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I strongly agree with the statement that all men are created equal. We may all come from different backgrounds, have different opinions, and look different but that doesn’t mean that anyone is above anyone else. Our society would be so bland if not for the many enriching cultures that citizens should be proud to be a part of. Some may disagree and believe that their race or culture or looks in general should be held to a different standard, but without conflict, how can a society learn from it’s mistakes?

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The introduction of “To Kill A Mockingbird” allows us to dive right into Maycomb County, Alabama and it’s townspeople. On just the first page, we are introduced to Scout’s older brother, Jem. We are also educated about the long history that all of the townspeople have with this town. All of their families, in one way or another, are associated somehow with Maycomb going back many years, like the Finch family is. Atticus is Scout and Jem’s father, who is a criminal lawyer. Scout and Jem’s mother died when they were both young. On page 5, Harper Lee describes Maycomb as an “old, tired town.” Lee describes the streets as turning to slop in rainy weather and the courthouse as sagging in the town square. The author’s way of using personification and symbolism here shows that this small town in Alabama is clearly deep in the countryside and seems to be lacking much excitement. However, Maycomb is extremely gossipy, and word does seem to get around fast about any new developments. Dill is a newcomer boy who’s staying for the summer with his aunt, and his adventurous spirit immediately begins to stir up trouble. The Radley Place is the most overdramatized place in town, with rumors swirling all over the place just because the family preferred to keep to themselves. Lastly, black people are clearly disgraced here. They are mentioned only a few times, but when they are, the common deragatory word “Negroes” is used.

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The various stories told by these people who all survived the Great Depression shows how even though this event divided the population, it also ended up bringing them together. This relates back to Maycomb in to Kill A Mockingbird because Harper Lee describes the setting as being drab and having a divided town, race and social class wise.

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These stories relate back to Maycomb in To Kill A Mockingbird because, for example, the city of Chicago was just as segregated as Maycomb is. There were also affluent, middle class and poorer neighborhoods also like Maycomb. However, people also came together and ended up forming lifelong connections with each other as a result of their common hardships. There is still divisive discrimination clearly visible in societies today, but we are all lucky to live in a generally more open-minded and respectful world with many people warmly accepting everyone's differences.

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Scout's fantasy of her first day of school was very different from her reality. Scout says on page 15 that "I longed to join them", referring to the kids in the schoolyard that she sees behind her house. Jem also explained to Scout on their walk to school that she was not to interact with him at all during the school day, and Scout clearly believed that they could be playing together all day. On page 18, Scout says that "Before the first morning was over, Miss Caroline Fisher, our teacher, hauled me up to the front of the room and patted the palm of my hand with a ruler, then made me stand in the corner until noon." Scout also discovers that in addition to her apparent behavioral problems, her teacher has a problem with her father helping her learn to read and write at home to. Lastly, Scout expected her teacher to know Maycomb's ways and people like the back of her hand, which Miss Caroline does not. She tries to offer Walter Cunningham lunch and tries to make Burris Ewell stay in school for the rest of the year, and Scout has to explain to her that the Cunningham's don't accept charity and the Ewell's are notoriously the most misbehaving bunch in town.

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The children who go to school with Scout include a variety of kids from many different and interesting backgrounds. For example, readers learn that Walter Cunningham is from a poor family that doesn't depend on charity from others but instead chooses to rely on themselves and their own ways of getting by. As evidence for this, on page 25 Scout says that "Walter looked as if he had been raised on fish food". Chuck Little is one of the patient, polite kids who is also poor but doesn't let that affect him from being well mannered. Scout says that, "Little Chuck Little was another member of the population Burris Ewell's family is poor and as a result doesn't have good hygiene. On page 30, one of the elderly members of the class says about the Ewells that, "They come first day every year and then leave. The truant lady gets 'em here, but she's givin up tryin to hold 'em." This tells readers that even in the worst situations, the town tries to stick together, because as a result of backing down to the Ewell's the town believes that they are helping to support the children and their alcoholic father.

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As much as society may try to convince us that we are the same, we are not. Our world would be dull without the many different people calling it their home. Growing up, all children are read or taught some kind of story. It could be from a book or it could be a story passed down among a family's generations. Either way, a story is never the same. The emotions that someone reads with or the background knowledge that someone has before reading all play a central role in how a story may be told. We are all taught that we are equal, and as much as this is true we will never be the same. Our perspective on life is to different to be even compared to one another's. The idea of a single story is explored in the novel, "To Kill A Mockingbird", multiple times. The story itself is told from a young girl's point of view, and would be completely different if told from her father's. The town's hot spot of gossip, the eccentric neighbors called the Radley's, are part of an entire rumor mill that has been spun also from many different people's perspectives over the years. Because without perspective, there is no story.

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The children have two main ways of trying to make sense of the world around them. First off, they listen to the older authorities in their lives. Usually, whatever anyone older says goes. However, there is also a lot of rumor spreading that amounts to many local legends that the townsfolk, children included, end up believing in. Whether it's really true or not, the youngest citizens believe what the older citizens say.

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5 chapters into To Kill A Mockingbird, I'm not sure I understand what the point of the novel honestly is. Lee has made the central ideas of Scout's school troubles and the Radley's the main , if not the only, sources of excitement so far. I believe that there will be a plot twist coming soon, perhaps having to do with Atticus and one of his clients. Currently, I think the big idea that Lee is trying to convey is that a small town leads to small minds. She describes many of the characters as simply following the lead of everyone else, physically and mentally. However, everyone who steps and thinks to their beat of their own drums is described as an outsider.

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I have a mixed opinion on lying to kids. Personally, my parents have always tried to be as honest with me as possible. I think that the child's reaction to tougher situations early on is a good indicator to whether or not they can handle the harder truths in life. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus comes of early on as someone who has a different type of parenting method. He is firm when he needs to be, but otherwise gives a lot of lenience to his children and treats them more like young adults. However, the other parents, for the most part, seem to have the mentality that whatever they tell their children is what they should believe no matter what.

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The quote that I chose is, "Mr. Nathan Radley was standing inside his gate, a shotgun broken across his arm."(Lee 60) This quote deepened my understanding of Maycomb and it's ways because it showed me that the Radley's aren't as untouchable as they seem. They clearly see all of the stares from people walking around the outside of their home, the gossip when they rarely go into town and children trying to get into their yards at night. Scout, Jem and Dill have gone to such greater lengths than the other towns children to get a better view of the Radley's and I don't understand why if they are always so terrified to do it in the first place. Most of Maycomb's residence know to leave the Radley's be, and yet these children are being ignorant to their wishes and just putting themselves in more danger than is fun.

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A quote that I feel sums up the big idea of chapter 7 is, "Jem stared at me so long I asked what was the matter, but got Nothing, Scout for an answer.(Lee 68) The main idea of this chapter is Scout and Jem realizing that their actions do have consequences, and that not everyone is as ignorant to their mischievousness as they had initially thought. In chapter 8, a quote that I find remarkable is, "Jem, I ain't ever heard of a (n-word)snowman ," I said. "He won't be black long", he grunted." Atticus seems like he wouldn't be the type of person to go around calling black people these kinds of words, and Calpurnia doesn't seem she would tolerate hurtful words even if she isn't supposed to say anything. This shows me how commonly and innocently Scout, Jem and the other kids used this word. They thought that the word simply meant to be black and had no idea what an offensive past it had. Ignorance clearly plays a huge role in the daily lives of the townspeople of Maycomb, and Lee makes it fascinating to read about at times.

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Maycomb and it's inhabitants are portrayed as being as small-minded as small-town people can get. The adults vague explanations for relatively any question that the children ask shows how uneducated they truly are about the ways different people live outside of Maycomb. After you leave school or if you didn't attend at all, the only way you seem to learn about anything at all is through the rumor mills. The exaggerated exclamations for happenings inform the beliefs of the children heavily, since they don't really have their own opinions themselves. The big idea of this chapter is the events leading up to Miss Maudie's house setting fire.

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The author uses a lot of southern slang used in the 50's. I think that Lee uses the words that she does to try to help readers more easily understand the story. Perhaps she's trying to get us understand the characters heads, and that's more possible if readers listen to directly what they think and speak like. I think that she made a good choice using the language that she does. I may not understand some of the words or phrases that she uses, but it just adds to the realness of the story. She does fully write out the n-word, but in a time period where it was so commonly used as a racial slur she also included other words for black people that were more inclusive, Lee at least lets readers decide their own opinions about what words and phrases are appropriate or not.

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The children learn that their father was and is a talented marksman. This is important to them because previously, they had thought that since Atticus was older than their friends fathers and wasn't as active that he couldn't have any talent whatsoever. I think that the big idea that Harper Lee is trying to convey in this section of the novel is that invisible talent is just as good as talent shown off. A quote from the chapter that supports this statement is, "With movements so swift they seemed simultaneous, Atticus's hand yanked a ball-tipped lever as he brought the gun to his shoulder." This quote proves how, regardless of how uncomfortable he feels shooting again, he does feel comfortable nonetheless with his ability to shoot well.

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This is the chart that I created for what I imagine to be the social hierarchy in Maycomb.

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During Chapter 11, Jem begins to become more rebellious and mouthy than Scout is. This came as somewhat of a shock to me since typically Jem was usually the one dragging Scout out of trouble. Mrs. Dubose, one of their neighbors, is a degrading old woman who says extremely hurtful things to Jem and Scout with no regret shown. She pushes Jem to his limit by attacking their father and he destroys her camellia bushes. I think that Lee is using Dubose's character to also convey courage and determination. Atticus says that, "Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict."(Lee 127) "Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew." Mrs. Dubose took her last breaths not on morphine and with the confidence that she had paid all of her debts, which not many people can say on their deathbeds.

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As Lee moves readers into part 2 of "To Kill A Mockingbird", the plot change comes almost suddenly. Atticus's current case regarding Tom Robinson is only really regarded as being controversial, and not much background information is given. However, in Chapter 12, when Calpurnia takes Jem and Scout with her to her black church, more questions seem to arise about the Tom Robinson case than answers, especially for Scout. For example, Calpurnia says that, "Folks aren't anxious to-to have anything to do with any of his family." (Lee 140) This continues to prove how closed minded people really were in their time, since today most people wouldn't blame someone's spouse and children for someone else's in the family's crime. In addition, on the same page Calpurnia says that, "Old Mr. Bob Ewell accused him of rapin' his girl an' had him arrested an' put in jail-". It shocks me that just because the Ewell's are white that a black man is immediately seen as more likely to be guilty just because of his skin color, no matter the crime. The Ewell's don't even have a good reputation among the towns white people, and yet they are still automatically believed. To Kill A Mockingbird is starting to evolve into a much more gruesome example of life in the 50's then the seemingly innocent one that was portrayed before, showing that the more the children age the more mature the plot line becomes.

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When Aunt Alexandra says the term "gentle breeding", I think that she means that the Finch's and other prominent families of Maycomb choose who they marry carefully to preserve their high status in Maycomb's society. Her explanation of the Finch family legacy deepens my understanding of social stratification/the caste system in the town of Maycomb because it helps me understand that continuing on family traditions is the most revered lesson passed from generation to generation among different higher class families, like the values that Aunt Alexandra is trying to pass down to Jem and Scout. I think that Harper Lee is trying to convey to reader's through the character of Aunt Alexandra the most traditional and yet also the most conservative ways that family values can be observed. This character's ideology contributes even more to the systems set in place in the community by continuing to reinforce that class systems are what should be valued above all else. I think that Aunt Alexandra represents the highest class of white people in Maycomb since her family has thrived in the town for generations by breeding with other well off families.

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I think that Dill ran away from home because he was tired of being emotionally neglected. His wealthy family had given him everything but the one thing that he truly yearned for, which is love. Dill has a huge imagination and fantasy world in his head of what he would like his life to really be like. His imagination must help him get through his otherwise bland and boring life. I think that Harper Lee includes this chapter in the novel to give readers a bit of background on Dill's real life, since we had only really been exposed to what he told people his life was like and the events that unfolded with him over the course of many summer's.

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Atticus prepares for the lynch mob by putting himself between the mob and Tom Robinson, who's inside the jail, and also by having some of his friends nearby ready to defend them. Scout's actions make the mob retreat, which shows that mobs are provoked by violence and are easier to talk down calmly like she did completely unintentionally. Readers learn that Walter Cunningham's father is part of the lynching mob.

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Dolphus Raymond is a complicated man. He is an alcoholic who holds many more friendships with black people than white people. His first wife apparently shot herself in the head because she found out that he had been seeing a black woman on the side. He isn't married to anyone currently but is rumored to have had relationships with various black woman and have many mixed children. The community accepts his way of life because above all else he is a good man who cares for the people around him. I think that Dolphus and Atticus are similar because both of them respect human beings through their character, not their skin color. However, they show their respect for all in different ways. Dolphus is much more personal by showing his "respect" for different races and Atticus shows more respect and dignity through his work. On page 186, Scout says that "Four Negroes rose and gave us their front-row seats." This section of the book mainly depicts how divided this community has become as a result of race , and this quote shows how fear of standing up to prejudice plays a huge role in the constant injustice.

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By watching the video, I've learned that lynching has a long and troubled history. It wasn't always directed towards a specific race, but when segregation became more and more prominent minorities became more of a target as accused criminals rather than simply accused criminals. It was an accepted way of taking the law into your own hands as a white person, since we thought it was our job to uphold the law for anyone else whether it was our actual job or not. In "To Kill A Mockingbird", Atticus is scared that by defending Tom Robinson he will not only tarnish his family's reputation but put them and himself in danger. The incident of Scout unknowingly convincing a mob to stand down shows that mobs are motivated by violence and are much more likely to retreat if calmly spoken with. Scout's innocence is a perfect way of getting readers to understand how even a little girl can play such a huge role in such a serious event without even understanding how much danger she could've been in, since all she wanted to do from the beginning was defend her loved ones. The reader must piece together why the mob really leaves and what they were actually trying to accomplish in the first place. Scout is a reliable narrator if a child is reading the book, but if an adult was they would probably be pretty confused since her take on all of these events is a much more modern one than an adult's most likely would be.

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I think that the Jim Crow Laws were absolutely unfair. They were most likely unforced by threats of violence more than just words. Now, I understand why the black citizens in Maycomb are so afraid to stand up for themselves... because they could be facing death for that along with their families. One of the Jim Crow Laws was that a white person will be believed first rather than a black person since they are proven to be "more reliable", meaning that Tom Robinson as a black man doesn't really stand a chance against a white family like the Ewell's. I think that Harper Lee is trying to convey fear of the unknown and different ideas of how justice can truly be served through all of these characters.

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Chapter 20 quote(pg. 228)- "It ain't honest but it's mighty helpful to folks. Secretly, Miss Finch, I'm not much of a drinker, but you see they could never, never understand that I live like I do because that's the way I want to live." I chose this quote because I think it's really sad and demeaning that someone would establish their reputation as an alcoholic just so they could live their unconventional lifestyle in peace.

Chapter 21 quote(pg. 239)-"I had never seen a packed courtroom so still." I chose this quote because I thought that it was ironic that the majority of the white people in the room thought a rape trial was a form of entertainment, and yet the black people there were only there to support Tom.

Chapter 22 quote(pg. 247)-"It was Miss Stephanie's pleasure to tell us: this morning Mr. Bob Ewell stopped Atticus on the post office corner, spat in his face, and told him he'd get him if it took the rest of his life." I chose this quote because Bob's anger proves that Atticus was clearly right about him being guilty of something, because since the Ewell's won the case they shouldn't have anything to be so upset about.

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I think that without the systematic way that trials are conducted, there would be no order in the way a trial unfolds and therefore no fairness in the way that the trial proceeds. The process of a regular court trial is much the same as Tom Robinson's. Opening statements from the defendant and prosecutor are allowed, then evidence of first the prosecutor then the defendant are presented and cross examination is done. Finally, closing arguments and the jury's verdict is presented. For example, Mayella Ewell says that, "I said come here,(n-word), and bust up this chiffarobe for me, I gotta nickel for you."(pg 205) This is an example of a witness statement in court. In addition, Lee writes that, "The circuit solicitor, another man, Atticus, and Tom Robinson sit at tables with their backs to Jem and Scout."(pg 189) This is an example of the order of a courtroom.

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Chapter 23 quote(pg. 259): "Naw, Jem, I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks." I chose this quote because I love how crucial Scout's innocence is during the entire story If she had resorted to her elders way of life, she may not have saved her father from being lynched himself or had such an positive impact on others lives.

Chapter 24 quote(pg. 267): "People up there set em' free, but you don't see em' settin' at the table with em'. I chose this quote because this is one of the many displays of ignorance that the townspeople display towards black people.

Chapter 25 quote(pg. 275): "(N-word)always comes out in em'." I chose this quote because it shows how being black was seen as being an animal, which is why they were deemed fit to be treated like ones to.

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The reason why I chose to let the alphabet be the symbol of my theme statement which is, "“By being taught to value good morals and to be their own individual from an early age, a child is much more likely to break out from beneath the social labels that have been accepted in their communities.”, and the alphabet represents individuality at it's finest since there are so many different versions of it across the world and yet it's still accepted the foundation of our writing and reading systems.

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Chapter 26-(pg 283) "Jem, how can you hate Hitler so bad an' then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home-"...I chose this quote because I thought it wasn't surprising but ironic that someone in Maycomb would be against prejudicing white people but not against minorities

Chapter 27-(pg.287) "I proved him a liar but John made him look like a fool." I chose this quote because I think that it's very interesting how Bob Ewell and his family won their case and yet are still causing the townspeople terror because Atticus stirred up apparently true accusations about them.

Chapter 28-(pg. 305) "Bob Ewell's lyin' on the ground under that tree down yonder with a kitchen knife stuck up under his ribs. He's dead, Mr Finch." I chose this quote because I thought it was a bit ironic that a random countryman would just stab someone without knowing who they are, even if he had bad intentions with the children. This makes me wonder if someone hired the man to keep Bob Ewell or if he was connected to the case in some other way.

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Without empathy, true connections can never be formed. I think that a lot of people in this technology filled world today think that sending a text message once a month is a good indication of their love and care for someone when it truly isn't. To be a good person is to be there for someone not only on their good days and through a technological connection, but also to be there for someone through the tough times in life. To be empathetic is to be able to feel and understand the way someone else is feeling and try your best to help dig them out of the dark hole that they feel they've put themselves in. I think this relates back to "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee because throughout the many difficult situations Atticus Finch faces, he remains a humble, loyal, and kind human being with hopes that this will reflect back onto other people.

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I believe that Harper Lee, to create the character of Atticus Finch, combined some not so prominent figures from the South who didn't speak out publicly against segregation but were personally well known to be against it. In some ways, I think that Atticus Finch could be described as a peaceful activist since his more radical views are somewhat accepted among his community and yet he still continues to treat everyone equally and with respect and defends the weaker, just in less obvious ways. In conclusion, I think that Atticus was probably filled with a lot of rage after the jury's guilty verdict considering how passionate his speech was to try and make them consider Tom as not guilty. He probably just didn't show this rage because he knew rage only hypes ignorant men like the jury up. He was an overall good man who hated society's values and yet did put up with some of them to keep his loved ones safe, which I believe is an extremely selfless and uncommon act.