To Kill a Mockingbird

1. To Kill a Mockingbird Exemplar paragraphs

2. Essay writing-an analytical and expository journey • Your essay should be an exploration of the ideas suggested in the topic. • Your introduction provides a ‘road map’ for your journey. • You adopt a position (a ‘destination’ of sorts), which you attempt to support. • You indicate the main ideas (‘towns’ along the route) that you intend to explore • Each paragraph examines each main idea related to your position and you provide evidence for this idea. • You consider alternative perspectives (different interpretations of the text) and evaluate these briefly (either in one paragraph, or within each paragraph) • Therefore, by the end, you should actually reach a conclusion that is more developed, but still related to your original contention. • No new ideas (because you’ve already ‘been there, done that’)

3. Jem: “I always thought Maycomb folks were the best folks in the world, least that’s what they seemed like” (237)What do the children learn about their town? The following slides provide sample introductions written in response to this topic. A useful task would be to identify what essential information is provided in each one. Locate the contention and key ideas. Rank these paragraphs in order of effectiveness, considering: -controlled use of sophisticated vocabulary -clarity of expression and sentence structure -understanding of the key ideas, themes and issues in the text.

4. Sample Introduction 1 Set in the rural Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, Harper Lee’s American classic To Kill a Mockingbird is a personal memoir of her childhood. Seen through the innocent eyes of Scout Finch and her older brother Jem, Maycomb appears to be a safe, peaceful and quiet town. Its townspeople are pious and neighbourly, with ‘nothing to fear but fear itself’. However, across the three year time span of the narrative, the children are exposed to the dangers and ugly truths that lie beneath the façade of their community. As they mature and acquire valuable lessons from significant adults, they learn that their town is a place that is steeped in prejudice, inequality and injustice.

5. Sample Introduction 2 Harper Lee’s personal memoir To Kill a Mockingbird highlights the innocence of children. Lee explores this through the characters Jem and Scout. The novel follows the children’s experience during the Great Depression and how the town deals with the pressure. The fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama serves as a backdrop to the narrative. As the story progresses and the children gain more experience, they learn a great deal about the town and the townspeople. From the court case, the children learn about justice, the rabid dog episode teaches them courage and their father Atticus teaches them the importance of being a good citizen.

6. Sample Introduction 3

7. Sample Introduction 4 Set against the backdrop of a ‘tired old town’, in the fictional Maycomb Country, Alabama, Harper Lee constructs a coming of age novel based upon her own childhood experiences. Revolving around two children, Scout and Jem Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird explores their development by tracking their evolving understanding of how the town operates. Through their encounters with characters and events such as the court case and missionary tea, Scout and Jem come to learn about the prejudice, assumptions and hypocrisy that plague their town.

8. Sample Introduction 5 To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is a long episodic novel in which the author recounts her own experience and perception of life in a small insular community in the Deep South of the USA during the Great Depression. Growing up in a society that upholds staunch codes, six year old Scout Finch stands out as a wilful, inquisitive and adventurous tomboy. Through the guidance of Atticus, her lawyer father and Calpurnia, her Negro maid, Scout learns empathy and the importance of getting along with ‘all kinds of folks’. Simultaneously, Scout’s older brother Jem, while learning about courage and perseverance, begins to question the status quo in his town. He becomes disillusioned and disheartened by the justice system.

9. Sample Introduction 6 To Kill a Mockingbird, an enduring classic of American literature, depicts the concealed yet abhorrent bigotry and violence in the ostensibly safe town of Maycomb County, Alabama. Set during the Great Depression era of the mid 1930s, Harper Lee explores the social normalities and personal struggles of an insular community through the dialogue and action of various characters. Recounting a three year period as seen through the eyes of eight year old Scout Finch, the author’s use of a dual narrative voice allows readers to feel the immediacy of these memories, while receiving some of the insights gained from her adult perspective. Scout and her brother Jem, three years her senior, are witness to some confronting and frightening realities. During their journey from innocence to experience, the Finch children learn about class divisions, prejudice and the artifice of morality within a town that prides itself on maintaining the traditional ways of the South.

10. Sample paragraph In serving justice in this trial against Tom Robinson, the townsfolk of Maycomb demonstrate their position on a number of contentious issues. Mayella’s deviation from the societal norms placed upon Southern women are placed aside in the face of racial prejudice. Regardless of the fact that Atticus highlights ‘no code mattered to her before she broke it’, the outrage of a ‘humble negro’ having the ‘unmitigated temerity’ to ‘feel sorry for a white person’ causes greater concern for the jury. Tom’s violation of a racial expectation supersedes Mayella’s transgression of a gender based one. Likewise, the jury ignores their awareness of the class of people accusing the defendant. As with the gender code of Maycomb, the ideas and concerns surrounding ‘minds of their calibre’ fall short of the inherent racism. Through this lens the townsfolk believe justice has been served.

11. How to reference literary features-symbolism In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the character Boo Radley is a mysterious figure who serves as the moral bridge between innocence and experience of the child protagonists Scout and Jem Finch. In the 1930s insular and protected town of Maycomb USA, it is unusual for such an introverted spectre to exist without generating some superstition and mythology. Lee employs simile to evoke this atmosphere, “The Radley place fascinated Dill. In spite of our warnings it drew him as the moon draws water.” This shroud of mystery provides the young protagonists with rich material for childhood fantasies, as well as being the genesis for some important moral lessons, conveyed by their father. The children’s curiosity and desire to connect with Boo coincides with their discovery of some ‘ugly’ truths about their community, as the entrenched prejudice of the Deep South surfaces with the news of a rape trial involving a black man and white woman. Their imaginary ‘bogey man’ is replaced by real threats from men in their community and Boo retreats to the shadows, only to reappear towards the end of the novel. Symbolically, Boo can be regarded as one of the Mockingbirds in the narrative, with the final moral lesson relating to his actions, underlying the importance of protecting those who are innocent and harmless.

12. How to incorporate different interpretations In stark contrast to the dominant societal attitudes of this period, Atticus espouses his firm belief that Negroes are as much a part of the human race as those who are of European descent. He states that the Robinsons are “clean-living folks” and refuses to accuse Tom simply due to his social status and race. Atticus even goes as far as to criticise his own race, claiming that “there’s nothing more sickening to me than a low grade white man who’ll take advantage of a Negro’s innocence.” During his closing speech in court, he shuns the stereotypes existing in his society with the purpose of indicating that even “white men” have flaws. However, a different reading of Atticus’ actions has the potential to make readers view him in a negative manner. Contradicting his usual unbiased and egalitarian nature, Atticus claims that those of his race are ‘low grade’, indicating his sense of superiority towards these men. Although he empathises with Negroes, his belief that coloured folks are always the victim and that they have an almost child-like ‘innocence’ implies a patronising attitude towards the Robinsons. The irony present allows readers to recognise that Atticus is not a flawless character. At the very least, he could be regarded as a product of his society and heritage, a true Southern gentleman and pillar of his community, who is ‘made to do their dirty work’ for them. Although Atticus’ actions can be interpreted in various ways, his ability to go against his upbringing and oppose the social norms which govern his life emulates the attributes of a hero.

13. Sample IntroductionNo character in the novel is free from the societal disease of racism. Discuss. Frequently cited as a work that confronts racial prejudice, the American classic, To Kill a Mockingbird constructs racism as a disease that infects all layers of Maycomb society. To show this, author Harper Lee links the episode of the mad dog to the impending trial of Tom Robinson. The trial itself reveals a deep, underlying racism in the community, culminating in an attempted lynching. Contrary to popular reception of this narrative, even the novel’s admirable characters, such as Atticus, are not entirely free from this disease. Of all the novel’s characters, only Jem seems to provide hope that he will not be infected, suggesting that racism may not be as pervasive as the narrative suggests.

14. Sample ConclusionNo character in the novel is free from the societal disease of racism. Discuss. Tom Robinson’s trial brings an outpouring of racial invective and racially motivated violence to Maycomb, suggesting that, like the rabies that indirectly killed Tom Johnson, racism is easily transmitted and fatal. Even Atticus, perhaps the most morally upright character in the novel, seems not entirely immune. Yet Jem’s experiences suggest that the next generation of Southerners might not be as susceptible to the disease of racism as their parents.

15. How to approach an essay topic STEP 1: Ask questions about key terms and ideas suggested by the topic: • Why does Scout prefer the world of men? What is her experience and opinion of Southern women? • What rights, opportunities and experiences are afforded to her in the world of men and how does this compare/contrast with the world of women? • What does Scout learn about gender roles, relationships and societal expectations and norms, from Atticus and the men and women in her community? • What does Lee mean by ‘ladies seemed to live in faint horror of men’? During the course of this novel, what forms does this ‘horror’ assume? • What role does gender play in the accusation and trial of Tom Robinson? • What ideas about gender (and male-female relationships) are conveyed through the novel and how does Harper Lee communicate these messages to readers?

16. How to approach an essay topic STEP 2: Brainstorm key ideas and episodes • Gender relations in small Southern town in 1930s USA • Mayella ‘fancy airs’; fear of father (male intimidation and violence) • Coming of age (what it means to be a Southern lady/gentleman) • Finch Landing-daughters’ room (trust; restraints; safety; protection of young women; upholding purity/chastity) • Maycomb women have more restrictions (Scout resists these ‘why can’t I be a ray of sunshine in pants’?) • The novel foreshadows both the Feminist and Civil Rights movements (equal rights) • Access and opportunity for women (education as a means for liberation) • The nature of women’s work: home-makers; cannot undertake jury duty; bake cakes; tend to their gardens; hold missionary teas • Southern ladies require protection from men

17. Sample paragraph (on gender topic)