To Kill a Mockingbird--chapters 1-3

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Permalink Reply by Star Who? 9D on April 8, 2017 at 1:57pm

I totally agree with you Dr. Exuberance, Bob Ewell might be going through a depression because of his wife's death and that can play a factor of him drinking all the time; not taking care of his children.But I also believe, why can't society help with the issue of Bob drinking and his children not getting support at all. If they can help, then his children would get the support needed in order to live a good life and they can help Bob get out of his "depression" days and start a new life with his kids. After reading these first three chapters I think society is ignoring the Ewell family because they are poor and have nothing, and I can relate this to the real world that no one likes helping the homeless, people with disabilities, minorities, etc, because we create one thing that differentiates all of us- "labeling". We label all sorts of people because of the media and not hearing the other person's point of view of what they have to say. If we start to feel empathy towards one another then it can solve a lot problems that were dealing with in the real world.

Permalink Reply by Yin Yang 9C on April 6, 2017 at 7:46pm

I feel as though if families like the Ewells were allowed to just go on with their business as usual without any repercussions, that would show others that they could do the same and cause a bigger problem. When they see that nothing is being done about that one family breaking the laws, others will start to think they can break the laws too and get away with it, thus causing a much larger problem. Letting them get away with it could start a kind of domino effect. But I also understand why they are not punished for it—because of the children. The father of the Ewells is “allowed” to hunt and trap out of season only because of his children because, “[no] landowner around here begrudges those children any game their father can hit (Lee 41). The father is not punished for hunting off season even though he should be because others understand it is necessary for his children to eat.

Permalink Reply by Peace Maker 9A on April 2, 2017 at 9:22pm

I agree with The Best Noureddine because people shouldn't judge others based off of their apperence. As author Harper Lee writes in the book 'To Kill A Mockingbird' "you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-" (Lee 30). This goes to show that a person shouldn't be so quick to judging another person. Also someone might be acting in a negative way because he/she is going through something: family problems, death of a loved one, depression. To wrap up, someone should not be judged because of how they appear.

Permalink Reply by Fairy Dust 9A on April 3, 2017 at 4:31pm

But Peace Maker, haven't you noticed throughout the first three chapters, that judging is basically what all of the characters have been doing for their whole lives with the Radley's? Jem, and Scout, for as long as they've been alive, have been scared/biased against the Radley's, all because of an on-going legend that sprouted in Maycomb County. Do you think that Boo Radley and his family are apathetic to the rude things people speak of them, or the stories that may/may not be made up about them? Why don't Scout and Jem put themselves in their shoes? Scout and Jem, although not alive when these tales came out about the Radley family, still believed it because of the culture around them, even though they haven't seen anything themselves. In chapter one they refer to Boo as a, "malevolent phantom...[who commits] any stealthy small crimes committed in Maycomb..." (Lee 10). This may be words said in spite because of his appearance, but in connotation, I believe that it is because of the culture around the both of them. 

     

Permalink Reply by Undecided 9B on April 4, 2017 at 1:58pm

Fairy Dust Elkharssa, even though they do judge based off of stories passed down to them or told to them I feel like Atticus himself is trying to get his kids to not think of how different the Radleys are from them. I feel like he is trying to get his kids to stop making something of nothing. Yes, maybe these people have a bad past that may or may not be true because its not even first hand information but I feel like Atticus is trying to tell his kids to leave them be, to go on with their lives. I say that because Atticus is very hesitant whenever Scout asks him for information about the Radleys. So we cant really say its because if their culture because the closest person to them, their dad, is trying his hardest to break down this ongoing chain. The reason Jem and Scout are so quick to judge is because they are in fact very young. Children especially are very curious and usually when they show interest in something it sounds as if they are being judgmental.

Permalink Reply by Bro. Teacher on April 5, 2017 at 12:20pm

I was thinking the same thing, Undecided: Jem and Scout are just children.  They really don't know any better yet.  It the job of adults not to judge too quickly and to teach their children to "not judge a book by its cover" too.  It seems that Atticus is definitely trying to do this with his kids.

Judgement seems to be a MASSIVE problem/opportunity for improvement in the real world.  In fact, I wonder about my social anxiety sometimes.  I wonder how much of it is genetic and how much is just me worrying about what other people are going to say about me.  At this point of the novel, I really wish there were more Atticus Finches out there, teaching others that we shouldn't judge too quickly.  Maybe I'd have more friends and go out into the world more if I didn't feel that people were judging and making fun of (or laughing at) me all the time.

Permalink Reply by Iridescent 9A on April 6, 2017 at 4:26pm

i feel like Miss Maude does a better job of trying to steer scout clear of the judgements encompassing the Radleys 

Permalink Reply by Fairy Dust 9A on April 3, 2017 at 4:13pm

       I believe this advice from Scout's father will go a long way in her life. As we know, Scout is only in first grade at this time, and we can only concur that throughout the first day of school, and the summer before, Scout is very easily influenced by the people, and scenery around her, as are all of we. Scout takes in the advice Finch gives her, but really, she has shown this during her first day of school without even knowing it! Scout already put herself in somebody's position-- Walter Cunningham-- when she realized why Walter couldn't accept those quarters for lunch: The Cunninghams were dirt broke. Scout understood the Cunningham's wealth situation, and spoke her knowledge to her teacher, in front of her entire class. She tries to help Ms. Caroline understand by saying, "The Cunninghams never took anything they can't pay back-- no church baskets and no scrip stamps. They never took anything off anybody, they get along with what they have" (Lee 26). This shows how at the mere age of (around) six years old, you could put yourself in somebody else's shoes, even if you don't realize that you're doing it, by the influence of the people around you-- especially high figures in your life such as your father.

Permalink Reply by Iridescent 9A on April 6, 2017 at 4:29pm

but she was unable to empathize to Miss caroline until her father gave her that advice but a lot of the good things that we do are subconscious 

Permalink Reply by Yin Yang 9C on April 6, 2017 at 7:29pm

I agree with you because when we judge others without getting to know them, it leads to us closing our minds from thinking about those people further, and those initial judgements we made stick and don’t change. For example, when Scout says, “[Walter] ain’t company, Cal, he’s just a Cunningham” at dinner, it proves that she’s gotten used to the stereotypes about the Cunninghams and she’s become close-minded about them (Lee 33). Scout won’t think past what she already knows to learn more or to understand. And that is the result of judging without understanding. 

Permalink Reply by Moon 9A on April 9, 2017 at 11:25am

I agree that the advice Atticus talks about is a great advice because it is a very known advice that is passed down through many generations as not to judge people by looking at their surface and the things they do. This is a great advice because we live in a blind society that sees the negative way before the positive; A society that sees your differences before your similarities in which we judge only based on what we first see without looking deeper into a person and get to know them on the inside because the outside can be completely a different person from the inside. To support this point Harper Lee the writer of To Kill A Mockingbird states, "They were people but they lived like animals"(Lee 30). This explains why the advice is very valuable because people are not always what you think they are or expect them to be, they may look something but be completely the opposite of what the look like and the things they do. This is why we always discusse  "Don't judge a book by its cover"(Eliot).

Permalink Reply by Infinite 9A on April 2, 2017 at 7:28pm

I think that many people consider this to be a great piece of advice because it teaches us how to be more open-minded towards people we haven't met or don't know. Many people - including myself - are quick to judge when we see someone different that we haven't got to know. If more people kept this piece of advice in mind, society would be more open towards different people. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout says, "She had learned not to hand something to a Cunningham, for one thing, but if Walter and I had put ourselves in her shoes, we'd have seen it was an honest mistake on her part" (Lee 30). This evidence shows how Scout realized that if Walter and her had put themselves in Miss Caroline's shoes, they would have better understood her intentions. It's easy to judge but hard to see things through a different perspective to try and understand someone. I think that we should try and actually use this piece of advice in our everyday lives. 

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