To Kill A Mockingbird: Extending the Theme

Have you ever had a novel teach you something that you can use everyday as a help to you? Well I have. To Kill a Mockingbird taught me some life lessons that I never thought a book could teach. Not only did I learn about racism in the South, but I also learned lessons that can help me in my everyday life. Courage is a great example because Scout learned to never give up even in the toughest situations. If Atticus would have said no to defending Tom Robinson, Tom wouldn't have had the chance to win and like Atticus said, "...if I didn't I wouldn't be able to hold my head up in this town, I couldn't represent this county in the legislature, I couldn't even tell you and Jem not to do something again."

To have courage is a great life lesson or theme because if I was to walk onto the soccer field against a hard team, I would need courage to try my hardest and play as hard as I possibly could without just handing over the win. Like my coach always says, "Leave it on the field." For Atticus he was trying as hard as he could to win the fight to prove Tom Robinson not guilty and Atticus "Left it all in the courtroom." I can't imagine how hard it would have been to stay focused on winning when you have the whole town against you.

Another lesson I learned in To Kill a Mockingbird is about judging people you don't know. Boo Radley was an important character who was feared up until the end because people didn't know who he really was. "A single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live is to be slowly born." -Antoine de Saint-Exupery

This quotation applies to To Kill a Mockingbird because when Scout finds out that Boo Radley had saved her and Jem, she realized that Boo was not the scary person that she had thought but a realy caring person.

My Boo Radley

When I think of my Boo Radley all I can think about is my great uncle Gregory. When I was 5, I met Uncle Greg for the first time because he lived in Miami, Florida, across the country from us. My first impression stuck with me, and I won't forget because he only shook my hand. I thought that was quite weird because we were family and I was only 5.

When I was older I asked my mom about him and why he hadn't just hugged me. Her response caught my full attention as she said, "He prefers not being social and isn't into the whole family gatherings idea."

Although I was never close to him, just like Scout wasn't close to Boo, but I still learned a lesson from him and that was "forget what people think about you, and don't judge others."

He gave me this advice and I think the story behind what he taught were things that happened to him. He compared his life now to back then and made it a teaching for me.

I suspect he used to be judged for the type of person he was and he wouldn't want me to do that or have to go through the pain. I still think about when he talked to me.

We were at a wedding for my aunt and as we sat at the dining tables he looked over after not talking to me all night, then blurted out a statement which was very deep.

Some people would have just forgotten something said by a person who wasn't that significant in their life. He left the earth; but he will never leave my heart.

Welcome to my English Blog!

Reading and writing have been my strengths since a young age. When I was only 5, the summer before first grade, I was already reading small picture books and writing short sentences. Everyone in my family has a job that has to do with communicating, and communicating well, so I have a lot of support at home. You can expect to see neat work and full and complete answers. To enlighten people reading my blog on literature studied in class, I will make understandable and interesting posts about books, to keep my reader entertained.

English class is key to having a bigger picture view of the world. Only by understanding how we communicate, can we truly communicate with others. Taking a course in learning new ways of reading, vocabulary, grammar, writing and communicating with a group of people helps a person grow. I think the reason you need four years of English to go to college is because it is one of the subjects that is used every day. People use it to talk, write and read. If you did not learn English each year you would forget useful information and not learn to the extent that colleges look for. Excelling in English will help me become more successful because it will assist me becoming a better reader and will help me understand the joy that words and communication can bring someone.