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Issues of social status in to kill a mockingbird
Theme of innocence in to kill a mockingbird
Issues of social status in to kill a mockingbird
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In chapter six Scout, Jem, and Dill were sitting waiting for Mr. Avery to get there so he could take Dill back to where he lived, meridian. While waiting for Mr. Avery, Scout, Jem, and Dill decided to go see if they can see Boo Radley, but the gate squeaked, so they spat on it to make it not squeak when they go back through it. When they got to the shutter that was in bad shape, Scout, and Jem lifted up Dill so he can see, but it was to dark in there so they decided to go to the back window so they can get a peak at Boo Radley. Harper lee uses hyperbole to intensify the mood and terror and suspense as Jem trespassed on the Radley’s yard.
Dill is an important character in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Dill sparks the interest of Authur Radley to Jem and Scout. In the book, Dill gets Jem to go past the gate and touch the house, and Jem, Dill, and Scout go sneak into the Radley's backyard. Dill is also an example of childhood innocence. Dill shows Scout how you can't just assume with people.
Living in a world with people as loving and caring as Dill truely is uplifting. With his wide varity of personality traits, Dill acts much diferent than his friends, which can be a good or bad thing. Around Maycomb Dill stands out, but not because he hails from Meridian, but because not many children or adult think the way he does. Others are not as spontanious and quick-witted, creative, and loving as Dill Harris. "I think ill be a clown when I get grown"(133).
To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee and set in the early 1930s, follows through the young eyes Scout, Jem and Dill and their development throughout the book. The book reflects the dominant view of racism, through the use of the characters who see the world through innocent eyes. Through the use of characterisation Harper lee invites the reader to view Scout, Jem and Dills loss of innocence through the racist beliefs of the 1930. Throughout the novel Scout gradually loses her childhood innocence as she encounters life's many injustices. Jem loses his innocence by realising the racist stereotypes of the people in Maycomb and Dill loses his care free attitude by seeing how Maycomb treat Tom Robinson.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee presents the idea that in order to gain empathy one must go through many experiences because the more one morally develops the higher their ability becomes to understand others. Going through many experiences can help one to grow morally. In To Kill a Mockingbird the character Jem shows throughout the book to be going through the changes of moral development in comparison to Dill who is younger yet has already progressed faster. In the beginning of the novel he is a young boy who believes that those older should be respected. Foolish and naive, he believes whatever gossip is told to him and believes that whatever he thinks is the truth.
While Tom Robinson's words are getting twisted as he is being interrogated by Mr. Gilmer, Dill's emotions get out of hand. Harper Lee states, “For some reason, Dill had started crying and couldn’t stop quietly at first, then his sobs were heard by several people on the balcony”(Lee 225). Dill witnessed Tom being questioned and Tom trying to hopelessly defend himself, which stirred up Dill's emotions. He started to cry unconditionally to the point where Scout was asked to take him outside. This reaction suggests that Dill is very sensitive, this is likely due to his complex family situation in which he feels abandoned and misunderstood.
To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the small, rural town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the early 1930s. The character of Atticus Finch, Scout 's father, was based on Lee 's own father, a liberal Alabama lawyer and statesman who frequently defended African Americans within the racially prejudiced Southern legal system. Scout and her brother Jem are raised by their father and by Calpurnia, an African-American housekeeper who works for the family. Scout and Jem meet and befriend seven-year-old Dill Harris, a boy who has arrived in Maycomb to stay with his aunt for the summer. Lee has stated that the character of Dill is based on young Truman Capote, a well-known Southern writer and childhood friend.
All three of these characters “mockingbirds” because of their innocence. Dill is a “mockingbird” in To Kill a Mockingbird because of his innocence. He also doesn’t bother anyone so his is a “mockingbird” in that way to. His family members just pass him around from member to member and give him money to try to make him happy. This causes Dill to be very naïve.
This leaves him feeling lonely and unwanted, and he often seeks comfort from Scout and Jem. In addition, Dill is a very emotional and sensitive child, and the events throughout the novel touch him. For example, he is traumatized during the trial of Tom Robinson. Dill's imagination is trait throughout To Kill a Mockingbird.
Throughout the short course of three years, Harper Lee makes Jem’s transformation easily evident to readers. At the beginning of chapter one, Jem gives Dill a description of their neighbor, Boo Radley, and Dill becomes curious and wants to try to get him out of the house. Jem instructs, “if Dill [wants] to get himself killed, all he [has] to do [is] go up and knock on the front door.” (Lee 14). Jem acts nave and is extremely frightened by the mysterious Boo Radley.
In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, one of the many symbols represented in the story is Charles Baker Harris, also known as Dill. He represents childhood innocence, or just human innocence in general. According to the article, Teenink,“he is an outsider to Macomb, who doesn’t know too much about the county, but wants to know why Macomb is like this and tries to fit in. His innocence is what sets off a lot of events in To Kill a Mockingbird ”(Gabriel V.). He sets Jem and Scout of into an adventure that will last the whole book.
Some people have more fun than others. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, a young boy named Dill possesses all the characteristics needed to have a great time. Dill, a six-year-old child when the story begins, sees life differently than others in his small Southern world. Odd and mysterious things obsessively interest him, he has a wild imagination, and he shows sympathy to the outcasts in his racially divided culture. His curiosity, creativity, and compassion provide him with a unique view of the world.
Her publishers had told her to rewrite and redraft the entire book as it was more of a series of anecdotes than a proper novel. Afterwards, it was renamed as ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, which, as we all know, has become a symbol of modern American Literature. Harper Lee had taken inspiration from real life incidents in order to create the story of that book. As Scout’s character in To Kill a Mockingbird was inspired by Lee herself, the character of Dill was inspired by Truman Capote, her childhood friend, and later, a fellow writer. The case which the character’s father had taken upon in the book is similar to the one her father lost in real life.
Innocence represents a child’s purity. Children are extremely vulnerable to influences, due to their lack of knowledge of the world. In today’s time, children are mostly sheltered from the corrupting influences. However, in the 1930s, children were constantly exposed to these common inappropriate prejudiced views towards different races and genders. Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ published in 1960, is a classic novel which expresses the widely racial influences of 1930s America towards the People of colour.
Divorce a common act when a married couple splits up. Sometimes this causes problems, because they might have children. Although they have dispersed from each other, they might take care of their kids if they had any. Dill is a complex character in the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and has to face issues like this. Dill in this story begins to acquire characteristics such as curiosity, rejection, and empathetic ness, Dill gets a lot of curiosity since he came to see his grandma in the summer, and met Jem and Scout.
