Qiting Xia
October 14th Friday 2011
The Skies Between Adults and Kids
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel about love, respect and growing, it talks about consideration of love and affection. By having Scout serve as the narrator, Harper Lee can discuss topics about the treatments between adults and kids in a humorous manner. “This one's for you and me, living out our dreams, we are right where we should be.” Like the lyrics, the kids through the novel were taught in very young ages, they learnt how to make their estimations in their lives individually, they learnt the ways they should trust and stand by their family, they saw the real courage from a lady, they saw the essence of the society to find the unfair treatments between black and white people, It happened to 3 little kids in Maycomb, the treatments from adults help the kids to learn and grow, finally help them to find their lighters, help them from innocence to experience.
Miss Caroline apparently thought I was lying. “Let’s not let our imaginations run away with us, dear,” she said. “Now you tell your father not to teach you anymore. It’s best to from here and try to undo and damage --” 《Lee, chapter 2,17》Everyone should be respected through their own ways to do things by their own ways and styles. Every kid has his own features and has his own sky, it is quite different from adults. Throughout it in the novel, students have to obey every requirement that teachers talk about. “Gracious children, wasn’t even thinking about your father, but now that I am I will say this: Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets.” 《Lee,chapter5,46》Autocratic ways to guide kids from adults will only make the kids afraid of their future, the ways that adults guide the kids will make the kids to be the same as they want, the kids will have no features. Kids will be self-abasement if they always obey and follow the direction from the adults, they will have no ability of choosing by themselves just like the robots. Because they are customary to do what the adults ask them to do as well. But, if the relationship between adults and kids has already engenders a normal situation, the ending of the kids will be a tragedy, the kids will be the boats which lost their sails, they lost the directions if the adults leave them. Kids should be guided by having their own sail to navigate, they are like the lambs who want to walk but they are not be able to, they need help from adults. Adults shouldn’t deny them or negate them. Kids are as pure as the spring, they are not able to choose which things are bad, to make an estimation what things to absorb as well. Adults should respect, protect, love, care them and bring them happiness, to protect their shining points, to respect the ways that they grow.
Throughout the different treatments between Atticus and Uncle Jack, we can see different affections between different kids. Some adults are as arrogant as peacocks, they never think of the objects standing in kids’ shoes. Adults should build a tough tacitness between them and kids. The tough trust will be the precondition for the tacitness between adults and kids.
“You’re real nice, Uncle Jack, an’ I reckon I love you even after what you did, but you don’t understand children much.” Uncle Jack put his hands on his hips and looked down at me. “And why do I not understand children, Miss Jean Louise? Such conduct as yours required little understanding. It was obstreperous, disorderly and abusive ---” 《Lee, chapter 9,85》
That’s the conversation between Scout and Uncle Jack after the fight between Francis and Scout. From the novel, Uncle Jack was thunderstruck and confused when he heard the description from Scout. Adults’ authority was defying ever in his mind. Many adults always play as an arrogant seniority for kids who pretend to know everything about them, the authorities of the adults are always higher. Francis knows to say whore-lady, negro-lover these offensive words. As well, the reasons of the affection of Francis is that his father never squats and communicates with him, basically, the affection for Francis is that he would rather absorb something bad from others than listen to his father. It emerges the essential problem between adults and kids, it also refract the essence of the authority of adults in kids’ mind in that society. If the relationship proceeds to be this condition, it will affect kids’ whole life.
“I just hope that Jem and Scout come to me for their answers instead of listening to the town. I hope they trust me enough.”《Lee ch.5 88》Adults should be patient to treat with kids, respects the kids, to make kids regard them as friends, to make sure that whose presence is really necessary for kids. “I never figured out how Atticus knew I was listening, and it was not until many years later that I realized he wanted me to hear every word he said.” Throughout this sentence, it is the foreshadow things that emerge that Scout would still stand by her father when the danger and gossip happened, when the bad description were emerged by different people in the town, because they had already engender a sort of tacitness. Atticus use the simile and metaphor to guide Scout how to grow up, Scout is being taught about tolerance and understanding at a very young age. It is a special period for them, Atticus was misapprehended by the people in the town, but he was supporting the justice, the essential problem of the society baffle him and make him disappointed. It proves how tough the relationship is between Atticus and his kids, they need to encourage and trust their father enough to protect themselves to prevent the hurts from the town. Kids should know what to do to avoid the hurts to them or to their family especially when the challenges are coming, family should stand by each other and gather to face the difficulties. Kids will be taught more when they are rarely facing the danger and they will get more courage from their family. Adults should make a sort of tacit agreements between them and kids. Basically, the relationship will affect them even their whole life and their family.
There are always different 2 kinds of people existed in the world, blessed and not blessed. Dill and Scout is different, the treatments between them are different as well. Someone can’t feel love and warmth, they can’t be considered their presences are necessary to be in a family. “Dill Harris could tell the biggest ones I ever heard.”《Lee ch.5 47》 Dill is a compassionate role in the novel, some kids are as lonely as clouds, they don’t have his own family and house. Dill represents the black kid who doesn’t feel love and warmth, he told the lie to Scout because he always feels lonesome. A kid’s amour-propre urges a kid to do like this. God made a mistake involuntary on some body, the unfairness of life also makes them change, Dill is self-abasement, because he doesn’t want to Scout look down on him and abandon him, he also wants to have a great and misunderstanding father as Atticus to guide him to grow, he also wants to have a specific family as Scout’s, but he can’t, he also needs and looks forward that there will be adults can protect him, but basically, his new father made him down, and Dill lost the confidence of his life. Dill is like the shadow of the black kids. The essences of the society make the black kids understand how ferocious the world is, adults’ treatments for black kids to make them see and learn more about the society. Dill wants to get married with Scout the other day, but basically he can’t afford it, because they are in different lives. Black kids have to do and learn everything by themselves, the treatments on them from adults is also different from other kids, but they have no choices.
Dill’s voice went on steadily in the darkness: “The thing is, what I’m tryin’ to say is—they do get on a lot better without me, I can’t help them any. They ain’t mean. They buy me everything I want, but it’s now- you’ve got-it-go-play-with-it. You’ve got a roomful of things. I got-you-that-book-so-go-read-it.” Dill tried to deepen his voice. 《Lee, ch.14. 145 》 Also, as Dill explained, it also affected Scout, she found herself wondering what life would be if Jem was different, what she would do if Atticus did not feel the necessity of her presence, help and advice. She found everyone needs her, she felt her presence is important, quite different from Dill, they engender a clear contrast, to aggravate readers sympathize the essence of Dill. They are the representations of black kids and white kids who get different treatments from adults. Some kids are compassionate in that period and society, the treatments from the adults make this part of kids different, it’s like a sentence that Chinese believed, they are “predestined by destiny”。
On the way to grow, not always everyone will treat you as well as your imagination ,some people will hurt the kids like brambles. It emerged the experience between Ms. Dubose, Jem and Scout. Kids always play the roles that who like to cry, but tears are good, because tears are the symbol of growing up, they are allowed to show their emotions, they will know how to deal with the challenges after tears after all. “Yes indeed, what has this world come to when a Finch goes against his raising? I’ll tell you.” She put her hand to her mouth. When she drew it away, it trailed a long silver thread of saliva.” Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for!”《Lee, ch11.100》 The reaction from kids are apoplectic, no one wants someone abuse their family. Ms. Dubose’s word said harshly from her mouth. They are taught to be silent and gentle, have a tough spirit and stand by their hearts when they heard some words bad about them by Atticus. That’s the best way to antagonize your enemy. The treatments from adults are not always patient but also there is someone who is virulent. Maybe they will hurt you, but you will know how to grow and get courage after hurts and learn how to defend yourself, that is the way you should learn. “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.”《Lee ch11.112》Ms.Dubose hurts kids’ hearts, but eventually they forgave her, the reason why she did like this is that she knew she was going to die, but she didn’t want to beholden to anyone. Readers are absolutely thunderstruck. She is a great and admirable lady, she gave the really supernatural sense to kids, some growing ways and affections for kids are coming in different treatments from adults will help them know what the real courage is, have more tough and strong spirits in their futures.
Throughout the treatments from Ms. Maudie and Ms.Caroline, the kids got the clean sky that they can own their own ways to grow, throughout the treatments from Atticus and Uncle Jack, the kids got the bright sky which full of tacit agreements with family, throughout the treatments between Dill and adults, the kids got dark sky which they understand the essence of the society, throughout the treatments from Ms.Dubose, the kids got the real big sky by the real courge. Throughout the treatments from adults gave kids, they help them to find the lighters in their skies and help them grow up.
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