To Kill a Mocking Bird. In this essay, I will explore the ways in which family relationships are presented, specifically within the Cunningham, the Radley and Ewell families and will refer to the language devices and techniques used to explore theses rela
Set in the 1930's, Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" features four main families that are text book examples of the adversities within the moral and social ladder in the "tired old town" of Maycomb Alabama. These differences within their backgrounds has an effect on their use of language and the ways in which they interact with one another and their surrounding society. Harper Lee's clever use of language serves as a means of revealing the differences between families, creating atmosphere giving the reader a sense of authenticity and a way of enhancing and supporting key themes such as racial injustice and inequality. In this essay, I will explore the ways in which family relationships are presented, specifically within the Cunningham, the Radley and Ewell families and will refer to the language devices and techniques used to explore theses relationships. The evidently troubled Ewell family "lived as guests of the county in prosperity as well as in the depths of a depression" as a result of the Wall Street crash in 1929. They are illustrated to be severely disadvantaged - mentally and physically- by their "congenital defects" and suffer at the hands of "the diseases indigenous to filthy surroundings" as established by Scout's humorous and ironic first person narrative. This morbid description of the Ewells allows the reader to sympathise with the family as they must
In this essay I will be exploring Jem and Scout's journey to maturity throughout the novel; To Kill a Mockingbird
How effectively does Harper Lee present the children and growing up in To Kill A Mockingbird? In this essay I will be exploring Jem and Scout's journey to maturity throughout the novel; To Kill a Mockingbird. I will look at the techniques Harper Lee use and how well they work in portraying their growth to maturity. I will also explore influences on the children and the tree main themes in this novel: education, bravery and prejudice. The main them is prejudice which will be looked at in more detail. Jem and Scout represent a typical youth, naivety and innocence. In the first chapter, page 8, Scout says: 'Thereafter the summer passed in routine contentment. Routine contentment was: improving our treehouse that rested between giant twin chinaberry trees in the backyard, fussing, running through our list of dramas based on the works of Oliver Optic, Victor Appleton and Edgar Rice Burroughs' They have no worries through the summer and have fun. The phrase 'routine contentment' is repeated in the passage which gives the effect that this is what they usually do in the summer and were satisfied with the events they do. These are all things people generally do in their childhood and in summer. Some of the things they do seem to be menial such as 'fussing' which also seems quite childish. The atmosphere of summer is created by what they do. In summer it is a time for relaxing; with
To Kill a Mocking Bird Essay. In the book, To kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee highlights the meaning of the narrative using novel standpoint, structure and irony. Harper Lee investigates the absurd attitudes of adults towards race and status
EN3UO Mr. Miller June 16, 2009 To Kill a Mockingbird An innocent child is unaware of the realities of the world until they witness through experiences and teachings, ethics and morals. A book, in the same way, consists of characters, whose experiences, feelings and thoughts convey a subtle theme or message that is usually ethically accurate. The theme represents the controlling idea of the book and the central purpose for which the author decided to write the novel. The theme of the book is usually what the author wants the reader to take away from the book. As a crucial element of a novel, the way in which the author generates the meaning of the book is significant. The author can express the theme effectively not only through the characters present in the novel but also through specific writing styles, the focus being form and text. In the book, "To kill a Mockingbird", Harper Lee highlights the meaning of the narrative using novel standpoint, structure and irony. Harper Lee investigates the absurd attitudes of adults towards race and status in the Deep South in the 1930s through the eyes of Scout Finch. The novel illustrates the conscience of a town that is suffused in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy, which is understood through a black man's struggle for justice. Harper Lee mainly emphasizes the irrationality of prejudice thoughts of a town, along with other themes
Discuss Harper Lee's portrayal of the black community in To Kill A Mockingbird
Discuss Harper Lee's portrayal of the black community in To Kill A Mockingbird To Kill A Mockingbird is set in the nineteen thirties, a time when racism was very common and, in America, the Ku Klux Klan were operating, having been reactivated in nineteen fifteen. At that time, despite their loss of the civil war and acceptance (though unwilling) of the Thirteenth Amendment, the Southern states were continuing to practice racism. Many Southern landowners were determined to keep cheap black labour. However, they were not the worst off, as the Southern whites, who were at the bottom of the heap, were threatened by the rising place of black people and became the least respected of people. In the novel, the black community is portrayed very positively, as they are shown as reacting in an absolutely non-violent way to the racist abuse that they suffer, behaving passively and even still helping white people. In this way, they are portrayed as 'heroes'. Despite some dispute over just how realistic this view was, this was undoubtedly Harper Lee's intention as to what we are meant to think of the black community. The novel is about a white man defending a black man in court, something considered "wrong" at the time and something that would have made the lawyer a public enemy. It is narrated by a little girl and this gives the novel an interesting take on racism, as she does not
