Things Are Not Always What They Seem. . . .
•Main Plot:
•Atticus defends Tom Robinson.
•Subplot:
•Attempts to get Boo Radley to come out of his house
•Mrs. Dubose’s sickness and death
•The burning of Miss Maudie’s house
Central Conflicts:
•Atticus’s decision to defend Tom Robinson goes against the conventions of the community.
•Scout must come to terms with her father’s decision and the community’s opinions.
•Scout must learn to understand other people and accept their differences.
What Scout Learns:
•People are not always what they appear to be.
•Boo Radley is not the murderous character the town makes him out to be.
•Mrs. Dubose’s nastiness was the result of her addiction to morphine more than anything else.
•Mr. Raymond is not the town drunk, but letting people think so makes it easier for them to accept his eccentricities.
Jem becomes upset when the jury finds Tom Robinson guilty of rape.
The children learn quickly that prejudices often lead to miscarriages of justice.
They learn just how heroic their father is, too, because Atticus knew when he took the case that he would lose.
Several characters are sacrificed in the name of prejudice—Boo Radley doesn’t physically die, but he does come out of his house.
Several characters are sacrificed in the name of prejudice—Boo Radley doesn’t physically die, but he does come out of his house.
If Scout had made his part in her rescue public, she would have sacrificed her new-found friend. Tom Robinson is the most obvious example of the innocent who is sacrificed because of prejudice.
Although many characters in the novel share Atticus’s belief in Tom’s innocence, Scout learns that prejudice kills him anyway.
Harper Lee introduces the symbolism of the mockingbird in Chapter Ten of the novel. When Atticus gives Jem and Scout air rifles for Christmas, he warns them not to shoot the mockingbird.
Harper Lee introduces the symbolism of the mockingbird in Chapter Ten of the novel. When Atticus gives Jem and Scout air rifles for Christmas, he warns them not to shoot the mockingbird.
He knows that they will be tempted to shoot birds, but he reminds them that songbirds are off limits to them. Miss Maudie reinforces Atticus’s orders by explaining the innocence of the mockingbird. According to Miss Maudie, mockingbirds are innocent creatures put on this earth to harm no one. They bring pleasure instead.
Harper Lee creates several mockingbirds in her novel. The most obvious mockingbird is Tom Robinson. He did not cause harm to anyone, but the jury condemned him guilty. Trying to escape from the work camp, Tom was shot and killed. An innocent man died because of the prejudice that existed in the community.
Boo Radley is the second mockingbird in the novel. However, Scout has learned her lesson by the end of the novel. She wants to introduce her new-found friend, Arthur Radley, to the world, but she realizes that such exposure was just like killing a mockingbird. It would be the deliberate destruction of an innocent being.
Empathy is the ability to feel another person’s emotional experiences. The phrase “I feel your pain” best expresses the concept of empathy. Prejudices often exist because there is the lack of empathy.
Empathy is the ability to feel another person’s emotional experiences. The phrase “I feel your pain” best expresses the concept of empathy. Prejudices often exist because there is the lack of empathy.
Atticus begins to teach Scout this lesson on the first day of Scout’s schooling. After a particularly difficult time with the new teacher, Atticus reminds her that the way to get along with people is to understand them by walking “around in” someone else’s skin.
Early in the novel when Scout is ready to quit school after a particularly difficult first day, Atticus tells her that if she could learn to empathize with other people, she would get along much better in the world. Calpurnia also helps her learn this lesson when Scout wants to know why Calpurnia seems to have two lives—one in the world of white people and another, foreign world to Scout, in the black community.
Calpurnia tells her that it is necessary to live these double lives in order not to hurt the people with whom she lives. It is only when Scout learns to put herself in someone else’s skin and walk around in it, does she really understand what Atticus has been trying to teach her all along.
Although Jem and Scout began the novel with preconceived notions of what courage is, they end with a completely different definition.
Atticus shows them through example that it takes courage to stand of up for one’s convictions even though that person is standing alone in the midst of his or her society. After Mrs. Dubose dies, Atticus reminds them that she is the true example of bravery by trying to defeat an addition even though she was dying. He does not want them to think of Atticus killing the rabid dog as true courage.
Even Boo Radley serves as an example of courage for Scout. He had to leave the shelter and safety of his house in order to save Scout and Jem from Bob Ewell.
These examples of courage also help Scout to overcome her prejudices and become more open-minded. And this is what the novel is about—the courage to face prejudices and leave them behind.
*FINAL EXAM NEXT CLASS IN ROOM N-204*
