ipl-logo

Reality In To Kill A Mockingbird

1872 Words8 Pages

Perception vs. Reality in To Kill a Mockingbird
“Humans see what they want to see”- Rick Riordan. As humans, we naturally have personal beliefs that affect the way we see the world. These perceptions can be swayed by anything, from the media to our parents. Our perception of others can be dramatically different from what is true. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the two main characters, Scout and Jem, have perceptions that also differ from reality, and these perceptions cause them to learn and mature throughout the book. In the novel, Jem and Scout mature by changing the way they perceive reality by realizing their father, Atticus, isn’t as boring as they thought, learning about Boo Radley, watching Tom Robinson’s trial, …show more content…

They realize their father, Atticus, is much more interesting than he seems by witnessing him shoot a mad dog. Jem and Scout also realize that Boo Radley is kind and thoughtful, not insane and evil after having some interactions with him. Jem discovers that his dad isn’t perfect by watching him lose a trial that he was certain to win. Finally, Jem and Scout find out that Mrs. Dubose is trying to quit morphine, and she isn’t just a grumpy old woman. The theme of perception versus reality may seem like it is only applicable in books like To Kill a Mockingbird, but it is actually more prolific in our lives than it seems. When we are children, we perceive that the world is only as big as where we have been, but in reality, it is of course much bigger. As we become adults, we look up to others for help because we perceive them to be a good role models, but those illusions are sometimes shattered by the reality of their imperfections. Also, on social media, people only post the perfect moments in life, when in reality they could be troubled. In politics, the population could perceive that a president will live up to their expectations, as they promised, but in reality, little is accomplished. To Kill a Mockingbird shows us that experiences and relationships have the power to change perceptions in ways we may not have ever

Show More
Related
224 Words | 1 Pages

The theme of this novel is "Not everything is the way you predict it is". I believe this thematic statement suits the story because throughout the book there are lots of surprises, and most situations don't go the way people predict they will. For example, Aunt Alexandra was first seen as mean, according to her attitude towards Scout. At the end of the book Aunt Alexandra hands Scout her overalls, as mentioned in the story, "the garments she most despised." Because she always wanted Scout to be a lady and wear dresses.

Read More
811 Words | 4 Pages

In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Jem grows from a little boy to an intelligent young man. Throughout the book, he discerns many things that shape his personality. As Jem grows, he learns how bad society is and that not everyone is perfect. Fortunately for Jem, this ends up helping him and he finds out that Atticus is a hero and that he should look up to Atticus. Through Atticus and the trial, Jem loses his innocence by learning about prejudice, bravery, and that the justice system is crippled.

Read More
728 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem and Scouts changing perspective of Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley represents a coming of age moment because it demonstrates a breaking away from the childlike imagination that had previously explained all of their questions and superstitions about the Radley’s. A coming-of-age moment is the transition of thinking that occurs when someone learns empathy. At the start of the novel, in many situations, Scout and Jem demonstrate childish behavior and thinking when Jem is taunted into touching the side of the Radley home by Scout and Dill. The book reads, “Jem threw open the gate and sped to the side of the house, slapped it with his palm and ran back past us” (18). From this portion of the novel we can tell that Jem and Scout clearly regarded the Radley home and its occupants with novelty and even fear.

Read More
980 Words | 4 Pages

Scout matures through the novel, from her interactions with Boo Radley such as when Boo gives Jem and Scout some gifts by putting them in the knothole of

Read More
757 Words | 4 Pages

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is the story of a small town named Maycomb Located in Alabama, highlighting the adventures of the finch children and many other people in the small town. The people in this town are very judgemental and of each other and it often leads to people being labeled with stereotypes and people think they know everything about that person however that is not reality. It is not possible to know the reality of a person 's life by placing a stereotype without seeing it through their own eyes and experiencing the things they experience. This happens often throughout the story with many people in the town. People are labeled as many things such a “monster” a “nigger” and many other things that seem to put them in their

Read More
606 Words | 3 Pages

Many people say that seeing is believing, but that simply is not true, well at least not according to the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The book constantly contradicts the idea that seeing is believing. Several different characters go against what is believed and observed about them, which in turn surprises other characters. To start off, one of the biggest characters that contradicts what is believed about them is Atticus. He is seen as this polite, simple man, but when a mad dog is spotted in his neighbourhood he is quick to take a rifle and shoot the dog.

Read More
675 Words | 3 Pages

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird shows how Jem, Scout and Boo overcome their loss of innocence and overcome the struggles that Maycomb county and its people throw at them. While Jem, Scout, are just rudimentary kids they face some real world problems and they witness some of the harsh ways people did things but witnessing those things and hearing all the judgemental people is also a detriment to their innocence.

Read More
1045 Words | 5 Pages

Jem and Scout learn many valuable life lessons throughout the novel and although they “grow up” at a much faster rate than other children in Maycomb, they will become people that have lots of wisdom and have been exposed to the real world. The experiences that the children have throughout their childhood help them solve problems, think wisely, and shape their

Read More
743 Words | 3 Pages

Children are very impressionable people. Almost everything around them changes them in some way. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the main characters, Scout and Jem, start out as little kids who spend their days making up stories and playing sill games. Then their dad, who is a lawyer, takes on a case defending a black man who has been charged with rape. Since they live in Alabama, The whole family has to absorb some pretty ugly things, which forces Scout and Jem to grow up quickly, and it gives them a different and more mature view of the world.

Read More
685 Words | 3 Pages

Appearance VS. Reality In the novel To Kill a MockingBird written by Harper Lee there are many events that occur that show the theme of appearance vs Reality. Throughout the story Boo radley is looked at as a monster that hides in his house and scares children. Mrs.Dubose is an old lady who had a morphine addiction and Tom robinson is known for sexualy abuseing a young white woman.

Read More
779 Words | 4 Pages

Life is overfilled with messages, like weeds in a sea in unmaintained grass. Whether it’s warning a person, or pointing out a flaw; these little lessons are there to further grow the positive parts of that person’s personality. A simple demonstration of this is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. An old, children’s book serving no meaningingful purpose is what it may seem, nevertheless, it actually is a novel that offers a unique outtake on all aspects of human life. In the book, two children Jem and Scout, who learn about equality, racism, and social class through court cases, tea parties and more.

Read More
915 Words | 4 Pages

The way the people and the town influence Jem and Scout make the characters more realistic and the overall story much more interesting. To Kill a Mockingbird is an exceptional novel that conveys many positive messages throughout. In her novel, Lee creates honest and relatable characters that take the reader on a journey through life in the south during the Great Depression. Readers are impressed by Lee’s eloquent writing and amazing characters, all of which make To

Read More
881 Words | 4 Pages

but it’s not as great as the good. In the life changing novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses point of view, allegory, and epiphany to convey that prejudice changes the way we see the world, a message still relevant in today’s society. Walking home from the Halloween pageant, Jem and scout find themselves under attack by a Mr. Bob Ewell. As the struggle to break free intensifies, both scout and Jem are startled to find that their assailant has fallen limb. Instantaneously scout finds herself inside the house while Jem lies unconscious.

Read More
715 Words | 3 Pages

You can see in the book as Jem and Scout go from a childish perspective, one that only sees good in people because they’ve never faced evil. To a more adult perspective who have confronted evil and learn to integrate it into their world. The first example of this is Boo Radley. Boo is a mockingbird.

Read More
852 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the novel, Scout and Jem learn more and more valuable life lessons through real life scenarios than they ever would have ever learned at school. They learn morals such as courage, selflessness, and equality through their own lives. Therefore, real life experiences give more valuable lessons than education to Scout and Jem.

Read More

More about Reality In To Kill A Mockingbird

Related Topics

Open Document