Lessons
In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, there are many lessons that various characters learn. Scout, one of the major characters in the book,
learns lots in this short period of her life.
Passage 1:
“Don’t matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this house’s yo’ comp’ny, and don’t you let me catch you remarkin’on their ways like you was so high and mighty! Yo’ folks might be better’n the Cunninghams but it don’t count for nothin’ the way you’re disgracin’ ‘em –if you can’t act fit to eat at the table you can just set here and eat in the kichen” (27).
Scout invites Walter Cunningham over for dinner after school. Walter piles food onto his plate, and then pours molasses all over his food with a “generous hand” (27). Scout asked what he was doing, and Walter was ashamed. Then, Calpurnia beckoned Scout into the kitchen to have a little chat. Calpurnia was very angry about how Scout treated their guest. She says that if they’re your company, you need to respect them. In this passage, Scout learns to respect everyone, regardless of their background and what they do. Something else that she learns is to not put other people above yourself.
Passage 2: “‘First of all,’ [Atticus] said, ‘if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it’”(33).
Atticus is speaking to Scout after her first day of school. Scout’s teacher, Miss Caroline, told her that she can’t read anymore, that made Scout sad. Scout no longer wants to go to school, and says that Atticus, himself, didn’t go to school, so she wouldn’t either. In this passage, Scout learns that if you really want to know why people do the things they do, you should get into their skin –or see things from their point of view –before you judge them.
Passage 3: “‘I wanted you to see something about her –I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s
when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do’” (128).
Atticus is talking to Jem and Scout. He’s talking about Mrs. Dubose and her morphine addiction. Mrs. Dubose wanted to conquer her addiction before she died, so she called Jem and Scout over to read to her. All she could probably think about was her alarm clock going off, which signaled that the children would go home. Each day, her alarm clock was set a little later in the evening, so that by the time the last day came, she was free of her addiction. Here, Scout learns that real courage isn’t someone with a gun, or with a lot of power. Real courage, as Atticus defines it, is when you know that you’re going to lose, but you continue to try anyway. He also says that you don’t give up halfway through; you see it through to the end. Atticus teaches that you don’t always win, but Mrs. Dubose certainly did.
Each passage shows a different aspect of the same theme of learning. Scout learns to respect everyone despite their background, she learns to get to know people before judging them, or “getting into their skin and walking around in it”, and she also learns that you don’t have to give up on something even though you’re going to lose.
By the end of the book, Scout has learned much and matured significantly. This motif of learning expresses her ignorance in the beginning, and the understanding in the end. We see her as a lawyer’s child, a silly little girl, a respectable young lady. She has many people watching over her and teaching her from Atticus to Boo Radley.
Bethany Fry
Prejudice
1.
Francis looked at me carefully, concluded that I had been sufficiently subdued, and cooned softly, “Nigger-lover” (96).
Francis is calling Scout a“nigger-lover” because she is sticking up for Calpurnia. Calpurnia is a part of the Finches daily life and they treat her like they would treat someone who is white even though she is black. This passage gives insight to the extended family dynamic of the Finches. It also helps to develop Scouts maturity growth throughout the
book. Atticus isn’t racist but the society his children are growing up in is. She begins to realize that she doesn’t agree with the societal norm or thinking less of black people but agrees with Atticus that people deserve to be treated equally. This motif carries through the book as a theme as well.
2.
‘’I wants to know why you bringin’ white chillum to nigger church.” “They’s my comp’ny”,said Calpurnia. Again I thought her voice strange: she was talking like the rest of them.
“Yeah, an’ I reckon you’s comp’ny at the Finch house durin’ the week.” A murmur ran through the crowd.
“Don’t you fret,” Calpurnia whispered to me, but the roses on her hat trembled indignantly (135).
This passage shows dialogue between Lula, a black woman, and Calpurnia at their church. Calpurnia brought Scout and Jem to her church, with no objection from Atticus. The children up until this point have really only experienced racism from white people towards black people, not black people towards white. This part of the story teaches the children that prejudice works both ways. This passage also helps to develop Calpurnia’s character. She sticks up for the children and makes them feel wanted at a time when they feel like they aren’t. It helps to develop her into an even more mother-like role model for both Jem and Scout.
Emilee MacLellan
Francis looked at me carefully, concluded that I had been sufficiently subdued, and cooned softly, “Nigger-lover” (96).
Francis is calling Scout a“nigger-lover” because she is sticking up for Calpurnia. Calpurnia is a part of the Finches daily life and they treat her like they would treat someone who is white even though she is black. This passage gives insight to the extended family dynamic of the Finches. It also helps to develop Scouts maturity growth throughout the
book. Atticus isn’t racist but the society his children are growing up in is. She begins to realize that she doesn’t agree with the societal norm or thinking less of black people but agrees with Atticus that people deserve to be treated equally. This motif carries through the book as a theme as well.
2.
‘’I wants to know why you bringin’ white chillum to nigger church.” “They’s my comp’ny”,said Calpurnia. Again I thought her voice strange: she was talking like the rest of them.
“Yeah, an’ I reckon you’s comp’ny at the Finch house durin’ the week.” A murmur ran through the crowd.
“Don’t you fret,” Calpurnia whispered to me, but the roses on her hat trembled indignantly (135).
This passage shows dialogue between Lula, a black woman, and Calpurnia at their church. Calpurnia brought Scout and Jem to her church, with no objection from Atticus. The children up until this point have really only experienced racism from white people towards black people, not black people towards white. This part of the story teaches the children that prejudice works both ways. This passage also helps to develop Calpurnia’s character. She sticks up for the children and makes them feel wanted at a time when they feel like they aren’t. It helps to develop her into an even more mother-like role model for both Jem and Scout.
Emilee MacLellan