Matthew Kidd
Mrs. Moore
English 10H, Period 5
25 January 2023
To Kill a Mockingbird Theme Analysis Essay Outline
Directions: Include a heading and complete the outline below to use the day of the test.
Introduction
TAGS
This will be the first sentence of the intro
Title: To Kill a Mockingbird
Author: Harper Lee
Genre: novel
Setting (time and place): Great Depression (1930s); Maycomb, Alabama
Sentence: Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the 1930s during the Great Depression in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama.
Context/Background Info
2+ sentences
Include brief overview of book and any historical context that may be relevant to themes
Must transition from TAGS to Thesis
To Kill a Mockingbird is based on the Scottsboro
…show more content…
Quote #1
Must be embedded properly and cited correctly
When Jem and Scout begin learning to hunt using the guns they got for Christmas, Atticus reminds them that "it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird" (Lee 103). Confused with Atticus's statement, the Finch children ask Miss Maudie why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, and Miss Maudie explains to them that mockingbirds are harmless creatures that just sing beautifully. Through his reminder not to kill mockingbirds, an innocent bird, Atticus begins to sow a seed in his children's heads that it is wrong to hurt both animals and humans who do not cause harm and just try their best to do good.
Quote #2
Must be embedded properly and cited
…show more content…
Before making her remark, Scout sees that Boo Radley is extremely shy and prefers to be left in the shadows. She also comes to realize that Boo is not a monster, like she previously thought, and is truly more of a guardian angel who has silently been looking after Jem and her as they grow up. Putting her observations together, Scout understands that Boo is not going to like any public attention, either positive or negative, that a court case about his heroic role in the death of Bob Ewell might bring. As a result, when Atticus asks Scout if she understands why he is letting Sheriff Tate cover up the case, Scout extends his lesson about not harming the innocent to Boo; to display her understanding of Atticus's lesson, she implies that making innocent Boo uncomfortable and harming his quiet life in the shadows due to his rightful action of protecting the children is just as wrong as shooting an innocent mockingbird. By illustrating Scout's journey from first learning that it is wrong to harm the innocent to being able to apply the lesson herself, Harper Lee demonstrates that Scout has matured during the course of the book and has come to understand that it is wrong to disturb those who do not disturb others. Additionally, in
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird brings out many emotions as you read the book. It was published in 1960 and became a total hit. To Kill a Mockingbird is set in Alabama, in a small town, Maycomb, during the 60’s. The book makes you feel as if you were the main character, Scout, a young 8 year old girl.
In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout’s perspective of Boo Radley changes as others influence her. Initially, Scout thinks as Boo as a malevolent phantom, and is scared of him because of the stories she hears. Midway through the novel, Boo starts to reveal himself to Scout, and she starts on her journey to realizing who he really is. Finally, after Boo saves Scout and Jem from Bob Ewell, Scout walks Boo back home. Now on the porch of the Radley place, Scout looks at her street from Boo’s perspective, and she realizes that Boo is just like anyone else, but he just rather live a reclusive life. Ultimately, Scout learns that she can not judge anyone until she is able to see life from their perspective.
In the modern world, we are surrounded by judgement and discrimination. Nearly everyone is faced with hardships and insults based on their beliefs, habits, interests, and appearance. In a time of such hatred, there is a handful of pieces of literature that have spoken truth through the ages. One such book is To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel by Harper Lee. To Kill a Mockingbird takes place during the Great Depression in the fictional southern town of Maycomb, Alabama.
She has started to lose her innocence, which leads her to be able to understand more of what people mean even when they say something else. Scout realizes that her and Jem’s savior was indeed Boo Radley: “‘Hey Boo,’ I said” (Lee 362). Boo Radley’s innocence leads him to be courageous by saving Jem and Scout. Boo has watched Jem and Scout through their times of crisis and as they have grown up. “His mouth was slightly open, and he looked at Jem from head to foot.
Mr. Ewell describes to Atticus that to him it is a “sin” to bring a shy man who does good out of the shadows that the society has forced him to go into. Boo Radley has been an individual in the society for as long as anyone can remember and bring someone who has been characterized as a boogeyman into the society that has given him that name is wrong. Scout uses the rule that Atticus taught her about the Mockingbird to show Atticus that presenting Boo to the society is wrong. After Mr. Tate explains to Atticus the moral principles of the matter of bringing Boo into the light Atticus puts aside his views and thinks about his mockingbird. Seeing her father's discomfort Scout assures him
Hook: "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it." - Atticus Finch Thesis: Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird explores the complexities of prejudice and racism through the perspectives of Scout and Jem Finch, two young children growing up in the deep South during the 1930s. Body Paragraph 1: Topic Sentence: Scout's innocence and naivety initially blind her to the racism present in her community. Quote: "I was starting to learn that a quick temper could get you into trouble faster than anything else."
Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression, a time of great economic hardship in America. While many problems were happening at the time, one of the most significant and pervasive issues was discrimination and prejudice. In Maycomb, racism and segregation were normalized, and gender bias and classism were also prevalent. Women were expected to act in a certain way, exemplified by Aunt Alexandria's constant nagging of Scout to be more ladylike.
Lastly, Scout connects Boo Radley to mockingbirds, showing the importance of keeping Boo’s heroic action unheard of: “...like shootin’ a mockingbird” (276). To kill an innocent man, either physically or emotionally, is a sin. Boo never does anything to ask for attention; he just protects the children from an attacker, which is the
Logan LaFree Gina Wright 5th Hour 1 February 2023 Perspective Marathon Intro: 1.
To Kill a Mockingbird Essay Plan Thesis: The three main protagonists of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird (Scout, Jem, and Dill) both learn and demonstrate empathy through the story. Directional Statement: The characters demonstrate empathy to Boo Radley both after the trial and after Scout walks him back home, and they learn about empathy during Tom Robinson's testimony. Body Paragraph 1: Point: Jem demonstrates empathy towards Boo Radley after Tom Robinson is convicted of raping a white woman. Proof: Right after the trial, and Tom Robinson has been convicted of raping Mayella Ewell, Jem starts to understand why Boo Radley doesn't come out of his house: "I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all the time...
According to Atticus, it is considered a sin to harm a mockingbird because “mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us.” By drawing a parallel between mockingbirds and vulnerable members of society, Atticus teaches his children the importance of embracing kindness and refraining from causing harm to those who pose no threat. Towards the conclusion of the novel, Scout demonstrates her understanding of the mockingbird metaphor when she reflects on the necessity of keeping Boo Radley's actions secret by comparing exposing Boo's deeds to “shooting a mockingbird”, thereby highlighting her ability to apply the metaphor to individuals in her own life. Scout's observation serves as evidence of her personal growth throughout the narrative, as she embraces the principles of empathy and ethical behaviour that Atticus
-Summary for Ch. 11-15 (AT LEAST FOUR SENTENCES): In chapters 11-15, Jem did not know much about Mrs. Dubose but Atticus said that she was the bravest person he knew as she died of her illness. Cal took Scout and jem to a black church and some didn't quite welcome them to their church but they learned some new things about the difference in races.
To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, takes place in the fictional town of Maycomb Alabama during the Great Depression. All of the story is an allusion to the Scottsboro Trial where 9 black kids were wrongfully accused of rape only off of the word of a few white girls. The story centers around Atticus who is a lawyer, and his children Scout, and Jem. They are a poor white family who has it better off than most during the depression. Scout is the narrator and her brother Jem is the one whom she hangs out with most throughout the book.
- Atticus Finch This quote, spoken by Atticus, sets the tone for the entire novel. It is a metaphor for the innocence that is destroyed by prejudice and racism. Mockingbirds are innocent creatures that bring joy through their singing, and killing them is a senseless act of cruelty. In the same way, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are innocent victims of racism and prejudice.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is set in the small fictional town Maycomb of Alabama during the Great Depression. Due to the location of this town, most of the townspeople are related in a way and have become familiar with one another. This provokes a social hierarchy to be developed based on wealth, race, and history and multiple forms of prejudice emerges. As we see Jem and Scout mature, they witness the injustice that is brought upon the Cunninghams, Tom Robinson, and Arthur “Boo” Radley. As social division continues to prevail, prejudice remains unresolved because discrimination has become a part of the social mores deeply embedded in Maycomb.