Chattahoochee River
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
To Kill a Mockingbird - Section 1
It was intriguing to me how, " To Kill a Mockingbird", illustrated the theme of barriers in the realms of wealth, culture, and simply the way of living; more specifically the barrier between Miss Caroline and her students. Being that Miss Caroline is a new teacher that comes from northern Alabama and a wealthy family, she can't relate to the different lifestyles and hardships of her students. A vivid example of this is when Walter Cunningham, a student of hers, doesn't have the means to bring his own lunch to school. Miss Caroline can't seem to understand why he wouldn't just pay a quarter for a meal from her. Not only is it because he couldn't afford to do so, but also because the Cunningham's won't accept the help from others. Also, I found it interesting to why she penalized Scout for already knowing how to read even though the other students are deficient in there studies. I would think Miss Caroline would support Scout for being ahead of the game, but instead she scolds her for learning to read at home and she forbids her to keeps learning at home. Not only does Miss Caroline further the connection between her and her students, but I think it's going to be interesting to see how she continues to interact with her students and the tight- knit community that is so distant from her .
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Zach, Would you describe Scout as a truthful character? What connection can you make between these scenes at school and how the author is working to characterize Scout?
ReplyDeleteZach, I too found it interesting how Harper Lee portrayed Miss Caroline as one to scold Scout. If I were in Scout's position, I would be furious - however, since Scout had no experience with formal schooling, she was more confused than mad. I am also interested in how Caroline's character will progress in relation to the the students.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Schulz, I think Scout offers a glimpse into the community of Maycomb and the different personalities that make up that community. Although she offers a refreshing view as a child narrating such stories and events, I do think she is somewhat biased. For example, Scout does seem to victimize herself in her conflict with Miss Caroline, which is completely natural being that a narrator is almost never purely objective. I do think Scout finds herself being an outsider in every situation she finds herself in. At school she finds everything to be boring and the class activities to be pointless, while at home she finds herself excluded from Jem and Dill's activities.
ReplyDeleteThis is very insightful, Zach. Scout feeling like an outsider is so important to the story. It seems like Scout believes at first that she is the only person who ever feels left out or different from others. Almost every character in the book though is someone who experiences feeling alone/isolated or like an outsider.
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