How does Harper Lee use minor characters in To Kill a Mockingbird to research the chief subjects of the novel? Choice two or three characters from the text to show your thoughts, you may choose from: Mrs. Dubose, Mayella Ewell, Heck Tate, Mr. Dolphus Raymond, Tim Johnson, Miss Caroline, or Lula.
The bestselling novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is a superb, eye-opening history about bias and unfairness in the Great Depression epoch. The narrative is set in the 1930 ‘s, in a fictional town in Alabama named Maycomb, a little community where everyone knows each other. Subjects of racism, courage and bravery, and human unity are rather important in the overall narrative. The writer uses many minor characters to research these chief subjects. Examples of such characters include Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose, Dolphus Raymond and Tim Johnson. Although non peculiarly important to the novel itself, these characters are of import because they are used to plunge deep into the chief subjects of the narrative.
Mrs. Henry Lafayette is one of the ( if non merely ) characters in To Kill a Mockingbird who represents both racism and courage in the Maycomb community. This aged adult female, who appeared in merely one chapter of the novel, was another Maycombian who freely expressed her strong hatred of African-Americans. She continuously yelled maltreatment at Jem and Scout about Atticus being every bit worthless as the black people he works for. ‘Your male parent ‘s no better than the niggas and rubbish he works for! ‘ ( pg. 113 ) This is rather dry, seeing as she was wholly dependent on Jessie, her health professional, who is black. Her contemptuous remarks drove Jem to destruct her camelia. To counterbalance for destroying her garden, he was required to read to Mrs. Dubose every afternoon for a month. It shortly became evident to Jem and Scout that Mrs. Dubose had Jem read to her for a distraction ; she was a morphine nut and her last want was to suppress that dependence so that she could ‘leave this universe beholden to nil and cipher. ‘ ( pg. 123 ) Atticus tells Jem that bravery is non ‘a adult male with a gun in his manus ‘ , but it is ‘when you know you ‘re licked before you begin but you begin anyhow and you see it through no affair what. ‘ ( pg. 124 ) Atticus had wanted Jem to see that existent bravery is when you carry on with what you are making even though you know you are contending a losing conflict. Mrs. Dubose pulled through with her last want of suppressing her morphia dependence, even though the backdown would highly hard for her. This short visual aspect of Mrs. Dubose was decidedly adequate to demo that she was one of the most brave characters in the novel. However, she was non the lone 1 who showed a great trade of courage in the narrative.
Dolphus Raymond can be seen as one of the novel ‘s ‘mockingbirds ‘ , seeing as he is misunderstood by the remainder of the Maycomb community. In the novel, he showed bravery by non caring about what others think and get marrieding the 1 he loved – person who merely happened to be black. He even had assorted kids with her and is besides understood to be the town rummy, and as a consequence, is looked down upon by the white community. They were disgusted that he preferred the company of Negroes instead than white people. He did non merit this type of intervention because he was a adult male of good nature – he is a character that besides demonstrates the subject of human unity. He merely pretended to be drunk all the clip to give the town a ground as to why he had disgraced himself like he did, therefore seting the people of Maycomb at easiness. ‘ … if I weave a small and imbibe out of this poke, folks can state Dolphus Raymond ‘s in the clasps of whisky – that ‘s why he wo n’t alter his ways. ‘ ( pg. 221 ) He tells Scout that ‘it ai n’t honest but it ‘s mightily helpful to folks. ‘ ( pg. 221 ) By intentionally doing himself out to be a chronic alky, he is giving the town a legitimate ground as to why he has done something so black and unheard of in Maycomb. He brought alleviation to the town ; he made life easier for them and himself… and yet, he was seen as an immorality and scandalous adult male, even by Scout. However, he does non even care what people think of his ways. To be a white adult male merrily married to a black adult female and holding assorted kids with her and non even caring what other people thought – to make what he wanted when everyone else disapproved was a really courageous thing to make, particularly back in those times where racism and bias was really much alive and rather accepted by everyone. In fact, the racism and bias in Maycomb can be represented entirely through one character: Tim Johnson.
Tim Johnson is non every bit represented in the narrative as a character, but more of a symbol. He was the Canis familiaris who wandered the vicinity of Maycomb and was considered its pet, until he was infected with hydrophobias and had to be shot by Atticus. The writer uses this character to research the thought of bias in respects to the town of Maycomb, and besides to associate the subject of bravery with another character: Atticus Finch. First, Tim Johnson can be seen as the bigoted people of Maycomb. This is because when they come together, they act like rabid Canis familiaris ; they are unmanageable, irrational and act before they think. He besides symbolises Maycomb ‘s bias in the sense that it infects the town, like hydrophobias. The visual aspect of Tim Johnson allows Atticus to show his bravery. Atticus is seen as a hero, seeing as he shoots and putting to deaths Tim with merely one shooting, and is the lone individual in town who is capable of making so – merely like he is the lone 1 in Maycomb seeking to ‘kill ‘ the racialist attitudes in the community and halt its disease from distributing. It besides symbolises the town ‘s dependance on him to protect them from the rabid dog – or instead, the bias of the town. However, for Atticus, bravery has nil to with a adult male with a arm. The fact that Atticus shot ‘a small to the right ‘ ( pg. 107 ) revealed that he was non traveling to win the battle against racism.
To reason, the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is unimpeachably a well-written narrative with superb word picture, particularly in respects to the minor characters. Mrs. Dubose, Dolphus Raymond and Tim Johnson are first-class illustrations of the minor characters that help readers explore the chief subjects of the novel: racism and bias, courage and bravery, and human unity. Indeed, these characters can be considered the best to incarnate the most of import affairs of the novel. It is clear through the analysis of the above paragraphs that these minor characters are some of the most complex in the narrative.
