RE: Four.

"This book was exceptional. I thought some parts were pointless and would lead no where to the climax. In the beginning, Scout mostly spoke about her summers with Jem and Dill. They played games and became curious about Boo Radley. Fortunately, the novel became more interesting as the trial for Tom Robinson came into place. It became clear to me why Scout explained to the readers about the people in Maycomb and why this novel is called "To Kill a Mockingbird". It's quite sad how a group of people could destroy something they didn't like. Something innocent. It made me angry when the jury decided Tom was guilty. I thought this was hopeless because more unlucky events occured. For example, as Jem and Scout were walking home from the festival, they were attacked by someone in the dark. Luckily, a "stranger" rescued them and they were sent safely home. At the end of the novel, I realized that this book is filled with hope. Some people had hope for Atticus to win the trial. Jem and Scout did too. I liked this book a lot even though there were many sad parts.

I have to agree with one other's post about Atticus. He does have a different style of parenting. He treats his children the same and doesn't hide anything from them. He lets them know what's going on in the world and teaches them to be careful and to see the truth.

RE: second post

"In "To Kill a Mockingbird" it seems evident that racism is taking a bigger role in the plot of the story. Racism goes into almost every aspect of the book into a certaint point. The concept of judging a person by the color of one's skin has popped up in the book multipule times. For example, when there at school Jem and Scout are called Nigger lovers or how the jury wrongly deemed Tom Robinson guilty when it was clear that he was not to blame for the so called "rape" of Mayella. It's more then obvious that Harper has made it a point to show just how exactly strong the presence racism was down in the south . She makes it impossible for the reader to be oblivious to how wrong these people our to other people who simply have darker skin.Another thing i found interesting was the charecter Dolphus Raymond who purposely makes himself look bad in order to keep the other people in town from bothering him. To go so far in order to get some peace seems rediculous. It just shows that people are incredibly harsh towards others when there diffrent. The fact that Dolphus goes as far as to lie about himself to get a shred of piece is proof that Dolphus not only knows this ,but decides its to much of a hassle to tell other diffrent from what they think about him.

Posted by jacob martinez at 10:21 PM"

Atticus, To Kill a Mockingbird

Being one of the most respectable men in Maycomb, it is understandable how I see Atticus as a true hero of this novel. Without Atticus, Scout would not be as she is, and she would not be raised as she was. It shows how much power the character of Atticus alone has over the story, since he is the one that is controlling the narrator of this novel. Throughout the novel, Atticus has shown how fair of a person he is. With his ability to give everyone a chance, Atticus has been able to influence Scout’s view of the world as one of openness.

With the hidden themes of racism present in the novel and how Atticus accepted the case of Tom Robinson, the reader is able to witness how Atticus views everyone equally. While the rest of the town saw evil in colored people, Atticus was able to set that aside and choose to see the purity in Tom Robinson. With a unique character like Atticus in Maycomb, he may view the rest of the town as people who need to be taught the evils of prejudice. Taking the first step and influencing Scout and Jem, I believe Atticus’ master plan is to influence his community for the better.

Part 2 of To Kill a Mockingbird, seems to dwell more on the town of Maycomb then Part 1. Focusing on character development and how the world was viewed by children in Part 1, Part 2 dealt with how Scout and Jem dealt with conflicts in their community (Miss Dubose, the fire, and the introduction of Aunt Alexandria). Midway into Part 2, I hope Atticus is able to convince the people of Maycomb that Tom Robinson is innocent, and that the social prejudice is what is influencing the accusers. Atticus must see something inside Tom Robinson that is pure, otherwise he would have not protected him when Tom faced the mob.

Scout, To Kill a Mockingbird

Upon first opening To Kill a Mockingbird, the story was not very appealing. However, with the use of his literary skills, Harper Lee is able to engage the reader very early on in the book. Using the narrator of the story, Scout, Harper Lee displays everything from her point of view. Harper Lee is forcing the reader to see and think the way Scout does, which is a effective way of early character development, considering how unique of a character Scout is. The way that Scout has been taught by her elders has transformed to the person she is as the story progresses.

Looking at the setting, a reader can pick up on how men were supposed to act like men, and women were supposed to act like women down in the South. Since Scout is considered to be a tomboy among her peers, she is different from the cultural "mould" in Maycomb. Considering her background, Scout has grown up without a mother, or one she cannot remember. She is left with her father, Atticus, and brother, Jem, and must learn her social etiquettes from them. However, Atticus must have taught Scout differently in how she shows no fear of and acts like boys. Primarily, Scout may have gotten her boyish habits from her brother Jem since they seem to be friends with each other more than any other person in the story so far, excluding Dill. The shear amount of time that the Scout character spends with Jem clearly indicates that a boy's mind is being instilled into her.

Because of the fact that Scout is not attuned to social etiquettes and the like, there is much she can learn from the world. Scout's innocence introduced itself as a theme by how Scout does not these social etiquettes. Scout's character is then like a sponge where she can pick up knowledge quick, much like other children. However, with Scout, since she is not as socially aware, she may become more liberal or more open to different ideas as she learns them. One instance is when Atticus is called upon to defend a black in court, and Scout wonders if that is acceptable. Atticus then informs her that she will be able to lift her head if he does this. This may have impacted Scout to be more accepting towards black a bit more.

Still being a child, Scout has plenty of things to learn about the world. Scout's process of learning new things is one of the most important factors to how a reader can get sucked into this book. Finishing Part 1, and going on to Part 2, I find it fascinating how Scout is learning new things. I predict that by the end of this story, Scout will probably become as wise as Atticus, since she will probably learn a lot more from him.