Bertrand Mpigabahizi
English 11 PAP A4
5 – 8 - 08
“To Kill a Mockingbird “Journal Project”
Themes ( Courage ) #1
Bravery , is a recurring theme in literature and it has been probably since the beginning of time , the Greeks talked about bravery , the Egyptians talked about bravery , and the Victorians talked about bravery . And To Kill A Mockingbird is not left out in this phase , even though bravery comes in different forms and sizes the amount of bravery still counts even when it has no or little impact….also the other great thing about bravery is that sometimes you don’t even know your being brave . One of the earliest and most accountable forms of bravery that plays part in this story is that of Atticus when he a respected white males from a long line of respected long males decided to be the attorney of a unrepresented black man from a long line of unrepresented black males and puts everything on the line for the name of Justice and equality , that was probably one of the biggest impact of bravery in the novel .Another form of bravery that we saw in the book that was caused by emotions that had nothing to truly do with bravery was when Scout ran in front of a murderous mob and fought them off with a smile and some nice words(Don’t you remember me, Mr. Cunningham? I%26#039;m Jean Louise Finch. You brought us some hickory nuts one early morning, remember? We had a talk. I went and got my daddy to come out and thank you. I go to school with your boy. I go to school with Walter; he%26#039;s a nice boy.) , her intensions may never be unveiled but we do know that Scout showed a act of stupidly and bravery that day but that may be because of the lack maturity because she was quite young at the time . But one of the most noticeable acts of bravery that appeared in the pages of To Kill A Mockingbird and was in no way accidental was when Jem protected and tried to fight of Mr. Ewell when he attacked him and his sister after a dance at school ( “ Run , Scout ! Run, Run!” Jem screamed ……..Jem risks his life for scout to make it to safety), this may have been instinct from his new found maturity or it may have been instinct from a brother trying to make sure his sister was safe from such an attack . In the end like so many other works of literature bravery is well represented in this story , we get to see many different types of bravery from big and small from physical and internal but in the end they are all an act of bravery . The theme of bravery in the novel represents the fact that sometimes you need to step out your comfort zone in times of need and show a little bit of bravery .
Theme (Walking in someone’s shows) # 2
The theme of walking in someone else’s shoes has been heavily preached by Atticus and others in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird .Atticus unlike so many others at the time saw things at a different view that saw from what both sides had to say and in the end that’s what made him a great lawyer and was the cause that made him able to present Tom Robinson a great case , even though he lost he was able to put a doubt in the mind’s of the jury taking them two hours for them to decide on the decision on Tom’s life . One of the greatest incidents that happens in the book that have to deal with the saying and theme ( walking in someone else’s shoes ) happens when Scout in the end of the book when she finally caught on the idea of a not so perfect world walks with Boo her once upon a time night mare and decided to look out from the place Boo used to and still looks outside , and at that moment Scout experienced a out of body experienced and saw what Boo has been seeing from the start .Another incident that happens though out the story is by the main person that preached this philosophy and that was Atticus I’m sure Atticus was always a man that apposed the treatment of blacks in the United States of America but taking a cause like the Tom Robinson case was so risky even some of the more passionate activist would back down , I believe that Atticus was able to look deep into Tom and try to feel what he felt and use the capability to help the accused man and from there help him as mush as possible . And last but not least is more like stepping in the shoes of a group of people , and by that I’m talking about Calpurnia’s success and ability to see the point of view of both the whites and blacks and able to live , work , and survive with both of them , that I believe took a lot of time and effort on Calpurnia part (%26#039;It%26#039;s not necessary to tell all you know. It%26#039;s not ladylike - in the second place, folks don%26#039;t like to have somebody around knowin%26#039; more than they do. It aggravates %26#039;em. You%26#039;re not gonna change any of them by talkin%26#039; right, they%26#039;ve got to want to learn themselves, and when they don%26#039;t want to learn there%26#039;s nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language.%26#039;). In the end it’s always nice to see how the shoe of another person feels from Prada stilettos to Nike sneakers to smelly or fresh .
Theme ( Family background / social classes ) # 3
Family background is important to everyone some more important then others . It can be a good thing to know about someone ‘s past and understand your lineage and family tradition that most of the time travels down from generation to generation . But in the send good things sometimes gets affected by evil or things that could go on used fro example when family background becomes what sets you apart from other and puts you in a class with other most times things can get dirty pretty fast . In the novel To Kill a mockingbird the social class is cut up in 4 levels or caste’s this mirroring what was going on in the US at that time . The first level is consumed of whites , well – educated richer whites with stable family homes and long family ties ( the Finch’s and Mr. Tate ) , the next level is consumed with mid – class farmers and small business owners which may be educated or not but have similar morals with the 1 class ( Cunninghams ), and the then the third class consumes of town drunks , fools , poor trash with no or little education and bad morals ( Ewells) , and the 4th class who are put down under not for there weekly amount or morals but because of there skin color ( tom Robinson ) . The importance of family background plays out in one incident when Aunt Alexander has a chat with Atticus about what he is doing to the family name how people will start looking at him if he keeps on being a n***** - lover ( she did not say that but , what other ‘s will say ). Another incident that happens often but is shown rarely is how Calpurnia and other adult blacks have to call little white boys and girls Mr. and Miss showing the racist looks on life and on the so called caste system . Another example about how connections and family background are important in Maycomb is how people who associate with people of lower classes seem to be pulled down in the social ranking for example Atticus seems to lose his hand in the town he is branded a n***** - lover by the towns people . in the end Family background is very important to understanding one’s past and later future , but like everything else in this world things are often changed to be used for something more sinister.
Theme ( Prejudice / racism ) # 4
Prejudice is a large group which we all belong to. It damages not only our eyes, but also our thoughts and actions. When we getted grouped into the group prejudice ( we all our at some point in time ), not everyone can set them selves free from such hate and racism. Sometimes we see people and think they are our enemies when really they are just a little bit different then us, just because they are a different race or even a different sex. These prejudice views are not uncommon, even though most of the time they are wrong just imagined by fear and hate . To Kill a Mockingbird presents many different types of prejudice, the situations also show that prejudice can be overthrown and banished. An example of viewing things differently is when Aunt Alexandra forbid Scout to play with Walter Cunningham, a poor boy which Scout attends school with. This is because Aunt Alexandra sees Walter and his family as poor and beneath the Finches who our considered by most to be one of the top families in the area, in her words,%26quot; ...they%26#039;re good folks. But they%26#039;re not our kind of folks.%26quot; Scout on the other hand with her personality and the teaching she hears from her father ,doesn%26#039;t care about how much money Walter has but about his potential to be a friend. She doesn%26#039;t let stupid and illogical things like money damage her judgment of people. The most typical of all prejudice views is that of race , but to me and many others their only one race the human race black , white , yellow we are all human. An example of this is during Tom Robinsons trial. Tom was a black man accused of raping a white woman, a crime that is punishable by the death penalty , in the form of the diabolical form of the electric chair. Even though all the facts proved that he didn%26#039;t do it, the jury still found him guilty %26quot;beyond a reasonable doubt%26quot;. Tom%26#039;s life has been sacrificed to racism by the people who were there to protect him. The justice system didn%26#039;t allow this man to have a fair trial because of the color of his skin. They disregarded his citizenship or that of the other minorities, all they could focus on was his race because that was all racism let them see. But Prejudice can be overcome if you let it , and it is proven over and over again. There are many people out there that are willing to lose everything they have to fight for what%26#039;s right. Take Atticus Finch for example, he knew that Tom wouldn%26#039;t win but he defended him anyway. He didn%26#039;t care what people thought, he just knew that the truth had to be heard even if it was not considered. The children also show that there is hope in the future for people to be nonjudgmental. They didn%26#039;t understand how a jury could convict a man whom they knew was innocent and it shocked them. Atticus explained to them that it has happened before and will happen again, sadly he also told them,%26quot;... when they do it - it seems that only the children weep. ..%26quot; Prejudice showed it%26#039;s face many times in To Kill a Mocking Bird, and in some of those instances it showed itself being overcome. From economical prejudice against the Cunninghams to racial prejudice against Tom Robinson, the book has displayed every aspect of how people can look to the wrong side of the highway and see things completely differently then the person standing next to them. It%26#039;s situations like the ones given in this book that make me angry that society gives people ideas like these to write about. If we can wipe prejudice clean, people who know what%26#039;s right wouldn%26#039;t have to hold the guilt for all those people who do wrong. In the end , I know prejudice and racism will be no more with people starting to understand there reall is not a difference maybe people will start to embrace themselves more
Theme ( Coming of age / loss of innocence )
To Kill A Mockingbird was not made to be a fairytale or to be a book a child was supposed to read and come out thinking the same they did before they read the book . This book was made to try to show what was really like in the real world and how it was really like to be faced with things you had no control over , you never plan when you’re going to see the thing that makes you grow up and helps you come of age or when you experience a moment where you finally lose your innocence . This book is based around young children finding them selves in a difficult world and time a time of differences and battles that will change their lives forever . One of the main characters that I believe had what you call a change of attitude or look of life . He began to understand what was really going on in the world he began to see what justice was like his father has been doing for all his adult life he began to grow up. One of the incidents that evolved Jem was when Dill still a small boy ran all the way from to stay with his aunt but to scared to confront her he hinds under Scouts bed , Scout extremely happy to have one of her best friends under bed plans to keep Dill under there but Jem seeing this decides to the right thing and tell his father who will know more on what to do with Dill . Another incident is with Scout in the end of the book where relies where she went wrong in figuring Boo out and how mush she has changed in the past year , at this point Scout is moving away what she used to be and know trying to be what her brother has already down now. The fact is the loose of innocence is not terribly a bad thing but a time for moving on and growing to a better and securing person .
Character # 1( Atticus )
Atticus is one of those characters that are characterized with such great qualities that it makes himself a more admirable and loveable character . Atticus is what you call a real southern gentlemen on of the few men in Maycomb that can truly claim lineage in the small Alabama town . but he never holds himself at high regard or puts himself on petal stool , not once in the novel did atticus claim to be superior to anyone in the book even if he did hold higher morals and character then some of Harpers many interesting and developed characters .One of the main characteristics that I believe makes Atticus a more better of a man to read about is his intelligence , he unlike so many other people from his crop does not depend on his family inheritance or pride to help him get his way. Being a Law school graduate Atticus knows a lot of interesting and important things that the town people of Maycomb will never know about , for example since the being Atticus was shown to be a man that held education at the highest regard and made sure to install it in his children in a early age , he also seemed to know what racism really was and how easy it corrupt even the finest of gentlemen and ladies . another great thing about example about Atticus is wisdom and the ability to see through other people’s shoes and try to understand their point of view and pain and he preaches this philosophy every chance he gets especially to his young children that will use his teaching to better understand them selves and others around him (“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.” --Atticus (pg. 30) .Another great thing about Atticus is his great love for justice and all the great qualities that comes along with the terrioty for example Atticus is willing to give way everything he’s got , everything he has rightfully won just for doing the right thing and defending a innocent black man at a time when Alabama was fighting the wounds of racism and the Great Depression . ( %26quot;As you grow older you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it— whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, of how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.”--Atticus (pg. 200)) and (“It’s not okay to hate anybody.”—Atticus (pg. 246)) are great quotes made by Atticus that truly showed his true colors and what he truly stood for . In the end Atticus Finch has proven him self to be an intelligent , brave which he showed by going against what was thought to be the right thing and jumping on a idea of freedom and equality , wisdom , and last but not least sympathy for what is evil and embracing what is good . Atticus Finch is the true definition of a southern gentlemen with a good head on his shoulders.
Character # 2 ( Jem )
Jem Finch born into a pretty stable family with a great educated father who comes from a long line of respected southern men seemed to have every thing going for him and in fact things never really got to bad for him but he did experience great disappointments, grief, and had a lot of rapid changes happen to him in his life. To me and many other Jem Finch seems to be the most changed and the one with the most evolution between the beginnings of the book to the end of it. He has experienced some akward situations and has found himself in some pretty dangerous places but he still seemed to hold his important and primary characteristics and morals taught by his father. One of the earlier characteristics of Jem the showed early on was the willingness to learn and listen which he and scout both carry and where most likely taught by that by Atticus . even thought that characteristic has proven to be useful it has landed him in some trouble for example how easy for him to believe the stories about Boo and how realistic he told them to Scout and Dill (Jem: Well, judgin%26#039; from his tracks, he%26#039;s about six and a half feet tall. He eats raw squirrels and all the cats he can catch. There%26#039;s a long, jagged scar that runs all the way across his face. His teeth are yella and rotten. His eyes are popped. And he drools most of the time.). Another characteristic that proves to be one of the deepest once to date is his bravery and how fast he is to show his strengths , this characteristic ends up to be very important when he shows it when one of the most important people in his life comes close to death ( “ Run , Scout ! Run, Run!” Jem screamed ……..Jem risks his life for scout to make it to safety). Also another great characteristics that he probably learned from his father is his thoughts on the importance of justice and the actions he does to try to get a little bit closer for finch line ( Jem If there%26#039;s just one kind of folks, why can%26#039;t they get along with each other? If they%26#039;re all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other? )Since the start of the novel we always know that Jem know a little bit more in about what was happening in this world then Scout and even then some of Maycombs adults. By the end of the book it seemed like we had finally saw what Jem really represented and we had finally had saw a full swing of evolution of Jem’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. Jem started out in the book as a small innocent youngster that most important interest was boogie monsters and scary stories to a young man that understood the bases of good ( loving and understanding each other )and the effects of evil ( racism and prejudice ) . Jem finch truly is the most evolved character and I don’t believe his story ends when the book closes.
Character # 3 ( Scout )
Scout Finch is a very unusual girl especially a girl in the Great depression in the 1930’s when girls where expected to were hand made dresses and learn etiquette and strive to be a the perfect southern bell, Scout is out climbing tree’s with her brother and play mate, rolling around in tires and harassing cranky old women down the street. But scout is also unusual in something else also and that is that she is unusually smart actually very smart ,she has already been able to read and write with the help with her father and has already thinking about the worlds many and diverse problems ( Scout There%26#039;s just one kind of folks. Folks. ) . But even though she is a very intelligent girl she is also very hard headed and feisty which adds to her tom – boy appeal that makes her so loveable and a kind of feminist icon , scout carries great confidence and does not back down to any battle not even when the opponent seems and is the one with the upper hand , even though Scout knows that what she does sometimes is not necessary she still has no problem in breaking the rules because that’s her personality and she is not ready into being someone that truly doesn’t embody her presence (Atticus had promised me he would wear me out if he ever heard of me fightin%26#039; any more. I was far too old and too big for such childish things, and the sooner I learned to hold in, the better off everybody would be. ). Another great thing about Scout is that she truly does what is right what she believes is right, scout never truly had any bad intention behind any of her motives even if they sometimes turned into something unnecessary or very quite foolish for example when she went in front of a lynching mob that were at the point of there momentum and challenged them with only a smile and some few words (Don’t you remember me, Mr. Cunningham? I%26#039;m Jean Louise Finch. You brought us some hickory nuts one early morning, remember? We had a talk. I went and got my daddy to come out and thank you. I go to school with your boy. I go to school with Walter; he%26#039;s a nice boy.) In the end Scout is able to prove her self to be one of the rare creatures of yester year the woman ( girl ) with a personality , a say , a real head on her shoulders , and the willingness to be independent and strong for your self and many other in your presence , she may have made some foolish and childless mistakes but she has also been able to learn and better understand life and come out a better and more mature lady (Neighbors bring food with death, and flowers with sickness, and little things in between. Boo was our neighbor. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a knife, and our lives. )
Character # 4 ( Calpurnia )
We don’t really get to experience Calpurnia’s character and appeal as mush as we like but we to get to see many beautiful and motherly characteristics from what we do know about her. We know Calpurnia is an American woman of African descent , we also know that she is probably a lady who is the daughter of a man who’s father was a slave and not one of recent immigration . but on of the most important things we know about Calpurnia is the she is since the death of the Finch’s childrens mothers death the primary care taker or motherly figure of both Scout and Jem and by how the children treat they also see Calpurnia as a great mother role and a very important figure in their lives .And by the way she treats the young children we now know that she is more of the disciplinarian to the children of the Finch house ( Calpurnia -Don%26#039;t matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this house, they are company and don%26#039;t let me catch you remarking on their ways like you were so high and mighty.)………(.That boy is your company. And if he wants to eat up that tablecloth, you let him, you hear) And ……….( “ if you can%26#039;t act fit to eat like folks, you can just set here and eat in the kitchen.”) We also find some other interesting characteristics like for example that she is a very intelligent even though she and many other African – Americans at the time are robbed to their right at education. But it’s not knowledge of mathematics and history but knowledge at how she is able to translate her behavior from one race to another without being false to her. She is both successful to appear very knowledgeable to her “white family “and the people of their world, but also is still same old Calpurnia when she is at home with other black people in her every day environment (%26#039;It%26#039;s not necessary to tell all you know. It%26#039;s not ladylike - in the second place, folks don%26#039;t like to have somebody around knowin%26#039; more than they do. It aggravates %26#039;em. You%26#039;re not gonna change any of them by talkin%26#039; right, they%26#039;ve got to want to learn themselves, and when they don%26#039;t want to learn there%26#039;s nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language.%26#039;) . Calpurnia like so many other woman and men of minority classes at the time ,found a healthy line of interacting with both higher class whites and blacks , Latino’s , Asians , and native Americans from their own neighborhood without feeling like they abandoning their culture and their lineage . Calpurnia is the primary mother figure in the story and without her strong will scout and Jem would not have turned out like they did, Miss. Maudi and other motherly figures are great but not of them can compare to the strong willing, tough, loving, and very uniquely smart Calpurnia .
Character # 5 ( Miss. Maudie )
Miss. Maudie is considered to most kids in the neighborhood as the most trust worthy and friendly adult for her more clear understanding of younger children and her unusual act of not tattle telling on the mischievous act some of the children commit. Maybe one of Miss. Maudie most loveable fans is Scout, other then her father Miss. Maudie is one of the most respected adults in Scout’s life. Unlike some adults Miss. Maudie does not seem to mind Scouts rash attitude, tom – boy looks, and fiery temper. In fact she seems to enjoy like if it is a look back in to her child hood in some way. So from the start of the novel we found out some amazing characteristics about Miss. Maudie for example that she is a very optimistic person that she chooses to see things from a brighter light like when her house was unfortunately burned to the ground Miss. Maudie was able to look at a different angle and see the better out come from this dire situation ( Mrs. . maudie – “ I was planning to get a smaller place anyway …just a better way to get rid of it “) this characteristic makes Miss. Maudie a more loveable and admirable character in a book that is filled with many unpleasant men and woman . Another great characteristic the brightens Miss. Maudie is the love for justice and equality that she shares with Atticus maybe the reason they are quite great friends, her dislike for racism is shown by how she talks about the matter (2) %26quot;What I meant was, if Atticus Finch drank until he was drunk he wouldn%26#039;t be as hard as some men are at their best. There are just some kind of men who-who%26#039;re so busy worrying about the next world they%26#039;ve never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.%26quot; -Miss Maudie (52) ) .And last but not least another thing that characterizes Miss. Maudie is the love a simple like and her sympathy for other who have nothing , she shows it when she is one of the only people that do not attend the Tom Robinson case for the sake that she’s it as a blood bath or helping pulling the trigger to an innocent man ( Miss. . Maudie - “ There’s’ no reason for me to go there ..what’s the fun to watch a man walk to his death “ ) In the end Miss. Maudie proved her self to be a loyal and helpful character to our main characters in the time of need , she was there when you needed a talk and she was also their when you needed someone to protect you , Miss. Maudie has rightfully won a place with Calpurnia as a great mother figure , feminist personal, and in the end a good old southern lady .
Character # 6 ( Dill )
Charles Baker Harris known by Dill by the closest of his friends is scouts and Jem’s summer play pal and close friend . Dill is around the same age as Scout and you can tell by his childish behavior him and Scout share while Jem is starting to grow up and becoming a man and starting to see the world as it is . In most of the story Jem is seen has a overly , funny , diminutive , and imaginative boy , his character does not experience the amount of change that Scout and Jem experience but maybe he does but because his role in the novel is not large he still under goes some changes , and his sensitive behavior comes to bloom when he sees the injustice of the “Tom Robinson Case “. In the start of the novel Dill is introduced as Mrs. Rachel’s nephew who comes to visit over summer because of family issue’s ( later introduced in the book ) we also find out one of Dill’s characteristics and that’ gullibility , Dill seems to be easily swayed by the existences of the legend of Boo Riley ( Dill Harris: Let%26#039;s go down to the courthouse and see the room that they locked Boo up in. My aunt says it%26#039;s bat-infested, and he nearly died from the mildew. Come on. I bet they got chains and instruments of torture down there.) We also fing out that Dill is very dependent over other’s and quickly attachs him self with the Finch siblings especially Jem , when they first met you king of felt Dill wanted to out do the siblings , but that quickly changed when there adventures with Boo started (Jem: There goes the meanest man that ever took a breath of life. Dill Harris: Why is he the meanest man? Jem: Well, for one thing, he has a boy named Boo that he keeps chained to a bed in the house over yonder. Boo only comes out at night when you%26#039;re asleep and it%26#039;s pitch-dark. When you wake up at night, you can hear him. Once I heard him scratchin%26#039; on our screen door, but he was gone by the time Atticus got there.
Dill Harris: I wonder what he does in there? I wonder what he looks like?
Jem: Well, judgin%26#039; from his tracks, he%26#039;s about six and a half feet tall. He eats raw squirrels and all the cats he can catch. There%26#039;s a long, jagged scar that runs all the way across his face. His teeth are yella and rotten. His eyes are popped. And he drools most of the time.)So we know that Dill was very gullible , and also dependent but we later find out that Dill also very sensitive no matter how mush he tries to make him self look like in front of Jem and sometimes Scout , for example during a time when Dill was not staying at his aunts house he randomly appeared at the Finch’s house under Scout’s bed to be in fact , for the reason that his parent were not treating him the way he liked ( Dill : “ they don’t care about me any more ….they don’t love me “ ) another innocent was during the Tom Robinson trials when Dill saw the harsh treatment that the prosecutors were forcing down on Tom , he burst in to tears with Scout trying to quite him down . So in conclusion we find out that Dill is only just a boy that finds him self at a time of desperate situations , he may not have been in the front line of the battle but he sure was there to experience the amount of hatred and prejudice in the town at that time .
Documentation Sheet
• Title : To Kill A Mockingbird …. By : Harper Lee copyright @ 1960 (Warner Books , Inc-1271 Avenue of the Americas New York , N.Y.10020
• “ To Kill A Mockingbird “ Student Survival Guide @http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Belmont_HS/tk...
• Grade Saver ; To Kill A Mockingbird @http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/t...
• Frisco Library Database : To Kill A Mockingbird @ http://www.friscolibrary.com/youth/teens...
• Spark Notes : To Kill A Mockingbird by : Harper Lee n rearranged and upgraded by Spark Notes inc . @ http://www.sparknotes.com/
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Bertrand mpigabahizi?
Yes.
Reply:yes it is
beauty
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