The Southern Gothic Motif of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird Essay

Thesis In the myth To Kill a Mockingbird by harper lee, the various types of outsiders and the small townspeople of Maycomb contri bute to the novels Confederate gothic motif. All finishedout the track record Lee introduces us to different kinds of outsiders willing to make a change. During the turkey cock Robinson trial, joining Deas tells Bob Ewell, if I hear angiotensin-converting enzyme more peep outa my girl Helen virtually not bein able to walk this street Ill founder you in incarcerate before sundown (334). By state this, Mr. Deas is going against the typical Southern focal point of Maycomb by standing up to a white valet in exculpation of a black woman.Also finder says, Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the case of my attire. I could not possibly forecast to be a lady if I wore breeches (108). observation post shows her diversity by refusing to wear dresses like all the opposite young, Southern ladies. An some other example is how Mr. Dolphus Raymond was state to be a sinful man who had mixed children and didnt c atomic number 18 who knew it (268). The town of Maycomb thinks that the representation Mr. Raymond lives is against the way of society but he pays no mind and lives a happy life. Mayombs people ar quite judgmental, but there are several inhabitants there that are 5not hunted to be outsiders.Maycomb is portrayed as a typical, small, Southern town where everyone knew each other and everyone had their place. Maycomb was an old old town, but it was a tired old town when I knew it. The courthouse sagged in the square. Somehow, it was hotter then (1). Scout describes her hometown as being very dull, hot, and boring the way she remembers it, which exemplifies some of the small town and Confederate characteristics of Maycomb.At school one day, Scouts thoughts are that Miss Caroline figuremed unaware that the ragged denim-shirted and flour-sacked first grade, most(prenominal) of whom had chopped cotton and fed hogs, were resi stive to imaginative literature (22). Miss Caroline is from another county so she is not addicted to Maycombs small town ship canal as Scout here describes. At another point during the appropriate, Scout explains that in that location was indeed a caste carcass in Maycomb (175).We learn throughout the book that inhabitants of Maycomb County classify everyone into their own groups, usually by the amount of money they have or by their race because thats secure the way their Southern town is. Lee illustrates how Maycomb is asmall, Southern town through caste systems and exclusion of outsiders. Appearance Vs. existenceIn the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the theme of appearance vs. truth to illustrate that people arent perpetually the same on the inside as they are on the outside. For example. Mr. Dolphus Raymond admits to Scout, Secretly, Miss Finch, Im not much of a drinker, but you see they could never, never understand that I live like I do because thats the way I want to live (268). Even though the town may think Mr. Raymond is espouse to a black woman because hes a drunk, hes actually genuinely happy and chose his life-style himself.One time Scout said, It occurred to me that in their own way, Tom Robinsons dexterity were as good as genus Atticuss (260). People in Maycomb believed Tom Robinson was just a nigger that sacked a white girl, but if they looked deeper they would see that hes just as courteous as the town-known lawyer, Atticus Finch. some other great example of appearance vs. world is when Scout states, Neighborhood opinion was self-colored that Mrs. Dubose was the meanest old woman who ever lived (46). Everyone though Mrs. Dubose was hateful because she chose to be, but in actuality she was battling her medicate addiction. Peoples appearances dont always show exactly who they are, you have to search deeper to understand a psyches true personality.