To Kill a Mockingbird--chapters 1-3

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Permalink Reply by Star Who? 9D on April 6, 2017 at 9:42pm

I agree Yin Yang that empathy is a solution that we need to focus on towards people that have nothing and are hopeless, so we all need to put our shoes/position into theirs so we can experience and feel the problems of what there going through on a a daily basis. Atticus tells states, "If you can learn a simple trick, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks.  You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... until you climb into his skin and walk around in it" (Lee 39) which is saying how Scout should feel empathy towards a person that struggling and not judge them by their situation because this creates "labeling" and example of it is the judgement and hatred of Muslims being called terrorists everyday. This is not a right thing to do, feel empathetic towards someone even if you feel uncertain about them because the little things can prevent the bigger ones from happening. Atticus tells his daughter that "the Ewells had been the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations", this shows that the kids have been influenced by their parents and having been going about their life like this even though the whole town doesn't approve. Atticus also tells Scout that "It's against the law, all right...but when a man spends his relief checks on green whiskey his children have a way of crying from hunger pains" (Lee  30,31). Mr. Ewell (Bob Ewell) in this situation is effecting his children because he goes and drinks which is against the law and they would have to pay the price for his actions and that would have and impact on several generations to come, so i believe Mr. Ewell should be punished for his actions and taken into a rehab place to fix his situation and support his family before his children end up like him and it would keep on being passed down from generation to generation. The Ewell family should be taken into rehab before their children's influence other families to end up like them and that can cause society to fall apart.In my opinion empathy is the solution to bring people together and actions that are against the laws by people should be taken seriously with a punishment to solve the situation before it can cause bigger problems.   

Permalink Reply by Half Empty 9A on April 6, 2017 at 10:54pm

I believe that this evidence deals with idea of treating people the same, because we don't know their stories which is why it is considered as great evidence. Meaning us individuals need to realize that we can't differentiate the way we treat others just based off of their outside figure (skin color, body type, religion, etc.) and the way that they act. For example, when Scout- one of the main characters in "To Kill a Mockingbird"- questioned the way her dinner guest was pouring syrup on top of his food, Calpurnia- the housekeeper in Scout's home- ordered Scout into the kitchen and told her "Hush your mouth! Don't matter who they are, anybody who sets foot in this house's yo' comp'ny, and don't you let me catch you remarkin' on their ways like you so high and mighty!" (Lee 24). This quote helps express the idea of how judgement can take its toll in the wrong direction. Meaning that simple judgments can be heartfelt by the person the judgement was for. This can apply to our daily lives by changing the perspectives of us individuals. We need to stop being so blind to the fact that we ignore our own biased views and stereotypes.We make the mistake of not realizing that we don't know people (specifically strangers) well enough to judge them. When The Best Noureddine mentioned that it was like judging a book by its cover, it bluntly explains how we shouldn't prejudge the worth or value of something just by its outward appearance alone. We need to learn to fit into the other person's shoes before we label them

Permalink Reply by Human Salad 9A on April 7, 2017 at 8:59am

I agree with you we need to learn more about others and fit into their shoes before we assume things about them. Many bad things can happen when we make assumptions about others. Also, these assumptions are usually made because someone is different to one. And we just judge them by their cover instead of what they went through or knowing more about their background(how they lived). We can see from To Kill A Mockingbird when Jem- one of the main characters and Scout's brother- invited Walter Cunningham- Scout's classmate- for dinner. While they were eating, Walter poured syrup on his vegetables and meat with a generous hand.He [Walter] would probably have poured it into his milk glass had I [Scout] not asked what the Sam hill he was doing (Lee 32). In this event, Scout shouted at Walter for doing something different and then after Walter got sad. Also, Calpurnia got mad at Scout for just judging Walter's actions without knowing why he did it. This shows that if one is to make assumptions about others, then something negative will be the effect. Thus, we need to not assume things about others based on our biases and learn more about others.

Permalink Reply by Smilie 9C on April 7, 2017 at 12:45pm

I personally think this is a great piece of evidence because Atticus is showing Scout not to judge others. And that you have to put yourself in the persons shoes. And when Atticus states "that you have to climb into his skin and walk around in it"(Lee39). It tells Scout that you have to live like how that person is living. And then you will understand that person. So I believe this is a really good piece of evidence because it changes how Scout will start to think about other people. 

Permalink Reply by Cranberry 9C on April 7, 2017 at 2:44pm

Yes, I agree with what you have to say because many people are quick to judge and Atticus is trying to tell his daughter to not think badly of other people because you may not know what situation they are in. We and many other people have to think of the other side and try to be in their place before we judge, this is what Atticus is trying to tell his daughter.

Permalink Reply by Cranberry 9C on April 7, 2017 at 2:38pm

In my opinion after reading this quote, I think it applies to all of us that we judge people without understanding their point of view. Many people without realizing, are quick to judge without thinking of the other side. In a book called "To Kill a MockingBird" by Harper Lee, a character named "Miss Caroline" appears in chapter 2, when she was trying to give a little boy money, the little boy whose name was "Walter Cunningham" didn't accept the money because he was poor and couldn't pay her back, Miss Caroline did not understand why he wouldn't take the money which caused her to think he was rude. "Walter shook his head.'Nome thank you ma'am'. Impatience crept into Miss Caroline's voice: Walter shook his head again" (Lee 25). In this quote Miss Caroline did not understand Walter's situation, she thought he was being disrespectful but he just didn't have the money to pay her back. So what Atticus is basically trying to say in this quote is to first think of the other sides situation, try to be understanding and not quickly come to a conclusion.      

Permalink Reply by Honesty 9C on April 7, 2017 at 4:15pm

I agree with what you have to say because Miss Caroline did not know Walters situation and should have took time to learn about Walter instead of just assuming who he was as a person and what his living situations were.

Permalink Reply by Blossom9A on April 7, 2017 at 9:50pm

    I agree with Cranberry and Honest that Miss Caroline should have taken the time so she can get to know the county better.Even as simple as giving Walter money, to get himself food,and her expecting him to pay her back she shouldn't have done that she should have asked around and talked to the county.In the book "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee,the book showed the readers,like us, that when moving into a new community you have to know the community before saying or doing anything that the community won't like." Atticus said i had learned many thing today,and Miss Caroline had learned several things herself"(Lee.30).Atticus is trying to tell Scout that Miss Caroline has to know about small things like this or she will make the mistakes and maybe not learn from them.Also Atticus is trying to tell the readers that the community its self has to welcome and introduce her/him self to the new person in town.Even if Miss Caroline wasn't new but didn't know about these little things it was the communities fault an her's for not introducing them selves and talking about the community.What do you guys think should the community introduce them selves first or the new comer should introduce them selves.And do you think that Miss Caroline is a bad person for giving Walter the money?

Permalink Reply by Dazzleta 9C on April 7, 2017 at 6:34pm

I agree with Cranberry Albdyri about how we all judge people without understanding who the individual actually is.We simply judge others based on appearences which then leads to false accusations.We also take the judgements of others and make them into our own. For instance, in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird the main character Scout states "'It was clear enough to the rest of us: Walter Cunningham was sitting there [he did not forget his lunch, he did not have any](Lee 26).This evidence shows that since one person knew about Walter the rest of the people should and they should all believe the same thing. This evidence also shows that when something is said it is simple for everyone else to suspect the same thing.It has been shown in the novel that judging people and making accusations is simple.

Permalink Reply by righteous core 9D on April 7, 2017 at 10:17pm

 I agree with you that this quote is to tell us and scout that we need to put ourselves in others shoes before judging. People usually don't look deeper into a situation and just base their judgments off of what they see - which is basic human nature-but just as Atticus says in this quote we need to understand other peoples point of view. Just like in the book "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee when Walter comes over and Scout makes a comment about the way he eats Calpurnia says to Scout" Theres some folks who don't eat like us, but you aint called on to contradict 'em at the table when they don't" (Lee 24). So Calpurnia was telling scout that even if someone doesn't do something the same as you, you have no right to judge them. People don't know whats going on in others life so they should try to learn their situation and then base their judgments off that. Thus, Atticus's advice was great and should help Scout to understand people through the rest of the novel 

Permalink Reply by Honesty 9C on April 7, 2017 at 4:11pm

I feel that this comment Atticus made was Great Advice because in this society, people are quick to judge someone based on their looks and what people say about them. This comment shows that we need to explore who people are, learn about their past life and what shaped them. We shouldn't be quick to judge someone based on looks but to learn what their personality and what its like to be them. This relates to us today because when we see someone, we are quick to judge them based on their looks, race, gender, etc.. Also this relates to past texts because like in Stargirl, the mica high students were quick to judge her based on her looks

Permalink Reply by Free 9A on April 7, 2017 at 7:08pm

Many people consider this a great piece of advice because it's telling us that we have to understand people before making an opinion. We need to understand what happens in peoples’ lives that make them who they are. We never know what is going on in other peoples’ lives, so we have to fully understand how they got the way that they are. If they are considered as ‘bad’ people, then something in their past caused them to act the way that they are. In the book TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, when Burris Ewell was leaving school on the first day, one of the students states that “He’s one of the Ewells…Whole school’s full of ‘em. They come first day every year and then leave” (Lee36). Because Burris was born into a family where all the siblings only attended the first day of school, he also did it. Most children are taught to always go to school, so they do it. But if one was brought up in a family where he/she could skip school, it wouldn’t be a big deal for her/him when they do. It is the things around us that shape who we are. Something normal to us could look crazy to others. Before labeling a person and their actions as bad, listen to them and understand why they do these things because it always comes from somewhere. The advice is to understand how people have grown up, how they lived and how that could change a person before labeling them. 

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