Every era of every countries history, I think, has a dark age of its own, and, yes, in my opinion, the depressing attributes of racism would strongly highlight the "dark age" of the 20th century. I like the sound of that thesis topic.Originally Posted by YellowCrayola
Good luck!
Ah, thanks mono. I'm going to start on my essay today.
I'll keep you guys posted! Thanks for all the help again!
"...You can say anything you want, yessir, but it's the words that sing, they soar and descend.... I bow to them... I love them, I cling to them, I run them down. I bite into them, I melt them down.... I love words so much... The unexpected ones....The ones I wait for greedily or stalk until, suddenly, they drop..." -Pablo Neruda
It's been quite a while since I read this book.I remember reading this a few years ago and been really effected by the story and finding Atticus Finch to be one of the most memorable characters I've read in a book as a teenager.I was always disappointed with humanity while learning the history of racism.It's very depressing for one to read both fiction and non-fiction accounts in history classes of all of the unfortunate things homo sapiens have done to one another over the years.We have a long history of prejudice and persecution.The character Atticus made a very good point when he spoke about "not been able to know what it is truely like for another until you walk a mile in their own shoes,'' which I think is a very simply comment but with alot of depth and asking for further reflection; especially from those individuals who are more likely to engage in cruel discrimination or become more suscepitible to vicious crimes and support racism.Another book I read, now many years ago, was about racism in Mississippi in the 1930's.It was called Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry and by Mildred D.Taylor.Has anyone else ever read this book as well?Early last year, I also read a powerful book about the caste system in India called Untouchable, by Mulk Raj Anand.Has anyone else read or heard of this book or read a book similar to one of the above that touched them or made them think further about the past(and also present- in certain cases)cruelty of humanity?
My own brain is to me the most unaccountable of machinery --always buzzing, humming, soaring, roaring, diving, and then buried in mud. And why? What's this passion for?
-Virginia Woolf
“I want to write a novel about Silence,” he said; “the things people don’t say. But the difficulty is immense.” He sighed. - Night and Day
In my opinion, concentrating mainly on racism would make To Kill A Mockingbird kind of a one dimentional book (Sorry, I have simply too much respect for this book!). If I were to write an essay, I would concentrate on prejudice in general (more material as well).
~
"It is not that I am mad; it is only that my head is different from yours.”
~
As I said before:it has been a while since I've read this book myself;but before I was commenting more of the various cruel acts conducted across time;which I learnt about through reading history.Racism is just one example of this and has featured in other books(such as the fiction) which I have read.Yes, I agree that racism is only one factor and that the book(when doing an detailed essay or researched thesis)needs to be anaylsed as a whole and other layers built up.That is one layer (though significant) of the book and only one dimension in the history of homo sapiens prejudice and persecution throughout various ages.When I mentioned the unfortunate and depressing things that many of our fellow-species have done to one another over the years I was talking in a more generalised context;racisim is only one factor of discrimination and persecution.There are many reasons, beside the colour of ones skin, why discrimination and cruelty has flourished in the past.
Anyway, I wish you best luck with your final work!
Last edited by Aurora Ariel; 10-01-2005 at 10:35 AM.
My own brain is to me the most unaccountable of machinery --always buzzing, humming, soaring, roaring, diving, and then buried in mud. And why? What's this passion for?
-Virginia Woolf
“I want to write a novel about Silence,” he said; “the things people don’t say. But the difficulty is immense.” He sighed. - Night and Day
Sorry if this is in the wrong forum, but I need some help here. I need some input on religion in the book. I have to do a project over it and I'm stuck on finding examples. I have to come up with 4 characters and two examples for each character for a mind map. To me it seemed like there wasn't much to choose from, unless I'm not thinking deep enough. I remember about calpurnia's church and the foot washers but thats all I could think of. Any advice on the religion tying in with the book would be much appreciated.
Hi,
When is the due date?
I don't know if I'm right here, it's been some time that I read the book, but on my copy there's a quote by Atticus on the back, saying "Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it is a sin to kill a mockingbird."
Now you could analyse to what degree the word 'sin' is meant to be tainted religiously here and whether that topic of 'sin' re-appears later in the book when the mockingbird actually is killed. The quote is from the passage where the children are on the Finch farm with their relatives, I think.
Good luck with your essay !
"Where mind meets matter, both should woo!"Currently reading:
* Paradise Lost by John Milton
Thanks for the reply, but where does it talk about the bird getting killed? I didn't know a monkingbird was killed.
oh and due date is in a week.
Hello, '64cal, welcome to the forum.
Calpurnia's churchgoings and the washing of feet, I think, could definitely work for examples, as well as, what Schokokeks suggested, the quote from Atticus.
To me, if anyone has an impact on belief - of faith and reason, superstition, wonder, and transcendence, I would also suggest writing of Arthur ('Boo') Radley. Though not to sound too stereotypical or preaching (especially that I do not consider myself Christian), I always thought Boo had a bit of a Christ-like presence in the novel: mysterious, comforting, legendary, a person who everyone knew, yet also a very kind, giving person ruined and tainted by the evil deeds of others. Tom Robinson, the man on trial, in a way, shares the same mentality in the novel; he, however, seems even more vulnerable for his ethnic background and his physical disability. Boo Radley ad Tom Robinson: both very good men, but also accused, framed, and labelled as horrible individuals.
Good luck!
Oops, I just noticed this reply as I posted my last message.
An actual mockingbird ever gets killed in the novel, but the 'mockingbird' appears more symbolic (a metaphor) for ravaged goodness and innocence. In my opinion, the two specific characters who represent mockingbirds, as mentioned in my previous post - Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. Though not literally killed, Boo seems a very vulnerable and exposed individual (exposed by gossip and mouth-to-mouth legends), and with Tom Robinson, the concept of destroyed innocence seems far more prominent.
It has been a long time since I read To Kill a Mockingbird, so please forgive me for not remembering minute details.
There were some parts of the novel that pointed out the difference between those who act religious and those who truly take spiritual growth seriously to promote kindness and good in the world.
There is a part when a religious person, one assumes a fundamentalist, says something negative to the neighbor lady who lives across the street from Scout. The fundamentalist feels that the neighbor lady should spend more time attending church and reading the Bible than working in her garden. They see the wonderful flower garden as a vanity, an indulgence. The neighbor lady is kind to Scout and others in the book and grows beautiful flowers, while the “religious” person is throwing venom at her. This could be paralleled with how “good” people allow Boo to suffer and an innocent man to be persecuted.
Another example of “good” people doing bad things is when Atticus is almost beaten by a mob of local men who are stopped by Scout recognizing and greeting one of them.
If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal.- Emma Goldman
I'm sorry if this is too late, but there's also that missionary circle meeting Aunt Alexandra had where they talked about the Mrunas and how they were going to "help" them. Plus, all through out the novel you find little tid-bits of religion come up. Like the football game, I think it was the Methodists and Baptists that were playing, but I would use Boo Radley as one of the characters, and maybe even the old lady, Mrs. Dubose.
It is clear that religious belief is one of the themes that interest Lee in her novel. She is able both to criticise and applaud religion from her position as a Southern insider in a way that makes her criticism more potent and her applause more sympathetic. Reference to belief and how it affects behaviour recur throughout the novel and are an integral part of the development of characterisation and novel structure. Scout's growing awareness of the complexity of her community and the complexity of her neighbours ties in with Lee's ideas on religion.
The visit to Calpurnia's church is a good example of several facets of the novel coming together. There we see the themes of racism, religion and the growing child's mind coming together. In what amounts to little more than an aside we are informed that 'First Purchase' church is used by white gamblers during the week. This tiny detail shows how the local coloured Christian community are held in contemptuous disrespect by some white racists. But the way in which institutionalised racism permeates and poisons a whole society is also brought to our attention through the spiteful character of the coloured woman Lula who tries to block the chioldren's entry to the church on the grounds of their race. To me, an outsider, Christian segregation on grounds of race is a weird idea.(This is different from language and culture) A much worse idea than splits on minor doctrinal differences which in itself is poor reason for having a multitude of spires. Once inside, Scout notices many things that are similar to her own religious background and several that are different from it. Most obviously she notices the absence of furnishings and hymn books; this is attributable to the poverty and lack of education of the local coloureds. She also notices the precentor (a fascinating detail which indicates cross-cultural influences) leading the singing. Another difference is the freedom with which the minister addresses his flock; this is attributable to doctrinal and interpretive differences. She observes though the similarity in a sermon that draws attention to the idea of females as temptresses (Ah yon blone Eve and her illicit apple!) Note that although Scout notices all that she does not put two and two together then. It is the older Scout, the narrator, who, in recollection, is able to do that. Much of what is related is given without explanation because it is simply seen through the eyes of a child gradually becoming aware of the differences within her own community.
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