TKAM+3

Paul Berry Mrs. Anderson Honors English I, Period 3 November 8, 2011

Where We've Been, Where We're At, And Where We're Going

The story of To Kill a Mockingbird features many timeless elements that tell us much about where we’ve been, where we’re at, and where we’re heading. The most predominant component of this idea is the attitudes of the children of the story, and how similar they are to the outlooks of children today.  To Kill a Mockingbird shows us where we’ve been by the historical significances of the story, which include racism and discrimination. Not only does the story bring these elements into the everyday lives of our main characters, but it goes into depth on the feelings toward the two issues. The story also shows the differences in opinion, and what some people are willing to do in order to push their opinion onto others.  The story shows us where we are by showing the similarities between now and then. Such of these include the process of how a child learns about and perceives the world around him/her. Scout, being the narrator, shows how little difference there is between the children then, and the children now. One example of this is how Scout looks up to her father, Atticus. Even though nowadays the world is very different, it is still understood that a child most often looks up to his/her father, and agrees with them. Another example of this is the scuffles that Scout gets into during her time at school. As I said before, even the times are much different now than they were then, there are still many cases of children getting into fights in the schoolyard. To Kill a Mockingbird shows us where we are going by showing us that there are many consistencies in life. This means that if things have been one way for such a long time, it can be expected that they will remain that way for years to come. One example of this is that children (such as Scout and Jem) will always let their imaginations run away with them. If children did it then, and they do it now, nearly a hundred years later, I think that it can be expected that they will do it in the future. And although the setting, circumstances, etc. may change over time, it doesn’t seem that a young child ever will.