ipl-logo

Theme Of Sacrifice In To Kill A Mockingbird

960 Words4 Pages

In the movie Sleeping Beauty, the producer portrays Maleficent as the vicious antagonist. She constantly terrorizes the kingdom, hunts down young Aurora, and even attempts to murder her. By the end, however, the prince thwarts the “villain”, as this occurs in most Disney fairytales. Contrary to this, in Maleficent, a modern take on the classic, the antagonist is viewed as the protagonist. The story illustrates the betrayal and hatred shot towards Maleficent. Viewers see her overcome boundaries for the love of a man and for the love of a child. Over time, Maleficent changes from a malevolent creature into powerful leader, a motherly figure. Similarly to Maleficent, Arthur “Boo” Radley, in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, is misunderstood. Most of Maycomb County does not trust Boo, however, he progresses from an out of control beast to a loving friend. During the exposition of To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee portrays Boo Radley as the ghost of a wild, foolish troglodyte. Time and time again, the people of Maycomb recount of his reckless childhood. One story, the tale of a young Arthur along with his “enormous and confusing tribe” (12), gives a prime example. As usual, the …show more content…

He portrays the qualities of a wild troglodyte as well as a lionhearted man. First, he is foolish in locking up the sheriff. Thus, the story of Boo stabbing his father is a tribute to his primitive side. Second, Arthur takes care of the children who become interested in him, and eventually saves their lives. Interestingly, it does not occur often in literature and film that characters, such as Boo Radley and Maleficent, overcome stereotypes and boundaries. Most times, the antagonist remains the same throughout, and viewers aren’t exposed to the progression of characters from the “dark side” to something better. Harper Lee’s portrayal of this is one reason To Kill a Mockingbird is a book for the

Show More
Related
974 Words | 4 Pages

1. Though there is an incredible amount of important characters in the novel, to me, the most significant character in Part 1 of To Kill a Mockingbird is Atticus Finch. His actions and treatment towards everyone and everything caused me think the most in comparison to the other characters. For instance, Atticus makes an important decision to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, in trial during Chapter 9, thus leading to harassment towards his family not only from school, but even from their own neighbor and a relative. While his actions put him and his family in trouble, Atticus still stands firm in his beliefs.

Read More
784 Words | 4 Pages

A cover never does a book justice. It can either be very misleading to the reader or portray a differing feeling that he or she might expect. This is thoroughly present throughout Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Actuality differs what one sees when situations are changed, hidden, or revealed in another aspect. The full understanding of this process is found in Scout Finch’s narration of the novel when events unfold into their actual form.

Read More
186 Words | 1 Pages

Boo Radley is a mysterious person who often staked out by Jem, Scout and Dill. Apparently, Boo save Jem. It turned out that Boo Radley was not as unexpected. Then Atticus tells Jem about Boo who is a symbol like a mockingbird.

Read More
563 Words | 3 Pages

*MOUTH* Harper Lee’s interpretation of Boo Radley’s philosophy illustrates his courage. At times when Boo leaves his home he doesn't harm anyone instead, he leaves Jem and Scout presents, covers Scout with a blanket during the fire, and eventually saves the children from Bob Ewell. Despite the pureness of his heart, however, Boo has been damaged by an abusive father. In Chapter 30, Scout tells Atticus that hurting Boo Radley would be “sort of like shootin’ a Mockingbird.” think it will be important for you to show the theory of Boo's character and what we come to find out is his actual character as you develop this theme of Boo's courage.

Read More
1087 Words | 5 Pages

Arthur Radley, colloquially known as Boo Radley, is a reclusive man who refrains from leaving his house. This is a significant social faux pas in Maycomb, and as a result, he is highly gossiped about by the townspeople and negative rumors constantly circulate regarding him and how he is mentally ill and should be feared. At the beginning of the novel, Scouts perception of Boo Radley is no different. As the novel progresses Scout slowly begins to empathise more with Boo; and she begins to fear him less after various events in the novel, such as the times Boo leaves Scout and Jem presents (59-60) and the time Boo places a blanket on Scout 's shoulders during the fire at Miss Maudie’s house (71-72). Scout’s empathy towards Boo Radley is really only fully developed by the end of the novel when Boo saves Jem and Scout from Bob Ewell.

Read More
586 Words | 3 Pages

Rumors swept through the town, ruining a man’s reputation and giving him no reason to step outside of his own home. In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Arthur “Boo” Radley is the most complex of Maycomb’s residents. Many say Boo is a killer that should not be trusted near children. However, Scout thinks otherwise as she tries to understand Boo herself. She learns more than she figured, as Boo teaches her numerous lessons without even meeting her.

Read More
980 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” written by Harper Lee, the readers can see how Scout changes her view about Boo Radley. Because of their nosiness, Jem, Scout, and Dill try to drag Boo out his house and to the outside world. Their innocent actions combined with Boo’s actions changed the image of Boo, in their minds, from “a malevolent phantom” (10), a person who kills cats and eats squirrels to a neighbor they can trust, who saves them from Bob Ewell. Scout says at the end, “Boo was our neighbor” (373). The readers can see a great change in their relationship.

Read More
975 Words | 4 Pages

Boo Radley, a character who never comes out of his house and sounds as scary as his name portrays an important theme in Harper Lee’s classic To Kill A Mockingbird. The classic is rich with themes and inspires many people to learn from these themes. One of the main themes is developed by Tim Johnson, the pet of Maycomb, Tom Robinson, a black man convicted of rape, and Boo Radley. The theme these characters are developing is that it is a sin to hurt or kill something that is not harmful. Tim Johnson is a marvelous dog that brings joy to the town of Maycomb, but Atticus kills Tim.

Read More
1339 Words | 6 Pages

He is accountable for creating many themes as well affecting the actions and development of other characters. Furthermore, he plays a major role in the maturation of Jem and Scout. Jem, Scout, and Dill are fascinated by the rumors of Boo Radley around them. People in Maycomb perceive Boo as someone who, “dined on raw squirrels and cats” and “the teeth he had were yellow and rotten”(16). This quote shows the people’s impression of Boo and how they affect the childrens in the book.

Read More
715 Words | 3 Pages

To Kill a Mockingbird has many of underlying themes such as racism, courage, respect, femininity, etc. But the theme that fits this book most appropriately is innocence and the harm caused to the innocent by evil and bigotry. Examples of this include Jem, Dill, Tom Robinson, Boo Radley. While all these characters have completely different personalities and circumstances they all have one thing in common. All of them were innocent at one point and were harmed by the evil of

Read More
4088 Words | 17 Pages

This essay aims to investigate the literary context of Harper Lee 's To Kill A Mockingbird (1960) from four different perspectives. The scope of this essay does not only include the context from historical, cultural and social points of views, but also the significance of Lee 's early life is considered. The essay explores deeply the novel 's events, characters and main themes, which can all be related to the literary context. This is why the research question of this essay is “A Study of Literary Context in Harper Lee 's To Kill A Mockingbird”. To Kill A Mockingbird never fails to amaze a reader because of its audacity, as it brings out many controversial issues from 1930s America.

Read More
1144 Words | 5 Pages

Boo Radley never harmed anyone, but was victimized by the social prejudice of the Maycomb community. Although not established until the end of the novel, Boo Radley is set up to be the last discovered symbolic character for the image of the mockingbird. Harper Lee has done this to illustrate all points of injustice in the 1930s societal town of Maycomb, where rumours and old tales define Boo's life story rather than his authentically generous heart and personality. During the concluding chapter of the novel, Scout comes to the realization that blaming Boo for Bob Ewell's death would be "sort of like shootin' a mockingbird." Boo does many kind-hearted things in the novel such as leaving gifts in the knot-hole for Scout and Jem, repairing Jem's pants, putting the blanket on Scout discretely in order to keep her warm, and even saving them from the evil Bob Ewell.

Read More
507 Words | 3 Pages

In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee shows that we shouldn’t be too quick to judge another person’s character based on outward appearance and the stories and rumors we have heard. The character Boo Radley is a perfect example of why we shouldn’t be hasty to judge. On the outside, Boo looks like a scary neighbor that lives just a few houses away. “.....he had sickly white hands that had never seen the sun. His face was as white as his hands…..”

Read More
469 Words | 2 Pages

Lee’s use of elements of style in To Kill a Mockingbird to convey and support the classic’s theme is what makes both the novel and the author so distinguishable. Using the literary devices of setting, symbolization, and characterization, Lee is consistently referencing the theme of racism and inequality in society. Throughout the first chapter of To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee frequently references age and appearance when discussing the town of Maycomb. ” Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it” (Lee 9). The deeper meaning that Lee is successfully conveying through this description of an old and tired town can be used to represent the old and outdated morals and view of Maycomb’s inhabitants.

Read More
1439 Words | 6 Pages

In the literary works Night, To Kill a Mockingbird, and the “Rwandan Genocide,” many human rights outlined in “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights” were violated. Night is an autobiography written by Elie Wiesel, who was a Jew that survived the Holocaust. He suffered in several different concentration camps, enduring the pain they inflicted. To Kill a Mockingbird is a historical fiction novel written in retrospect of fictional events. Scout, the narrator, is a young girl whose family is experiencing the Depression and segregation.

Read More

More about Theme Of Sacrifice In To Kill A Mockingbird

Related Topics

Open Document