importance of respect from Calpurnia, the ways of the world, how to live life to the fullest, and walking in someone else’s shoes to understand them throughout the entirety of To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee truly portrays Scout ’s coming of age by using the character’s Calpurnia, Miss Maudie, and Atticus as very important role models in Scout’s life.

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556 Words | 3 Pages

Numerous people prove their points through other things such as books, songs, etc., so they could be heard by others. “To Kill a Mockingbird” is a great example, considering the story’s plot and the many characters that represent it. Harper Lee wrote about was racism and how it affected people, using symbolism to help readers know what racism was like in the country back then so it wouldn’t happen again in the future. The idea of racism is in the whole book.

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1405 Words | 6 Pages

Innocence is a time in one’s life of carefreeness and peace. In youth, children have yet to experience the harsh realities of life, and when they do, it is often hard to cope with. In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee portrays Maycomb’s prejudiced ways through an unfair trial of an innocent man, and through the treatment of certain members of the community. The young narrator, Scout, and her older brother, Jem, experience growth and learn compassion when the trial exacerbates Maycomb’s intense intolerance. In this novel, Lee uses the characterization of the Finch children to demonstrate that innocent children who have been exposed to their community’s prejudice, often have trouble adjusting, but need a mentor figure to help them mature.

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576 Words | 3 Pages

She knows she is “far too old and too big” to be fighting with the other children, but claims that they make her forget (Lee 99). Scout believes that there is “one kind of folks. Folks” (Lee 304). She is physically and mentally maturing, but not enough to know that in the grown world there are different types of people. She is still seeing the world through a child’s eyes where all people are the same no matter what they are doing or what they look like.

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561 Words | 3 Pages

“…he’s a Cunningham,” (Lee 26). These are the words of six-year-old Jean Louise “Scout” Finch. She speaks down about Walter Cunningham, Jr. due to his family being in poverty. Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird shows the readers through the use of imagery that having privileges will lead to the confusion and ignorance of the lives of the less fortunate through the experiences of Walter Cunningham, Sr., Walter Cunningham, Jr., and the Ewell family. Walter Cunningham, Jr. is judged deeply by Scout throughout the novel due to unwealthy roots.

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428 Words | 2 Pages

The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities is used very often in the story, “Morte D’Arthur.” The Excalibur sword, round table, the young maiden walking across the lake, and the pursuit of the Holy Grail all are examples of symbolism used in Thomas Malory's, “Morte D’ Arthur.” ‘“‘And ye see any manner of sword drawn, look that ye come on fiercely, and so slay all that ever before you shadth, for in no wise I will not trust for this treaties.’”’ (Thomas Malory 498)

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