What's a good title for a To Kill a Mockingbird essay?

To Kill a Mockingbird Essay?

• I'm in Adv. English 10 and these are a few questions I had to answer, and I was wondering if you thought my answer was pretty good. There are a few more, but these are all I've done so far. Please only respond if you have read To Kill a Mocking Bird. Thanks. Questions 1. When Scout complains about her teacher, Atticus tells her that "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." [p.33]. Where in the novewl does Atticus himself demonstrate this kind of empathy? How does he regard those who critisize, ridicule, or threaten him? How would this ability to empathize with others help solve the problems that arise from racism and prejudice. 2.What kind of young girl is Scout Finch? Did you identify with her? How does she change over the course of the novel? What does she learn? Why does she resist Aunt Alexandra's efforts to turn her into a "lady"? 3. When Atticus gives Jem and Scout air-rifles, he tells them: "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" [p.103]. Why does Atticus feel this way? Why do you think Lee chose this phrase for her title? My Answers: There are many points in the novel where Atticus displays an ability to look at the situation from the perspective of someone else and act accordingly based on the new information. At one point he tells Jem to always treat Mrs. Dubose with kindness despite the fact that every time the two children pass by her house she shouts insults at them from her front porch. “Easy does it, son, she’s an old lady and she’s ill. You just hold your head high and be a gentleman. Whatever she says to you, it’s your job not to let her make you mad” [p.95]. Another point in the story where Atticus shows empathy is when he decides to defend Tom Robinson in court. He does something that other people frown upon him for because he knows that the only chance Tom Robinson has of being cleared is if he chooses to defend him. Instead of feeling anger towards his detractors, Atticus feels sorry for them. When Scout asks if Mr. Cunningham was still Atticus’s friend even after the mob at the jail, Atticus tells Scout “Mr. Cunningham’s basically a good man, he just has his blind spots along with the rest of us.” [p.146]. These traits help Atticus look beyond the morals of the society he is surrounded by and recognize how fruitless and pathetic racism is. Atticus puts himself in the skin of a black man on trial for a crime he obviously didn’t commit and decides to take things into his own hands. Scout is a tomboy type of girl who would rather spend her time outside playing games with her brother and friend than staying inside learning to ‘be a lady’ like her aunt wishes she did. Scout resists her aunt’s wishes to turn her into a ‘lady’ because she doesn’t have any interest in changing her ways. I identified with Scout throughout the entire story. Throughout the book I found myself asking some of the same questions that Scout and Jem posed to Atticus about the people in their town and the situations they encountered such as Mrs. Dubose and their classmates taunting them about Atticus defending a *****. I found myself hoping Jem would react angrily to Mrs. Dubose because it’s what I would have done, and hoping Scout would react to the taunts her schoolmates directed at her because it’s what I instinctively would have done. This reaction would have been contradictory to the novel’s message and I believe Scout learns the same lesson by the end of the story as I did when I read this book: Look at things from your opponent’s perspective as well as your own. Atticus feels it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird because mockingbirds do nothing to harm him or anyone else. I believe Lee chose this phrase as her title because it is a metaphor for the conviction of Tom Robinson. Atticus proved in court that Tom Robinson never committed the crime, yet the jury convicted Tom Robinson anyways. Likewise, it would be a sin to kill a mockingbird because it has committed no crime against anyone.

• Answer:

  I think you've done well. Also, congrats on doing your own work and using Y/Answers in an appropriate manner!