Examples Of Reputation In To Kill A Mockingbird

Bad Reputation
In any community, no matter the size , everybody has a reputation. Reputation reveals what a community thinks of them and how the person acts within the community. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Lee’s goal is to expose how reputation is created in a community and the negative effects it has on individuals. Lee uses dramatic interactions and experiences with characters who are considered outcasts in the book to exemplify how reputation negatively affect individuals.
First, Lee introduces Burris Ewell in Scout’s first grade class. He is not taken care of and is not even able to spell his own name. Lee uses the narration by Scout and direct description, “The cootie’s host showed not the faintest interest in the furor he had wrought. He searched the scalp above his forehead, located his guest and pinched it between his thumb and forefinger.” (Lee, 29), to show the reader he goes unnoticed, and is dirty. Scout describes Burris as, “The filthiest human I had ever seen” (Lee, 29) and describes him by saying, “His neck was dark gray, the backs of his hands were rusty, and his fingernails were black deep into the quick.” (Lee, 29). He is clearly not the most popular kid in class. He disgusts the teacher so much that sends him home stating, “Please bathe yourself before you come back tomorrow.” (Lee, 30). The dialogue between Burris and Miss Caroline causes Burris to get upset and tell Miss Caroline, “You ain’t sendin’ me home, missus. I was on the