Education and Ignorance in To Kill A Mocking Bird Essay

Education and Ignorance in To Kill A Mocking Bird

It seems that in todays society as well as in the past, people who receive an education usually end up better off in life, whether the persons success is with a career, raising a family properly, financially, or even just being a good person in general. In the book To Kill A Mocking Bird the author, Harper Lee shares excellent examples of education and ignorance.

For example, Atticus Finch (a character from To Kill A Mocking Bird) is a successful lawyer and also state legislature. According to www.bls.gov.htm, 7 years of schooling is required to join an attorney. Just knowing the number of years of law school Atticus had to go through obviously shows that he is a hard worker and it most definitely paid off. Atticus and his two children Scout and Jem live in an elegant, nice, safe home. They even have a maid named Calpurnia who cooks, cleans, and sometimes acts as Scout and Jems mother. The children have moral support from adults who love and care about them. From a young age Atticus would read Scout and Jem magazines, books and newspapers. He makes his children go to school every day to receive the right kind of education so they can grow up and be successful also. He always treats his children with respect and encouragement. Calpurnia, being colored, even took the children to her church knowing that it may be uncomfortable for the congregation because racism was occurring at the time and the children were white. She must have cared about those kids. As you probably can tell, the Finchs have a pretty wealthy life-style, and without Atticuss education, it most likely would not be that way.

On the other hand, proving ignorance in this book, there is Bob Ewell. Bob Ewell is unemployed, has an aggressive temper and lives on the outside of town by the city garbage dump. Around the town of Maycomb, he and his family are considered white trash. The Ewells live off the dumps leftovers, including their food, clothes, even their drinking water. The consequence of these actions leads to a house full of disgusting bacteria and germs, causing the children constantly getting sick. The children only attend the first day of school because it is required, other than that, that is the only day out of the whole year they go. The children dont know how to read or write. Bob says that since he and his oldest daughter Mayella can read that is simply enough. Bob obviously has not thought about his childrens well being and future. The Ewells also have no respect for each other or the public. The children would curse and swear at people who would simply just walk by their so called house. On top of all that nonsense, Bob Ewell beats his own daughter Mayella after watching her throw herself on a black man named Tom Robinson. He accuses Tom of raping her (which was completely false), and lies face to face with to the court. Following Bobs actions, Tom Robinson, an innocent Negro man is found guilty and is sentenced to prison, eventually leading to Tom being killed. If Bob would have received an education or even pushed his children to get an education their life style would not be this way. He and his family would be good people.

Getting an education forces you to work hard, and working hard leads to success. In this situation Atticus Finch was well educated which of course lead him to success and a prosperous lifestyle. He was a well liked man and had good standards. If Bob Ewell would have taken the same road as Atticus and received knowledge, he and his familys lifestyle plus their behavior would have been parallel to the Finchs. In concluding, getting an education like Atticus Finch, rather than being ignorant like Bob Ewell, leads to the kind of person you are and the way you live your life.