Fear in to Kill a Mockingbird

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The Only Thing to Fear… Everyone has, in one form or another, at least one fear. It can be on the smaller scale, like clowns or spiders, or be on a larger scale, such as losing family and friends. Some might even say they have no fear. Can this be true? What role does fear really play in our lives? I seek to answer that inside this essay. Although the absence of fear is important in some parts, fear plays a major role in how the events in To Kill a Mockingbird unfold because fear is what progresses Maycomb, as well as what prevents it from progression. The first place where fear shows in the book is in the children’s younger years. Most people have had and irrational fear in their childhood. Jem’s and Scout’s fear appears in the rumors and their subsequent imagination of Boo Radley. They do not know anything about Boo Radley, not even what he looks like, except from what they have heard from rumors. At this point, they believe him to be a bloodstained, gross monster that will eat them if given the chance. With no one to have seen him, who can tell them otherwise? Jem likes to say how he is not afraid, but Scout knows he really is. Jem most likely says this to be a good role model for Scout amidst his own fears of Boo Radley, as Atticus is not scared either. Jem does the same when he is at Mrs. Dubose’s house and she is calling them bad names. Jem steps up and proclaims that Scout is not dirty and he is not afraid, but Scout sees his knees trembling, showing he fears the loss of respect from his sister over Mrs. Dubose’s verbal abuse. The next major event where fear comes into play is Tom Robinson’s trial. Mayella goes up on the witness stand, and we hear her side of the story. Through Atticus’ brutal cross-examination, her story has no credibility. One of the things that gets her what she wants in the end is what she says when she realizes this. She goes on
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