Fear In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Fear Essay (to kill a mockingbird)
As an anonymous writer once said, “Fear is nothing more than an obstacle that stands in the way of progress. In overcoming our fears, we can move forward, strong and wiser within ourselves.” In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the people of Maycomb fear many things that affect their decisions; as a result, they develop distorted perceptions of a person’s image. Some people believe that the longer you live on a plot of land the better your family reputation. All this can be ruined by the fear in people after one mistake.

In the town of Maycomb, Atticus Finch is a humble and honest person. He does not show off his skills even though he is the best shot in Maycomb. Some people believe he can shoot …show more content…
For example, there was a rumor that one night, Boo bit off his mother’s finger because he couldn’t find any squirrels. Also, it is rumored that his stabbed a family member with a pair of scissors while he was cutting up the newspaper. Scout, Jem, and most kids in Maycomb were afraid of Boo Radley. On their way home from school, they would either run past the Radley house as fast as they could or they wouldn’t go past there at all. This fear in the kids made them create rumors and most kids believe them. In reality, Boo is a good person but the rumors change the kids’ perception of him. Their fear makes them act differently than they would normally act. Jem and Scout were so obedient and never went out of Calpurnia’s yelling range but the fear and curiosity with Boo Radley made them disobey some rules. When Dill came to town they dared each other to go touch the Radley house even though the scary Boo Radley lived in it and it was against Calpurnia’s rules. The fear in the children about the rumors distorted their perceptions of Boo …show more content…
They believe it is Cecil Jacobs that had frightened them earlier on. This person was not Cecil Jacobs, it was Bob Ewell. He started running after them with a knife because of how Atticus acted in the trial. At the time, Jem and Scout didn’t know it was Bob Ewell at the time. Bob Ewells fear in Tom Robinson being found not guilty distorted his perceptions of the Finch family because Atticus was Tom Robinson’s lawyer. Bob Ewell was trying to kill Jem and Scout but Boo Radley saw Bob following the kids and when Bob started running Boo stabbed him with a kitchen knife to save the kids. Bob Ewell died. The sheriff took his switch blade and said he fell on a knife to save Boo Radley and Bob Ewell’s image. Peoples fear in Boo Radley and Bob Ewell (if they knew about what Bob had done) distorted their perceptions of Boo and Bob’s image. Maycomb County didn’t need any more distorted perceptions of people’s image and the sheriff knew this and tampered with evidence.

In conclusion, people’s perceptions of people are distorted when they have a great amount of fear. This was the case with the mad dog when Atticus shot it. Also when Jem ran and touched Boo Radley house even when he wasn’t allowed to go that far and when Bob Ewell attempted to murder Jem and Scout. As Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “The only thing to fear is fear
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