Through Eyes Of A Child
Today, I'm filled with questions.
I recently read 'To Kill A Mockingbird'. It's the story of a lawyer. Atticus Finch, who fights for a black man accused of the molestation of a white girl. The main themes are racial prejudice and hypocrisy of society. Strangely, the novel, with its mature themes, is not narrated by an adult. It is narrated by Atticus' daughter, a girl so young, she barely has any knowledge of the things around her. What astounded me was how this girl, despite her immaturity and lack of knowledge, observes everything and tries to interpret it. A scene in which this is illustrated is when she wonders why her teacher, who detests Hitler for his intolerance towards Jews, is herself intolerant towards people of color. She hates how she is forced by her aunt o 'become a girl'. Although she doesn't yet know what society expects of women, she feels the pressure to conform. We can see that she is in fact her father, and may one day become a strong feminist. On her first day of school, she is told to hold her capabilities back and not read or write until the other children catch up with her. The school forces her and the other students to study by an teaching system which is meant to be interactive by actually doesn't benefit them.
It is Scout's objectivity and keen observation which made me love the novel.
I remember my first day in school. I remember the mean things some of my classmates did to me when I as younger. I remember being more patriotic than I am now, more honest, a better individual. At that age, the world was a place full of promise and I was allowed to see it as it was because I still believed that if something was bad, someone or even me could change it. All kids feel this way. They may be innocent but their mind is not clouded by illusions. They don't look away when they see something bad happening because they still don't know they are supposed to. Their teacher (us) teach them they can fight all evils, and they believe that. They believe in heroes. They believe in goodness. They believe that the two will eventually trump villains and evils. And they believe all this because we have taught them to, even though we may not necessarily believe it ourselves?
So what happens when we grow up? Where does the objectivity go? Why can't we differentiate what is right and wrong? Why can't we stop something wrong from happening? And if the world is an unchangeable, horrible place, why do we give children hope? Is it the disappointment which comes when the hope is shattered that turn us into skeptics? Is being a skeptic ever good, or is a child's will to see things get better actually make the world go around?
As I said, today I'm filled with questions. I don't remember having so many of them as a child.
I recently read 'To Kill A Mockingbird'. It's the story of a lawyer. Atticus Finch, who fights for a black man accused of the molestation of a white girl. The main themes are racial prejudice and hypocrisy of society. Strangely, the novel, with its mature themes, is not narrated by an adult. It is narrated by Atticus' daughter, a girl so young, she barely has any knowledge of the things around her. What astounded me was how this girl, despite her immaturity and lack of knowledge, observes everything and tries to interpret it. A scene in which this is illustrated is when she wonders why her teacher, who detests Hitler for his intolerance towards Jews, is herself intolerant towards people of color. She hates how she is forced by her aunt o 'become a girl'. Although she doesn't yet know what society expects of women, she feels the pressure to conform. We can see that she is in fact her father, and may one day become a strong feminist. On her first day of school, she is told to hold her capabilities back and not read or write until the other children catch up with her. The school forces her and the other students to study by an teaching system which is meant to be interactive by actually doesn't benefit them.
It is Scout's objectivity and keen observation which made me love the novel.
I remember my first day in school. I remember the mean things some of my classmates did to me when I as younger. I remember being more patriotic than I am now, more honest, a better individual. At that age, the world was a place full of promise and I was allowed to see it as it was because I still believed that if something was bad, someone or even me could change it. All kids feel this way. They may be innocent but their mind is not clouded by illusions. They don't look away when they see something bad happening because they still don't know they are supposed to. Their teacher (us) teach them they can fight all evils, and they believe that. They believe in heroes. They believe in goodness. They believe that the two will eventually trump villains and evils. And they believe all this because we have taught them to, even though we may not necessarily believe it ourselves?
So what happens when we grow up? Where does the objectivity go? Why can't we differentiate what is right and wrong? Why can't we stop something wrong from happening? And if the world is an unchangeable, horrible place, why do we give children hope? Is it the disappointment which comes when the hope is shattered that turn us into skeptics? Is being a skeptic ever good, or is a child's will to see things get better actually make the world go around?
As I said, today I'm filled with questions. I don't remember having so many of them as a child.
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