To Kill a Mockingbird Essay
Finding a Spot
A recipe contains many parts. Some are a necessity and the others are added for bettering the final product. People in life are similar, as everyone is given a part, but as in a recipe everything can be substituted for another and it’s important to let people choose what or where they want to be placed. The Historical Fiction To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee tells a story of two children dealing with adult cases of life. The kids sit in with their father on a court case of a black man accused of raping a white woman. Within the court case and the rest of the novel, people are tried to be placed into a definite spot without choice. In the story, Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Scout Finch are all pushed into a place. All of their occurrences tell that it’s a necessity to let people find their own place, and to not pressure them into it even if it’s what’s expected.
It’s common to want to put someone into a place of blame. Throughout their home town of Maycomb Boo Radley is conjectured to be the culprit of the small disturbances that happen. The “town scold” Miss Stephanie Crawford tells obvious lies of Boo peeking in her window and once driving a pair of scissors into his father’s leg (Lee 11). Boo Radley is assumed to be responsible of the little disturbances going wrong in the town just because he’s never seen outside his home, even though there aren’t any facts backing it up. Later, his father and then even his own brother forced Boo into being a strict “foot-washing Baptist” (Lee 44). They don’t allow him to choose for himself.
People being categorized as stereotypes are also prevalent in the plot. Since Tom Robinson is black, in their southern town he is already assumed to be a bad person. After listening to the hearing during the court case and after Atticus’s closing argument to defend Tom, it becomes obvious to the reader that he is innocent. But because he’s black and after Mr. Gilmer–the prosecuting attorney–had just reaffirmed to the jury the statement of that because of Tom’s skin color he was below Mayella and had no place in feeling sorry for someone on a slightly higher tier in their society, that he must be guilty based on their prior racist assumptions (Lee 197). Like previously stated, Tom is innocent, but after being pushed into the stereotype he is convicted guilty.
Unlike her predecessors, Scout Finch is able to have her own choice of what she wants to be. Things like her Aunt Alexandra saying that she shouldn’t wear pants and should be wearing dresses, though Scout still continues to go on her merry way in overalls (Lee 81). Her brother Jem sometimes but in a playful way will tell her that she’s acting girly, “I declare to the Lord you’re gettin’ more like a girl every day!” (Lee 52). Being a girl, Scout is assumed to be feminine when she is not.
It’s easy to guess where someone should go in life or what path they should take, but it’s important to let people find their own spot. To Kill a Mockingbird shows several accounts of being pushed into place with Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Scout Finch. They show that it’s important to not make assumptions. People have to make decisions for themselves, and not do things based on just assumptions. It may be hard, but everything can take a second thought.