Similarities Between To Kill A Mockingbird And A Raisin In The Sun

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and A raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry both display the topic of parenthood. Atticus the father of Scout, 8 in To Kill a Mockingbird and Ruth the mother of Travis, 10 in A raisin in the Sun both parent their kids differently. In both these books the family deals with their own struggles while trying to raise their kids to navigate the world; however Atticus does a better job being transparent about the struggles leading to Scout having a better understanding of the world around them, where as because of Ruth's lack of communication Travis is more aloof and confused. Harper Lee shows heavy communication about the topic of how to understand people better between Scout and Atticus. Scout explained

In the scene he said “ If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never understand a person until you consider things from their point of view. Until you climb into his skin and walk around it.” ( Lee 39). Atticus broke down how to understand why someone is acting a certain way, Scout listening to this took this advice and applied it to the people around her. For example later in the book Jem’s life was at risk and when Jem returned from a near death experience he went silent for a week. Scout's reaction was the trick she learned from Atticus. “ Jem stayed moody and silent for a week. As Atticus had once advised me to do, I tried to climb into Jem's Skin and walk around in it. If I had gone alone to the Radley Place at two in the morning, my funeral would’ve been held the next afternoon. So I left Jem alone and tried not to bother him.” ( Lee 77). The communication happened 38 pages ago however Scout clung onto this advice and listened to it.in this scene Scout used what Atticus communicated to her. She put herself in his shoes, and realized then how to deal with Jem. This led her to be able to figure out how to deal with Jem, and it

In A Raisin in the Sun Travis comes home after playing outside and talks about the rat he was playing with. “ Mama, you should’ve seen the rat… big as a cat, honest! Mr Barrnet got him with a stick and Bam Bam Bam!” ( Hansberry 59) Travis playing with a rat is blatantly unsafe, however Ruth does not communicate this. Ruth’s response to Travis’s unsafe play is once again dismissive. “ You hush up now talking all that terrible stuff.” ( Hanserry 59). Ruth dismisses Travis, by not explaining the reason as to why he can’t play with a rat. Travis is then confused “ Travis stares at his mother with a confused expression.” ( Hansberry 59). This quote tells us Travis is confused as to why his mother is upset, and because of her lack of communication he will never understand. Travis is once again left uncertain in the world around him. In To Kill a Mockingbird Scout and her brother Jem often play dangerous games outside, as a result of being bored, similar to Travis. However Atticus explains why they cannot play certain games. In this scene Scout and her brother Jem and their summer friend Dill attempt to slide a note into somebody’s house as Atticus stops them. After he stops their play he explains why he did it. “ You’re putting his life's