Themes in To Kill a Mockingbird

As you read Chapters 8-10 in To Kill a Mockingbird, think about the following prompt, and post a response on this forum by Sunday night. Please also respond to at least one student's comments by Monday night. Show depth of thought, professionalism and respect in your responses.

Prompt:

"How does Harper Lee develop the theme of acceptance in the novel through her use of characterization, conflict and/or point-of-view?"

Please read and analyze W. H. Auden's poem The Unknown Citizen. Choose one of the prompts that follow and respond by citing quotes from the poem.

(To JS/07 M 378

This Marble Monument

Is Erected by the State)

He was found by the Bureau of Statistics to be
One against whom there was no official complaint,
And all the reports on his conduct agree
That, in the modern sense of an old-fashioned word, he was a
  saint,
For in everything he did he served the Greater Community.
Except for the War till the day he retired
He worked in a factory and never got fired,
But satisfied his employers, Fudge Motors Inc.
Yet he wasn't a scab or odd in his views,
For his Union reports that he paid his dues,
(Our report on his Union shows it was sound)
And our Social Psychology workers found
That he was popular with his mates and liked a drink.
The Press are convinced that he bought a paper every day
And that his reactions to advertisements were normal in every way.
Policies taken out in his name prove that he was fully insured,
And his Health-card shows he was once in hospital but left it cured.
Both Producers Research and High-Grade Living declare
He was fully sensible to the advantages of the Instalment Plan
And had everything necessary to the Modern Man,
A phonograph, a radio, a car and a frigidaire.
Our researchers into Public Opinion are content
That he held the proper opinions for the time of year;
When there was peace, he was for peace:  when there was war, he went.
He was married and added five children to the population,
Which our Eugenist says was the right number for a parent of his
  generation.
And our teachers report that he never interfered with their
  education.
Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd:
Had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard.

Respond to ONE of the following prompts.  

·       How does the poem speak to the theme of social responsibility?

·       Who is the speaker of the poem, how do you know, and how does that affect the meaning?

·       Where is the irony in the poem, and how do you know it's irony?

·       Discuss the significance of the title.

·       What point do you think Auden was trying to make about modern society?

·       How does the rhyme scheme contribute to the poem's meaning