The, The Gray Ghost, By Harper Lee - 1366 Words

Completing the Puzzle Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel about a young girl growing up in the racist South, tests one’s ethics and delves into some of the more profound human principles. The story of Maycomb, a sleepy Southern town, is rooted with the values, lessons, and symbolism of Harper Lee. Throughout the novel Harper Lee pays attention to even the smallest details, making sure that all writing has a purpose. That said, there are three books that Harper Lee mentions: Ivanhoe, The Gray Ghost, and Blackstone’s Commentaries. Although seemingly insignificant, the books that appear in To Kill a Mockingbird have symbolic and very much significant meanings, reinforcing what has been written, revealing parts of the novel, and†¦show more content†¦Mrs. Dubose won†¦ She was the bravest person I ever knew† (149). Atticus is subtly telling the story of Ivanhoe, reinforcing the struggles of both Mrs. Dubose and Wilfred of Ivanhoe. Ultimately, these characters act courageously, and despite not being accepted originally, regain the respect of their doubters as their true nature shows through. Blackstone’s Commentaries, one of the most important books on British Law (as well as an important influence on American Law), was written by Sir William Blackstone in an attempt to allow common folk to read and understand the law. Calpurnia briefly mentions the book while Jem and Scout are wondering how she and her son, Zeebo, learned to read and write, explaining that Blackstone’s Commentaries is influential in her ability to speak â€Å"proper† English., â€Å"Jem was thunderstruck†¦ ‘That’s why you don’t talk like the rest of ‘em’† (166-167). Jem comes to this realization after Calpurnia’s explanation, and understands what distinguishes her speech from that of other African-Americans of Maycomb. Although not made explicit in her writing, Harper Lee intends for Blackstone’ s Commentaries to be interpreted directly as an object symbolizing the law. As a result, the factor that differentiates Calpurnia and Zeebo from other African-Americans is not that they are literate and have the ability to speak proper English, but that they know the law. However, the importance of this does not stopShow MoreRelatedThemes Found in Harper Lee ´s To Kill a Mockingbird843 Words   |  3 Pagesto confront the challenges, paradoxes, problems and painful reality of an insecure world.† In Harper Lee’s book, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper lee sends many messages to the reader. Set in a fictitious town in Alabama in the 1930’s, one obvious theme is racism. However, while racism was the most obvious theme, it wasn’t the only one; other themes included innocence, understanding and growing up. Harper Lee also suggests how a person should react to problems around them. She shows us this through herRead MoreExamples Of The Gray Ghost In To Kill A Mock ingbird1116 Words   |  5 PagesOver forty million copies of Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, sold globally since it was published in 1960. The Finch family live in the county of Maycomb, and life seems normal until their father, Atticus, takes on a controversial court case. Tom Robinson, a black man, is being accused by a white man named Bob Ewell for a crime that Tom did not commit. The Finch children have to adapt to the rising racist actions and allegations throughout the book. There is a symbolicRead MoreThe Sin in Ideology1395 Words   |  6 Pageshis children after they are gifted with air rifles for Christmas. Notably, the title of this American classic, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is taken from a seemingly insignificant excerpt. However, if read carefully, the reader begins to understand that this is just one other example out of a plethora of symbolism. Set in a Depression-era Southern town, Lee features various themes, though the novel focuses on various forms of prejudice. It brings forth the idea that prejudice, in any form isRead MoreMaturation: Once a Child, No More in To Killing a Mockingbird by Harper Lee1112 Words   |  5 Pagesand knowledge. Three characters, Jem, Scout, and Dill in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee living during the Depression-era in Maycomb County, deal with the harsh reality of Maycomb’s racism and prejudice while maturing through gaining knowledge, experience, and courage. The kids grow up learning many lessons from Atticus or from their own experiences. In her depiction of Jem, Scout, and Dill, Lee reveals their maturation from being the children they are to having a thorough understandingRead MoreThe Forms of True Bravery800 Words   |  4 Pagesfrom success and achieving our dreams or what we believe is right to us, but it is weak and thin when standing against courage, and once it is defeated, those barriers dissipate. But the main question i s how can we conquer fear and in what form? In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, it illustrates the forms of courage that exist in the main characters through the conflicts and barriers they constantly come across, and how they try to approach them and solve them. Therefore, it is clear, andRead MoreTo Kill a Mocking Bird Essay example620 Words   |  3 PagesThrough the course of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Jem encounters a series of events that cause him to grow up. During Tom Robinson’s trial, Jem’s eyes were opened to the racism and prejudice of the South: loss of innocence, a major theme in the novel, is a realization of the cruelty and injustice in the world, and that one must develop a tolerance for it. Jem is young and carefree in the beginning of the novel. He is just starting to take on the responsibilities of an older brother:Read MoreHow Empathy Is Important And How It Will Affect Society2045 Words   |  9 Pagesperson: in a word, empathy. The arts enable us to put ourselves in the minds, eyes, ears and hearts of other human beings.† Empathy can change a person. They have a better attitude towards others and allows them to put themselves in another s shoes. Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird shows how empathy is important and how it will affect society. The novel, which takes place in Alabama in the 1930s, is narrated by a young girl named Scout who lives with her older brother Jem, and her father, AtticusRead MoreMaturity of Scout in to Kill a Mockingbird2181 Words   |  9 Pagesare’† (James, Boy Assaults Gay Student as Cellphone Captures Attack). In a perfect society, everyone would accept each other and not judge others based on appearance or social status. However, today many people still face the problem of acceptance. Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, illustrates how others can learn to be accepting from the characters in the novel. Scout leaves her naà ¯ve childhood behind and changes to into an accepting young adult through with the help of Boo Radley, Tom RobinsonRead MoreJem Character Analysis1101 Words   |  5 PagesWho was Jeremy (Jem) Finch or in other words, who had he become towards the end of the novel? In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Jem was one of the most important character throughout the novel.In my perspective, Jem was a noble and brave kid and grew up way too fast for his age. In the beginning of the novel, he was barely 10 years old and in the end, he was nearly 13 years old. He had experienced difficult life time events that changed his life and he understood how life was backRead MoreThe Great Divorce and The Divine Comedy3095 Words   |  13 Pagesthe rhym e for the first and third lines in the following tercet† (Poetic Form). Lewis’s text however is written in prose, presenting various places ranging from the â€Å"gray town† to â€Å"the valley of the shadow of life†, which are Lewis’s depictions of hell and the foothills of heaven respectively. Nevertheless, Matthew Swift, citing Alan Lee Brewer’s dissertation states that, â€Å"Despite radical structural differences, Lewis’s afterlife seems to mirror Dante’s afterlife as the direct product of continued choice