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Point Of View In Chapter 1 Of To Kill A Mockingbird

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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.
The imagery in chapter one of To Kill a Mockingbird is used to create a vivid and detailed picture of the town town of Maycomb. However, this imagery also suggests that there could be something hidden about …show more content…

The first example we have of point of view is when in the book, South describes the Radley house as “a malevolent phantom” and notes that the Radleys “kept to themselves”. This suggests that there could be something hidden and off putting about the Radleys. However, this could say that the Radleys are sick or maybe just antisocial and don't like going out. In Scout's point of view she doesnt know this so it supports the theme because Scout's pov shows the Radleys of having hidden truths. The second example of point of view is when the book says mysterious things about the Radley house such as “Radley pecans would kill you” or “a baseball hit into the Radley yard is a lost ball”. This tells the reader that there is something unusual about this house because usually pecans won't kill you and you can retrieve a ball after you accidentally hit it into a neighbor's yard. So in this case of the book there is something about this house that supports the theme of hidden truths.
The setting of chapter one also contributes to the theme of hidden truths. The first example we have of this is that in the book Maycomb is described as an isolated and important town, because of clear social hierarchy and a history of racial bias. This setting suggests that there may be hidden tensions and conflicts underneath the surface of the towns

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