Hypocrisy In To Kill A Mockingbird Analysis - 1212 Words

Hypocrisy in To Kill a Mockingbird In her coming-of-age novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee explores how the precocious protagonist, Jean Louise â€Å"Scout† Finch, struggles to fit into her role as a lady and has a difficult time coming to terms of the cruelty as well as the injustice her Southern town displays through discrimination. Scout resides with her family in Maycomb County, Alabama in the 1930s--a town severely divided by color. She goes through a breathtaking metamorphosis throughout the novel when her father Atticus defends a Negro man accused of rape, exposing her to the true roots of human behavior. Through the use of settings, characterization, and ironies, Lee implies that hypocrisy is a tragic act to be involved in; it can†¦show more content†¦Another hypocritical scene occurs in the novel when the people of Maycomb make untrue judgements about the Radley Place and its inhabitants. For instance, Scout states, â€Å"The shutters and doors of the R adley house were closed on Sundays, another thing alien to Maycomb’s ways: closed doors meant illness and cold weather only† (11). It is duplicitous of the townspeople to scrutinize the Radleys based solely on town gossip and the appearance of their home. The Radley home is intentionally used as an excuse by the townspeople to isolate the Radleys since their way of living is not considered â€Å"normal† in their eyes. Overall, numerous reasons can be found why people tend to be hypocritical; it is evident as to why many possess this quality in Maycomb. Lee uses characterization, a crucial literary device, to display to readers the lethal effects of hypocrisy in society. As Miss Maudie said, â€Å"Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockin gbird† (119). Despite his innocence and role of a mockingbird, Tom was condemned guilty of rape and shot 17 times. Mayella herself believes in beauty in an ugly world yet her heinous actions caused her to be a part of that ugliness. Humans often appear to be hypocritical when they attempt to prove a point, yet their behaviorShow MoreRelatedTo Kill A Mockingbird Hypocrisy Analysis1029 Words   |  5 Pages Hypocrisy. It is a lie, a contradiction, a prejudice. Like a trap for the mind one lays for themselves, many don’t realize they are ensnared, living their lives unaware of their wrongs to others and themselves. In To Kill A Mockingbird the residents of Maycomb County are thrown into new situations which reveal the depths of their hypocrisy to Scout, whose development is fueled by it. In the light of new ideas, old ones can change, along with There is hypocrisy abound in To Kill A MockingbirdRead MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1982 Words   |  8 Pageslaws of the community is not difficult as the knowledge of who is socially acceptable to talk to and who is thought of as more of an outsider than a neighbor is not hard information to come across. Harper Lee highlighted this in her novel To Kill A Mockingbird by telling the story of life in Maycomb County, Alabama, through the eyes of Jean Louise Finch, whom everyone called Scout. While Scout, her father Atticus, and her older brother Jem were considered to be at the top of Maycomb’s social casteRead MorePrejudice-to Kill a Mockingbird and Martin Luther King5895 Words   |  24 Pagesstep. In the twenty-first century prejudice and its destruction can be viewed in many forms of modern literature. 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Then Atticus examines her testimony and asksRead More Miss Maudie Aunt Alex Essay1621 Words   |  7 Pagesracial prejudice, and a failure to see what it is like in someone else’s skin. They believe they are doing well by making money for missions, failing to see the hardship on their own doorsteps. Aunt Alexandra is very important to the novel, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ as she is a representative of these viewpoints, disapproving of Calpurnia and disassociating herself from the black community entirely. Miss Maudie however is the counterpoint to Aunt Alexandra. 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These poems are known for their use of conceits - unusual analogies such as linking love and a compass. †¢ tendency to psychological analysis of emotion of love and religion †¢ form is frequently an argument †¢ images were â€Å"unpoetical† - drawn from commonplace life or intellectual study 48. meter: rhythmical pattern of a poem 49. metonymy: figure of speech that substitutes something