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Introduction

Nirmal Sisodia 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, this means that we can see events through the eyes of a child, yet also has the intelligence of an adult to explain the events thouroghly. Because narrator has personal experience of what happened we have a closer insight into the details. This method of reflection means that we can understand other characters feelings more easily, and the settings and ways 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. Pip and Scout help us to understand the feelings of other characters. Boo Radley and Miss Havisham have many similarities and differences. Both Boo's and Miss Havisham's houses are dull, very dark creating a sort of eerie effect. They both have a type of mystery to them. Boo's house's "shutters and doors are always closed" shows how he is isolated not allowed to see anything. Miss Havisham's house "was of old brick, and dismal, and had a great many iron bars to it." ...read more.

Middle

'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. ...read more.

Conclusion

Miss Havisham's behaviour is very different compared to Boo Radley. She is very able to express herself. She talks perfectly to Pip and Estella. However her behaviour is very strange, she behaves like she knows everything, very mature. She goes around showing that she is a very strong person, emotionally. She does this because she does not want to be hurt again, like she was when she was left at the altar. Boo Radley and Miss Havisham are similar characters, however they also have a lot of differences. They are similar in the way they live their lives. However the way they act is different. They are both living their lives in a bizarre way because of what happened to them earlier on in their lives. In 'Great Expectations' the author uses the surroundings to reflect Miss Havishams inner life. In 'To Kill a mockingbird' the author does not do this, however he does show in detail how different the Radley place is compared to the rest of Maycomb. This is shown by this quote: "the shutters and doors...were closed on Sundays...alien to Maycomb's ways" Miss Havisham has some respect in 'Great Expectations' what ever she says, goes. This is different for Boo Radley in 'To Kill a mockingbird' Nobody respects Boo Radley, most of the people are in fear of Boo Radley. There is only one person in 'Great Expectations' is afraid of Miss Havisham, Pip. In conclusion I think there are more differences between Boo Radley and Miss Havisham compared to similarities. ...read more.

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