LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 17:5 May 2017
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
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         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
         Renuga Devi, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.
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An Analysis of Social Institutions in Shaping the Worldview of
Characters in Harper Lee’s TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

Vinu C James, Research Scholar
Sneha J Nair, B. A. English


Abstract

The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. It is set in the 1930s, a period when racism was very prominent. Harper Lee emphasises the subjects of racism and resistance in her novel using characters and their collaborations inside the Maycomb Community. This paper explores the role of social institutions in shaping the worldview of characters and also examines how the society influences the children in this novel. Atticus Finch, although a solid figure in Maycomb, is criticised by his kin for being a respectable individual and sticking to his morals in safeguarding an innocent coloured man. The narrator of the story Scout, runs over many individuals and circumstances with prejudice and tolerance, as her father defends a black man. Scout's character grows broadly all through the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, and she is enormously impacted by Maycomb's society. She observes behaviour that regularly puzzles her, yet as she experiences a progression of developing encounters, she starts to understand that not all individuals act or believe as she has been raised to, and tolerance and respect for these differences are important. All the characters are linked together in a different way, but all were ignorant and all were afraid of perceived evil. All were casualties of prejudice and all were not thoughtful and that is the reason it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.

Keywords: Racism, Social Institutions, Prejudice, Ethics, Injustice, Ignorance, Fear

To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird is set in a small town in Alabama in the 1930s, a town much like the one in which author Harper Lee came of age. Jean Louise Finch also is known as Scout is the narrator and protagonist of the story and a good part of this story's brilliance lies is the fact that it's told from a child's point of view. Through Scout's eyes, Lee is able to present the story objectively. By having an innocent little girl making racial remarks and regarding people of colour in a way consistent with the community, author provides an objective view if the situation. As a child, Scout can mention objective facts that a grown-up would keep away from or sugarcoat. Readers too are likely to be forgiving of a child's perspective, whereas they would find an adult who makes these remarks offensive. Scout Finch lives with her brother, Jem and their widowed father, Atticus, in the sleepy Alabama town of Maycomb. One summer, Jem and Scout befriended a boy named Dill, who has come to live in their neighbourhood for the summer and the trio acts out stories together. Scout is intelligent and by the standards of her time and place, a tomboy. As the novel progresses this faith is tested by the hatred and prejudice that emerge during Tom Robinson's trial. Scout, in the long run, builds up a more adult viewpoint that empowers her to acknowledge human goodness without overlooking human evil. Jeremy Atticus Finch is something of a regular American boy, refusing to back down from dares and fantasizing about playing football. Four years older than Scout, he progressively isolates himself from her games, but he remains her close companion and protector throughout the novel. Jem moves into adolescence in the midst of the story and his convictions are shaken extremely by the evil and injustice that he sees in the midst of the trial of Tom Robinson. Atticus is a lawyer in Maycomb descended from an old local family. A widower with a dry sense of humour, Atticus has instilled in his children his strong sense of morality and justice.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

VINU C JAMES, Research Scholar
Bharathiar University
CMS College
Near CRI Pumps
Chinnavedampatty
Coimbatore 641049
Tamil Nadu
India
superbrainmjv@gmail.com

SNEHA J NAIR, B.A. English
Yuvakshetra Institute of Management Studies (YIMS)
Palakkad 678631
Kerala
India

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