Taken from the essay When Children Discover America by Harper Lee:
"Younger children may not respond in words, but they will drink everything in with their eyes, and fill their minds with awareness and wonder. It's an experience they will enjoy and remember all their lives; and it will give them greater pride in their own country."
Explain what you think the quotation means as it relates to elements of the story such as the characters or the theme. Provide examples from the text to support your response.
This quotation means that even though children won't always speak about it, they remember important things that happen in their life, things in which affect them greatly. This relates to Dill when he realizes that people are mean. He doesn't really speak about why he's upset, other than saying that the way they were talking to Tom makes him sick. He cried because he knew that Tom would never be treated like an equal in the presence of white men/women.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sam on this, and I think that a lot of times, children have a better idea of what should be going on than adults do. Many times, adults in the story forget that all people should be treated equally, no matter their skin color. Dill realizes this during the trial, as Sam mentioned, and gets sick from it because of how rudely the prosecutor was treating Tom. He did not like that he was getting treated differently from other witnesses. When children see things that bother them, they tend to react to it, and that's why Dill said he got sick from how Tom was being treated. Kids sometimes have better values than adults in these ways. Dill realized Tom was being treated unfairly, yet the entire court full of adults let it happen and did not ask for him to be treated with better courtesy. I think that as people get older, as they experience more, these values of people getting fair treatment that they have as a child, like Dill tend to go away and they treat people how they think they should be treated by their judgments of them. Dill had a better perspective that was not clouded by the views of society.
DeleteThis quotation means that children generally don't speak their minds but at the same time they soak in a lot of information. This relates to the story because in the court room Scout notices the twelve men do not look at Tom as they file in, but scout does not say anything. This is an example of how children are able to be aware of their surroundings but keep to themselves.
ReplyDeleteThe quotes talks about how children absorb everything the see and learn early in life. This is true. Scout, for example, takes in everything she saw at the trial. However, the second part of the quote regarding taking more pride in your country is not always true. What Scout saw did not make her more happy about her country, instead it brought her to tears dude to the injustice she saw.
ReplyDeleteThis quote means that when you are younger you hear everything. Just because they kids do not answer doesn't mean they are not listening, but instead soaking in everything they hear. It is a great thing to have because when you get older you do not have the chance to just sit and listen and really get what they are saying. Scout listens to everything going on in the court. The adults have to speak or worry about other problems, but she could just sit there and absorb everything. Also, Dill started crying because of the trial. He was listening and understanding how his country was and this made him upset. He really understood Maycomb now because of him just sitting there listening.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with Tyla. As a kid you are more open and interested in listening to everyone whereas when you're an adult you have bias opinions on people. Children learn more than adults do because they listen to everything before comming up with an opinion.
DeleteThis quote means that they see everything that goes on around them, but do not say anything about it. It also says that they will always remember what they heard or saw, and it will make them wiser. During the trial Dill started to cry when Tom was accused of lying, and what he heard, he kept to himself and Scout. Another example is when Jem heard about The verdict of the trial and how it was guilty, he cried and was extremely upset.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Taylor, but I'd like to add that since children see everything that goes on around them but dont say anything about it they become silent. This is the result of being in shock from some of the things in their life. Which is why Dill cried and why Jem was so confused on why Tom was found guilty that he couldn't even speak until he got home. Children are unique and deal with things in their own way.
DeleteI agree with both of them. I think children just absorb everything from their surroundings, then later will learn what it is or how it's used and why. Also if something bad happens like showing someone lied in this case, and older adults and even young adults are showing emotion toward the issue, then the kids will probably be paying attention and will react in a worse and more serious response because they don't know the exact reason why they are upset but they have an idea. Then later on it will help them shape what they know and do in life.
DeleteI think this quote means that children absorb all the things they hear people say and the things they witness. All these situations are carried in children's minds throughout their whole lives. They use their past experiences to deal with later events in their lives. This is showed in the text through Scout. Jem always says Scout is too young to understand what is being said around her. But still she takes in all the information and conversations. When she gets older she will most likely reflect on everything she's been told and use it to her advantage.
ReplyDeleteThis quotation means that children most of the time take in things they hear people around them say or talk about. They see and hear everything that is surrounding them. This relates to the story because Dill started crying when he realized how prejudice and faulty people can be because the evidence and the testimony obviously showed that Tom Robinson wasn't guilty, but the jury still accused him of raping Mayella Ewell just because he was a colored man. Dill was very upset because he knew that Tom would never be as equal or treated right because he is colored.
ReplyDeleteThis quote means that kids always pay attention an they are aware of their surroundings. Most children take in what there parents or elder figures say or talk about. This e;ages to the story when Dill started crying when he found out how mean and racist most people are. We all know that Tom Robinson obviously isn't guilty but he will never be treated equal because of the color of his skin.
ReplyDeleterelates*
DeleteI think this quote means that children take in everything around them. They listen to what all of the adults say and pay attention to what they do. Most of the time children do not understand what is being done or said so they make up what they think is meant by the actions or words. Jem's understanding of rape isn't necessarily what it actually is. Scout doesn't understand much about what was said in court, she just acted like she did. She made up her own view on what happened in the courtroom.
ReplyDeleteDo you agree with the quote?
ReplyDeleteI agree with this quote. Often times children can't respond in words to what they have deserved. However, they still absorb or "drink everything in with their eyes." This means that although they may not say it, they recognize and understand everything going on around them. Even though Scout couldn't verbalize everything she understood about the trial, she still recognized the deeper meaning and what was really happening with the trial. She knew that the trial was unfair, even if she couldn't find a way to say it.
ReplyDelete*observed, not deserved in the first sentence
ReplyDeleteThis statement means that children learn from everything around them; their surroundings, the people, etc. I agree with this statement except having greater pride in their country. How would learning from their surroundings make them have pride with their country? They may have pride in their country naturally but not by learning. Jem always says that Scout is too young to understand anything, especially what happens in the court with the trial. Scout is taking in what she sees and hears to make her aware of what is going on. Yes, she may not be right, but she's young and she will learn.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the quote. At young ages children are able to understand more visually than verbally. Even though a young child can not put into words what they have viewed they fully understand it. Children of a young age also may approach the topic from a different view because they comprehend the situation differently than an adult. "They will drink everything in with their eyes, and fill their minds with awareness and wonder." In the story, Scout, was able to comprehend the trial and see the underlying meaning even though she could not put it into words. She took it all in and analyzed it coming to the conclusion that it was wrong to accuse Tom Robinson of such a crime.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this quote. As children grow up, what the witness and hear becomes things that influence the way they act towards certain events the rest of their lives. For example, during the trial Dill started crying due to the fact that he began to realize the amount of predjudism with in the court room.
ReplyDeleteWhat the quote means is that children are like sponges, they absorb everything. Even though what they heard may be unclear they will still understand by the way that it was said. Scout didn't understand what her cousin Francis said when he called Atticus, "nothin' but a nigger-lover"(pg.83). She was not offended by the word in particular but the tone of his voice. The way he implied it was how she knew it was a insult. Kids (like Scout) can tell just how much words can mean by how the mood and tones is in the situation. What Harper is saying is completely right about children and just how much they understand.
ReplyDeleteThis quote means that children listen to and see everything. They are not always able to explain what they heard or saw, but they are able to understand it in a way that adults don't see it due to bias decisions. During the trial, Jem and Scout understood what was going on. Jem was able to comprehend everything and was fascinated by the trial. Scout was different though. She understood the trial, but she wasn't quite able to put into words what was going on.
ReplyDeleteI agree and disagree with this quote. What the quote means is that even though children don't talk about what they're experiencing it doesn't mean they don't understand what is happening. I agree with the first part of the quote were children don't speak up but soak in the situation around them. For example Dill was mostly silent during the court case but towards they end he started to silently cry so Scout had to take him out of the court room. Dill barely was able to explain to Scout that he was disgusted by how Tom Robinson was being treated. However I disagree with the second part of the quote where they enjoy the experience and take pride in their country. For example Dill and Jem had the opposite reaction and saw injustice in their country. Dill was upset when he saw the way Tom Robinson had been Treated and Jem saw injustice in the court when he knew all the evidence and examinations of the case proved Tom Robinson to be innocent but in the end Tom turned out to be guilty. However I want to bring up when Miss Maudie knew Atticus wouldn't win the case but he's the only man who can keep a jury out so long in a case like that. She thought to herself that society was taking a baby step into creating equality in America where people "won't be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character" MLK.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Arion that the first part of the quote, I agree in. But the 2nd part of the quote can go either way because it is not always that they enjoy the experience. They might feel like it is wrong and would want to change it in the future. In this case, Tom Robinson was guilty and Jem and Dill were very emotional and thought it was wrong. They felt sympathy for Tom even though he was a colored man because he is still a human and should be treated fairly.
DeleteI agree with the quote. The quote means that children will take every word and phrase in. They are like a vacuum taking only certain good or bad things. Kids may not know to say what they heard or saw but will keep a mental note of it. In the book, Jem knew everything that was going during the court case. On the other hand, Scout was able to understand what was going on but could not explain it. Also, Dill finally understands that people are mean to others and cried. All he could do was cry and not truly explain how he felt about the situation.
ReplyDeleteThis quote means that although children might not speak their minds doesn't mean they don't understand what's going on around them, and I lot of the time they remember a lot about their childhood. For example, Dill got upset about remembering how people were mean during the trial. He says that it makes him sick how they were treating Tom. He ended up crying because he knew the court would never treat Tom equally because he was black and he thought it was unfair.
ReplyDeleteThis quote means that children try to understand something by what they see and hear even if they don't understand it. They try to figure it out for themselves without knowing what it is really about. This relates to Jem in this section because when he found out the verdict, he did not understand why it came back guilty. Throughout the trial he was hearing about how Tom did not do it since the evidence did not match up to the facts. So, when he heard that he was convicted guilty, he did not understand why. He did not understand why blacks were treated differently compared to the whites even when something is obviously not true.
ReplyDeleteThe quotation means that kids absorb more information they teens of adults. Kids learn by seeing and hearing; if their parent/guardian does something they automatically believe it is correct. If they are not corrected they will continue what they are doing. Scout believes that miss Maudie is a good role model which she is. But when she needs to think of comforting words or give guidance to others she thinks of things miss Maudie has told her. Scout follows that example because miss Maudie is an adult and they know what is best. When kids are developing their first words are words they hear their parents saying. They follow the actions their parents do to develop. Kids learn from their environment.
ReplyDeleteI believe that this quotation is explaining how children act. Like the quote said they dont always say everything but they learn alot through their experiences and their interaction with other. This then shapes their values and how they will interact with the people around them. The trial scene was a pivotal point in the book, because we really see a different side to Atticus and how he defends and really pry's into the prosecutors head and tries to make Tom appear innocent.
ReplyDeleteI believe that this quote means that kids see things clearly unlike adults because they dont know and racism or prejudice, they see things how they really are and not how society makes it up to be. When given the verdict that Tom was guilty Jem was confused because he did not understand why, after hearing all the facts and the stories nothing lined up making Jem believe that Tom was innocent because he did not know about the racism and how blacks are treated because to him everyone is the same(which they are)
ReplyDeleteWhen you are a child, you see things that may not automatically make sense to you at that point. When you are young, the world is very strange. There is so much that happens and you don't really know what to do about them. We all have had those experiences in our young lives. We grow up and remember something that happened earlier in life. Then you finally understand what that meant. Or why it happened. Understanding things as a young adult is all part of growing up. And you never really stop growing.
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