Minor Characters In To Kill A Mockingbird Essay

Words: 995
Pages: 4
Open Document
The Effective Use Minor Characters in To Kill A Mockingbird
Minor characters are often ignored and seen as insignificant, however, it is apparent that they serve as important elements in a novel. Minor characters contribute to the development and reinforcement of themes in a novel by demonstrating different approaches to the theme and showing contrasts. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, the effective uses of minor characters throughout the novel demonstrates the contradistinction between appearances and reality. Characters like Ms. Dubose and Boo Radley establishes a key theme of how appearances may differ greatly from the reality of a person in Lee’s novel.

Foremost, Boo Radley’s character and his household in Harper Lee’s novel demonstrates the significant difference between rumored images and the true values of a person thus supporting the theme. The novel creates contrast by portraying Boo Radley as a dangerous and savage creature at first and the altruistic man later on. According to the descriptions of Boo made by Jem at the beginning of the novel:” Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were bloodstained” (Lee 16). Jem describes Boo as a dangerous criminal who wanders around town and dines on raw animals indirectly …show more content…
Secondary characters like Boo Radley and Ms. Dubose help demonstrate this statement through their significant contrasts between their images and true qualities. Harper Lee uses these minor characters to teach people a lesson, one must look past people’s appearances in order to discover their true qualities that lies beneath. Harper Lee’s idea of not judging a book by its cover is essential even for the development of the society
Show More

Related Documents: Minor Characters In To Kill A Mockingbird Essay

1TKAM ESSAY PRACTICE

TKAM ESSAY PRACTICE Does To Kill a Mockingbird deserve its title as a classic of American Literature? Refer to the novel’s narrative elements in your response. Harper Lee is an American author of the novel called ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ set in the quite town of 1930s Maycomb and published in 1960. To Kill a Mockingbird deserves its tittle as an American classic novel. This will be proven through an exploration of the novel’s themes: loss of innocent, prejudice, moral education and courage. The Pulitzer…

Words 1570 - Pages 7

Minor Characters In To Kill A Mockingbird

Minor Character Essay Minor Characters are forever the underdog of a story, they rarely get the credit that they deserve because minor characters are crucial to the story. Minor characters have different roles and responsibilities in stories and can be key factors in the plot and can even be placeholders in the background of a story to help with minor areas of a story. Minor characters are important to a story because they contribute to the story and help develop the main characters. To Kill…

Words 732 - Pages 3

Silent Spring - Rachel Carson Essay

sections of this BookRags Premium Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources. ©1998-2002;…

Words 30115 - Pages 121