Course Information
Course: English I B (2018)
Unit: 2. NOVEL
Assignment: 18. Project: Charting Character Development
Project: Charting Character Development
Objectives
- Trace character development.
- Analyze ideas, concepts, and information to assist the reader in understanding and making connections.
- Include relevant supporting facts, definitions, quotations, and details that enhance the explanation of the topic.
Vocabulary
| character development | how a character grows, learns, and changes over the course of a story |
Essay: Character Development in To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird is a character-driven novel. There are many different stories in the book, many different plots that unfold and entwine, but every one of these plots relate back to the main story of the book. Let’s look now at how the main characters change and grow
To Kill a Mockingbird is about two children growing up. They learn lessons about morality, courage, community, and social justice, and these lessons change them, change how they see and understand the world.
The themes in the book are revealed, explained, and explored through the characters. If the need for compassion is a theme in the book, it will be explored by seeing how Scout and Jem learn about the need for compassion. To trace the themes in the book, a reader must observe how the main characters relate to those themes.
When looking at how a character develops, the reader must pay close attention to clues in the text. Give particular attention to the moments when a character struggles with something emotionally or intellectually. Notice the moments when a character fails or succeeds and how they interpret that failure or success. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus acts as a moral guide for Jem and Scout. Often times, he helps them as they work through their character growth and development and tries to set them on the right path.
Directions
Write a 500-word essay that explores the character development of both Jem and Scout in Part I of To Kill a Mockingbird. Be sure to back up your points with direct quotations from the book.
Click here to view the rubric.
Question #1Essay
In 500 words, explain how the characters of Jem and Scout develop over the course of Part I of To Kill a Mockingbird. Discuss how they change and grow and what themes are revealed through their character development.
