To Kill A Mockingbird Essays: Character Analysis

Improved Essays
One’s actions can set examples for others and is responsible for setting the correct action. If one “If you think that what you do is your own business, you are wrong.” People and ideas affect every person in this world, whether it be good or bad. Some novels reflect this quote in their story as the moral or a theme. To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies and The Wave are three novels that represent the idea that a person is responsible for the actions of others through the example he or she sets. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch is chosen to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, who has been accused of raping a white woman. Although Atticus knows and acknowledges that he will lose the case, he agrees to take on the case. When Scout asks her father why he has chosen to take on the helpless case, Atticus admits that he is afraid that his children will no longer respect him for …show more content…
A teacher is frustrated and perplexed when he is unable to answer questions from his class about the holocaust and makes a classroom project on how the Nazis were so easily persuaded to join Hitler. By the fifth day of the experiment, The Wave had conjured up over 200 members. This portrays that one can set an example for others. In this case, this can set an example for a crowd. Like Hitler, the students from Ben Ross’s class could convince people of this way by not only setting an example but showing them that it could be the way to good. However, The Wave also reveals that people can show the correct action to follow. At the end of the book, Laurie has managed to get a hold of information about The Wave and exploit it. David, a previous major follower of The Wave, saw the wrong of his ways and followed in Laurie’s footsteps in putting a stop to The Wave. Doing this not only exterminated the movement of The Wave, but shows the students that it is never too late to do the right

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    Chapter Questions Chapter 1 - Maycomb is a small town in south America, Atticus is a lawyer father of Scout and Jem - Because Boo Radley hasn’t been out of it for years, He is a Recluse and his house is scary. - The novel is in the point of view of Scout when she is older. Chapter 2 - She likes reading…

    • 1604 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Atticus Finch Sacrifice

    • 1440 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Courage: A Tribute to Moral Bravery Courage is not completing and succeeding at a task, but having the moral bravery to even risk the attempt. The definition of courage, according to Merriam Webster Dictionary is “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.” In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the value of courage outshines any other theme presented. Taking place in the 1930’s in Alabama, prejudice is still alive and thriving.…

    • 1440 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Judgement is indubitably the primary theme in “To Kill A Mockingbird”. Harper Lee is emphatic about the need for reconstruction of social consciousness in the uncompromising Deep South of the 1930’s. Judgement is indicated with several characters throughout the book, such as Miss Gates, Atticus Finch and Tom Robinson. Atticus Finch, Scout and Jem’s Father is one of the victims to judgement.…

    • 878 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Close that curtain, Jessie, I have no wish to regard my garden and examine the destruction caused by that, horrible little boy.” “That’s more appropriate, now where’s my tea, go and fetch it at once!” “Maids, what’s becoming of them, acting as though they are equals to us white folk, it’s simply not allowed!” Crossing my arms I lean back and ponder the situation “It doesn’t help this situation when no one listens to my opinion, sure they believe there’s a difference between themselves and their maids, however they have no idea how alike they appear.” “Finally back Jessie?…

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Atticus Finch, living in a time and town where race was an issue, took a case defending an african american accused of rape. In that time, every lawyer knew that their case wouldn’t stand a chance due to the fact that Tom Robinson was african american. Atticus took the case, knowing what consequences there would be. Miss maudie spoke to Scout about her father and the trial. “I simply want to tell you that there are some men in this world who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us.…

    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Elizabeth Janeway says “Growing up human is uniquely a matter of social relations rather than biology. What we learn from connections within the family takes the place of instincts that program the behaviour of animals”. To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee that tells about civil rights and racism in the 1930s. The story takes place in a small town in the south of Alabama. The main characters are Jem and Scout, who are two siblings living in that town.…

    • 1040 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As Bethany Hamilton once said, "Courage doesn't mean you don't get afraid. Courage means you don't let fear stop you. " What people don't know is that fear can have a huge impact on your life, just like courage. Fear can have a negative impact on your life but that fear drives courage. Bethany Hamilton was explaining how you need fear to get through life's scariest challenges.…

    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    How the Citizens of Maycomb Impact the Mindset of Jem and Scout The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a story set in the 1930’s that focuses on the town of Maycomb. The story focuses on two young individuals who live alongside one another and watch out for each other when times get difficult. Readers may think that Jem and Scout are not influenced by the people outside of their family. However, throughout the story, Jem and Scout not only learn valuable lessons and methods from their family, but also from others outside of their family tree.…

    • 1149 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Understanding perspective plays a central, critical role in “To Kill A Mockingbird”. Lack of understanding is the cause of many of the main conflicts in the story. Understanding resolves these conflicts and makes the characters involved more mature and morally developed. Scout’s journey in To Kill A Mockingbird is closely tied to her understanding of other perspectives. At the beginning of the story, Scout is only six years old and displays immaturity typical of a child her age.…

    • 950 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Harper Lee once said “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” This problem still happens today, everyone judges a person without evening knowing them. When someone judges someone with tattoos and piercings they automatically think he is a bad guy but that isn’t always true. Their point of view can be totally wrong but they would never know. They will never get to truly know the person because their point of view shows them as bad people.…

    • 1042 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Phoenix, ol’ Phoenix Jackson, so courageous at such a ripe old age. As her life comes to a close, she makes this journey; no other journey except the journey of life itself, shall be as hard as this. This weary old lady with nothing but the close on her back and her umbrella cane, begins her journey near christmas; a time for family, peace and love. She makes this journey of seemingly a thousand miles that began in one unbalanced step, one untied old shoes in front of the other, waddling through this worn path. Phoenix, you fiery ol’ bird, the fervent passion burning in her blue-ish grey-ish eyes.…

    • 244 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Tom Robinson was accused of raping white women, while he has another side of the story. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus is a good parent because he wants the children mature through their experiences, and to see what real courage is, and speaks the truth. Atticus wants the children to understand how racism acts through the eyes of their own.…

    • 1084 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Similar to shooting a mockingbird, there were a multitude of innocent people that were persecuted in the novel for being different, At the beginning of the novel, when Atticus gave Jem and Scout air rifles, he explained to them why they could not shoot at mockingbirds. Evident from the previous quote, a mockingbird does nothing but valuable qualities and so there is no justification whatsoever for harming a mockingbird. In the novel, mockingbirds, in essence, represented the best part best part of a person's nature and therefore, killing the mockingbird would be to destroy that humanitarian nature of someone. Throughout the novel, numerous characters could have been compared to a mockingbird, the three main "mockingbirds in the novel, however,…

    • 1049 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The look in her face the look of disappointment, the way her lip quivered at me, and the tear. The tear that haunted me that whole night. As I ran all I thought was how could this have gotten so bad, and how will I face my mother. In To Kill a Mockingbird the most significant to me was, “You just hold your head high and keep those fists down. No matter what anybody says to you, don’t you let ‘em get your goat.…

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Atticus Finch is a good father, a good neighbor, and a good lawyer. Atticus Finch, a character in Harper Lee’s novel To kill A Mockingbird is one of the best hero . He power is not fighting crime and having a super power, but his power is simply being kind and fighting for what is and should be right. He listens to both side of the story and believes that everyone was created equally. Atticus Finch is a good father, a good neighbor, and a good lawyer.…

    • 710 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays