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The Theme Of Point Of View In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

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Harper Lee Ms. Grinnell American Literature Honors 11 January 2023 The Purpose of Point of View In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the character of Miss Maudie is used to portray the theme of perspective, through her talks with Scout and Jem about the lives of people living in Maycomb County. The book shows us what life was like in the South in the 1930s from the perspective of a young girl named Scout. Throughout the book, Miss Maudie tells Scout and Jem about how important perspective is in situations like that of Boo Radley’s past, Atticus’s hidden abilities to shoot, and when her house burns down. To begin with, Miss Maudie shifted the kids' perspectives of Boo Radley and his past actions by trying to make the kids understand what he went through. After learning about the rumor that Boo Radley had stabbed his father as a …show more content…

When a rabid dog gets loose, the Sheriff has Atticus over to shoot the dog due to his good hunting skills. After Atticus shoots the dog, a very shocked Jem and Scout go to Miss Maudie and ask why Atticus never told them about his talent for shooting. Miss Maudie tells Jem and Scout, “‘Wonder why he never goes hunin’ now,’ I said. ‘Maybe I can tell you,’ said Miss Maudie. ‘If your father’s anything, he’s a civilized in his heart. Marksmanship Is a gift of God, a talent-- oh, you have to practice to make it perfect, but shootiin’s different from playing the piano or the like. God had given him an unfair advantage over most living things. I guess he decided he wouldn’t shoot till he had to, and he had to today,’’” (Lee 98). Without Miss Maudie's input, Jem and Scout might never have been able to understand how Atticus viewed his talent for shooting. Her input helped to shift their perspectives to match those of Atticus, once again teaching them how perspective can change everything in certain

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9- This quote is Miss Maudie talking about Atticus to Scout, and speaking honestly. She means that Atticus treats his family with the same attitude he would treat strangers, and hides nothing. This quote is important because it teaches us that the townspeople know what Atticus is like, and know he is equal to everybody. Quote #

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it’s something you wouldn’t understand. Atticus is real old, but I wouldn’t care it he couldn’t do anything—I wouldn’t care if he couldn’t do a blessed thing . . . Atticus is a gentleman, just like me!’” (130-131).  Although Scout wants to brag to the whole town about Atticus’s skill in shooting, Jem realizes that since Atticus had not told them before, and tries not to bring the subject up, he probably had not wanted them to know about it.

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Atticus’ perspective goes hand-in-hand with his personal beliefs of equality. All of the personal beliefs of the characters were affected by their

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He bought his kids air rifles but he wouldn’t teach them how to shoot them, “ when he gave us our air-rifles Atticus wouldn’t teach us to shoot. Uncle Jack instructed us in the rudiments thereof; he said Atticus wasn’t interested in guns. (Lee 119)” Jem was going to shoot Miss Maudie in the butt. Atticus said “ Don’t you ever let me catch you pointing that gun at anybody again.

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“‘Maybe it slipped his mind,’[Scout] said… He called back:’Atticus is a gentleman, just like me!’”(113) This excerpt shows that Atticus taught his children yet another lesson, that people shouldn’t boast about their talents. They also learned that bragging about your accomplishments is rude, and that people have the right to keep things from others. Atticus shooting the mad dog and revealing his secret both taught his children more life lessons, ones they couldn’t ever learn in

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119 Words | 1 Pages

This quote takes place after Atticus has shot a rabid dog that was threatening his children and the neighborhood. Miss Maudie tells Jem and Scout that Atticus was “the deadest shot in Maycomb County in his time,” and was called “Ol’ One-Shot.” Jem and Scout are very surprised. The theme raised by this section is modesty. Just because you have a special ability does not mean that you should use it unnecessarily.

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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.

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(Lee 119). Atticus's constant guidance helps the children make the right choices throughout the

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The quote relates to a major theme in the novel because Atticus makes a statement about killing blue jays but never killing mocking birds . Scout feels the need to question her fathers edict because it is unusual. This quote explains how similar Atticus and Miss Maudie are. They both agree strongly that it is a sin to kill a mocking bird, an animal symbolic of Boo radley and Tom Robinson. Neither has causee harm, and prove only to have pure hearts.

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Seeing People's Perspectives on Life in To Kill a Mockingbird Through the development of Jem, in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee teaches us that people tend to misjudge others when they don’t see their perspective on life, which leads to people’s views on the world being limited. During the story, Lee explains how, “Countless evenings Atticus would find Jem furious at something Mrs. Dubose had said when we went by” (103). This affects how Jem views Mrs. Dubose since she was constantly rude and insulting the Finch family. For instance, on page 105 Mrs. Dubose complains, “Not only a Finch waiting on tables but one in the courthouse lawing for n***ers…! Your father’s no better than the n***ers and trash he works for!”

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(Lee 112). Miss Maudie’s explanation tells the reader the real reason why Atticus put down the gun. Most people in Maycomb would not understand why he put the gun down, but if they looked at the situation from Atticus’s perspective or “shoes'' they would see he just put the gun down to prevent harm. The reason Miss Maudie even said this quote was because Scout did not

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One of the first moments the reader is exposed to the innocence of Atticus is when Tim Johnson (a dog) was seen with rabies. Calpurnia had called the sheriff, as well as Atticus, to take care of the matter, which led to Atticus having to put Tim down in a single shot. Scout, who had previously questioned her father’s talents, was astonished when Atticus revealed his excellent marksmanship. This is when Miss Maudie, who had come to see the commotion, had stated, “If your father’s anything, he’s civilized in his heart. Marksmanship Is a gift of God, a talent–oh, you have to practice to make it perfect, but shootin’s different from playing the piano or the like.

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Option 2 Literary Analysis To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel set during the 1930s in a small town in Southern Alabama called Maycomb. The story is told through the narrator, Scout, a young girl who lives with her father, a lawyer, and her older brother Jem. As a child, Scout is portrayed as a stubborn and obnoxious little girl who loves to read, play with her brother Jem, and fantasize about her mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. However, her life gets turned upside down when Scout’s father agrees to do something that is deemed unacceptable in the south; he agrees to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who is accused of raping a white girl. Instantly, Atticus and his family go from being respected and beloved by their town, to being

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For years, many people have been attacking the video gaming industry for the depiction of female characters. According to Jamie Ferrugiaro, however, people often skip over the other gender’s depiction. She argues men are also victims of stereotypes; even in the same games which stereotype women. Her argument of both genders being equally molded to a certain image shows both sexes are put to a certain standard in video games.

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Miss Maudie and Scout sit on her porch because Jem is off doing something else so they talk about life and look at the sky. “Our tacit treaty with Miss Maudie was that we could play on her lawn, eat her scuppernongs if we didn’t jump on the arbor, and explore her vast back lot…” (42). Miss Maudie lets Scout spend time with her so that she does not get sad that Jem and Dill went to play without her. A neighbour, Mrs. Dubose insulted the Finch Family all the time and yet Atticus is still kind to her because “she is sick and old”. Atticus tells Jem “Son, I have no doubt that you’ve been annoyed by your contemporaries about me lawing for niggers, as you say, but to do something like this to a sick old lady is inexcusable” (103-104).

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