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The Theme Of Adversity In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

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In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout embodies Atticus’ advice regarding both her internal and external conflicts stemming from the court case, which leads to her discovering the theme that adversity is not worth one’s relationships with those they are close to. During the plot, Jem and Scout are continuously ridiculed by their family and classmates due to the fact that their father is defending Tom Robinson, a black man, in a trial. The two act irrationally in response, whether it is Scout fighting her cousin, Francis, or Jem cutting down fellow Maycomb resident, Miss Dubose’s camellia bushes. When Atticus discovers these things, he tells his children that in this case, “(they) aren’t fighting the Yankees”, but instead their loved ones; however, it should not get in between those ties, as in the end “they’re still (their) friends and this is still (their) home” (Lee 76). …show more content…

Atticus is ultimately implying that because of this, Scout should restrain herself and her temper from creating any further conflict; whether it is internal, in which her anger drives her to do unreasonable things, or external, in which she will produce bad blood between herself and someone she is close to. Scout still has connections with them nonetheless, and doing so could end up damaging those connections, which she may regret following the case. Atticus’ advice eventually becomes a pivotal theme in which hardship is not worth ending close relationships, as the majority of the plot surrounds the trial and the problems derived from it. Scout takes this into account almost directly after he tells her about it, which becomes a coming-of-age moment for

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In Harper Lee’s classic novel, ‘’To Kill a Mockingbird’’, the protagonist, and father of the narrator, Atticus Finch goes through many issues in his attempts to overcome separate forms of adversity, for many different reasons. In order to prevent these difficult situations, Atticus would have to risk his safety, reputation, and life. Finch had a distorted family life. Widowed only a few years prior to when the story takes place, Atticus worked incredibly hard as a lawyer, in order to support his two children, Jem and Scout.

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Everyone goes through a period in their life where they are required to have responsibilities they are not prepared for. During To kill a mockingbird, Jem and Scout are beginning to see what the real world is like through their father’s eyes. The kids are starting to realize what they have to face when they reach the “outside world” such as segregation, racism, and differences. Atticus has to prepare them for what they have to face in the real world. Atticus has received a case to be a defense lawyer for a black man (Tom Robinson) accused of raping a young white woman (Mayella Ewell).

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Scout when her classmates are making fun of Atticus for defending a black man , and Jem when he believed Nathan Radley when he cemented the tree because it was “ill”. Scout hears her classmates saying terrible things about Atticus because he's defending a black man, but she doesn't see the wrong in what her father is doing. Atticus explains to her that it's not really a bad thing, but some people see it that way. Scout is too young to understand prejudice and injustice. Atticus tries to preserve this innocence by raising her to believe that there is nothing wrong with defending a black man.

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The Impact of a Lack of Adversity A lack of adversity can be problem larger than one could ever expect. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the detrimental effect of this lack of calamity is evident through the diminishing of Dill Harris, Alexandra Hancock, and Maudie Atkinson’s characters, especially regarding their value to the plot of the novel. These 3 characters had the potential to be great, strong leads, but, because of their lack of influential adversity, they are pushed to the margins of the novel’s plot and forgotten. When people are faced with a lack of impactful adversity, it causes their identities to become bleak and marginalized, even if their inner opinions and beliefs are powerful and cognate, because experiencing adversity

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“What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” - Friedrich Nietzsche. Is that true? Does adversity really change people for the better? Going through tough situations can give individuals a new kind of strength, emotional strength, which lends them a chance to grow and mature.

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Change can come in many different forms in our lives. In Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee creates two intriguing characters and develops/changes them throughout her novel. The two characters Jeremy Finch and Jean Louise Finch, well known as Jem and Scout, mature physically as they age throughout the course of the novel. The children experience many different situations and lessons that change them mentally; as their perception of the world that they once thought was flawless is altered. The people they meet, know and interact with begin to form a different perspective of how people act than the kids originally had at the beginning of the text as the change emotionally.

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In the early 1900’s, one’s ethnicity, financial status, education and popularity were many factors in determining one’s place in society. Along with the day to day life, those factors shown to have an effect on one’s say in many situations. In spite of this, Harper Lee enunciates the idea that with great courage, anyone (of any background) can stand for what they deem is right, even with foreseen inevitable consequences and obstacles. She displays this in her novel To Kill A Mockingbird. In consequence of Atticus defending the case of Tom Robinson, a black man, in a racist era, both of his children Scout and Jem get attacked by Bob Ewell.

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At the start of To Kill A Mockingbird, the story unfolds through Scout’s eyes, a young girl living with her father, brother, and family friend. She resides in a sluggish town called Maycomb where most people knew each other and lived with a simple daily schedule. One afternoon, she and her brother Jem pair off, finding a peculiar friend named Dill, which leads to the trio pulling acts of mischief and childlike playfulness in their town. Despite their spirited behavior, Scout and Jem take after their lawyer father, with all of them possessing a trait of acuteness. Their father, Atticus, being a known lawyer in their town raises his two children with integrity, as well as the salient practice to think of their situations in different ways and

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Heroes are often placed on a pedestal in society. While normal people have plenty of flaws, heroes are often looked up to as perfect figures. In sports they are figures that can fill stadiums and perform superhuman feats. The public looks up to these heroes because they don’t appear to have any problems. Throughout his distinguished career on and off the baseball field Joe DiMaggio filled this role of a hero.

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Everyone faces the coming of age, displaying growth and maturity as we age. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee tells the story of a young girl in Alabama during the Great Depression, a major economic crisis (1929–1939) caused by a significant stock market crash, which forced many into poverty. The book illustrates the perspective of an intelligent child opposing the much darker world of Maycomb County, Alabama, to establish the theme of coming of age. Throughout the novel, Lee utilizes the literary elements of character and symbolism to illustrate the mind of a growing child's first step into adulthood to illustrate the theme of coming of age. Symbolism plays a significant part in illustrating the theme of the coming of age, acting

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In my opinion, the novel speaks volumes about racism on many levels. One aspect that the novel displays is the differences between racial backgrounds and their expectations within society. For instance, the expectations that was set from Tom Robinson’s case where he was accused of raping a white woman. During this time period where racial prejudice was at a max high, interracial types of relationships were prohibited. Because of this, the woman who called rape instead of being honest about her real relationship between her and Mr. Robinson, lied to keep herself from the backlash she would receive had she just told the truth of what happened.

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Atticus says “The older you grow, the more of it you’ll see” (Lee 253). At this point in the novel, Tom Robinson has been convicted and has continued to be a victim of prejudice. Jem and Scout don’t really understand why this is happening because their father has taught them to never judge anyone no matter their race. Scout talks about empathy and not fully knowing someone until you “stand in their shoes.” Towards the end of the novel, Scout shows just how much she has changed because of the trial.

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"Jem, I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It 's when you know you 're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what. " This insightful statement was told by Atticus Finch to his son, Jem Finch. Many people in Maycomb had to deal with racism, hatred, and discrimination because of their skin color or because of the court case.

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“Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.” (Rosa Parks) What Rosa Parks says about racism is exactly what Atticus tries teaching Jem, and Scout throughout the book. In the book “To kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee many people learn about how courageous they are or someone they know is.

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It seems like everyone is against Jem and Scout or even Atticus except their good neighbors, who really understand them. The conflict even growth bigger when Atticus defense for Tom Robinson, a colored skin man that get accused of raping a white woman. The adult, their friend and even their cousin trying to hurt them. Jem and Scout didn’t deserve to hear those negative comments on their father. Moreover, Atticus didn’t do anything wrong, didn’t he?

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