Tokillamockingbird.doc

A Brief Analysis of To Kill A MockingbirdAbstractIn light of human moral theory, discussion is made between old and young, good and evil in the novel of To Kill A Mockingbird which showed the story of a white law who help an African-American man against a falsely raping crime accused by a white woman. At the moment, the Civil Rights Movement was well on its way toward significantly revolutionizing how the U.S. conceived of race. While Mockingbirds message of standing up for whats right even when the costs are high still receives acclaim, not everyone agrees that it holds the moral high ground. While some see the novel as a powerful statement against racism, others see it as reproducing racism in a less obvious form. No matter which side a reader leans towards, the strong reactions the novel provokes just go to show that its influence remains strong even today. Key word: To Kill A Mockingbird; old and young; good and evil; moral; racial discrimination摘 要杀死一只反舌鸟这部小说描述了一个白人律师替一位黑人打一场有关于被该黑人被诬陷涉嫌强奸一名白人妇女的故事。本文就是从人类道德理论的角度出发，讨论了这篇小说中成人与小孩，正义与邪恶等对立关系的探讨。小说发表之际也正是进行意义深重的美国种族改革-民权运动之时。反舌鸟所传达出来的就算代价再高也要坚持自身权力的信息受到赞扬的同时，并不是所有人都抱有如此高的道德立场。一些人认为这篇小说是对种族歧视进行的一次强有力的谴责；然后其他人则认为这对种族歧视的重述显得非常平淡无奇。无论是持有哪种立场的读者，在阅读完这篇小说之后都会被激起强烈的反应，而且它体现出的这种影响，时至今日也依旧存在。关键词：杀死一只反舌鸟；成人与小孩；正义与邪恶；道德；种族歧视1. IntroductionTo Kill a Mockingbirdis a novel byHarper Leepublished in1960. It was instantly successful, winning thePulitzer Prize, and has become a classic of modernAmerican literature. The plot and characters are loosely based on the authors observations of her family and neighbors, as well as on an event that occurred near her hometown in 1936, when she was 10years old.The story takes place during three years of theGreat Depressionin the fictional tired old town of Maycomb, Alabama. The narrator, six-year-old Scout Finch, lives with her older brother Jem and their widowed father Atticus, a middle-aged lawyer. Jem and Scout befriend a boy named Dill who visits Maycomb to stay with his aunt for the summer. The three children are terrified of, and fascinated by, their neighbor, thereclusiveBoo Radley. The adults of Maycomb are hesitant to talk about Boo and, for many years, few have seen him. The children feed each others imagination with rumors about his appearance and reasons for remaining hidden, and they fantasize about how to get him out of his house. Following two summers of friendship with Dill, Scout and Jem find that someone is leaving them small gifts in a tree outside the Radley place. Several times, the mysterious Boo makes gestures of affection to the children, but, to their disappointment, never appears in person.Atticus is appointed by the court to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who has been accused of raping a young white woman, Mayella Ewell. Although many of Maycombs citizens disapprove, Atticus agrees to defend Tom to the best of his ability. Other children taunt Jem and Scout for Atticus actions, calling him a nigger-lover. Scout is tempted to stand up for her fathers honor by fighting, even though he has told her not to. For his part, Atticus faces a group of men intent on lynching Tom. This danger is averted when Scout, Jem, and Dill shame the mob into dispersing by forcing them to view the situation from Atticus and Toms points of view.Because Atticus does not want them to be present at Tom Robinsons trial, Scout, Jem, and Dill watch in secret from thecolored balcony. Atticus establishes that the accusersMayella and her father, Bob Ewell, thetown drunkare lying. It also becomes clear that the friendless Mayella was making sexual advances towards Tom and her father caught her in the act. Despite significant evidence of Toms innocence, the jury convicts him. Jems faith in justice is badly shaken, as is Atticus, when a hopeless Tom is shot and killed while trying to escape from prison.Humiliated by the trial, Bob Ewell vows revenge. He spits in Atticus face on the street, tries to break into the presiding judges house, and menaces Tom Robinsons widow. Finally, he attacks the defenseless Jem and Scout as they walk home from the schoolHalloweenpageant. Jems arm is broken in the struggle, but amid the confusion, someone comes to the childrens rescue. The mysterious man carries Jem home, where Scout realizes that he is the reclusive Boo Radley.Maycombs sheriff arrives and discovers that Bob Ewell has been killed in the struggle. The sheriff argues with Atticus about the prudence and ethics of holding Jem or Boo responsible. Atticus eventually accepts the sheriffs story that Ewell simply fell on his own knife. Boo asks Scout to walk him home, and after she says goodbye to him at his front door, he disappears again. While standing on the Radley porch, Scout imagines life from Boos perspective and regrets that they never repaid him for the gifts he had given them.2. The different between old and young peopleIn this novel I can see the differences and similarities between the old and young people. In the novel, the young ones believed that innocence should be free of displaying their pure minds. In most cases, represented by this book, the older people have lost the thought that all men are created equal, because of the years that they have had to deal with and experience and they also have lost much of the innocence that they had when they were a child. The children may not understand everything that happens, like with Boo Radley or the trial until they become older. In contrast, the older people may not understand the meanings of the children because they have had to deal with and experience and they have gradually changed over the years. Some examples of the age comparisons and contrasts are how older people tend to let resentments and the past interfere with their reasoning; forgetting all men are created equal, also like when evil corrupts the minds of some of the children and corrupts Boo Radley, and how Atticus and Jem have very similar understandings and reasoning as in equality and justice.During the trial I begin to see how the older men disregard evidence and justice. They let prejudice and the past overcome their reasoning, although, the children see the innocent as innocent regardless of race. In my opinion, the children, even though young, they have a stronger sense of right and wrong than the adults. Supporting the fact that as people get older, no matter who they are, some of their innocence will be lost, because time changes everything. In the novel, the younger people believed the innocent should be free displaying their pure minds, however, older people lost the thought that all men are created equal because of the years that they have had to deal with and experience.Just like what we are. If you look back, it doesnt matter what age you are, you will see so many changes even though it feels like nothing has changed, but still thinking back on it you notice it has.The book displays this in how both the children and adults are affected by evil that occurs in their lives. Jem and Scout go through things that not even most adults experienced before. Yet somehow, they become more knowledgeable from the situations of their life. In contrast, however, when it comes to Arthur Radley, evil has a big effect on him. Boo witnesses and goes through with the evils of life and ends up staying away from of everyone, like Jem says, “I think Im beginning to understand something why Boo Radleys stayed shut up in the house all this time.its because he wants to stay inside.” In other ways, age doesnt matter when it comes to the unpleasant things in life, anyone can be affected.Similarly, the age doesnt seem to matter when Atticus and Jem are talking. Even though the difference of age is quite large, they are able to talk as equals with each other and understand each other. Throughout the story, Jem and Atticus talk about personal conflicts, the trial, and the people of Maycomb. Although there ideas arent near similar, the main thoughts of them are. It shows that, in some cases, age plays no effect on thought, and just because some one is older doesnt make there ideas better than younger peoples automatically. Therefore, when Atticus and Jem are talking about the trial, after it has occurred, they both see the injustice that was made and even though Jem doesnt fully understand the thought he is still able to consider it. The difference of age is quite large, but they are able to talk as equals with each other and understand each other. Overall, the subject of age doesnt play a big role in the influencing the thinker, however it is still a minor character nonetheless.3. The Coexistence of Good and EvilThe most important theme of this story express an exploration of the moral nature of human beingsthat is, whether people are essentially good or essentially evil. The novel approaches this question by dramatizing Scout and Jems transition from a perspective of childhood innocence, in which they assume that people are good because they have never seen evil, to a more adult perspective, in which they have confronted evil and must incorporate it into their understanding of the world. As a result of this portrayal of the transition from innocence to experience, one of the books important sub themes involves the threat that hatred, prejudice, and ignorance pose to the innocent: people such as Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are not prepared for the evil that they encounter, and, as a result, they are destroyed. Even Jem is victimized to an extent by his discovery of the evil of racism during and after the trial. Whereas Scout is able to maintain her basic faith in human nature despite Toms conviction, Jems faith in justice and in humanity is badly damaged, and he retreats into a state of disillusionment.Atticus Finch, who is virtually unique in the novel in that he has experienced and understood evil without losing his faith in the human capacity for goodness. He understands that, rather than being simply creatures of good or creatures of evil, most people have both good and bad qualities. The important thing is to appreciate the good qualities and understand the bad qualities by treating others with sympathy and trying to see life from their perspective. He tries to teach this ultimate moral lesson to Jem and Scout to show them that it is possible to live with conscience without losing hope or becoming cynical. In this way, Atticus is able to admire Mrs. Duboses courage even while deploring her racism. Scouts progress as a character in the novel is defined by her gradual development toward understanding Atticuss lessons, culminating when, in the final chapters, Scout at last sees Boo Radley as a human being. Her newfound ability to view the world from his perspective ensures that she will not become jaded as she loses her innocence.4. The Existence of Social Inequality Differences in social status are explored largely through the overcomplicated social hierarchy of Maycomb, the ins and outs of which constantly baffle the children. The relatively well-off Finches stand near the top of Maycombs social hierarchy, with most of the townspeople beneath them. Ignorant country farmers like the Cunninghams lie below the townspeople, and the white trash Ewells rest below the Cunninghams. But the black community in Maycomb, despite its abundance of admirable qualities, squats below even the Ewells, enabling Bob Ewell to make up for his own lack of importance by persecuting Tom Robinson. These rigid social divisions that make up so much of the adult world are revealed in the book to be both irrational and destructive. For example, Scout cannot understand why Aunt Alexandra refuses to let her consort with young Walter Cunningham. Lee uses the childrens perplexity at the unpleasant layering of Maycomb society to critique the role of class status and, ultimately, prejudice in human interaction.5. ConclutionBecause exploration of the novels larger moral questions takes place within the perspective of children, the education of children is necessarily involved in the development of all of the novels themes. In a sense, the plot of the story charts Scouts moral education and the theme of how children are educatedhow they are taught to move from innocence to adulthoodrecurs throughout the novel. This theme is explored most powerfully through the relationship between Atticus and his children, as he devotes himself to instilling a social conscience in Jem and Scout. The scenes at school provide a direct counterpoint to Atticuss effective education of his children: Scout is frequently confronted with teachers who are either frustratingly unsympathetic to childrens needs or morally hypocritical. As is true of the storys other moral themes, the novels conclusion about education is that the most important lessons are those of sympathy and understanding, and that a sympathetic, unders