Sunday, May 5, 2013

What are three examples of each of the four freedoms being either expressed or denied in To Kill a MockingBird?The four freedoms are freedom of...

FREEDOM OF SPEECH.  I'm not
sure there are many examples in the novel of a person's freedom of speech being denied.
Certainly, Jem and Scout knew to hold their tongues in some instances, such as when they
were being scolded by Atticus, Calpurnia or their Aunt Alexandra. Examples of speech
being freely expressed are frequent.


  • B. B.
    Underwood's editorial in the local paper compared Tom's death with the "senseless
    slaughter of songbirds."

  • Atticus begs the jury to
    overlook their racial prejudice and judge Tom fairly.

  • Bob
    Ewell is allowed to tell his side of the story in the courtroom, even though it is
    inflammatory and it is apparent that he is
    lying.

FREEDOM OF
WORSHIP
.  Likewise, I don't recall any examples of the denial of free
worship. Although it is almost certain that Maycomb's Negroes would not have been
welcome in the town's all-white churches, the narrator never mentions this in the
novel.


  • When Jem and Scout joined Cal at the
    First Purchase Church, they were confronted by Lula, who objected to the white children
    attending their church.

  • Boo's parents were known to be
    highly religious, but they chose to worship within the walls of their own
    house.

  • Miss Gates points out the injustices that
    Germany's Jewish population felt under Adolf
    Hitler.

FREEDOM FROM
WANT
.  Several examples arise during Scout's first day at
school.


  • Walter Cunningham Jr. has no lunch or
    lunch money, nor can he pay back the money offered by Miss Caroline. Feeling sorry for
    him, Jem invites Walter to eat lunch at the Finch
    house.

  • Burris Ewell comes to school filthy and
    lice-ridden. He announces that he won't be back, signifying his father's total disregard
    for his children's welfare and education.

  • It can be
    argued that Boo Radley is forced by his family to remain inside their home, where he has
    no friends or other human contact. Even when Boo attempts to make friends with Jem and
    Scout via the secret knothole, Boo's brother cements the tree, effectively ending their
    relationship.

FREEDOM FROM
FEAR
.


  • Bob Ewell's ability to roam
    the town at will obviously worried Aunt Alexandra, though Atticus tried to downplay the
    depths of Bob's revenge.

  • School children feared Boo
    Radley, but Boo may have also feared others who misunderstood
    him.

  • Atticus feared that there would be an attempt to
    take Tom from the jail, and both he and Tom were lucky that the lynch mob left
    empty-handed.

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