A Comparison of the portrayal of Boo Radley in 'To Kill a Mockingbird' and Miss Havisham in 'great expectations'
Jasdeep Bains
A Comparison of the portrayal of Boo Radley in
'To Kill a Mockingbird' and Miss Havisham
in 'great expectations'
In 'To Kill a Mockingbird' the author uses a retrospective narration, which has the benefit of seeing the story through the eyes of a child, Scout, also having an adult intellect to explain the events. Having a personal experience of the story narrating it, gives the reader a clearer insight into the feelings of the other characters. This self-reflection allows the events to be conveyed and analysed well, also this gives more details about the setting and lifestyles of Maycomb. 'Great Expectations' is similar to ' To Kill a Mockingbird' it also has shows the events of a person from childhood to becoming an adult. The story follows Pip, who is the main character in this novel; it shows him as a child, being introduced to Miss Havisham, then later on as a main person in Miss Havisham's life. Having Pip and scout tell the story gives you a personal feel of the setting and physical appearances of other characters. Comparisons and differences between Boo Radley and Miss Havisham. Behaviour of the characters and how there 'outer' appearance reflects the 'inner' character.
'To Kill a Mockingbird' is set in the 1930s, in a town called Maycomb. It is a small town with a close-knit community, it has a deserted feel to it, however it is very tense, with a lot of families and rumours and gossip. Maycomb is also a claustrophobic place to be, with the identical houses, the grass on the sidewalks (unkempt), and also it is very dusty, hot and humid. The neighbours are known to be very suspicious and judgemental. It is a reserved community and it can get very dull. In 'Great Expectations', in the chapters that we have read, rather then it being concentrated on a town, it is mostly concentrated on Miss Havisham's House. Satis House, which stand for very big and satisfactory. Within this house everything is kept the way it was at the time of the wedding. With cobwebs, and dust on all the furniture. Even the surrounding of the satis house was dying; "there was a large brewery, no brewing was going on in it", this shows that everything around miss Havisham was a symbol of what was within her. It shows that she is dead within. Both Boo Radley and Miss Havisham live in seclusion, this means they prefer to be cut off from the outside world, a quote that show this is' "some of the windows had been walled up" However they both have someone to help them with life, Boo Radley has his brother Nathan, and Miss Havisham has her adopted daughter Estella. Miss Havisham acts this way because of what happened to her earlier in her life; she was left at the altar. Likewise Boo Radley acts the way he does because of the way he was brought up, "chained to the bed" shows how his punishment for the way he acted has affected the rest of his life. It has left him as a mentally ill person. When he is older he is like a child. Boo Radley is a character that is not used to light, similarly Miss Havisham is also shut in from the light, a quote that shows this is "that the passages were all dark" Both Boo Radley and Miss Havisham are made out to be good people in these novels. They are not known to hurt any one, no matter how much people have hurt them. Boo Radley saves the kids and Miss Havisham is the one who is left at the altar.
A Comparison of the portrayal of Boo Radley in
'To Kill a Mockingbird' and Miss Havisham
in 'great expectations'
In 'To Kill a Mockingbird' the author uses a retrospective narration, which has the benefit of seeing the story through the eyes of a child, Scout, also having an adult intellect to explain the events. Having a personal experience of the story narrating it, gives the reader a clearer insight into the feelings of the other characters. This self-reflection allows the events to be conveyed and analysed well, also this gives more details about the setting and lifestyles of Maycomb. 'Great Expectations' is similar to ' To Kill a Mockingbird' it also has shows the events of a person from childhood to becoming an adult. The story follows Pip, who is the main character in this novel; it shows him as a child, being introduced to Miss Havisham, then later on as a main person in Miss Havisham's life. Having Pip and scout tell the story gives you a personal feel of the setting and physical appearances of other characters. Comparisons and differences between Boo Radley and Miss Havisham. Behaviour of the characters and how there 'outer' appearance reflects the 'inner' character.
'To Kill a Mockingbird' is set in the 1930s, in a town called Maycomb. It is a small town with a close-knit community, it has a deserted feel to it, however it is very tense, with a lot of families and rumours and gossip. Maycomb is also a claustrophobic place to be, with the identical houses, the grass on the sidewalks (unkempt), and also it is very dusty, hot and humid. The neighbours are known to be very suspicious and judgemental. It is a reserved community and it can get very dull. In 'Great Expectations', in the chapters that we have read, rather then it being concentrated on a town, it is mostly concentrated on Miss Havisham's House. Satis House, which stand for very big and satisfactory. Within this house everything is kept the way it was at the time of the wedding. With cobwebs, and dust on all the furniture. Even the surrounding of the satis house was dying; "there was a large brewery, no brewing was going on in it", this shows that everything around miss Havisham was a symbol of what was within her. It shows that she is dead within. Both Boo Radley and Miss Havisham live in seclusion, this means they prefer to be cut off from the outside world, a quote that show this is' "some of the windows had been walled up" However they both have someone to help them with life, Boo Radley has his brother Nathan, and Miss Havisham has her adopted daughter Estella. Miss Havisham acts this way because of what happened to her earlier in her life; she was left at the altar. Likewise Boo Radley acts the way he does because of the way he was brought up, "chained to the bed" shows how his punishment for the way he acted has affected the rest of his life. It has left him as a mentally ill person. When he is older he is like a child. Boo Radley is a character that is not used to light, similarly Miss Havisham is also shut in from the light, a quote that shows this is "that the passages were all dark" Both Boo Radley and Miss Havisham are made out to be good people in these novels. They are not known to hurt any one, no matter how much people have hurt them. Boo Radley saves the kids and Miss Havisham is the one who is left at the altar.
