Literature Review: To Kill A Mockingbird

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Literature Review Report: To Kill A Mockingbird As part of my personal novel study, I have decided to read Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird”. Furthermore, I believe that this novel is an excellent match for my interest in the Southern Gothic genre. I enjoy this category as it mostly explores the social order of the southern part of America. This can be demonstrated through the interactions between characters, which I believe often invoke the burden of judgements and inequality that the community is bombarded with. For example, the communications between characters in “To Kill A Mockingbird”, such as those with racial differences, represent the disrespect that each character has for one another; this is shown through the use of inappropriate…show more content…
Says Atticus Finch, one of the main characters in “To Kill A Mockingbird” (as he is involved with the main problem of the story). In a similar way, Kathryn Stockett’s The Help presents this message, in which both novels focus on the ability to view from another’s perspective and fully understand. Firstly, the leading characters from each book, Jean, and Skeeter; embark on a journey that leads them to new perspectives and understandings. In both of their journey’s they learn about the point of view of an African American through witnessing the inequality that is faced by the culture- either in the form of a trial or shown through the denial of education or professional advancement. Their exploration is contrasted with the two characters, Atticus and Aibileen who both represent the role of the teacher by advising Jean and Skeeter on treating others equally. However, their viewpoint is different due to their distinctive social standings. Atticus is a Caucasian man who is highly respected as a result of his wealth. On the other hand, Aibileen is a poor African American woman that is uneducated and has worked as a domestic servant her entire life. Even though these characters have distinguishable identities they play the same role in both novels. For example, Atticus and Aibileen acquire wisdom and leadership. This is symbolized by…show more content…
First of all, Atticus instils the meaning of courage within them. A representation of this is when he shoots Tim Johnson, the rabid dog, in the streets with a single shot. Following this, Jean and Jem are amazed because this serves as a departure of their view of him as a fine man. However, Atticus ignores the incident, as he wants his children to learn about courage from his perspective. For instance, he says, “Courage is when you know you are licked before you begin but you begin anyway no matter what. You rarely win but sometimes you win”(Lee 149). This quote shows that he wants to inform his children to see courage as a spiritual, rather than physical skill that one possesses. Also, it supports my understanding of his relationship with his children because I infer that he wants to teach his children moral lessons. Another manner Atticus changes the perspective of his children is through teaching them that racism should not influence his duty as a lawyer in the community. For example, Atticus tells them “The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience” (Lee 108). He later explains to his children that he must accept his assignment as the defence attorney for Tom

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