In 'The Withered Arm' and 'To Kill a Mockingbird' outsiders are portrayed using a variety of background and social information, combined with effective language, narrative techniques and descriptions.

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EXAMINE THE PORTRAYAL OF OUTSIDERS IN ‘THE WITHERED ARM’ AND ‘TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD’

In ‘The Withered Arm’ and ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ outsiders are portrayed using a variety of background and social information, combined with effective language, narrative techniques and descriptions.

        An ‘outsider’ is defined as ‘a non-member of a certain group’, either for a physical, beliefs or social reason, and is removed or divided from the rest of society. In ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and ‘The Withered Arm’ there are a number of outsiders that we can deduce from the way in which the authors portray such characters.

        The author of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ was born in Alabama, the state in which the imaginary Maycomb was set. She based much of her novel on the ways and society that she had experienced in Monroeville. She recognised the prejudices at that time and so wrote a story with a still relevant philosophy; which was that everyone, including outsiders should have the courage to face up to difficult problems and people. They should not necessarily fell that they have to conform to the written or unwritten laws of society. Thomas Hardy, the author of ‘The Withered Arm,’ in contrast was much more of an outsider himself. He wrote around the time of the Industrial Revolution, inspired by Higher Bockhampten, the small hamlet in which he grew up and was educated. He knew how it felt to be and outsider in such a community.

        When considering the backgrounds to the stories that the authors created, we can see how in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and ‘The Withered Arm’, the small-town USA Maycomb and small-milking farm of Holmstoke were both very inward areas. Families within the community all knew and stereotyped each other, such as the Ewells being bad and the Cunninghams being poor. In these hierarchical societies, gossip from both milkmaids and ‘Miss Stephanies’ was rife and news spread quickly. These kinds of communities inevitably create outsiders. Those from outside the areas do not know the community ways and those with different views or social backgrounds are targeted by the close-knit groups and excluded from the society. Harper Lee spends a portion of the first chapter explaining about the history of ‘Finches Landing’ and Scout is told by Aunt Alexandra that she is ‘the product of several generations’ gentle breeding.’ This enhances the idea that not having a respectable background seriously disadvantages you.

        By using partly autobiographical content, these authors created setting in their books where they could successfully portray the outsiders in the communities. In ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, three of the outsiders are Miss Caroline, Atticus and Mayella Ewell. In ‘The Withered Arm’ two of the outsiders are Rhoda Brooks and Gertrude Lodge.

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        When referring to physical outsiders and how they are portrayed, Miss Caroline and Rhoda from are both examples. Miss Caroline is described as only twenty-one with ‘auburn hair and pink cheeks’ which gives her quite an innocent appearance. This description almost prepares her character to be an outsider as her superior, perfect appearance contrasts greatly with the dirty, poor, slow descriptions of the townsfolk that we learn. She is physically an outsider as she comes from North Alabama. She is clearly oblivious to Maycomb ways, such as the children being ‘immune to imaginative literature’ and the author even gently mocks ...

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