Blog, blog, blog........
Welcome, children, to our blog, a little space on which you may leave your personal imprint (as it pertains to literature and my class, at least). If you have not blogged yet, then it will be an experiment for both of us; I have not had a class blog - ever! It should be more fun for you to do this than regular responses, such as a journal, because we can bring other outlets to the blog that can add to the discussion.
If you look at the sidebar, I will continuously post links throughout the year - some to help your writing, some that are relevant to all aspects of our class and some that may just interest you. Still working on that, so bear with me!
I'm really excited to hear (read) what you have to say, but please keep it appropriate or I'll have to end up censoring you, and no one wants that to happen. I know I'll find wisdom in your words, and I'll provide you with as much direction as I can.
So here goes nothing. ;-)
Theme in To Kill a Mockingbird
Yesterday we discussed the 3 prevalent themes in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. These themes are portrayed through the characters and their traits. Choose one of the themes and discuss how two of the characters help to develop the theme. Use 2 examples from the book, with page numbers, and your notes to support your answer. Answers should be at least 100 words in length.
One of the themes in “To Kill a Mockingbird” is social inequality. In the town of Maycomb, the Finch family is considered to be at the top because Atticus is a lawyer. The members of the Finch family are educated people and this brings them to the top of their town socially. Under them are the town’s people and even lower than them are the Cunninghams. The Cunninghams are even lower than the rest due to their ignorance. Although, below them are the Ewells due to their immoral behavior and lack of education. For example, the Ewells children only go to school on the first day and skip the rest of the year (pg. 27). The lowest of them all are black community of Maycomb. Regardless of their good will and admirable quality, they are put below the rest due to the color of their skin. For example, Tom Robinson is wrongly accused of rape and sent to jail because he is black (pg. 211).
ReplyDeleteThroughout the novel, a major theme is the importance of morality. Two characters help build on this theme: Atticus, and Scout.
ReplyDeleteAtticus is the moral voice throughout the story. He guides his children in hopes that they will grow up to show fairness and realize the importance of equality, no matter a person’s skin color. Atticus risks his safety and reputation to defend a black man. Atticus sets his example for Scout and Jem in this case. Atticus tells Scout that you can never really understand someone until you, “climb into his skin and walk around in it” (page 33). This is important because Scout realizes in the end that Atticus was right all along.
Scout also significantly contributes to the theme. She narrates the story, and being only a child, it gives the story an entirely new perspective, because she’s innocent, and does not know any better. Scout is guided by Atticus, her father. Scout was once told by Atticus that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, and at first she does not understand. She discusses this with her neighbor Miss Maudie (page 103) and she is told that it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird because all they do is sing for us and never cause any harm. Scout applies this to Tom Robinson and to Boo Radley. Both Tom and Boo never harmed anyone, yet they show their kindness and compassion throughout the novel, yet in the end, they both remain misunderstood.
One of the main themes of To Kill a Mocking Bird is the co-existence of good and evil. The novel uses Jem and Scout to portray their lives from going from innocent to maturity and of how they see the world as being fair when they were young to being a unfair and unjust world as they matured. To get too their maturity level they were at the end of novel they had to transition through threats, hatred, prejudice peoples actions towards Tom Robinson because of his color, racism, and especially ignorance.
ReplyDeleteThe importance of Morality was another theme in this novel. This theme is expressed through the education of the children and their well-beings
There are many important themes in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird. Some themes are more obvious and play a well known role in the novel while others are hidden with symbols and used in different ways that are not as well known. One of the major themes that is quite obvious through out the entire novel is the coexistance of good and evil.
ReplyDeleteThe main example of this theme is the ongoing battle between Atticus Finch and Bob Ewell. Atticus is the good, moral voice through out the novel. He is also considered a voice of reason among Scout and Jem, He is a wise good man, but Bob Ewell on the other hand is the epitamy of evil. He is the laziest and most hated man in town and yet his word is taken over a black man words solely because of race. The conflict between these two characters starts when Atticus is appointed to a case involving Tom Robinson, a black ma n accused of raping Mayella Ewell, Bob Ewell’s daughter. At first these two characters are civil to eachother, but when Bob Ewell finds out that Atticus intends to try his hardest to win this case and go against him, Mr. Ewell is furious. He makes Atticus’s life very hard and when Atticus causes him to lose all of his credibility during the trial, Bob Ewell tries his absolute hardest to get revenge against Atticus, even if it means harming Atticus’ most valuable possession, Scout and Jem.
Another struggle between good and evil is the conflict between Maycomb and Boo (Arthur) Radley. Boo Radley was a boy at the time he was locked away. He had gotten into some trouble with a couple of his friends and instead of being sent away to a special school or doing time in jail, his father locked him away in the house. For the next fifteen years rumors and stories flew around Maycomb about what had become of Boo Radley. Some would say that he was an evil man, but really he was just shy. The citizens of Maycomb made false assumtions for years about how evil Boo Radley was, when they were really the evil ones in this scenario. They were treating a good, kind man with disrespect and unfairness. He was the good one.
One of the three prevalant themes is the Coexistence of Good and Evil. In the novel, good and evil are shown through Scout and Jem’s journey from their innocence as children to their understandings as adults. The two children transform throughout the novel, and as they make these changes, their points of view change as well. The author uses Scout and Jem to show the innocent people can be betrayed by ignorance. In the beginning of the novel, Jem was just an “all American boy”. He was a kid who enjoyed playing football and by the end of the novel he had an understanding of how the world was full of ignorance. Tom Robinson’s trial was the main point in Jem’s transition. Even though Scout was a tomboy who wore boy’s clothes and even got in a fight, she was still an innocent child. At the end of the novel Scout was still a kid, but she had a better understanding of people and how the world worked.
ReplyDeleteThe theme of social inequality plays a big role in the story. For example, Africans and whites worshipped in separate churches, and some blacks, like Lula, weren’t so happy with the idea of Scout and Jem coming to their church (page 136) , because they worship in churches according to their race. Also, Bob Ewell wanted to frame Tom Robinson, a black, because of his race. Ewell wanted to accuse Robinson falsely because he was racist, so he brought him to court (page 195+). Atticus, on the other hand, tried to stop social inequality. He defended Tom Robinson because he knew this case was just made up because the Ewells” were racist and wanted money. So because of this, he tried to show everyone that Tom was innocent (pg 190), and that blacks are the same as whites, even though for the most part he failed to do so.
ReplyDeleteThe theme of social inequality plays a big role in the story. For example, Africans and whites worshipped in separate churches, and some blacks, like Lula, weren’t so happy with the idea of Scout and Jem coming to their church (page 136) , because they worship in churches according to their race. Also, Bob Ewell wanted to frame Tom Robinson, a black, because of his race. Ewell wanted to accuse Robinson falsely because he was racist, so he brought him to court (page 195+). Atticus, on the other hand, tried to stop social inequality. He defended Tom Robinson because he knew this case was just made up because the Ewells” were racist and wanted money. So because of this, he tried to show everyone that Tom was innocent (pg 190), and that blacks are the same as whites, even though for the most part he failed to do so.
ReplyDeleteTo Kill A Mocking Bird Response
ReplyDeleteOne of the themes that are expressed in the novel “To Kill A Mocking Bird” is racial inequality. This theme is expressed through two people in the novel, Tom Robinson, and Bob Ewell. Tom Robinson was a black man that was wrongly accused of raping a white girl. He is a key example of racial inequality because even though there was no proof that he did anything wrong, he still got arrested, convicted and eventfully executed. The other person that is a key example of racial in equality is Bob Ewell. He was the white man that accused Tom Robinson of raping his daughter, when in truth he actually beat her for kissing Tom Robinson when he was trying to help her move a dresser. Bob was simply using a black man as an excuse to save himself from getting in trouble.
Sdelcampo Green
The main themes in 'To Kill a Mockingbird' are the coexistence of good and evil,the importance of morality,and social inequality. The theme that is portrayed best by characters is social inequality.
ReplyDeleteIn the town of Maycomb, african americans were regarded as less than white people. And because of that not respected in the community.
For example, during the court case the evidence that rape and beating did not occur was overwhelming, and Tom robinson was still considered guuilty by the court. Even though in comparison to the word of Bob Ewell any white man would have
Bob Ewell is another great example of social inequality. Bob Ewell was an alcoholic, single father, relied on his daughter to raise is children, he could barely support his family, and he was physically and emotionally abusive to his daughter. Tom Robinson was a respectable man, who supported his family, had a steady job, and was a good citizen.
The main themes in "To Kill a Mockingbird" are, the coexistence of good and evil, the importance of morality, and social inequality. The coexistence of good and evil is a main theme because it shows how bad people can be and how good people can be through a child's and the reader's eyes.
ReplyDeleteThis theme is one of the forces that take away the innocence from Jem and Scout. As they grow throughout the book they see the evil in the world and they learn to deal with it in their daily lives. The reason they change to see the evil is because the people around them show hatred, racism, ignorance,and threat.
Luckily for the Finch children the can always go back to their father who is the voice of morality throughout the story. He shows the kids how to cope with the evil people in their town. However, Atticus knows that he can not keep Jem and Scout away from the evil their entire life so he always tells them the truth about what is going on in the world.
One theme from the book is social inequality. Two characters that help develop this theme are Tom Robison and Bob Ewell. Tom and Bob do this by their arguing over Mayella Ewell’s “rape”. Bob is only fighting that Tom Robinson did it because he does not like African American people. Tom Robinson, on the other hand, considers everyone to be equal. This theme is developed through out the book because of the way that Tom and Bob act toward each other. As you get into the book, you start to realize that it’s really emphasizing the way that people acted in the 1930s. An example from the book is during the court case when you find out, even though you practically knew all along, the Tom Robinson did not rape Mayella Ewell. (page 187)
ReplyDeleteAnother example from the book is when the jury and the audience also realize that Tom is not guilty even though they still send him to jail. (page 211)
In the novel, Scout and Jem are the two main characters that make up the theme the coexistence of good and evil.
ReplyDeleteThe author, Harper Lee, explores this idea in more detail by using the movement of Scout and Jem from childhood innocence to the mature understanding of the adult world.
Scout is a very innocent girl and doesn’t know a lot about what her mom and dad talk about or what her big brother Jem and his friends talk about. On the other hand Jem likes to think that he is older than he actually is when truly he is almost as innocent and as unknowing as Scout. Jem doesn’t like Scout to hang out with him and his friends because he feels like she is too little and immature. Throughout this whole story the author goes into more detail on how they change from being young children to young adults, and learn that the world isn’t at all what they thought it to be.
One of the themes, the coexistence of good and evil, is the main theme in the novel. It explores the moral nature of humans. Basically, it explores whether people are good or evil. It uses Scouts and Jem’s movement from childhood innocence to mature understanding adults. One example of this is on pages 29 and 30. Scout is talking with Atticus about how she doesn’t want to go back to school and how her teacher wasn’t being fair to her. Atticus helps Scout learn that if she puts herself in the shoes of other people she will see things from their point of view. Another example is on page 103- 106. Jem had gotten mad at Mrs. Dubose because she had said some rude things about Atticus and in return to her rude words he ripped out all her flowers in the front of her house. When Jem and Scout got home Atticus had a talk with Jem about how he should not let words control his actions. Jem learns that he needs to be respectful and try and ignore rude things said to him. So he was sent back to Mrs. Dubose’s house and apologized. These, and many other lessons occur in To Kill a Mockingbird that help Jem and Scout learn how to act in the world and treat other people. Throughout the book both children mature and learn lessons that will help them in life.
ReplyDeleteOne theme in To Kill a Mockingbird is social inequality. One character that develops the theme is Bob Ewell. He develops the theme because he tries Tom Robinson for a crime he doesn’t commit. The jury believes Bob Ewell, and convicts Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson is later shot trying to escape jail. This incident shows how prejudice this small town is. Another character that develops this theme is Atticus. Atticus develops this theme because he is the character that battles social inequality. He defends Tom Robinson because he believes it is the right thing to do. He could have easily not defended Tom Robinson just because of his race, but Atticus wants to change social inequality, he wants everyone to be equal.
ReplyDeleteTheme: Social Inequality.
ReplyDeleteSocial Inequality was very common in the South during the 1930’s. Social inequality is portrayed in To Kill A Mockingbird by the conflict between Tom Robinson and Mr. Ewell. Mr. Ewell and Mayella Ewell, his daughter, both lie and accuses Tom Robinson of rape. When this case is brought to trial Tom Robinson is proven guilty, even though there is no eveidence of Tom Robinson commiting the crime he is accused of. The all white jury proves him guilty of rape because of his skin color. This is an example of social inequality. This is also am example of racial inequalty. These events start around page 166.
Importance of Morality- Scout and Jem are maturing as the book moves along. As they are maturing they are loosing their childhood innocence. They are realizing hatred and racism in the world. Atticus believes in justice and doesn’t care about race. Everyone else in the town is racist and wants Tom Robinson to get arrested for rape without even hearing his side of the story. But, Atticus sees life through other people’s eyes and is not ignorant to their side just because of race. In the courtroom Jem and Scout see how everyone goes against Tom and the only reason was because he was African American. Another example even though it is not racism is everyone labels Boo a bad man just because he doesn’t come outside. The children come to realize he is actually nice/ kind because he saved Scout towards the end.
ReplyDeletePDowney
Class: Green
A prevalent theme in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is the coexistence of good and evil. The novel explores the nature of humans’ morality using the characters of Scout and Jem. The experiences in the novel makes the children grow very fast, losing their innocence and maturing at a young age. Some of the experiences in the novel are threat, hatred, prejudice, racism, and ignorance. Some examples of threat are when the children are attacked on their way home by Bob Ewell ( pg 350). Some examples of hatred, prejudice and racism are when Tom Robinson, an innocent man, was put on trial for the hatred and prejudice of an ignorant white man(pg. 220). The children learn very fast that there is hatred, prejudice, racism and ignorance in the world. Atticus teaches them to accept people no matter what the circumstances might be. Atticus is an admirable character because when most would back down he took up the case of Tom Robinson, not having any prejudice or hatred toward anyone. Good and evil still exist in our lives today, and the experiences that Scout and Jem learn from their everyday lives in Maycomb County teach us that we should be more understanding of everyone and everything in our lives.
ReplyDeleteThe theme that I am choosing to write about is the coexistence of good and evil. This theme helps explore the moral nature of humans. Two of the characters that experience this change are Scout and Jem. They go from their childhood innocence to mature understanding of the adult world. As they start growing up, they see the evil in the world. Another character that experiences this is Atticus. When he is defending Tom Robinson, he experiences threat, hatred, prejudice, racism, and ignorance from the whole town. He also understands many people. Atticus accepts points and tries to see life through others. He sees life through Tom Robinson’s life as he is defending him. Atticus sees what Tom is experiencing. Those two events happened from chapters 19 to 22. That is what this theme is about.
ReplyDeleteI think one of the most prevalent themes in the novel is the issue of social inequality. This theme can take the reader back to the time of the novel and see the prejudice that existed in everyday life. This theme is greatly developed throughout the novel by using the characters of the Ewell family and Tom Robinson. Bob Ewell uses the hierarchy of Maycomb County’s social classes to put himself above Tom Robinson and the black community. This division epitomizes the human nature prejudice. This system allows Tom Robinson to be punished for a crime that he didn’t commit. For example on page 268 in chapter 24 Atticus breaks the news to Scout and Jem that Tom was shot as a result of trying to escape from jail, however he would not have been in jail if he wasn’t wrongly accused. Also, in chapters 19 through 24, Tom and the black community were stereotyped just because of their race and their status on the social ladder. This novel shows an extreme case of social in-equality.
ReplyDeleteThe theme that I am choosing to write about is the coexistence of good and evil. This theme helps explore the moral nature of humans. Two of the characters that experience this change are Scout and Jem. They go from their childhood innocence to mature understanding of the adult world. As they start growing up, they see the evil in the world. Another character that experiences this is Atticus. When he is defending Tom Robinson, he experiences threat, hatred, prejudice, racism, and ignorance from the whole town. He also understands many people. Atticus accepts points and tries to see life through others. He sees life through Tom Robinson’s life as he is defending him. Atticus sees what Tom is experiencing. Those two events happened from chapters 19 to 22. That is what this theme is about.
ReplyDeleteTheme in To Kill a Mockingbird
ReplyDelete(Social Inequality)
The theme that I am choosing from the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” is the social inequality in Maycomb County. The novel “To Kill a Mockingbird explores Maycomb County’s hierarchy which represents the Southern part of the country, at that time. One example of Maycomb’s hierarchy from the novel is when Atticus said that the Ewells had been the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations, on page thirty-three. On page one hundred thirty-six Calpurnia took Scout and Jem to the First Purchase church where Lula told her that she had no business bringing white children to black church. Both of these examples clearly show the types of social inequality that took place during this time period.
Social Inequality
ReplyDeleteHere is one example of social inequality. Tom Robinson is an African American man who is wrongly accused of raping a young girl. During his trial, Atticus is his defense attorney, even though he is white. Atticus believes that everyone is the same and chooses to prove that Tom Robinson is innocent. Most of the other citizens in Macomb believe that Tom is guilty, however, because of his race. This attitude is not only reflected through the adults, but through the children too. Right before the trial, Scout almost gets into a fight with a young boy because he insults her dad for defending a black man in court. These examples are on pages 150-211.
Themes in To kill a Mockingbird
ReplyDeleteI chose the theme of Social Inequality and I feel that out of the three it was the most easily developed throughout the story. The main focus in the story in the Social Inequality sense was the separation between blacks and whites in Maycomb county. The main situation that brought out this theme was the conflict between the two characters, Mayella Ewell and Tom Robinson. Tom was accused of raping Mayella something we all know he did not do but because he is a black male that automatically makes him the lowest social class in all of Maycomb county, his word counts for nothing. Despite the information that Atticus presents during the case and no matter how many times he proves that Tom Robinson is innocent the jurors mind was already set to him as a guilty man. One example of the social inequality was on during the trial, it’s easy to see that Tom Robinson is the reason for social inequality. Tom has never done anything wrong to anyone but the jurors sentence him to death not because they have anything personal against him but because he is black and if one black man’s word was taken over two whites it would threaten their segregation system of social classes, Tom was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Another example of the social classes was a very small part that got my attention. There was a black and white couple that had a child who was mixed, both black and white and the novel said that he was not accepted by blacks because he was part white and not accepted by whites because he was part black so he was the lowest possible class there could be. The theme of Social Inequality was prevalent throughout the entire novel showing how prejudice was a key part in To Kill A Mockingbird.
Kayla Saints
ReplyDeleteOne of the themes in To Kill A Mockingbird is Social Inequality. Social Inequality is when people are treated unfairly because of their race, religion, or social status. And in the town of Maycomb, social inequality is very present. During the course of the book, Tom Robinson and Atticus Finch influence the theme in this way: Tom is put on trial for a crime he did not do and is sentenced to jail (p.186-241), solely because he is black. When he tries to tell what really happened, people just write him off and refuse to believe or even listen to him, because of their prejudice ways. And the town starts to turn against Atticus Finch because he is trying to defend Tom, and he is not racist against him like the rest of the town(p.116-117). Atticus believes the everyone is created equal, so he is trying to delete social inequality from Maycomb, but comes up empty handed.
The theme I chose for my blog, was the coexistence of good an evil. To Kill a Mockingbird shows this idea through Scout and Jem. When the story first begins the children, especially Scout are younger, but as the novel goes on they learn to grow and mature and to see things from a different perspective. One example of someone Scout thought was just a father of a poor family was Bob Ewell. Towards the beginning of the book, Scout just sees him as a poor man with a poor family, but as the book goes on she learns that he is much more than that. During Atticus’s trial, Scout and Jem learn the Mr. Ewell is a cruel, racist, and a lying man. He also tries to kill Scout and Jem towards the end of the book. On pages 261-263, you can see how Bob Ewell comes out of the forest and attempts to kill or hurt the Finch children. Another example of the coexistence of good and evil, is Boo Radley. Everyone in the town and especially the children think that Boo is this wild, horrifying, angry, twisted man, but they soon learn that he is a kind and caring man. Boo was leaving gifts for the Finch children and he saved their lives. When being attacked by Bob Ewell, Boo comes out and starts fighting Mr. Ewell and saves the children of being stabbed. Boo carries Jem back to the house and doesn’t except a thank you from anyone. He just stood in the coner waiting to see what would happen to Jem, (page 270.)
ReplyDeleteJcampanella Green
The theme I chose was “The Coexistence of Good and Evil.” This novel explores this idea through using Scout and Jems’ movement from childhood innocence to mature understanding adults. Scout is innocent and is curios about the world. She doesn’t see the hatred and prejudice. Once Atticus defends Tom Robinson in the trial, she sees this evil going on. Her and Jem were threatened and attacked just because Atticus was defending a black man. (page 351) Scout and Jem start thinking about why Boo Radley is always in his house, and they realize why. They believe the world is difficult and Boo does not want to come out.(page 304) Jem also grows out of his innocence once he gets a little older. Atticus taught them not to judge people but to accept everyone, regardless of race. When Jem saw Scout fighting with the Cunningham boy, he invited him to dinner with his family. (page 30) That shows how Jem has grown up in a way. The prejudice in the world forced them to grow up. The transformation from innocence to experience includes the experiences of threat, hatred, prejudice, racism, and ignorance. These show how innocent people can be betrayed by the ignorance of people.
ReplyDeleteOne theme in TKAM is social inequality. One character that helps develop this theme is Tom Robinson. An example of this is Tom’s trial who is innocent but accused of a crime he did not do. Even though Atticus gives evidence that proves Tom innocent and shows everyone that Mayella was abused by her father when he caught Mayella trying to kiss Tom, Tom is found guilty by the all white prejudiced jury. This is found on page 204 when Atticus is giving his closing statement. The second character that helps develop this theme is Mr. Dolphus Raymond who has children who are white and black. Because his children are white and black, they are rejected by society because they neither all black or all white. Also he pretends to drink whiskey but he actually drinks Coco-cola so that the citizens have an explanation for his actions and behavior but actually tired of the hypocrisy of the white society. This can be found on page 200.
ReplyDeleteSocial inequality is an important theme in To Kill a Mockingbird. Through the characters of Tom Robinson and Bob Ewell social inequality plays a role in the development of the book.
ReplyDeleteTom Robinson was a victim of this inequality when he was wrongly accused during his trial. Just because he was at a low social level and because he was black, he had to face prejudice and racism. An example of this is found on page 204.
Bob Ewell causes social inequality and is a victim. He is a victim because people judge the Ewell’s as dirty, sneaky, and dishonest people. But this is true. Bob did not like blacks. He was at the bottom of the social classes and no one liked him. In the trial, he accused Tom of raping his daughter when she confronted him. To cover up Mayella’s actions Bob Ewell said Tom was the one who came at Mayella. Even though Ewell’s are not trustworthy, Bob knew he could win the trial because no one votes a black man innocent. On page 30 and 31 an example of Bob Ewell and social inequality is shown.
Because Tom Robinson was black and was ranked at a lower social class, Bob Ewell got away with lying and accusing Tom wrongfully. The social standings in Maycomb were wrong, but they are still not completely equal today, too.
MMatsanka yellow
The coexistence of good and evil in To Kill a Mockingbird is portrayed through Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch and Bob Ewell. Tom Robinson and Atticus is the good in this novel while Bob Ewell is portrayed as evil. This novel had racial issues since the years this was based on were in the 1930s where prejudice was still a big issue. An example of racism is that Bob Ewell accused Tom Robinson for raping her daughter, Mayella.(p.164) Even though Atticus had very well supported evidences such as Tom Robinson’s arm that was stuck in the cotton gin, Tom Robinson was still accused guilty. Scout and Jem were able to witness how bad the racism was in their town. An example of this was when Mr. Cunningham and his mob were about to kill Tom Robinson the night he was in jail.(p.202-207) If Atticus wasn't there to protect him and Mr. Cunningham didn't owe Atticus, Tom Robinson could have been killed that night for no reason. In the end, good was able to conquer evil even when there were rough times.
ReplyDeleteThe main theme in To Kill a Mockingbird is the coexistence of good and evil. The author expresses this theme by using Jem and Scout’s transition from children to adults. When they were children, they were mostly protected from the real world and thought that all people were good. As Jem and scout age, they start to realize that there is evil in the world. In Maycomb the evil is prejudice, racism, hatred, and ignorance. You can see all of those evil traits in Bob Ewell. Atticus represents the good in the novel. Atticus defends Tom Robinson even though he knows he will probably be proven guilty. When Atticus has almost lost the case, he doesn’t lose faith in proving Tom innocent and he keeps cool (pg.274). This theme is telling us when there is evil around us we have to be strong and keep faith in the good in the world.
ReplyDeleteAnother theme in the novel is the importance of morality. The transition of innocence to maturity plays a big part in the novel. When Jem and Scout age they learn that understanding and sympathy are most vital to be a good person. In the beginning of the novel Scout is kind of clueless to what is happening because she is young and doesn’t know better. As she ages she begins to see how immoral some people are like Bob Ewell. Immorality is a huge factor to Jem. When Tom is proven guilty from Bob’s lies, Jem runs out of the courtroom crying (pg.212 older version). Jem and Scout helped develop the theme, the importance of morality, by understanding how some people are immoral and learning what makes a person a good person.
There are three themes in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird that we discussed in class the other day. The one theme that would like to discuss is the theme of social inequality. There is a strong social hierarchy in the town of Maycomb. The Finch Family is at the top in this hierarchy. An example of how you know that the finches are in fact on the top is by the way Scout acts and how she says “He’s only a Cunningham” when Walter Cunningham pours molasses on his dinner (Page 24). This shows that even Scout can be influenced by the town’s view of social rankings. Another example would be the Ewell’s. They are labeled as “trash” by Atticus Finch. This family is even below the Cunningham’s but still above all the blacks in the community. They are above the blacks because of social inequality. All the family's of Maycomb were born into certain expectations and were labeled by their family's behavior. The Ewell’s where labeled as filthy poor and dirty people. Another thing is when Burris Ewell talked back at Miss Caroline the reason was because he was a Ewell (age 27). This clearly shows how social inequality greatly affects the town of Maycomb.
ReplyDeleteThe theme I chose was “The Coexistence of Good and Evil.” This novel explores this idea through using Scout and Jem’s movement from childhood innocence to mature understanding adults. The prejudice in the world forced them to grow up and to become more mature. The transformation from innocence to experience includes the experiences of threat, hatred, prejudice, racism, and ignorance. These show how innocent people can be betrayed by the ignorance of people. In the novel, Jem transforms from innocence to having more experience. When Atticus defends Tom Robinson, Jem grows up and learns more about the trial and about issues such as racism and ignorance. Jem becomes more mature and invites the Cunnningham boy to eat dinner with his family which was a very mature and responsible thing to do. Scout also grows up and sees more about the world around her. She starts to understand more about the trial and the issues of racism and hatred.
ReplyDeleteThe theme that I would like to discuss is social inequality. The division of the hierarchy of Maycomb is cause of issues in the town. The hierarchy is divided such as the highest as the Finchs, the Cunninghams, the Ewells, and the lowest, the black community. The trial shows the unfairness and unjust actions and for the lack of respect they show for the blacks. Atticus is a different man in the community. He does not judge anyone because of their skin color, culture, or differences. Atticus defends Tom Robinson to show that he is an equal person. Atticus wanted to put himself in Tom’s shoes. Tom Robinson knows that he is innocent but is still charged guilty. This action makes Jem very upset because he realizes how inequal the town of Maycomb is. This is shown on page 212. “His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd.” It is terrible to know that a child in this town is seeing how the hierarchy is so unfair.
ReplyDeleteThe theme that is most prevalent to me is social inequality. In the town of Maycomb the social system is based on an almost social pyramid. At the top of the social chart is considered to be Atticus Finch because of his education and his job as a lawyer. Just below the Finch family is the Cunninghams. At the bottom of the social chart is considered to be all of the blacks, including Tom Robinson. Because of the fact that the blacks are at the bottom, this allows Bob Ewell, who is at the bottom of the town morally because of the fact that he is uneducated, and doesn’t work for a living, to wrongfully persecute Tom Robinson of rape. Another part of the novel that shows social inequality is the trial. The trial was very segregated. The blacks sat in there own section by themselves. Also the whole jury was white, making this an unfair trial. And the most obvious example of Social inequality is the verdict of the case. Atticus proved that it was not possible for Tom Robinson to commit the crime, but because he was black he was called guilty anyway. Overall throughout the novel the theme of social inequality was very prevalent.
ReplyDeleteOne of the themes in To Kill a Mockingbird is Social Inequality. Many of the people in the town of Maycomb are prejudice. There are many different social statuses in Maycomb. For instance, the educated white people are at the top of the social rankings, followed by the uneducated white people, and lastly the blacks. Atticus Finch was very educated and worked as a lawyer in the community. He believed that all people were created equal and was not prejudice. Scout and Jem were also well educated and knew the flaws in the system. For instance, when they found out the verdict in the case, Jem said to Atticus, “You just can’t convict a man on evidence like that – you can’t.” (pg. 295) Jem understood that there was no valid evidence in the case, but what he did not yet comprehend was that just based on skin color one person was considered to be better than another. Bob Ewell is very uneducated and ignorant, as are his children. He is very racist towards blacks, and due to his color of skin, has a higher social status in the community than blacks. Due to this higher social standing in the community, he got away with blaming Tom Robinson for raping his daughter (pg. 231). Tom Robinson is another clear indication of the social injustice in Maycomb. The blacks are clearly at the lowest social standing in Maycomb. Tom Robinson was treated very badly by Bob Ewell and blamed for something that he did not do, just based upon race. It was accepted by the jury that Tom Robinson committed the crime because he was black and Bob Ewell was white. Tom Robinson was not well educated either and because of his attempt to escape the prison sentence was shot and killed (pg. 315).
ReplyDeleteIn the novel to Kill a Mockingbird, One of the themes we discussed was “The Importance of Morality.” Bob Ewell and The Finch family helped developed the themes because of the way they dealt with education. The education of children formed a large part of the novel. During the story, the Ewells were looked down upon because the children only went to school one day of the year unlike Jem and Scout who were very experienced in reading and writing. When Scout was young, she couldn’t figure out if it was a good or bad thing to be able to read and right. This was because her teacher told her to not practice reading and writing any more (p.22) while Atticus told her that if she goes to school, together they could read and write every night.(p.37)
ReplyDeleteMary White
ReplyDeleteMs. Biafore
Green
22 September 2009
The theme that I have chosen to discuss is coexistence of good and evil. This theme explores the moral nature of humans, in other words, explores if we are good or evil. The two characters that helped to develop this theme are Scout and Jem. They are innocent and young in the beginning of the novel and by the end are mature and understanding. They eventually see the evil in the world, not just good, and put that into their understanding. At one point in the novel, on page 212, the trial has just ended and Tom Robinson is convicted guilty. Jem starts to cry and says, “It ain’t right.” Here, Jem realized the prejudice, racism, and hatred in the world and it bothered him greatly. It took him a while to understand it but he finally matured and realized the evil in the world. Another point in the story, on page 278, is where Scout realizes that Boo Radley is really an innocent, childlike figure also. He is like a mockingbird. He has been stereotyped by people who do not even know him which has ruined his life and reputation. This is a representation of the evil in the world. He is considered an innocent man who has been betrayed by ignorance. Scout and Jem explored the coexistence of good and evil and helped to develop the story with their transfer from innocent children to understanding adults.
SWilson Green
ReplyDeleteThere are three main themes in the novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, they are the coexistence of good an evil, the importance of morality, and social inequality. The theme that is best portrayed by characters through examples is social inequality.
In the novel there are many examples given. One of the best examples is given during Tom Robinson’s trial. During this trial it is an African American man fighting against the word of a white man. Tom Robinson is clearly innocence, the evidence behind that is overwhelming, and yet he is ‘proven’ guilty. Bob Ewell is a rude, alcoholic, poor, abusive, single father who is far from an upstanding citizen in the town of Maycomb. Tom Robinson has a steady job, a wife and children, he provides for them, and is a kind and gentle man. He is still proven guilty against the word of Bob Ewell. Any white man standing against Bob Ewell would have won most any case, but because Tom Robinson was African American he was automatically assumed guilty.
This is just one of the many examples of the social inequality that is present in Maycomb. Maycomb is uneducated in the way that they would allow an innocent man like Tom Robinson be sent to prison because they wouldn’t go against the word of a white man.
Stephen Humphrey
ReplyDeleteEnglish Green
Mrs. Biafore
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Coexistence of Good and Evil
Two characters that help develop the plot are Tom Robinson and Bob Ewell. These two characters can represent good and evil because Bob can represent the evil of racism, as he is a racist himself. Tom Robinson, being a black man, is a victim to this evil, and he is nothing but a good-natured and kind-hearted man. Bob puts Tom on trial for raping and beating his younger daughter. Tom is obviously innocent but, because he is black, he is found guilty. Later that night he tries to escape but the officer who is transporting him shots him fatally. Bob Ewell is also killed later on in the story by Boo Radley. Boo kills him to save Jem and Scout. Thus, good and evil die but the good lives on in Atticus, Jem, and Scout.
Tom’s trial-which goes from chapters 15-20-is a very interesting one. Tom Robinson, a black man, is on trial for raping and beating Bob Ewell’s daughter, Maryella Ewell. During the course of the trial it is quite obvious to pretty much everyone in the room that Tom is innocent. But, because he is black, a jury of white men finds him guilty. Later on in the story, after Tom has died, Scout and Jem are walking home from a play from their school. While they’re walking Jem hears a noise and, at first, makes nothing of it. But as they start to walk along an unknown man attacks them. Scout is stuck in her costume and can’t see a thing neither can she run away. Jem tries to fight this man but is knocked unconscious with a broken arm. Another man comes and starts defending the children, attacking the other man. He then kills this man, which is now identified as Bob Ewell, and carries Jem back to his house with Scout running behind them, back to the house. At the Finch’s house it is discovered that it was Boo Radley who helped the children. He stabbed Bob Ewell with a knife in the chest. Bob Ewell is killed in chapter 28.
The Coexistence of Good and Evil
ReplyDeleteOne of the main themes in the book is the coexistence of good and evil. When Jem and Scoutt are introduced in the book, they are young. Because they are young, they are naïve, display innocence, and they don’t quite understand all the evil in the world. When their dad, Atticus is asked to represent Tom Robinson in the case, they don’t think much of it, except Atticus telling them that it will be hard on all of them. At first, I think they don’t really understand why; they just know whatever happens they must be strong. They soon realize that the world is full of prejudice, racism, hate, threat, and ignorance. The coexistence of evil in this story is mainly displayed in the character of Bob Ewell. He is an ignorant man who accuses Robinson of raping his daughter Mayella. Although he knows this is false, he continues to say he did it. He knows that because Tom is black and he is white, he will win the case, guilty or not. This is a prime example of racism and prejudice in the South in the earlier times. Other examples include when Tom Robinson dies because he was trying to escape prison for being falsely accused. An example of this can be found on page 276. Although many people were like that, there were some good people too. Atticus Finch is an example of the coexistence of good in the story. He understands every type of person, black or not, and treats them all through the same eyes. He does this without letting the evil existence get in his way. He knew that he had to accept the case of Tom Robinson and defend him. Although he looses the case, he never stopped, even when his own life was at stake. This is an example of the good people we have in this world. In conclusion, one of the main themes in this novel is the exploration of those who are good and those who are evil in the world. It shows us we should never let evil persons get in our way.
There is major social inequality throughout the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.” They portray this inequality by using the town of Maycomb and the characters in it. One example of this inequality is on page 41. On this page Atticus explains to Scout that the Ewells only went to school one day out of the school year (the first day of school), and that Mr. Ewell has never done an honest days work. Also he tells scout that he spends his relief check on whiskey instead of food for his children. This shows that there is inequality because compared to the Ewells the Finches live a pleasured life style. Another example of inquality is on page 282. This is when Tom Robinson is wrongly proven guilty because of his race. Since he was African-American they wrongly accused him of raping a white woman even though it was clear that he didn’t commit the crime. This is inequality because since he was colored the white jury didn’t believe him. This proves that there is social in equality in the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
ReplyDeleteTReynolds Blue
NAlessandrini Yellow
ReplyDeleteOne of the Themes in To Kill a Mockingbird is the coexistence of good and evil. The main theme of this is the exploration of moral nature of humans. This novel explores this idea through using Scout and Jem’s movement from childhood innocence to mature understanding Adults. This transition from innocence to experience includes the experiences of threat, hatred, prejudice, ignorance, racism. With the trial’s outcome this shows that innocent people can be betrayed by ignorance.
Another theme is the theme of Social Inequality. The social inequality is explored using the town of Maycomb and its complicated hierarchy. It starts with the educated Atticus Finch who is a lawyer and then comes the uneducated ignorant Ewells. It ends with lowest class of African Americans even though they have admirable qualities and good will. Jem and Scout see this and they don’t understand this. This also allows Tom Robinson to be punished even though he is innocent.