To Kill a Mockingbird

            
             EXAMINE THE WAY IN WHICH LANGUAGE AND SELECTION OF DETAIL HAVE BEEN EMPLOYED TO POSITION THE READERS RESPONSES TO PEOPLE AND ISSUES.
             In the story "To Kill a Mockingbird" I believe that language and selection of detail play a major role in the way the novel is receieved by the majority of readers. The story is told from a 3rd person point of view and follows the story of Scout Finch and a lot of the time conveys her feelings across towards the events in the novel. Techniques such as selection of detail can be very powerfull and change a whole outlook on a particular piece and can sway emotions in one direction or another.
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             The main point the book was trying to put across is that all black and white people should be treated equally. This , I agree this was a fine message to put across to people but I think techniques were used to make the readers think this way. The story is based around one main event. The suspected murder of a girl by a black man. The book shows that the black man was perfectly innocent and it was the father who beat the girl. This only shows one event and presents the black person as the good guy and delivers the message that black people weren't bad , they were nice people and the treatment they where given was not right. As a firm-non racist I agree with this but if you think about it , the story could have been told a completely different way. Imagine if it was written through the eyes of a white person in the jury or any other common white person. The selection of detail (I think) would have been far different. The writing would have been a lot more critical towards Tom and they may even leave out the fact that the father beat her. They might just say "lucky nigger got off the hook , I know he did it" and the reader would know nothing more. .
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             Evidently , it wasn't written from the perspective of one of these people and more from the point of view as an innocent young child.