Tapestry Of Guidance In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

A Tapestry Of Guidance Gossip has affected society for centuries, promoting a toxic conformity from the societal acceptance of the South’s deep-rooted racist nature. Children often imitate their parents' behaviors, acting on their discriminatory teaching and standardized derogatory language. Nowadays, intervening in another’s parenting can be deemed as rude or inappropriate since it is “not their child,” and not their place to say. Though when that child copies that behavior from home to outside of their dwelling, it is not always a positive effect. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel, Lee demonstrates how a town’s gossip and lies can affect a community deeply; however, the adults of Maycomb have found a way through their oppressive

When Scout comes home frustrated from school, she complains about her new teacher Miss. Caroline, who made an abrupt comment about Scout knowing how to read. Wanting to stop attending school, Scout seeks solace from her father, his response being: “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view—until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee 39). Atticus treats all people with dignity and respect, as he continues to fight for equality. By treating everyone the same regardless of their background, and keeping his calm attitude, Scout and Jem learn to give characters a chance before making up an idea on who they are. Examples are Boo Radley and Walter Cunningham, Atticus continues to explain how Walter and Boo are not bad people, they are just in bad situations and their superficial appearances do not define them for who they are. When Scout is upset that her classmate Cecil Jacobs insults her father, Atticus explains to the Scout that people use insults as a reflection of their own ignorance and prejudices, he claims that “It's never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name” but instead it “shows you how poor that person is, it doesn't hurt you" (Lee 144-145). Atticusd tells Scout to recognize that people will always have different opinions and beliefs in their world. He reminds her that she should rise above insults and not result to violence. It is an important lesson in Scout’s development since it teaches her the importance of understanding the truth before jumping to conclusions. Here we see that Scout is finally realizing that there could be more to a person than first impressions. Insults are more a reflection of their oppressors character, it is a reflection of one's insecurities, prejudices and negative feelings that they project on another. Since Scout and Jem were