Hello, this is my essay on To kill a mockingbird, which I will be using for future essays. I just wanted some advice or improvements I could make as I have always been having trouble with English writing. Thank you :)
The novel "To kill a mockingbird" by Harper Lee is about the events in a small, southern town, Maycomb during the 1930's. The main idea in the story is that we must always put ourselves in other people's shoes. This is important because it can eliminate racism, stereotyping and misunderstanding.
Racism is dangerous as it causes us to judge people based on appearance rather than reality. The trial of Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white girl, reveals this to be true. During the trial, Tom says "Yes, suh. I felt sorry for her. She seemed to try more'n the rest of them." This angers the judge who replies, "You felt sorry for her, you felt sorry for her?" This shows us that it is totally unacceptable in Maycomb County for black people to regard themselves as in any way superior to a white person. In the white populations' eyes, Tom has no right to feel sorry for a white person, as they believe blacks are inherently inferior. However, Tom is, in fact, innocent of the charges held up against and is represented symbolically by the mockingbird. Atticus tells Jem that "it's a sin to kill a mockingbird as they sing their hearts out for us" and do not cause any harm. Just like a mockingbird, Tom does not do any harm, in fact, he only wishes to help Mayella Ewell; tragically this is the eventual cause of his death. Thus, the author makes the point that we need to put ourselves in other people's shoes because if we make judgements based on racial prejudice, then we are in danger of hurting the innocent.
This is also a danger when we stereotype others. Stereotyping is evident when the children judge Boo Radley as a monster - someone without human feelings or emotions. At the start of the novel, Scout and Jem believe that "Inside [a neighbouring] house lived a malevolent phantom... [who] went out at night when the moon was down, and peeped in windows." They have never seen Boo Radley and because of this, they fall into the trap of stereotyping him. This shows us that when we do not know people personally, we often believe unfounded rumours and gossip. However, Boo Radley is just a normal person like any other in Maycomb County except for his reclusive nature. Boo is also represented symbolically by the mockingbird after he saves Jem and Scout from Bob Ewell's assault. The sheriff of Maycomb decides that "[Bob] fell on his own knife" because "it'd be sort of like shooting a mockingbird," if Boo were to be jailed for saving two children or if he were to be in the spotlight because of his reclusive nature. This is when Jem "[begins] to understand why Boo Radley stayed shut up in the house all this time... it's because he wants to stay inside." This shows us that Boo is clearly not the monster that everyone believed he was. Thus, the author makes another point that if we make assumptions based on stereotypes without putting ourselves in other people's shoes, we will often come to the wrong conclusions.
This is also true for Mrs Dubose. Boo may be the ghost of Scout's neighbourhood, but Mrs. Dubose is the dragon. Scout introduces her as "plain hell." At the start of the novel, "Jem and [Scout] hated her." This is because of her "wrathful gaze" and her "ruthless interrogation" which seemed to imply that the children would grow up to be "nothing." During the novel, Jem destroys all of Mrs Dubose's camellia bushes after she tells the children that Atticus is no better than the "niggers and trash he works for," and as a punishment, Jem has to visit Mrs Dubose everyday for month to read to her. Shortly after the month of punishment, Mrs Dubose dies. Atticus tells this to his children and when Atticus describes Mrs Dubose as a lady, Jem replies "'A lady?' Jem raised his head. His face was scarlet. 'After all those things she said about you, a lady?' Atticus informs Jem that his reading was just to ease her withdrawals from morphine addiction. This is when Jem and Scout find out that she was a morphine addict who vowed to free herself from her addiction before she died. Atticus teaches them "what real courage is" and that "courage is [not] a man with a gun in his hand" and that "[Mrs Dubose] died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew." Jem and Scout see another side of the monstrous Mrs Dubose. Clearly, she is not the monstrosity they imagined she was. Thus, the author makes another point that if you make misunderstandings about people without putting ourselves in their shoes, we are most likely to create a corrupted image of that person which they clearly aren't.
Therefore, the idea that we must always put ourselves in other people's shoes is deeply enforced in the novel through the characters, Tom Robinson, Boo Radley and Mrs Dubose.
The novel "To kill a mockingbird" by Harper Lee is about the events in a small, southern town, Maycomb during the 1930's. The main idea in the story is that we must always put ourselves in other people's shoes. This is important because it can eliminate racism, stereotyping and misunderstanding.
Racism is dangerous as it causes us to judge people based on appearance rather than reality. The trial of Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white girl, reveals this to be true. During the trial, Tom says "Yes, suh. I felt sorry for her. She seemed to try more'n the rest of them." This angers the judge who replies, "You felt sorry for her, you felt sorry for her?" This shows us that it is totally unacceptable in Maycomb County for black people to regard themselves as in any way superior to a white person. In the white populations' eyes, Tom has no right to feel sorry for a white person, as they believe blacks are inherently inferior. However, Tom is, in fact, innocent of the charges held up against and is represented symbolically by the mockingbird. Atticus tells Jem that "it's a sin to kill a mockingbird as they sing their hearts out for us" and do not cause any harm. Just like a mockingbird, Tom does not do any harm, in fact, he only wishes to help Mayella Ewell; tragically this is the eventual cause of his death. Thus, the author makes the point that we need to put ourselves in other people's shoes because if we make judgements based on racial prejudice, then we are in danger of hurting the innocent.
This is also a danger when we stereotype others. Stereotyping is evident when the children judge Boo Radley as a monster - someone without human feelings or emotions. At the start of the novel, Scout and Jem believe that "Inside [a neighbouring] house lived a malevolent phantom... [who] went out at night when the moon was down, and peeped in windows." They have never seen Boo Radley and because of this, they fall into the trap of stereotyping him. This shows us that when we do not know people personally, we often believe unfounded rumours and gossip. However, Boo Radley is just a normal person like any other in Maycomb County except for his reclusive nature. Boo is also represented symbolically by the mockingbird after he saves Jem and Scout from Bob Ewell's assault. The sheriff of Maycomb decides that "[Bob] fell on his own knife" because "it'd be sort of like shooting a mockingbird," if Boo were to be jailed for saving two children or if he were to be in the spotlight because of his reclusive nature. This is when Jem "[begins] to understand why Boo Radley stayed shut up in the house all this time... it's because he wants to stay inside." This shows us that Boo is clearly not the monster that everyone believed he was. Thus, the author makes another point that if we make assumptions based on stereotypes without putting ourselves in other people's shoes, we will often come to the wrong conclusions.
This is also true for Mrs Dubose. Boo may be the ghost of Scout's neighbourhood, but Mrs. Dubose is the dragon. Scout introduces her as "plain hell." At the start of the novel, "Jem and [Scout] hated her." This is because of her "wrathful gaze" and her "ruthless interrogation" which seemed to imply that the children would grow up to be "nothing." During the novel, Jem destroys all of Mrs Dubose's camellia bushes after she tells the children that Atticus is no better than the "niggers and trash he works for," and as a punishment, Jem has to visit Mrs Dubose everyday for month to read to her. Shortly after the month of punishment, Mrs Dubose dies. Atticus tells this to his children and when Atticus describes Mrs Dubose as a lady, Jem replies "'A lady?' Jem raised his head. His face was scarlet. 'After all those things she said about you, a lady?' Atticus informs Jem that his reading was just to ease her withdrawals from morphine addiction. This is when Jem and Scout find out that she was a morphine addict who vowed to free herself from her addiction before she died. Atticus teaches them "what real courage is" and that "courage is [not] a man with a gun in his hand" and that "[Mrs Dubose] died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew." Jem and Scout see another side of the monstrous Mrs Dubose. Clearly, she is not the monstrosity they imagined she was. Thus, the author makes another point that if you make misunderstandings about people without putting ourselves in their shoes, we are most likely to create a corrupted image of that person which they clearly aren't.
Therefore, the idea that we must always put ourselves in other people's shoes is deeply enforced in the novel through the characters, Tom Robinson, Boo Radley and Mrs Dubose.